It's nine years since our last event in South America, the London-Mexico Rally in '95, so it was very encouraging to be made so welcome again by all the Presidents and key officials of the motor sport Federations we had worked with on that event.

Our route has been carefully chosen to give it a combination of good workable stages and a good selection of rest days in places that warrant time spent there doing the tourist thing.

May is the ideal time climatically, earlier than that and Argentina would be sweltering in 40 degrees of heat and it would be torrential rains in the high Andes.

Let me tell you what I found country by country.

Argentina. Buenos Aires is an ideal start point. It's a buzzy sophisticated city, and yes, you really can have a meal and take a tango lesson in one of their famous tango cafes. Popular opinion seems to suggest that I should stick to something less flamboyant like the Last Waltz.

The port where the containers arrive is a 10 minute cab ride from the fashionable HQ hotel.

Cordoba is out first overnight stop and that is the heartland of rallying where their round of the World Rally Championship is based.

Bolivia The Andes really start to climb at the Argentina border, on that day your overnight stop will be in the old silver mining town of Potosi at 15,000 feet.

The old Spanish colonial towns of Sucre and the capital, La Paz, are wonders of architectural preservation. There's a rest day to explore the capital and visit the colourful markets. Then there's the great spectacle of Lake Titicaca, the world's highest and deepest lake which you and your car will cross on a simple wooden punt.

The Federation under the Presidency of Armando Paravacini is very active and has a great selection of tarmac and gravel stages to offer us.

Peru. A country with a huge tradition of road racing. While I was there the famous Camino del Inca was running and it features mind boggling town to town stages of 400 kms and more. Stage times are often over 4 and 5 hours!

So the one thing about rallying in Peru and Bolivia is that everyone from kids to grannies knows what we are there to do.

And is the Federation President, Luis Fisher, keen on motor sport? You bet, he was competing on the Camino del Inca and running mid-field.

There's not much in the way of rallying in the extreme south and far north of the enormous country but the Federation have promised to invent some stages for us.

There's a rest day at Cuzco so you can take the famous train ride up to Machu Picchu to see the Lost City of the Incas – one of the great wonders of that Continent.

We come down to sea level to the nation's capital Lima for a couple of days of flat country before pointing ourselves upward into the Andes again.

Ecuador. The Capital, Quito, is the second highest city in South America at 9,000 feet. The Federation is one of the biggest and most prosperous under the Presidency of Dr Giovanni Sevilla.

Rallying is strong and we are promised a good selection of tarmac and gravel stages. The finish of the event will be staged on the Equator, latitude Zero, just ten kms out of the city.

Quito is a stylish city, the centre of which is the world heritage preserved Plaza Indepencia, a stunning example of impressive 16th century colonial Spanish architecture.

The sea port Guayaquil is half a day's drive for which there will be a Road Book or you can have your car road transported from Quito to the port.

It has the makings of a true marathon adventure with all the romance that comes with South America.

Nick Brittan