The last of South America…for now – 2 July

My last day in Peru was nothing spectacular. Carolina and I took separate busses, so we saw each other off. Bit of a sad moment. We’d been travelling together for a month and now it ended. I’ve never been good with good-bye’s.

A 4 hour bus ride to Lima then straight to the airport. By this time I’d realised that I’m not a fan of big cities. Especially not where the population is about 7.5 million people. And after my “experience” of being robbed in Buenos Aires I wasn’t taking chances. The only draw back was that I had to wait at the airport for a couple of hours. My flight departed at 01:55. Eish :(

Of course is visit is never complete without a scare of sorts. When I was checking in, the airline’s official “inspected” my passport. Then proceeded to ask me to wait and disappeared with my passport for what felt like a hour! Why do you leave with my passport??? He returned and asked if I have another form of identification. “Why do you need another form of I.D?”
”You require a visa to enter Canada, unless you have an I.D. that allows you to enter.”
”Well, please bring my passport back and I’ll show you my visa". After another “30 min” he returned. My visa was on the 1st page!!! Felt like I was in deepest darkest Africa. Twit! Needles to say, I didn’t give him my passport back. I held onto it the rest of the time.

Bag wrapped, checked in and waiting for my flight I take in what is left of the South American leg of this adventure. The good times and the bad, but what stood out for me were all the great people I met, shared a drink, party, bus, hike or room. If I met you in South America and you are reading this, you probably don’t realise that you are the reason I enjoyed my time as much as I did (unfortunately many of the locals I met will never know). Thank you!

So next time you meet someone from another place, take comfort in the thought that you might have made an unimaginable impression on that person’s life.
If there is one thing that South America has imprinted in me: Life is about the experiences and/or relationships you have with people.

A thought to end off on…

Time to leave Cusco – 22 June

With Inti-Raymi around the corner and the amount of tourists growing every day, I had had enough. Andreo, a friend I met in Buenos Aires (I saw him in Santiago), told me about this oasis close to Ica called Huacachina (pronounced: Wa-ka-chi-na). I need a huge time-out so want to head there and chill for a couple of days. I heard that the sand boarding is supposed to be the best there.

Carolina was starting to stretch her holiday quite a bit and needed to get back to her shop. Unfortunately the busses to Arequipa are experiencing problems due to strikes in the main town along the way. She would have to take a bus via Ica to get there (double the distance). So instead she would come along to Ica and get the bus from there.

After buying our bus ticket I heard from Gary and Sallie (Team Fantastico). They had just arrived from Bolivia and we met up for drinks. They were going to hike Salkantay (like us) and then head north. It was great seeing them again.

Good bye South America

Firstly I'd like to apologise that there has been no activity on my blog the last month. I haven't made much time for updates, but they will follow soon.

This is my last day in Peru. I'll be getting on a bus for Lima soon and fly to Vancouver, Canada at 2am tomorrow. And so my adventure in South America comes to an end. If feels a bit weird as it only really sank in yesterday that I will be leaving. I am, however, looking forward to Canada as moving around on a regular basis has become a bit draining...especially in a poor-ish country where everyone wants to sell you something. Saying that, Peru has been an interesting experience with some great people along the way.

I have to thank everyone who I have met along this leg of my travel, you have made it unforgettable for me!

I'm off....hope to give you something to read soon.

Ciao for now!

Peru update

So, I guess you all are thinking that I’m still in Chile. Much has happened. I’m in Cusco, Peru at the moment and will be leaving on the Salkantay hike to Machu Picchu tomorrow.

Yes there is much to tell you (many gaps to fill), but as I have 3 weeks left in South America I have been cramming all I can in. Unfortunately this means that I haven’t been getting to writing much. I hope to find the time soon.

So, I’m still alive. Update to follow soon…

Movement update - Long way to San Pedro de Atacama

Once again, I haven´t been able to get to writing all my updates, so just to keep you "in the loop." (The "My Path" page is up to date.)

I´ve just come back from Mendoza, Argentina and sitting at the Santiago, Chile bus station as I write this. I´m heading to San Pedro de Atacama today at 9:30.
Map for Mendoza via Santiago to San Pedro de Atacama (Chile)
The trip will take just under 24 hours. Hoping to get some proper sleep. They guy next to me on the bus from Mendoza freaked me out a bit. But before I get ahead of myself....

Heading north from the El’s (movement update)

The internet in El Chalten, where I am now, is really slow so can’t do a proper update (not that I have had time to write much). Just to keep you in the loop….
I arrived in El Chalten with Gary, Sallie, Orlagh and Alex from El Calafate. Unfortunately this is the end of the road for “Team Fantastico”, as Gary, Sallie and Orlagh are heading to El Bolson (close to Bariloche). Alex and I are heading for the Carratera Austral in Chile. It has been a great 2 weeks for us all. All good things come to and end :(

The Carratera Austral is supposed to be on of the most beautiful places along the route north, but not much traffic. So we will be engaging many locals (great!). I am hoping that we will not struggle with transport too much and get to Isla Chiloe in about 2weeks. Santiago will then be my next stop.

I’m guessing that internet connectivity will not be great as we travel along the Austral, so don’t be surprised to see little activity on the blog during this time.

Catch you on the flip side…

I’ve made it to Foz do Iguacu

My plans have changed a lot over the last week, which means that I now find myself in Foz do Iguacu. It is next to the Iguacu waterfalls, where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet. I'll spend a couple of days here and then head to Buenos Aires.

I recently realised that I want to get into nature and do some exploring. Patagonia…here we come!