When it comes to getting ready for winters away, we always start months before the actual departure. We need to prepare more than many retirees, as we choose a different location for each winter away from Canada.
Honestly, the biggest part of the fun of going somewhere new is the sheer amount of preparation required. We are smart travellers but nobody starts out that way. It takes study and learning at many different levels. There is little need to understand something unless it will have an impact on one's life. I tend to think that's why most folks have such a poor grasp of geography. Travel is one way to get a whole lot smarter.
I was looking at these two locations in Google Earth today. Both are candidates for next winter but we have visited neither. I turned off the labels and saved screenshots. In both instances, the map was saved from about 1000 km up. The focus of the image on the left is around 34° below the equator but the second is approximately 6° S.
