Home Sweet Home

A Quick Summary

We made it back to Canada safely! The last 3 months have gone by so fast, but we were able to see some really neat things this trip. Here's the final map!

You can also check out an interactive one here, although I'm not sure how well it will work.

"Exit Interviews"

For some overall reflections on the trip, I decided to get Cam and David's thoughts as well. The answers below are transcribed from a little interview with them, and then I got David to interview me. 

What were some of your top highlights from the trip?

Cam: Definitely the Choquequirao hike was a magical experience and just all around a good time. It had some of my favorite views and the coolest stuff. A close second is Chachapoyas and the Gocta Falls. That was very stunningly pretty. Honorable mentions would be the Salt Flats in Bolivia, Southern Bolivia in general, and Isla Isabella on the Galapagos. 

David: A few of my top highlights were our day at Torres del Paine in Chile, just watching the sunset behind the beautiful mountains. Absolutely incredible. The whole second day of me and Cam's Santa Cruz trip was also incredible. Everything about it was awesome. Beautiful views, nice swim in the glacial lake, and a really nice breakfast. 

Jaryd: The Choquequirao hike for sure. Everything from getting to hike it with our new Peruvian friends, seeing the Andes, and the amazing ruins. The Salt Flats were incredible, I think the first moment of stepping on the flats is a memory I will never forget. And the Galapagos Islands as well, I loved snorkeling and especially seeing the seahorse in the ocean. 

Gotca falls

Choquequirao

Torres del Paine 

What were some of the more challenging moments from the trip?

Cam: All of them involved buses. Three in particular: the time you (Jaryd) got sick, although it was probably worse for you than for me, the time the bus crashed, and then the time my bag got stolen from the bus. Those were the three most challenging things, but also in general, it was it's challenging constantly moving on from the people you hang out with. You meet new people, you hang out with them, and then you say goodbye fairly quickly and you know lots of those people are from lots of different places around the world so it's hard to see them again. 

David: For me, the most challenging moment was before I met up with Cam and Jaryd. I was in a sketchy city in Northern Chile, and I just was feeling so out of my depth, not knowing what to do or how to be safe. I had to take a bus at 6:00 AM the next morning and get to the bus terminal in a city that I had been told was super unsafe. I was feeling like, "Why am I here?" I could be at home in Vancouver not feeling scared, but instead I'm super uncomfortable and have no idea what I'm doing. 

Jaryd: I think the bus ride to Cusco and being sick afterwards was the thing that stands out the most. Both the bus ride itself, and then being in this amazing place and having to lie on the couch for a few days not knowing when I was going to get better was really challenging. Also, just going between wanting to be by myself versus with friends versus missing people at home and the loneliness I felt at times was challenging.

The couch in Cusco where I spent many sick days

Rough night for Cam and David on the bus

Is there anything from South American culture that you wish we had more of in Canada?

C: Bread. Like good bread. Also it is a more communal culture, both in business but also just in families and in friendships. People are a lot more cooperative and likely to be inclusive. I find there's generally less bureaucracy in South America in places (except Chile) which has its ups and downs. You have a lot more freedom for individuals to function in the economy, and to function in society more as they want to and there's less rules for how people can function in those roles. 

D: There's much more of a lax idea around regulation and rules and South America than we have in Canada. In a lot of ways that that can be bad; no one wears seat belts and seat belts save lives. However, there's also things ridiculously overregulated in Canada like roads in the backcountry. In South America you can drive them and they work. No one's doing bridge inspections on these, but everything works because no one really cares, and if they break then people fix them. Also everyone selling things on the street everywhere, I think that'd be a really good thing way in Vancouver or in Canada where people who have lower income have a lot more options for how to try to make a living. It feels like there's more freedom around a lot of things down there than we have in Canada.

J: I love how South American culture is way more communal. People spend their free time outside doing things with other people and not just holed up in their houses. I also love how welcoming they are to tourists and outsiders. Even with our bad Spanish, people were so willing to be patient to try to talk to us and help us and make us feel welcome in their country.

Slightly sketchy back road

Street market in La Paz for car parts

What are some ways you've seen yourself grow?

C: I think I'm better at travel in general: better at keeping track of things and planning next steps. I've also gotten much better at finding hidden gems and knowing what it is that I like in traveling. Now, I know how to find the kind of things I like: things that are not the most popular spots but are usually really good experiences. With travel, it makes the world feel a little bit smaller but in a good way. Everything feels more accessible once you've jumped to another part of the world and it doesn't feel that far away. The world feels a lot more connected and not that hard to go exploring again. 

D: One of the biggest ways I've seen myself grow is in just being willing to go with the flow and figuring things out as they come. At the beginning of the trip, everytime we would be flying to a new place, I'd be like "okay, how are we getting from the from the airport to the hotel, and how are we getting around" and all this. By the end, I was very much feeling like "okay, we'll get there, we'll figure out how to get between where we want to go, take a taxi if we need to" and just not even really thinking about it until I got there. Same with buses, just showing up to the bus terminal and being like "when's the next bus". I think that's something that I like to be able to do more at home and like just be more okay with things happening and adapting if they happen, versus needing to have them pre-planned. 

