Who

Hey there, I’m Thomas but my friends call me Splette. Until recently, I was living in Heidelberg, Germany where I spent the last years doing my PhD in computational biology. I graduated in December 2010 and now that this PhD thing is over I can finally go on with my life. The first thing I decided to do is the trip I created this website for – a year of backpacking across North and South America.

If you want to know more about me, you can check out my personal website www.splette.com (mostly in German and slightly outdated, sorry).

Why

Easy! I love traveling. Nothing makes me happier than being on the road. Nothing makes me feel more free. And few things are as exciting as exploring a new country all by yourself. Why the Americas? I did a long-term trip to Australia in 2001 and a 4 months long overland trip from China to Germany in 2004. These two journeys left a deep impression on me and include some of the happiest moments of my life. In 2008 I spent a few weeks in Central America and liked it a lot but I haven’t been to South America yet. It seems to be a perfect place to go backpacking.

Why a year? Long-term trips are a much more intense experience than a two-week vacation to some beach resort which is the kind of traveling that does not appeal to me much.

Mission

My mission is to travel from Canada to Tierra del Fuego trying not to use a plane. However, for different reasons I decided to start the trip in Knoxville, Tennessee which I have visited several times before. Another goal is to be able to speak Spanish fluently by the time this journey is over.

Preliminary route; subject to change

Currently, the plan is to visit the following countries during my trip: Canada, USA, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil.