The end of one adventure but not to end of traveling

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It’s here, the end, the Last Day. I am sad that it is over but I’m really excited to see everyone, catching up on all the stories I have missed. It’s been a wonderful, amazing and at times slightly stressful experience. I had so much fun. Met some lovely people and made some new friends.

I’ve lost count of the number of people who asked, upon hearing about my trip, what my highlights are? What was the best part? The honest answer, is there are too many highlights to name just one. My favourite country was Argentina? Canada? The best part hmmm walking on a glacier, experiencing the awesome power of water at Iguazu Falls and then again at Niagara Falls. Seeing a brown bear up so close in Canada or maybe it was discovering the beauty of nature in Banff and Jasper. Then again it could be experiencing the freezing icy cold of Central Park during a New York winter in February, however Central Park at Thanksgiving is beautiful also. Maybe the best part was getting to experience the dry heat of the Nevada desert and Death Valley which was a totally different desert experience than the Salt Flats in Bolivia. Perhaps the geysers were the best, however which to recommend, do I send you to Yellowstone National Park where the famous “Old Faithful” resides or El Tatio in the north of Chile. Oh no wait I think the hot springs high high up in the mountains on the Bolivia Chile border, a natural bath in surrounded by snow-capped mountains and clear as glass lakes. No that wasn’t it, it was feeling the history in the Alamo or maybe it was on the different plantations, or was it picturing the Battle of Little Big Horn. As you can see I have so many experiences most of them so different it so incredibly difficult to find “The Best”.

Perhaps it would be easier to figure out the “worst”, the worst day? The worst place? No not any easier. I mean yes some of the hostels, like the one in Houston were horrible and I have yet to meet a single person who likes mosquitoes, bedbugs and other biting insects. I spent 4 nights on a bus traveling across Canada, that wasn’t much fun. Even with all these things it is extremely difficult to pick a bad day. There were some days that I didn’t do too much, but even that was enjoyable. It’s nice to have a relaxing day, doing nothing, not even sightseeing. Does that make it a bad day? What about one of my very few rainy days? Are they bad? Again I think not. O yes sunburn? Hmm yes it was uncomfortable but relaxing in Kelowna spending time hanging out in the hostel and swimming in the lake when it got too hot was perfect. Yes I didn’t “do” much, I don’t have stories full of activities to tell people, yet that week of just relaxing and enjoying the sunshine and fantastic company was equally as good as a week filled with tours, hikes and photo opportunities.

I feel so lucky to have experienced all these things, but the great, the fantastic, and the ordinary. The things that stand out so strong in my mind are the simple things. I saw some people who lived such simple and basic lives, with no running water and only a few hours of solar powered electricity per day. I saw some places where there was no phones, tablets or laptops never mind wifi! But with all this I saw happiness and people truly connecting with each other, both locals and tourists. What happens after everyone’s electronics are dead, and there is no power to charge them? I found that out as I sat around a fire pit gazing at the amazing night sky, watching the milkyway, listening to some guy play songs on his guitar, and someone else starts to sing, (yes, guitar guy who hangs around almost every hostel, does come in useful sometimes!) What happens when you have a bunch of people who don’t have a common language between them? Well you go for a hike in the mountains and enjoy the friendly comfortable silence, broken now and again to point out a beautiful view or to share some cookies.

Maybe the most important thing about travel is remembering that we are, all of us, the very same. We are humans with feelings and emotions, experiences and different options. I have been lucky enough to meet people from lots of cultures customs and ways of life, recently I met a man from Iran, he was interested in my stories and sad that the only thing I knew about his home, his country was that it was “dangerous” and “not safe”. He told me where he lives in Terhan it is a nice city, lots to see and do. On a walking tour in Vancouver I met a guide who had almost visited every country in the world. He was in his 80’s and had seen the world change, his stories were both fascinating and peculiar. He spoke of a time before phones and “the internet” where tourists didn’t exist and people where called travellers and there wasn’t a “tourist trail” and all reviews were through word of mouth or whispered on overnight trains and experiences shared over communal dinners. His advice was to “unplug” remember technology is both amazing and terrible.

The most common thing I have had said to me is, “your very brave, but I could never do that” to that I have to say, Rubbish! In this day and age travel is so easy. Everything can be planned, organised and booked before you finish your coffee. It’s not brave to book a flight it’s easy. We forget “we” as members of the 1^st world don’t need our days to be planned and scheduled to the very last minute. We are so rich, yet time pour. I like having everything planned and organised, but for most of this trip I never had more than a month planned ahead, a lot of times it was a lot less. It was stressful at times, but it always worked out. Not all trips need to be long, in fact upon serious discussion over beers around a fire pit in the middle of a desert we came to an agreement that the perfect trip length is 3 months.

I met so many others traveling alone, both men and women. So there is no need to be afraid of that. Although through travel and staying in hostels you are never truly alone. Some of my photos don’t have any other people in them, this can give the illusion that I was completely alone in a park or view point. 99%!o(MISSING)f the time this is not true. I just don’t like having strangers in my photos.

The travellers I find “brave” or slightly mad are the ones who travel with no money. Who rely on the kindness of strangers for shelter each and every night, who can only eat one meal a day and who hitch hike between each place they want to visit. This kind of travel I have yet to completely understand. These types of travellers always seem happy and content. They swear it is the only way to travel to truly experience a new country, customs and to “meet the locals”.



So in the end I have had a wonderful time, but now, I am glad to be heading home, in time for Christmas with my friends and family. Now to plan my next adventure!

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Comments

[Grainne]

Returning Home
Dee, that summary is so great I now want to go travelling. You have a wonderful way with words and I have enjoyed following you around on your adventure. Thanks for allowing your blog readers this great experience. Welcome back to Ireland.