J: I've noticed that I've become a lot better at letting go of control and being okay with just taking things as they come one day at a time. I've also gotten better at just being willing to put myself out there and not feel super comfortable even if it means potentially looking looking dumb. For example, trying to speak Spanish to someone even though I know I'm not very good at it, asking for help, or just trying new things and not really knowing how they'll turn out. 

Who was someone you had a meaningful interaction with?

C: I had a lot of meaningful interactions, but the most recent is the first to come to mind. My dive instructor Juan was a very confident diver, but he was really the perfect teacher for me. He was encouraging and patient, but he also didn't dwell on things. He also let me figure things out on my own the exact right amount. He was just very clear, very patient, and congratulated me on every step forward I made, so I really would not have been able to pick up the skills as quickly as I did without him. Then, after the course was done, he became a very good friend. He drove a couple of us out to the mountains to look at the stars. He was professional in teaching, and then had a great sense of humor as a friend, so I'll miss him lots.

D: One of the first interactions I had in South America. I was in Santiago exploring this park that was closed because there were a bunch of people on strike. I didn't really know what was going on and the security guard was trying to talk to me and couldn't speak almost any English and I couldn't speak any Spanish. This lady named Catherine comes up and the security guard waves her over to translate a little bit of information. We ended up walking together for like 20 minutes or half an hour. When she went back to her apartment, she was like "oh here's my number, if you need anything while you are in Santiago just let me know I'm here to help" and it was just so insanely welcoming and just this random person which was really impactful. That's something I would aspire to be and that's not something we really do in Canada as much. 

J: There are a lot of people, but one that comes to mind is Emily, the 9-year-old girl that I spent a week and a half with on the farm. I loved hanging out with her, getting to cook together, play cards, and teach her some games. What stands out to me the most was that even though I couldn't really speak with her that well, we were still able to connect. With kids, there doesn't need to be a really big conversation or a lot of spoken interaction to have a meaningful connection. I felt like we developed this bond in spite of our language barrier maybe more than any of the adults that I met.

My favourite photo with Emily

If you were to do this trip again, would you do anything differently?

C: Probably not, I liked the trip for what it was. I do think that if I do another trip like this, I would like to do a different pacing. I'd like to spend more time and delve deeper into specific places. Definitely the advantage of this trip was that we got to see so much stuff and really figure out what the coolest places that we liked in each region we explored. It's hard to say that that was a mistake, because it was really good to see so many different places and to see all the different highlights and all these countries. But like I said, I found that the hidden gems and the smaller, lesser known places were actually the places I enjoyed the most often. I think I would delve deeper into specific places to try and really get to know a place that I liked if I were to do something like this again.

D: I think if we were to do the trip again, I might limit the scope a little bit more. Maybe commit to three countries as opposed to five or something. Also, I'd want to give us more time that was unplanned. A lot of our time was quite like "here's what we're doing from this date to this date, here's our flight out, here's our hostels" so I would give us more time to just go with the flow to see where see where we want to go. I know why we planned it the way we did, and it made sense at the time, but if I was to do it again, I would just be more open to seeing what things look cool and going where we want to go.

J: I was really happy with how the trip went. It was definitely very fast paced and we kind of knew that was going to be the case beforehand. This trip was almost like a big experiment of trying out a bunch of different things. Now having tried all these different things, next time I would definitely try to focus more on trying to stay in one place for longer to see some more of the hidden gems. I also would have loved to go to Columbia, but at the same time we just didn't really have time and I don't know what I would have switched out for Columbia.

Rapid Fire Questions

Favourite country?

Cam: Peru

David: Peru

Jaryd: Peru

Peru!

Favourite meal?

Cam: Ceviche, alpaca pasta, and chocolate mousse all for 30 soles ($12)

David: Salchipapas

Jaryd: Fresh trout from Lake Titicaca

Salchipapas

One spot where you wish you spent more time?

C: All of them. Especially Chachapoyas 

D: Cuenca

J: Galapagos

Next dream travel destination?

C: Southeast Asia

D: Scotland

J: Europe or Southeast Asia

Something you can get in South America that you wish you could get in Canada?

C: Handmade artisan bags and clothes

D: Mayoqueso

J: Solid dish soap and cheap fruit

Wrap with mayoqueso

A funny mishap story that people should ask you about?

C: The time I almost destroyed a bar with a volleyball

D: Agua con gas

J: Standing up for a fathers day blessing or melting my underwear to my bag 

The thing that you missed the most about home?

C: Friends and family

D: The people 

J: My pillow. And my community back home

Some Final Thoughts

I know that I'm so fortunate to have been able to take this trip, and there are lots of people I owe a big thank you to. To mom and dad, for being super supportive of my idea to go travelling, and to Cam and David, for adventuring with me. To everyone who helped me financially, who prayed for me, or who followed along with my trip, thank you. Even on another continent, I never felt too far away from home. 

Writing this blog has been such a blast. It's helped me to reflect more, and I've loved reading everyone's responses to it. Although I'm going to press pause on the weekly updates, I hope I can continue this blog in the future someday soon.

But for now, hasta luego. See you later.

Until the next adventure.