Continent: Grandeur of South America (all 12 Countries visited)

exploring the world's best tourist spots on a Filipino-style budget backpacking

To achieve greatness, one must first dream of it. - Simon Bolivar, "George Washington" of Latin America.

"Be Brave, Take Risks. Nothing can substitute Experience." - Paulo Coelho

My First Continent with Countries All Visited as a Budget DIY Pinoy Solo Backpacker - Philippine Passport Holder only.

The Quest to visit all 12 Countries of South America is now completed (2018-2024).

My journey to this Beautiful Continent is now signing off. Timog Amerika, pinapalaya na kita.

Muchos Gracias Sur America. #livealifeyouwillremember #southamerica

#brazil #argentina #uruguay #chile #colombia #bolivia #paraguay #peru #ecuador #guyana #suriname #venezuela #philippines #pinoy #travel #backpacker #pilipinas #spanish #latinamerica

Philippine passport holders are VISA FEE WAIVED - VISA ON ARRIVAL:

Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Guyana, Suriname

Philippine passport holders need to APPLY BEFORE ARRIVAL:

Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Ecuador, Venezuela

My Remarks based on my experience traveling to these awesome 12 countries;

I wanna go back - Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela. Chile

Enough of one-time visit - Guyana, Suriname, Paraguay, Uruguay

Hardest visa to apply - Ecuador, Venezuela, Chile

Easy public transport - mostly I think (Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Argentina)

Hardest public transport - Suriname, Guyana

Best food - All Spanish-speaking countries (I think they offer the same sets of menus, cheaper also)

Did I study their language before traveling - NO, just offline Google translate and I learned Spanish Numbers through Bingo game when I was young. 

Scariest Experience - Venezuela Police checkpoint during 17-hour overnight bus trip due to language barrier, lost around $130 for robbery/bribery plus whole body frisking.

Memorable Adventure - traveled to most of these countries during the pandemic for 7 months (PCR tests, travel requirements, cross-border restriction, Philippine passport weakness, flight availability, lockdown, tourist landmark closure, limited public transport, etc).

Any Surprising Observation - Venezuela has better public transportation (Caracas has 7 lines of metro subway and 2 carousel bus lines) than the Philippines and other South American countries. The huge inflation reported by Mainstream Media is not even felt as most of the expenses I made (transportation, food, hotel, basic goods) are the same comparable to other South American countries. Yes, it's safe as a Solo Backpacker like traveling to other South American countries. 

Other remarks - If flying from MNL, flights are very expensive and usually transit to US airports which requires a US visitor visa.

Interesting Facts about the Continent of South America;

1. There are 12 countries in South America. These are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

2. The Andes Mountains is the longest mountain range in the world. It stretches for 4,400 miles along the west coast of South America, from Chile to Venezuela. It passes through Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.

3. The Amazon Forest is the largest natural rainforest forest in the world. At 2.7 million square miles, it covers 40% of South America. Its square area can fit about 40 USAs.

4. The Amazon River has the largest water volume of any river in the world. In fact, it has more water than the next seven largest rivers combined.

5. South America was named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci.

Continent: Grandeur of South America  (all 12 Countries visited)

COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICAN CONTINENT(all visited)
1	Argentina	4	Chile	7	Guyana	9	Peru	11	Uruguay
2	Bolivia	5	Colombia	8	Paraguay	10	Suriname	12	Venezuela
3	Brazil	6	Ecuador

2020-2021 America Pandemic Adventures Filipino Solo Trip

living my dream as Solo Backpacker during Covid-19 Pandemic, the #newnormal of tourism
November 26, 2020 to June 19, 2021 (205 days)

"Live a life to inspire, live a life with sense of accomplishment, live a life you will remember" - Mang Andoy

Coronavirus has changed the way we travel, this pandemic has brought significant challenges to global travel industry. My Covid-19 travel adventure begun from the moment it was gradually spreading from Asia. My first pandemic journey (January to February 2020) was in Chile, Uruguay, United States and Philippines. Surprisingly, the itinerary I created on this trip was my first around the World, 360 degrees tour (circumnavigated the Earth from Middle East to America back to Asia). Then, while most of the countries worldwide was on the beginning of 1st wave, my second pandemic journey (September to October 2020) was in Philippines, United States, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Ukraine. Like most of other employees worldwide, I lost my beloved job also due to huge effect to aviation industry (business re-structuring). Even so, I am forever grateful and proud of my four years in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Finally, while the surge of the 1st wave continuous, my third pandemic journey (November 2020 to June 2021) was this Latin America trip. Based on this, I traveled to 23 countries across 4 continents with more than 25 sets of Covid-19 Test (mostly nasal swab PCR) ALL NEGATIVE RESULT.

Despite the challenge of #newnormal, I accomplished my itinerary beyond my expectation. I just finished seven months of solo backpacking to these wonderful countries of American Continent (Nov. 2020 to Jun. 2021) with Covid19 vaccine Sinopharm (Aug. 2020 in Abu Dhabi, UAE) and J&J  Janssen (May 2021 in Boston, US). Another proud bucket list achievement; having a Philippine passport on a tight budget, all first time visits traveled from United States down to South America, language barrier, currency exchange, changing airport/land border entry/exit requirements, sudden flight cancellations and of course, the pandemic protocol on tourism and transportation.

