“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese

At the beginning of this adventure I wrote down goals that I wanted to achieve while traveling. I wanted to learn Spanish, to avoid the ´gringo trail´and to meet locals.

I´m quite happy to say that I´ve learned (though only beginners level) Spanish and plan to continue improving both my Spanish and my French. 

I managed to keep myself free of the gringo trail during the majority of my travels. This was made easy by car travel and friends who were searching for the same type of adventure. Gammers and I were thrown into the culture when deciding to hike in northern Bolivia. Peru was a bit more of a race against time and therefore I hit up many of the touristy areas. Perhaps why Peru doesn´t quite compare to the other two countries in my mind. I also managed to fiercely avoid touristy restaurants and stores... until now because I´m buying presents... but one of my fav. experiences in South America has been the local mercados and tiendas (mostly throughout Bolivia and Peru... Chile was composed of far too many Jumbos). 

While avoiding these touristy locations, I managed to meet a fab number of locals who were always keen on chatting with someone who was around to enjoy their country. This is what made learning Spanish so necessary. 

I fly out tomorrow morning from Lima, Peru. The weight of leaving and finishing such an amazing adventure is starting to really set in. The lifestyle of meeting new people and exploring new places is dangerously addictive and I´m aware the transition back home probably won´t be as easy as I thought it would. I have learned so much during this adventure. 

I am never endingly thankful to all those who have helped make this experience as special as it has been. 

THANK YOU : 

Karen : For introducing me to traveling in South America, for giving me my first Spanish lessons and many giggles. My first proper ´ho-mance´. 

Alex: For helping me perfect my dirtbag techniques, for encouraging my abilities in climbing and spanish. For putting up with me for over a month, through the hilarious times - the meltdowns and everything in between. 

Eric: For always putting our family needs en premiero. For being the poppa bear that kept us together  and kept the caballo on the strait and steady.

Harry: For all your never ending sarcastic hilarity. And for fostering my new found coffee addiction and slight snobbery.  

Gammalamma: For town days, taking care of my belly aches, the love for mercados, and pushing your own limits to participate in my fav. activities. For so much girly support, never ending debriefs and life discussions. For being the most fab traveling lady and for your undeniable honesty. Love you gammy. 

Matt and Jen: For all the deep belly laughs. Also taking care of me like a momma and poppa would do. For sharing your passions with me and being just plain fab. 

Philipp (middle) : For all the coffees, treats.... it was really quite nice. For spotting me on the rock, for your ability to recover from a wipe out (or inability to walk?) and for your tolerance for veggies :) 

Francesco, Jana, Lexi : For delicious meals, album cover photos, never ending card games and similar appreciations for how beautiful our planet is. 

Sammy, Natalie, Dave, Jonathon: For taking me under their wing within minutes of meeting. For making the heat and mosquitos tolerable in the jungle- because we were always having a hoot. And of course for the fab new dance moves. 

Nick: For being an amazingly supportive, encouraging and understanding partner throughout the whole adventure. For helping me keep my head in the present to enjoy the experience and for consistently showing me love while I was away. Best boyfriend ever. 

Family : For unwavering support and excitement for my passion to seek out new experiences. 

It has been an unforgettable four months. Without all these people and many more that I met briefly along the way, it wouldn´t have been half the trip. I feel so fortunate to have lived for the past four months in South America. I am quite positive I will be back in this continent sooner than later. 

My adventures continue upon returning home. I will be in Ontario for two weeks and then will fly to Whitehorse. At the beginning of June I will be moving with Nick to Haida Gwaii for the summer. I think I will continue to blog, as it seems this adventure is not over, it´s only the ending of a chapter.

And thanks to everyone for following my blog!