Today is our last day in South America (in Santiago, Chile) and we are genuinely sad to be leaving. We have had the trip of a lifetime! We have comprehensively covered most of the contintent and have been fortunate to get through our travels unscathed, with us and all our belongings still intact! Over the past 4.5 months we have had so many varied experiences, some amazing, some good and some downright scary but they have taught us a lot and fending for ourselves and planning every step of our overland journey all on our own has been incredibly rewarding. The months of research we did last year have definitely paid off.We thought we would end the South American part of our blog with a short summary of facts about our time here.
Where we have visited (chronological):
BRAZIL
Rio De Janeiro
Iguazu Falls
ARGENTINA
Buenos Aires
Ushuaia & Tierra Del Fuego
Antarctica
El Calafate & Perito Moreno Glacier
El Chalten & Mt Fitzroy
CHILE
Puerto Natales & Torres Del Paine
Punta Arenas
ECUADOR
Quito
Otovalo
Galapagos Islands
Latacunga & Quilotoa Loop
Baños
Riobamba & Alausi
Cuenca
Vilcabamba
Loja
PERU
Piura
Lima
Nazca & the Nazca Lines
Arequipa & the Colca Canyon
Cusco, the Sacred Valley & Macchu Piccu
The Amazon Basin (Manu National Park)
Puno and the Reed & Taquila Islands (Lake Titicaca)
BOLIVIA
Copacabana & Isla Del Sol (Lake Titicaca)
La Paz
Sucre
Potosi & the Silver Mines
Uyuni & Salt Flats
CHILE
San Pedro De Atacama
ARGENTINA
Salta
Mendoza
CHILE
Santiago
Easter Island
How we have travelled:
Since arriving in Rio de Janeiro we have travelled (mostly by bus) over 20,000 miles, which is the same distance as London to Sydney.... and then back again! We have spent 185 hours travelling by bus (that's nearly 8 solid days mostly on rickety public buses!), 30.5 hours on planes and 440 hours on different boats (over 18 days). We have made 10 border crossings, some much more pleasant than others and visited 7 separate countries in 2 different continents (Antarctica being the other!). We have been to 16 separate UNESCO World Heritage sites, stayed at altitudes in excess of 5km above sea level and experienced temperatures ranging between -20oC and +37oC. Our favourite places have been Antarctica, the Galapagos, Easter Island, the Iguazu Falls, Rio de Janeiro and the Quilotoa Loop.
Our accommodation has largely been in hostels, ranging from 2 pounds 50p to 6 pounds a night in private rooms in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia and between 7 and 9 pounds in a 4-bed dorm in Chile and Argentina. We have journeyed by foot, car, boat, bus, plane, motorized canoe, zodiac, horse, jeep and bikes. In Chile and Argentina we cooked for ourselves in the hostel kitchens and in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia it was cheaper and easier to (gulp!) eat out. We have learned to adapt to living standards far different to what we are used to which has been eye opening and testing at times but on the flipside they have given us some of our most memorable moments. There is very little that shocks or disgusts us anymore! The sad part is we are probably going to miss it!
Today we finished in Santiago with a celebratory almuerzo, topped off with a glass of Chilean wine and the traditional drink called Pisco Sour. We feel very nostalgic. So for now, hasta la vista America Del Sur! Hello to new adventures and new countries!
