I finally did it! I visited South America, a destination on my bucket list since I’ve been a teenager learning Spanish in school.
There was only so much I could do on a limited budget in a month, so I will have to go back another time to visit some of the famed ruins of the ancient cultures, and to savour more of that continent’s nature.
But this first trip was already a fascinating, exhilarating, and eye-opening experience.
In Chile I tasted Santiago, Valparaiso, and the breathtaking Cajón de Maipo in the nearby Andes. Next I roamed the streets of Buenos Aires in Argentina. And in Brazil I visited Florianópolis, Curitiba, São Paulo, and the simply spectacular Rio de Janeiro.
For almost a month I lived out of my 45 litre backpack and I immersed myself in societies and cultures that were completely alien to me. Well, I was the alien, of course. Sometimes I felt unsure, slightly uncomfortable, self-conscious, cautious. Wherever I went, even amongst tourists, I was usually the only one who was not from South America. And yet, it felt strangely liberating to be so out of my comfort zone.
I was free to be curious, to learn, to observe, to compare, to make mistakes, to feel ignorant. I took one day at a time, constantly exploring, soaking up the vibe on the streets, breathing in the culture as much as I could, chasing art and history, working out the weird money, getting my head around different toilet habits, marvelling at the many beautiful sights, the unfamiliar fauna and flora, impressive buildings and architecture, tasting different foods, vibrant streets, running the constant traffic gauntlet, being shocked about the sheer number of people who are obviously doing it tough or barely surviving on the streets. I constantly asked myself: what would it be like to live and work and to raise a family here?
I appreciated just being there, in each moment, and I enjoyed putting to good use my Spanish and Portuguese language skills with hotel and wait staff, tour guides, museum and shop attendants, and having some good conversations with taxi and Uber drivers.
So much richer for all my experiences I say ‘gracias’, ‘obrigado’, South America, until next time.
