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Published: April 12th 2010
Flying...
Coming is always better than going.Half a year, gone, just like that. Even though I can't believe how fast the time went, we certainly did see and do a lot. We saw 11 countries in 6 months on 40 buses, 12 planes, 3 boats and 2 trains crossing 16 borders and adding 27 stamps and 1 visa to our passports. We managed to do a lot of interesting things including surfing, Spanish school, zip-lining, mountain biking, dune buggying, sand boarding, mountain climbing, trekking, sailing, paragliding, piranha fishing, rock climbing, and touring a 3rd world mine. We also saw the world's largest rodent (capybara), highest city (Potosi, Bolivia), widest avenue (9 de Julio, BA, Argentina), youngest mountain range (Alps), highest capital city (La Paz, Bolivia), biggest rain forest (Amazon), most expensive canal (Panama City, Panama), highest output hydro-electric dam (Ciudad del Este, Paraguay), and least visited UNESCO World Heritage Site (Encarnacion, Paraguay). Throughout all that, neither one of us had to use our health insurance and scraped by with only a massive sunburn, infected leg burn from the exhaust pipe of a motorcycle and a bad case of cholera that lasted 3 weeks. Overall, not too bad considering where we were and for how long. We survived
Bolivia
Walking through the Pampas. the different countries, varying climates, the obvious language barrier and - most importantly - each other. Overall, I would say we did really well getting by with our minimal Spanish and probably learned a lot more than we actually realize.
The trip home was quite depressing to say the least but we managed to make the best of it and even extended it by a day. We flew out of Isla Margarita to Caracas on the morning of the 5th then spent a dreadful 16 hours at the airport waiting for our flight to Houston. The air conditioning was so powerful at the Caracas airport that even my long underwear, 2 long sleeve shirts and jacket were not enough to keep me warm. We were finally able to go through security at 4am on the 6th and waited for another 4 hours before boarding our next plane. Of course, security was intense as we were flying into the US and we were not happy with the treatment we received. We were both asked why we had to "suddenly" use the bathroom before boarding the plane (accusation implied), had all of our personal items thoroughly searched, were patted down and
Peru
Andean children in Puno. even had the insoles of our shoes removed and examined. They were careless with my carry-on which was full of souvenirs (many fragile), broke the zipper of my bag while trying to repack it due to a large man laying his full weight on it trying to get everything to fit (Braeden had it perfectly packed prior). All of this even though we had already gone through 3 check points inside the restricted zone. They even took the 2 bottles of water I had just bought from the vending machine right in front of them at the gate (you'd think they'd give a heads-up). Not a fun experience.
Our flight to Houston was roughly 6 hours and went by without incident. Upon arrival, we had to wait another 5 hours for our connecting flight to Calgary however, 30 minutes before boarding, it was announced that they had over-booked the flight and were looking for 4 volunteers to give up their seats and fly in the morning instead. Not ready to return to reality combined with the compensation they were offering, we decided it was a good idea to offer up our seats. We both received a $400 travel voucher
Peru
Andean mother and child in a town somewhere between Cusco and Puno. with Continental and a combined $52 in food and beverage vouchers valid at any airport. We also chose to fly 1st class to Seattle as opposed to staying in Houston and were put up at the Marriott in a very nice room with the most comfortable king size bed I have ever slept in. Overall, it was worth it.
1st class is awesome! We had never had the opportunity to fly 1st class before and were more than happy to accept this free offer, even though it meant an extra, useless flight and a later arrival time in Calgary on the 7th. We looked like total outcasts sitting there amongst the business men, especially since we were still in the same worn-out clothes we had been traveling in for the past 3 days (I can only imagine how we smelled!). The meal was really good and tasted better being served on glass plates as opposed to those cardboard containers in coach. But the best part by far was the free booze (I think we made it more obvious that we were not accustomed to flying in such style as we had a few more than the other 1st class
Chile
Graffiti in the city of Valparaiso. passengers). All in all, a good flight.
So we arrived home safe and sound around noon on the 7th. While I enjoy living in Calgary, it has to be the ugliest, most depressing city to fly into. We were immediately thrown into the reality of Canadian living with a lovely $40 cab ride from the airport in which the meter started at $7 and continued to quickly jump in price (we had 15 hour bus rides in SA that were cheaper than this cab ride). We were also welcomed home by the cool weather and a wind/sleet/snow storm on our second day back. Yep, it's really over.
That being said, we had an amazing experience and can't wait to start planning our next trip. I have included some photos from the varying countries we visited which never made it on any of the other blogs. So, until next time...
Adios.
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Aunty Bonnie
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Welcome back
Thank you so much for sharing you trip with us. It is not one I'd ever wanna take but I really enjoyed following you guys around and getting to know you better. We obviously lead a pretty boring life in comparison. When we leave we take 500 sheep, 2 collies and 4 guard dogs for 4-5 months. Not many people would enjoy our life style but we love it out on the Cowessess First Nation, I ride a quad all day, pick ticks off my dogs, read lotsa books and get a tan. Last year 3 times I was asked for my treaty number. We enjoyed spending Easter with your Mom and Gary. Keep us posted on what new steps you two are taking. Luv you. Byeeeeeeeeeeee