Filed under: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay
It has been three months since I’ve left South America. I would say that by now I’ve begun processing the place, but to be honest, I don’t think I had an experience that properly qualified me to even begin processing it.
I think that Latin America is a good introduction to traveling. If I could do it all over again, I would have chosen to start traveling through Latin America before heading over to Asia. However, I did this backwards, so it’s too late.
Here’s the thing: Asia is crazy. Asia is intense. Asia is jam-packed full of loud noises, strange smells, and people, people EVERYWHERE. Asia is IN YOUR FACE. Asia will kick your ass the moment you step off of the plane, and will continue to beat you down with an array of unforgettable experiences until the moment you leave the place.
Latin America is very, very different. Yes, there are people. There are cars, there are houses, there is food, there are all of the necessities and basic essentials that you will see in every country. But Latin America does not LEAP out at you. Latin America is subtle. Latin America is bursting with flavor, but it’s all in the aftertaste.
And so little old me, who had grown accustomed to this ‘in-your-face’ kind of traveling, shied away from the subtlety of Latin America. I went through an array of amazing experiences; I did a homestay with a Costa Rican family for a month, I learned Spanish, I lived in Paraguay for two months and traveled all around the country taking interviews with natives, and I traveled to Panama, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and Peru on top of all of this. But I didn’t FEEL the culture in the same way that I did in Asia. I felt that while I had many cultural experiences and interactions, I didn’t fully appreciate or understand the significance behind them in the way that I did while in Asia.
Transversely, my integration into Asia was much slower than in Latin America. I knew that I had ample time to wander around and understand Asia, and so I took my sweet time. I read all kinds of books about India, Nepal, Thailand, Turkey. I questioned what social services in these countries really meant. And I went on an array of experiences with Carpe Diem and with my school that challenged a lot of local traditions and customs. My head was always on level with what was going on around me.
Latin America was more of a solo trip. I had a plan to go in there, learn about micro-finance, and enjoy the sights while I was there. I plunged headfirst into the continent with no prior knowledge or experience, and hit the ground running. I didn’t have the TIME that I wished I had to fully experience the things in front of me, because there was always a thousand things to do: my current research project, learning spanish, turning in papers, potential job and internship opportunities for the future, and onwards. I went into Buenos Aires, Argentina armed with a laptop and a recording device to transcribe all of my interviews from Paraguay, rather than spending my time REALLY appreciating the city. I spent 5 days in a room on Easter Island furiously writing away my research project instead of exploring the volcanoes or various maori statues. I arrived in Peru exhausted and ready to collapse, thinking about nothing much except my plane ride back to the United States the next day.
Now it seems like I may be going off of a complain here, and I’m surely not: I know that I had unbelievable, unforgettable experiences that SO many don’t have the fortune of doing. I am truly, incredibly blessed. I can’t believe that I have had the opportunity to travel to seven countries within a mere four months, and have that count for my schooling.
Merely the point I’m trying to make here is that because of these factors, my experience in Latin America was not as potent culturally, or as significant as my experience was in Asia. And while I wish that one day I really WILL go to Latin America when I have the time to experience all that it can offer, my heart still pines to go back to Asia.
My senior year ends in a few months, and then I’m graduated. Let’s hope that I can keep the traveling up after that.
Latin America: You were beautiful. You were magical. I am sorry that I couldn’t fully appreciate all that you had to offer. I dearly hope that I can come back under different circumstances, to truly know all that you have to offer.
Much love,
Brittany
Filed under: Peru
Dear friends,
It’s been three months, but pictures of my day in Peru have finally been posted, which you can check out here. These are the final photos from my South America trip, and I feel a sense of accomplishment from finally getting them all up, but also a sense of sadness- I think the reason why I dragged it out so long is because I didn’t want to admit to myself that my travels are ‘temporarily’ over. Also, since I’m not in travel mode for me right now, it’s hard for me to be in that kind of space while writing on this blog.
However, I knew that I had to get to Peru sometime, so here goes: I spent one day in Lima, the main city. I visited my friend Sonja who was currently living and studying there, and she took me all around to see the sights and to taste the amazing food. It was an amazing, fun day.
First, we headed over to Barranco, which is an area in Lima chock full of poets and artists- you could call it ‘the hip area’ of Lima. Taking a cab there proved to be an interesting challenge, because no one was willing to take us for the real price (most of them demanded twice the price). After half an hour of searching, we finally were able to take a cab for the correct price with one willing cab driver (note to travelers: just hold out on the cab drivers), and so we hopped in and headed over to Cafe Tostada for lunch. Cafe Tostada is AMAZING. We drank Chicha, which is this popular Peruvian beverage (it’s fermented and mostly made from maize. I wasn’t the biggest fan but it did the job). We then ordered their famous dish, which was fried rabbit rubbed in orange. Absolutely amazing. The worst part of the experience? As soon as you enter the restaurant you are bombarded with frames upon frames of cute little bunny rabbits. I had to avert my eyes as I sucked the orange off of the fried rabbit.
