Wednesday 6th August 2014
It’s been five months since we got back from South America and I’ve only just finished the blog. Having managed to take 5GB of photos after the first two weeks on the Galapagos Islands, it was inevitable that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with what was going on really! I thought on numerous occasions how I would end this diary of sorts. Early on in the trip, I thought I would list all the firsts we experienced but there were too many and if I started a list I would be adding to it randomly for another 6 months I imagine. Despite how it might look, I do actually want to finish this blog! I also thought it would be good to write down the experiences that made such a difference to my life – put things in perspective and helped me feel more relaxed, grounded and sane even after returning home. It is no exaggeration for me to say that this trip was life changing. Before we left I could count on one hand the number of two week breaks I’ve had since I was 15 years old so it was a huge deal to have six months off work at the age of 33 and be able to travel for four and a half months of them. I feel so incredibly fortunate to have been able to do such a thing.
Truthfully, though short lived, there were points in the trip when I wanted to be back at my flat in London. That said, the last three weeks in Brazil were so amazingly beautiful and relaxing, by the time it came I really didn’t want to head back. I remember plotting my prolonged stay in Morro de São Paulo shortly after my birthday less than a fortnight before we were due to return. I was prepared to return though and there were lots of nice things I was looking forward to having at home. After we got back I thought it would be a very long time before I might want to travel again (I mean travel, not go on holiday, that’s different). I was wrong. It took less than two months for me to wonder where we might travel next time and when and for how long. It was simply too amazing an experience to not repeat.
Since returning, lots of people have asked what our favourite place was or what the top three places we went to were. I have always found it difficult to answer because I felt we saw so many amazing places (I couldn’t possibly narrow it down to three) and they all served some purpose on the trip at the time. How much you like a place depends on so many factors, where you’ve been for the last month, what mood you’re in, what the weather’s like, what you’re expectations are,… That and probably just that I don’t like presentation/interview conventions like the magic three. Anyway I do think it’s worth recapping on the most memorable points in the trip and if you know me you know I can’t have the highlights without the lowlights so here they are in no particular order.
The Lowlights
- The collision of 46 degrees plus temperatures, running out of clean underwear and a power cut that meant our clothes were put in the dryer without being washed in Iguazu. Seriously minging!
- The two day bus journey from Cuenca to Lima. The dirtiest I had ever been… until I got ill on the Inca Trail.
- Altitude combined with narrow streets with lots of traffic and corresponding pollution (Quito/Cusco) = headaches, not being able to breath comfortably and having a cough the whole time.
- Getting ill on the last night of the Inca trail – too gross to explain.
- Bike accident on the death road in Bolivia.
The Highlights
- My 34th birthday in Morro de São Paulo – seriously awesome!
- Galapagos – not just the wildlife but the landscapes too.
- The W Trek through Torres del Paine – literally a life changing experience.
- The Inca Trail – trekking and camping with a wonderful group of people in a place that, not so long ago, went from being a world lost under foliage (Indiana Jones stylee) to one of the most recognisable places on the planet.
- Barriloche – so beautiful we didn’t want to leave.
- Seeing Jupiter and all its moons in the night sky at the Observatorio del Pangue near the Elqui Valley.
- The crazy, amazing landscapes of Uyuni.
Ramblers Rumblings 