Let's talk about South America

Like always whenever I get home I tend to stop writing, mostly because this blog is about travel and not what I get myself into on the home front. Looking back though I never really summed up my South America trip, how much I enjoyed it, and what it ended up meaning to me in the end. I never really quite described the last little bit of the trip either. So here I am with another adventure sneaking up on me in the very very near future finally getting myself together enough to write the end of South America. Just gimme' a sec to get back in the swing of writing because, even though it hasn't, I feel like it has been a little while since I've written a post.

I got the message that it was time to come back to America. My skipper messaged me to let me know the herring season in Alaska was quickly approaching. Me and Zoe got our plane tickets back and prepared to finish out our time in South America together. What an amazing trip it had been for both me and her. For me, starting there with Flip and Stumbles was a dream come true because those are two people I will always really enjoy hanging out with no matter where we are. It was just a huge bonus that we all got to chill together in South America! The first experiences in South America were shocking, it was great. Exactly what you want when you travel. You want to see something different, you want to see something new, and you want to be inspired. You want all your wanderlust to be quenched and inflamed at the same time. You want to be happy with the place you are, but you also want to be moved to keep the world exploration going. And that is what my first look into South America did for me. It made me love it and it made me want more at the same time. Despite barely making the flight to South America and having Flip's bag lost it was still amazing. Meeting the coolest people and eating the most delicious foods you've never really imagined. Oh the ceviche and the alpaca. How I miss that when I'm sitting at home eating my Chili's or whatever. But then there were the amazing things as well. There was Machu Picchu! Machu Picchu! That small hidden city atop a mountain tucked away somewhere deep in the Andes. Just looking at something such as that and imagining the people that used to live there, it's incredible. The sight will change you, it'll inspire you, it'll just drop your jaw as well. And then lago 69 and the glacial lakes. Gorgeous. Eye candy. It's entrancing to look at to the point you have to go touch it to make sure that it's actually real and even then you still can't completely accept that the color isn't fake. It was damn cool, especially with Stumbles and Flip and all the random people we met along the way (like the New Zealanders).

And then I was all alone for a bit and got to explore with my minimal Spanish. It was great. Always a great learning experience and I got to see a lot of the culture of South America in that period before Zoe showed up to join me on my little escapade. Then off we went through the desert oasis of Huacachina, flying about the lines of Nazca, and making it to Bolivia. Having a good time with someone I'd met once at home, just exploring places we'd never been in a language I hardly speak. Priceless. And then the cherry on top, the hidden gem that was Salar de Uyuni. Oh my goodness. There just isn't even anything I can say about it anymore. I try to find words for it and I'm speechless. Flat speechless, there is nothing I can say to convey the feelings it will evoke inside you. All I can say is look at the photos and how flabbergasting they are and then remember how the photo is never even close to how the real thing is. That's all I can say. 

And after that me and Zoe made our way back to Lima to fly out. We spent a day in Colombia waiting for our next flight out where we had a repeat experience of my flight to Peru. Running frantically through an airport and trying to make it through American customs so we wouldn't be stuck in Ft. Lauderdale for a night. Getting to our plane super sweaty from the exertion, maybe just 10 minutes before departure. And finally getting picked up by my mom (thanks mom, you're the best) in DFW so I could drive us all back to SA. The whole time in South America was fantastic. I gotta say I fell in love with the place. I understand it now, all my traveling friends (and I mean people who have been EVERYWHERE) told me to go to South America last. Why? Because you aren't going to want to leave. And they are spot on. All I want is to go back to South America and enjoy that laid back way of life. The rest of the world, not forgotten, but pushed out of mind for now so that dreams of South America can fill my day. All I can say is South America is worth it and I can't wait to get back there.

We saw a rainbow cloud!!! Goodbye Bolivia

Goodbye South America

So here I am! About to head back up to Alaska for a month long herring season. Spend a little time making some money and then it'll be time to think about the next adventure and the next destination. There're a few things and places I am thinking about, but I'll give no hints to y'all because I never REALLY know where I'm going until I'm there and even then I don't know where I'll end up after that ye know? So I'll keep y'all updated on how Alaska is going and fingers crossed I can get some photos of the Northern lights! Wish me luck up there! I'll keep y'all updated once things start really happening this Sunday (it's Wednesday today). 

Everyone be happy out there,

Beacon