our route to tierra del fuego and back

The Climate

    The following chart is an analysis of the climate while we'll be travelling. The numbers after every country show the average number of days of rainfall for each month. (We'll be starting on September 30th.) Note also that the duration is only six months. The extra two months are reserved for travelling north through Central America.

    This is somewhat simplified, as the climate differs widely for some countries. I've tried to reflect that in the description which follows each country.

    oct
    nov
    dec
    jan
    feb
    mar
    		 
    Colombia
       Bogotá
    18
    16
    13
    9
    7
    10
    		 
      There is an advantage to saving Colombia for the latter portion of our journey. Rainfall in October is fairly high.
    Ecuador
       Quito
    13
    13
    7
    9
    11
    11
    		 
      Rainfall in Ecuador is roughly equal at the start and end of our journey.
    Peru
       Lima
    0
    0
    0
    1
    0
    0
    		 
       Cusco
    8
    12
    16
    18
    13
    11
    		 
      The two alternatives to passing through Peru (approximately November or February) are roughly equal.
    Bolivia
       La Paz
    9
    11
    18
    21
    18
    16
    		 
       Santa Cruz
    7
    8
    11
    14
    10
    12
    		 
      Rainfall in La Paz is approximately the same in the February time frame as it is in the November time frame.
    Chile
       Santiago
    3
    1
    0
    0
    0
    1
    		 
      Chile gets very little rain year-round along the entire length of the country.
    Argentina
       Buenos Aires
    7
    7
    7
    5
    5
    6
    		 
      The rain is fairly equal in Argentina year-round.
    Paraguay
       Asunción
    5
    6
    7
    7
    6
    9
    		 
      Again, there is not a lot of variation in Paraguay.
    Brazil
       Manaus
    4
    12
    16
    20
    18
    21
    		 
       Brasilia
    11
    15
    20
    19
    16
    15
    		 
       Rio de Janeiro
    11
    10
    12
    13
    9
    11
    		 
      The problem here is in Amazonia. While Rio and Brasilia have fairly conistent rain patterns, there is considerably more rain in March than October.

Based on this analysis, I've decided to take the clockwise route around South America. There are two advantages to this...

  1. We can spend time in Colombia in March, when it will be much drier. The heavy rains in Colombia are in October and November as well as April and May.

  2. The clockwise route allows us to travel through Brazil during the dry(er) season. The best time to visit Brazil is August to October (and April to June).


caravana@vanagon.com
Copyright © 1999-2001 Ron Lussier. All rights reserved.
last modified May 25, 2000