CROWDPLANNING MY TRIP!! // A little more about me :)

Hello to anyone and everyone who is reading this !!

Quick questions I have asked in the following piece:

• Does anyone have advice as to things to do / see / visit in and around Bogota, and then more widely cool places to go in Colombia?
• Has anyone been to the Galapagos islands, and are there any realistic budget options?
• Does anybody have advice to stay safe as a solo traveller in Central America (I'll have expensive camera gear).
• Any travel essentials I may have forgotten!

I have three main goals in sharing my trip on Steemit and these are the following:

1. To document my travels! (I've always lost track of any diaries i've kept and pictures i've taken on my travels)
2. To share my pictures!
3. To maximise what I can get out of this trip -> There are so many people on Steemit who have been to the places i'm going to be visiting, and it serves as a great hub of knowledge and cool ideas that will make my travels that much better!

The last of these is the most important at this point, as I will be flying into Bogota, Colombia NEXT WEDNESDAY and crashing on the sofa of a friend from school for a few days so please please please give me some advice on the best things to do in and around Bogota! And on top of this some wider tips for Colombia. I WILL be basing my plans on the feedback I get (And if I get none i'll follow my Lonely Planet :'') )

A LITTLE more about myself (In a funky Q&A format)

Where are you going?

I am starting off in Colombia as some of my close friends have been before and I can get some inspo from them as to where to go and stay. I am currently exploring the possibility of then going to Ecuador in order to realise my lifelong dream of visiting the Galapagos Islands - BUT it's looking like this will be beyond budget for me :( - (If anyone has been before please let me know if there are any good budget options to visit the islands).

From Colombia I'll then head north through Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Belize before meeting my friend who lives in Mexico. From there we will drive up to Califormia in his van! If you have experience in any of these countries please hit follow so you can give me tips when I get there!

Why Central America?

I have always been intreagued by this part of the world, and have read endlessly about the unbelievable nature and wildlife in Central and South America, which is a huge attraction for me! I then opted for Central America because the distances between countries are quite short ;).

Have you travelled before?

I have been to Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Jordan, and Sri Lanka. The most recent of these was Sri Lanka, which I visited in September; I could not reccomend it enough to be honest - Its one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, with the most relaxed and friendly culture meaning it's very normal to find yourself at a local's house for dinner after having met them in the street! I'll post some more pictures and details of that trip if anyone is keen to read them!

What will you be taking with you?

Ill be taking a Fujifilm XT2 Mirrorless Camera. I have opted for this one because it offers a similar still quality as an equivalent DSLR, but in a more compact body. A DJI Mavic Drone, to take some cool video footage of the scenery, and truly epic stills from angles only a bird could see. A Chromebook so that I can upload my pictures and videos to the cloud and write my blog. I have a scheme to borrow my mum's Amazon Kindle so that I can read a load of books on my trip - I'll keep you updated as to whether that works out - In addition to this I'll be bringing a bunch of clothes all packed neatly in a 45l highlander backpack! Please give me tips as to any essentials I might be forgetting.

I am bringing some expensive gear in order to capture the best shots I can, and I have heard from several people that Central America can be quite dangerous, which slightly concerns me as I don't want to get robbed! If any of you have advice to ensure I and my belongings are as safe as possible in the countries I am visiting please share them.

Why are you travelling / what is your philosophy?

I'm travelling first and foremost to see amazing new parts of the world and take cool pictures and videos! I want to immerse myself in new cultures and (perhaps) learn a new language. I am obsessed with local FOOD so i'll be trying anything and everything and reporting back! As I will be travelling alone I want to meet cool new people who I wouldn't necessarily see in London! I'm also a bit of a yes man so I have a history of finding my self wound up in some really whacky scenarios -_-...

Thanks for reading, and please follow my page if you're intreagued by my trip... and even if you're not ;)

Love from London
Raf

I've put a couple of pictures of myself because that tends to make the whole article more colourful. The first one is of me having just graduated from uni in September, and the second is me looking at a map in Connemara (Ireland) figuring out where to go next.