Some of my top accomplishment on this journey are Completed the World's Seven New Wonders, all-DIY budget solo hikes (World's youngest volcano, Central America highest peaks and some Ecuador's top mountain), visited every country's signature landmarks, elusive Ecuador visa application using my mobile phone only, pandemic travel techniques and having all negative result for more than 25 sets of Covid-19 PCR Nasal Swab Test.

205 days, 15 countries, 20 Covid19 Tests.

Traveled from Abu Dhabi to Mexico then Central America, South America, United States and Manila. 

MARAMING SALAMAT, MUCHAS GRACIAS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! 

MEXICO, BELIZE, GUATEMALA, EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS, NICARAGUA, COSTA RICA, PANAMA, COLOMBIA, BOLIVIA, PARAGUAY, PERU, ECUADOR, GUYANA AND UNITED STATES #opentheeconomy #newnormal #pandemictraveling #goodvibes #lakbay100 #mexico #belize #guatemala #elsalvador #honduras #nicaragua #costarica #panama #colombia #bolivia #paraguay #peru #ecuador #guyana #unitedstates #philippines #northamerica #centralamerica #southamerica #america #pinoytraveler #backpacking #bucketlist 

2020-2021 America Pandemic Adventures Filipino Solo Trip

3 Days Pandemic Rainy Solo Trip in Paraguay

93 Days Pandemic Rainy Solo Trip in South America

February 26, 2021 to February 28, 2021

My 124th country visited on my journey beyond #lakbay100, 93rd solo backpacking trip, 7th country in South America and of course, usual budget do-it-yourself itinerary from arrival to departure. Paraguay served also as the 11th country on my 2020-2021 America Pandemic Adventures Filipino Solo Trip, the new normal of traveling.

Paraguay is a landlocked country in South America bordering Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil. The country is very wealthy in natural resources despite its small size, but unfortunately it has endured decades of political instability, leading it to be one of the poorest and least developed countries in South America. Colonized for 3 centuries by the Spanish, since the 1500s, Paraguay has managed to keep a lot of its indigenous character and identity. Nowadays, the mestizos (Spanish + Amerindian) account for more than 80% of the country's 7 million inhabitants and Guarani is, side by side with Spanish, the country's official language.

https://wikitravel.org/en/Paraguay

PARAGUAY TOURIST VISA APPLICATION IN LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (February 2021) 

Address: 2nd floor, Pedro Salazar 351, La Paz, Bolivia (any colectivo van that pass Kantutani, San Jorge, San Miguel)

Requirements: (1) 2 pieces passport size color photo, (2) Color photocopy of passport information page, (3) Color photocopy of credit card, (4) Latest 3 months statement of bank account, (5) Color photocopy of Bolivia entry stamp

Fee payment: 65 USD to be paid in Banco Union (walk-in) once approved. Provide your whatsapp number to officer for quick feedback within 24 hours. 

3 Days Pandemic Rainy Solo Trip in Paraguay

93 Days Pandemic Rainy Solo Trip in South America

2020-2021 America Pandemic Adventures Filipino Solo Trip

February 04, 2021 to May 08, 2021

Philippine passport holders are visa upon arrival with visa fee gratis for these 3 countries (Colombia, Bolivia, Peru), eligible for visa application on arrival in Guyana and need to apply visa before travel in Paraguay and Ecuador. I already visited Brazil (2018), Argentina (2019), Chile (2020) and Uruguay (2020). Despite the strict entry immigration requirements and danger of Covid19 pandemic challenge, I visited them all successfully as a Filipino Solo Backpacker on budget DIY basis using Philippine passport only. 

South America is the wilder of the Americas, and a continent of superlatives. The world's biggest rainforest and the largest river (Amazon), the highest mountain range outside Asia (the Andes), remote islands (Galapagos Islands, Easter Island and Fernando de Noronha), heavenly beaches (such as in Brazil's Northeastern region), wide deserts (Atacama), icy landscapes (Patagonia & Tierra del Fuego), the world's tallest waterfall (the 979m Angel Falls, in Venezuela) and one of the largest (Iguaçu Falls, Argentina and Brazil), as well as several other breathtaking natural attractions. Besides, the work of man has also left rare gems on the continent: ruins of ancient civilizations (Machu Picchu and other Inca cities; the Moais in Easter Island) share the continent with world-class metropolises (São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Bogotá, Caracas, Santiago, Lima and Rio de Janeiro), outstanding modern architecture (Brasilia), European architecture (Buenos Aires), the oldest rock paintings in the Americas (at the Serra da Capivara), strong African heritage (in Salvador, Rio and Montevideo), genuine indigenous (Belém, Manaus, Cuzco, Lima, La Paz), charming cities built in the Andes (Caracas, Medellín, Quito, Santiago de Chile) and Eastern culture (São Paulo's enormous Japanese community), mingled with the fingerprints of Iberian colonizers. Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city and some of its biggest festivities, such as Rio's Carnival and Belem's Cirio de Nazaré, the Tango World Championship, and the Vendimia festival in Argentina, are also part of this incredibly diverse and attractive continent.

https://wikitravel.org/en/South_America

93 Days Pandemic Rainy Solo Trip in South America