5 Months Through South America - Itinerary Advice

[Travel4]

Hi all,

I'm going to be spending five months traveling through South America. This will be my first real trip of its type and my first solo backpacking adventure. I plan to mostly stay in hostels, but am willing to culture things up with couch surfing every once in a while and pamper things up with a hotel stay when I need it. I've got a tentative itinerary that I would love help solidifying, or at least learning more about. Let me know what you think!

Here's what I have so far:

Feb 12 - Land in Florianopolis, Brazil for Carnaval. Stay for 1.5 - 3 weeks.

End of Feb - Fly to Foz do Iguacu. Check out Brazilian and Argentinian falls. 3 days max.

Fly to Montevideo, Uruguay. Stay for 2.5 - 4 weeks. Study spanish. See sights.

Bus through Uruguay to Colonia. Stay for max 1 week.

Ferry across bay to Buenos Aires. Stay for 2.5 - 4 weeks. Study spanish. Take tango / salsa lessons. See sights.

See more of Argentina, if possible. Ideas?

Fly or bus to Santiago, Chile. Stay for 2.5 week - 4 weeks. Find places to salsa. See sights.

Explore Chilean wine country for ~ 1 week.

Fly or bus to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. Stay for up to 1 week. See sights. Sandboard.

Bus or fly to Juliaca, Peru. See Lago Titicaca.

Bus or fly to Cusco, Peru. Do Inca Trail. See Machu Picchu.

Bus or fly to Guayaquil, Ecuador. Check out sights. Schedule tux rental for next month.

Bus to Quito, Ecuador. Check out sights. Stay for 1 week.

Check out other places in Ecuador.

Return to Guayaquil, July 1. Attend wedding.

July 5 - 8. Wedding party goes to Galapagos.

July 10. - Headed Home!

Honestly, I'm going to have so much time on my hands, I would love to have any and all advice to fill in the blanks.

The only point I'm not completely sure about is the flight to Foz do Iguacu. I would absolutely love to see the falls, but it's hard to justify two $220 plane tickets for two days of trails and pictures. The pictures would be phenomenal, and I'd love to have them. But, it's a tough dot on the path.

Thoughts?

Thanks so much!

Matt W

[rocketmail009]

I would take a bus from Florianopolis to Foz de Iguacu, and cross to the Brazilian side there. Then I'd either take a bus to BA, and base myself there for the places you want to see in Uruguay, or go from Puerto Iguazu to BA via Uruguay.