Tomorrow my wife and I, depart on our quest for 500,000 miles each. We have made a vacation out of the journey; and may be doing one of the longer trips, as far as length of time is concerned. We do not get back until July, after the LP promotion has ended. We will complete all the required flight segments by June 25th however. We will spend three days in Quito, five days in Cuzco, seven days in Costa Rica, five days in Belize and three days in Guatemala.

I first discovered these boards in December of 1999, and initially followed in amazement as people began posting various ways to earn miles. I changed my telephone long distance carriers and was able to earn 50,000 miles for both lines. I moved money into mileage accounts and earned even more miles. I’ve donated money to the World Wildlife Federation and participate in click rewards. I now have a Diners Club Card and a Starwood Amex card to complement my old Continental Airlines Master Card.

But, I must tell you, when I saw the Latin Pass promotion first posted, my initial reaction was (WHAT KIND OF NUT WOULD DO THIS!). Then, I read in amazement as people posted their wonderful and exhilarating experiences, as they traveled Central and South America. After following the Latin Pass threads for some time, I became seduced by the LP postings. I could not wait to read the latest posting. I told friends and relatives about the promotion but they laughed; “You have to be cerifiably insane to journey to Columbia, Venezuela, or Peru, forget it: nobody ever comes back alive from those places” was the general consensus. Fortunately my wife did not think I was as unbalanced as most of our friends, and agreed to go on the journey with me.

We had joined the Latin Pass program in February, and were not affected by the March 20th cut off. In researching the Latin Pass trip I learned more than I ever wanted to know about fare classes. How to get hotel points to post? Car rentals, how many days, two companies or one? The postings of past participants have been extremely helpful to me. I know that the information about clearing customs and connection times will be very valuable as well. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated in the Latin Pass links. Without you I would have never attempted this.

We will be in Quito this weekend, and Cuzco next week, maybe we will run into some of you. If not we will try to keep you posted about the trip. Thanks again.