After lunch we decided to stretch our overly full stomachs by walking along the ocean of Barranco, which is incredibly beautiful. Two men serenaded us while we walked over a bridge overlooking rows upon rows of brightly colored house stretching out to the sea, and I remember feeling really happy where I was and enjoying all of the beautiful architecture in front of me. Barranco is definitely a place to see. We headed over to a small park where indigenous crafts were being sold, and entertained ourselves by dressing up sweaters and bags. Sonja bought a Peruvian flute earring to commemorate her music experience, as she was studying ethnomusicology in Peru. There was also an incident with a candy apple which you can check out in the photos.
After wandering around Barranco, we headed back to Sonja’s house and took a nap before going out to Miraflores, the ritzy area of Lima, for dinner. We decided to splurge a bit and head over to Huaca Pucllana, which is one of the best and nicest restaurants in Peru. We spent the evening dining on Peru’s finest delicacies (anticuchos, fried guinea pig which was surprisingly DELICIOUS, lomo saltado, and pisco sours) until we were so full we couldn’t move. I would go back to Lima JUST for this restaurant, it was one of the best I’ve ever been to. And with a nine course meal, it cost Sonja and I only fifty dollars.
In the end, while I was only in Peru for one day it was incredibly fun and light-hearted, which is exactly what I needed before flying to the US the next day. Thanks to Sonja for taking me out for such a great time.
And that’s it with the South America adventure folks! Expect an update soon about what I thought of it overall.
Much love,
Brittany
Dearest friends,
As you may or may not have been able to tell, I have been neglecting this blog a little bit. Unfortunately, I have so much work to do these days that I don’t even have much time to do the exploring and adventuring that I wish I could.
I feel that traveling has given me so much in the past two years. It has been my nourishment, my well being, and it has taught me so many things about the world and about myself. And one thing it has taught me is to listen to myself and know what my limits are. And I have reached my limit. I just decided to go home two weeks earlier than planned. I’m skipping Ecuador and Peru (including Macchu Picchu) and going home on December 5th.
There are a lot of reasons for this. Most importantly, I miss my family. In the past year and a half, I have been in the United States for about 3 weeks. All three of those weeks has been about unpacking and repacking, rather than spending time with my family. If I go home on December 21st as planned, I will only be home for approximately two weeks, which will again, all be about packing for New York. So I decided if I came home 2 1/2 weeks earlier, I would be able to spend some more time with my brother, sisters, and parents.
Another thing is, I’m quite literally exhausted. 20 countries in 2 years. That’s quite a lot. And on top of that, while I’m traveling, I have a lot to do- a huge research paper, applications to 30 or so internships in New York, plus finding a place to live in Brooklyn– it’s very hard to do this AND travel. I feel as if I can’t fully experience or enjoy the places that I am in, which is unfortunate but true.
Moreover, I don’t feel completely satisfied with my South American adventures. I want to see MORE. I want to spend more time in Uruguay, I want to spend at least 6 weeks fully discovering Argentina, to see the Andes mountains, to explore Bolivia, different parts of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, even Brazil- I don’t have that time or luxury to do so right now. I know that in the future, I will come back here. Maybe one day when I’ve saved up a nice sum of money, I will take a year to see all of South America that I want to. I feel that is better than getting merely these amazing glimpses that I don’t have the time to fully embrace and appreciate.
Part of me protests at all of these ideas, because my travels has always been defined as me deciding to do something random and spontaneous, which has always provided fruitful results. Whenever I’ve felt tired or exhausted (as I have really been feeling these past few months), I go to a new country, and instantly I feel energized. URUGUAY! PANAMA! COSTA RICA! Everything is always amazing and new and there always something to do and see. I know that I still have that little bit of reserve in me– I know that I could make it 2 or 3 more weeks to see Peru and Ecuador without collapsing.
But at what cost? I know that I will travel for the rest of my life. I know that next year, there is a very slim chance that I will even be home for Christmas at all. And I feel that I have the rest of my life in front of me to explore and see the world- but I should also appreciate and be thankful of the things that I have in my life right now, before one day all of my siblings are grown and with their own families.
So with all of these things together, I’ve decided that I’m going to go home early, and I am really happy with that decision. I am really happy to be able to fully enjoy all of Christmas with my family, and to relax at home. I’m happy to have some time before I go off to New York. I am 21 years old, and South America isn’t going anywhere.
The itinerary until December 5th is as follows:
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Santiago, Chile
Easter Island, Chile
Lima, Peru
Until then friends,
Brittany
I am currently in the stages of planning an epic month-long trip throughout South America. This week is Uruguay. On November 14th I start my adventure with 10 days in Argentina (Buenos Aires, TBD), and then continue onto Chile, Peru (Lima, and the 4 day Inca Trail Trek to Macchu Picchu), and Ecuador.
Originally I had plans to go to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, where I was planning on spending a good chunk of my budget. However, I learned that a trip to the Galapagos Islands is just too much money. In order to be able to actually walk on the islands (which is what makes the trip worthwhile), you would need to be on a boat of less than 15 people- which means that it would cost somewhere around $1500 for ONLY a four day trip. On top of that, they charge an extra 50% fee if you’re going alone. On top of THAT, then you need to pay for your plane ticket. With all of the charges, spending about 700 dollars a day is not ANYWHERE NEAR within my budget range. Though sad, I hope that one day when I am no longer a student, I can return to Ecuador and go to the Galapagos Islands.
This frees up some money that I have to play around with. So as of 15 minutes ago, I AM OFFICIALLY GOING TO EASTER ISLAND IN CHILE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
