Adios South America

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Just a little summary here of feelings I have now I've left South America.

I have mixed feelings really. I'd kinda had enough of it - the hassle, the rip offs, the language but I did absolutely love it and know I'm going to miss it when I'm in countries more like the UK. The hassle is to be expected of course with all the Westerners traipsing over their third world land and bargaining like crazy and it's my stupid fault for not learning Spanish fluently beforehand!

It was the place I wanted to visit the most throughout my trip and it didn't let me down. In fact, it was better than my expectations (which were high) in a lot of ways. The people were so friendly everywhere and the majority were very happy to help out without wanting anything. They speak Spanish slower than in Spain but even with no knowledge, it's fairly easy to get around.
Throughout the people seem so much more chilled out than in the UK and it has taught me that perhaps a slower pace of life is the way to go - they seem happier with a lot less and it really doesn't matter if a bus is a few minutes late or whatever. Life is too short to be stressing about such minor details and there's so much around you to take in and appreciate....

I'm glad I started there as I fully appreciated every minute of every country I visited - although I think it's safe to say I'd had enough by the time I reached Quito and Santiago.
Being female and on your own is a disadvantage there though as lots of females travelling with their partners or others didn't find the male attention so bad at all! Generally, it was very easy to travel around on your own and keeping an open mind at all times helps!

A great time of year to go even though it's been fairly cold a lot of the time as it's off peak season so fewer tourists but just as beautiful scenery.

It amazed me how different each country was - even within the Andean region where I expected Peru and Bolivia at least to be similar. They were I suppose but the Peruvians definitely know how to play the tourists more!

Bolivia was probably my favourite country but Argentina was fantastic too - in a very different way. I loved the laid back feel of Bolivia in spite of it being the poorest of the South American countries with the other countries and the rest of the world regularly ripping it off.
The people were very genuine and it was the perfect country to see a dose of real indiginous life. So varied too - jungle (relatively unspoilt), mountains, salt plains... lots of different landscapes. All of this for such a very small amount of money.
Argentina was great because of it's European feel, because it was my first country but mainly because of the natural wonders - the Perito Moreno glacier was my favourite site throughout the whole trip but it's such a close call. Iguazu Falls were also mind blowing.

The Galapagos was of course such a unique experience and one not to be missed on a trip to South America - worth blowing the budget for.

Sucre, Bolivia was my favourite city so far followed by Arequipa, Peru. Both had a very laid back feel and I loved the white buildings with mountainous backdrops. The people were so friendy and for cities, they seemed calm and small.

I'm very glad to have experienced such different cuisines too: the outstanding steak in Argentina, the luscious fruits and Bahian dishes in Brazil, llama and alpaca in Bolivia, guinea pig in Peru and fish, fish, fish throughout.

A continent definitely worth a visit and I hope to go back one day when I'm fluent in Spanish!

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