So as you’ve probably realized, I have not been active here for quite a few months. The main reason for this is because my Master’s degree completely exhausted me (more on that later) and I needed a break from most things. Seriously. These last three and a half months have been refreshing and rejuvenating; exactly what I needed to hit the restart button and start fresh.
I finished my degree in May and spent the month watching Netflix and packing up my house. In June, I went to Spain. In July, I went to South America. Again, seriously. I spent the month in Spain going from beach town to beach town, and spent my days site seeing and–you guessed it–going to the beach. I have never been happier to lay on the beach and think about nothing, which is a feat for me, because like a true introvert, my mind is always thinking about many things all at once.
I had amazing views…
And treated myself almost every day…
And prepped myself for the next month, which would be less relaxing and more adventure! It was also a big shift in temperature, as South America was in winter, with daily temps in the 50s (compared to Spain with daily temps in the 90s).
First I went to Buenos Aires for a couple days. There I saw the city, including La Casa Rosada (like the White House in the U.S.), the cathedral, the theater, and many other things.
On my third day, I took the ferry to Uruguay and went to the port town of Colonia, then to Montevideo. I wish I could have spent more time in Uruguay, I was really only there for 2.5 days and a lot of it was travel time. I really loved Uruguay—it was so beautiful! Compared to Buenos Aires it was warmer and without rain, so the weather was better overall.
When I arrived back to Buenos Aires, I took the night bus (9 hours!) to Mendoza, Argentina, which is wine country. Mendoza was another beautiful city. Not much to see, some plazas and a big park, but the weather was wonderful and they even had a Plaza España with the materials to build it brought from Spain!
The next day I took another bus to Santiago, Chile. The trip through the mountains was beautiful but sometimes scary, especially the way down!
The weather in Chile was colder and rainier, and people there don’t use central heating so it was very cold. There I climbed a cerro to get a wonderful view of the city, and also went to the house of Pablo Neruda, which is now a museum.
I also went to the city of Valparaíso for a day while in Chile, which is located on the coast of the Pacific, so it was a bit warmer there.
The last two weeks of my trip were in Peru. First I went to Huacachina, where there is an oasis and HUGE sand dunes. We took an ATV up to the top of the sand dunes and then sand boarded down, which is basically laying or sitting (or standing!) on a snowboard and going down the dune. The hardest part was walking back up the dune haha. I also went to a winery and pisco distillery. Pisco is like vodka…I only smelled it and it smelled so strong I didn’t dare try it!
I then spent 4 days in Lima sightseeing and resting a bit, because the “highlight” of the trip was near–Machu Picchu. In Lima’s city center I saw the cathedral, the house of the president, the Chinese block, and finally, el Parque del amor, a park based off of Parque Güell in Barcelona. Beautiful!
Then the journey to Machu Picchu began. First you have to fly to Cusco, where after a day spent resting (because of the high altitude—over 3,000 meters above sea level I believe) and then another day touring the city and the surrounding area, you continue on by train to the town of Aguas Calientes. There are many, many ruins around Cusco that aren’t as big or as complete as Machu Picchu but still fascinating.
The only ways to get to Aguas Calientes are either walking or by train—there are no roads! Aguas Calientes is a tiny town that didn’t even exist until the 1980s when Machu Picchu became a popular tourist destination, so everything is really expensive there—a bottle of water I paid about $1 for in Cusco cost $4 there!
From there, you take the bus from the town up to Machu Picchu…it is really high in the mountains and the trip down was another scary one! Machu Picchu was exhausting…beautiful yes, but also exhausting! I climbed Wayna Picchu first, which is the large mountain behind Machu Picchu. It is literally a straight climb up, most of the time with stone steps but also sometimes ladders! (I discovered that I really hate going down ladders…)
After going back down the mountain, we toured Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is a truly breathtaking and amazing place. Many people say it is a very spiritual place (although no one knows why it was built) and that might be true if there weren’t a constant stream of tourists everywhere. Regardless, I am glad to have been able to see such a cultural gem.
You might be wondering why I haven’t mentioned anyone else in these travels…and that is because, yes, I traveled alone. I met up with friends often, and also met many, many, wonderful people, many of whom turned out to be friends I will have for a lifetime. But when I left for my trip, I left alone. And when I returned, I was also alone. It is not nearly as scary as one thinks to do things alone, and it actually allows you a greater measure of freedom. And for me, a lot of time to think about where I want to go and what I want to do, because for the first time ever I am free to do anything I want. There is no school ahead of me and nothing I ‘should’ do. My life is mine, and here’s to the next chapter.