It’s easy to think in terms of a schedule when planning a long trip. Especially when planning while living a scheduled life, a life full of work, school, events, etc. It’s not so easy to keep to that schedule when traveling the long trip.

The next “appointment” that I have to keep is about seven months in the future – World Cup in Brazil with Lynsee and friends! – and my days are filled only with what I desire (and so-called chicken buses). But I’m still in my first location in El Salvador and somehow between now and then I have to fit in 12 beautiful countries full of interesting places and people.

Except I don’t really, do I? I don’t have to do anything. As I told the English Debbie Downer, I’m only beholden to myself and my own pocket full of time and money. And with the number of odd traveler jobs that pay in room and board, it’s really only time, of which I have LOADS.

But I had a goal. No one is measuring my goal; I’m not being graded. Yeah, it’s catchy to say a year. But it’s more fun to talk about two isn’t it? And my precious goal brings me to the south of the earth in the midst of winter, the coldest, darkest time of the year – and that doesn’t sound very fun at all.

The last couple of days I’ve been contemplating skipping most of Honduras so that I keep myself to my schedule (and because my visa time is running out which really isn’t a big deal). But that is in fact the opposite of my real goal: to visit all the countries in Central and South America. It is possible to blow through them in a year, checking off the items on my to-do list. But that isn’t really the point, is it, dear reader? One doesn’t really get the feel of a place or make substantial connections when one is too attached to one’s checklist.

When I built my timetable – a damn fine piece of Excel formulas that I haven’t yet converted to PHP for this site – I knew it was changeable. And so, at this time, I’m sticking more or less to it. Vamos a ver, as they say, todo es posible.