We made it home safely, surviving one final farmer's strike in the Cusco area, although it meant getting up at 5:30 am for an airport taxi ride (6 hours prior to our flight) before the roads were blocked to traffic. Since arriving home I have had 2 sleeps of 14 and 12 hours which has been a blessing.
Here are some things that happened while we were gone for 4 months:
- Canada won the gold medal count at the Vancouver Winter Olympics
- Alberta won the Brier (again) but this time it was Kevin Koe rather than Martin or Ferbey
- Jeff graduated from the University of Lethbridge
- we put our house up for sale, with plans to move into our Okotoks villa
- Rachel passed her PhD qualifying exam
- we missed a lot of bad weather in Calgary (a wet and cool spring)
- the golf season started 2 months ago
- the FIFA World Cup started with the 5 South American teams yet to lose a game.
And these are some of things that we experienced in S.A.:
- Civic demonstrations in most of the countries we visited leading to strikes and blockades that didn't have a significant impact on us but did add hours or detours to some of our trips
- some petty crime incidents (Rhonda's backpack), my pickpocket episode in Buenos Aries, a purse snatch that I witnessed and the drug bust that happened on one of our overnight buses
- Hostel life turned out to be enjoyable, and we will repeat it on future trips
- Rhonda experienced altitude sickness once we started to get near the 4000 metre level which could impact future travel destinations
- Mike developed a bad case of sciatica which will have to be dealt with now that we are home.
We had many highlights along the way, but the top ones were:
- Galapogos - the interaction with the wildlife was incredible
- Colca Canyon - an incredible 3 day hike with a great guide and staying overnight with a local family at the bottom of the canyon
- Mendoza - cheap and very good wine in a beautiful walking city
- Iguazzu Falls - witnesed at 8x the normal volume, from both the Brazil and Argetinian side
- Pantanal - the varied wildlife (including tour friends) that we saw during our 4 days of safari's
- Machu Picchu - the condition of the preserved ruins, and meeting our trekking daughters at the entrance.
Here are some other random thoughts about our trip:
- we had some wild bus rides, with a few minor accidents, but overall they were pleasurable and our timing was incredible when catching connected buses
- with very few reservations made ahead of time, our flexibility worked to our advantage in almost every situation
- our border crossings (about 10) were seemless
- the beef in Argentina and Brazil did not impress us, but the ladies became enamoured with Pisco Sours (Peru and Chile), and Caiparinas made with a liquor called Cachaca (Brazil)
- Caity's energy level (hang-gliding, mountain biking and late night bar hopping) injected some extra energy into us 2 months into our trip
- the stark reality of the Potosi mine tour
- the many Inca ruins and treasures that we saw throughout the Andes mountain chain
- the numerous Parades and costumes that we observed in many cities
- the Adventure Brew hostel in La Paz which had nightly activities and free micro-brewed beer for their guests
- the fun we had traveling with our daughters and Javier
On the downside, our Spanish didn't develop as quickly as we thought it might, Lin wasn't able to join us due to health issues, and my sciatica prevented us from completing the 4 day hike to Machu Picchu with our girls.
Overall, it was a tremendous trip and exceeded our expectations in most areas. One of the best lessons we learned was how appreciative we should be to live in our great country with all of the natural diversity we have and the standard of living that we have become accustomed to. Many of the locals we saw live in tin roof shacks with minimal electricity or heat yet seem happy with their lot in life. The poor silver and zinc miners of Potosi work in horrible conditions that shorten their life span to an average of 48 years, and the Colca Canyon villagers who have to hike 10 km's up a steep mountain trail to get any provisions they cannot self-provide. We really have no reason to complain about anything.
That is all until our next adventure (currently unplanned) but in the meantime we look forward to having the opportunity to visit with and share more of our experiences with all of our family and friends. Adios
No comments:
Post a Comment