cappin it off

I apologize for taking so long to write my promised last blog. I must say I’ve been pretty busy since getting back, and I’ve been amazed at how quickly I was able to jump back into “life as usual”. I just now finally watched “The Motorcycle Diaries” (I hadn’t seen it since before our epic journey, which was in part inspired by this movie and its amazing story). The movie is what finally got me to write, and I found myself really wishing for the first time since I returned that I could be back in South America.

The closing lines of the movie were more poignant than ever for me, as I know I can now echo them with at least some of the meaningfulness that Che utters them in the movie: “eses vagar sin rumbo por América, me ha cambiado más de lo que creí. Yo, ya no soy yo, por lo menos no soy el mismo yo interior” (wandering aimlessly through South America has changed me more than I thought. I am no longer me, at least not the same me that I was before.) It’s hard to quantify how I’ve changed, but I definitely see it appear in bits and pieces, revealed by my sometimes unexpected reactions to the things that were always so normal. I hope most of these changes are positive, and at least I’ve gained many new perspectives on the world.

Here’s a list of stats from the journey that Jonathan and I figured out and wanted to share with you all:

Distance traveled while in S.A. : 10,900 km / 6,780 miles

Countries visited: 5

Capitals visited: 4

Highest elevation: 4,600 m / 15, 090 ft

Lowest temp: -15 °C / 5 °F

Highest temp: 30 °C / 86 °F

Modes/varieties of transportation used (ie. bus, taxi, horse, speed boat, etc): 14

different Metros mastered: 4

Hours spent on buses: at least 128

Different beds stayed in: 22 (plus numerous night buses and two airport floors)

Local beer varieties tried: 16

Showers taken: 7 (without shampoo)

Longest stretch w/o shower: 15 days

Number of times laundry was done: 1 (0 for the jeans and hoodie, which I needed that day)

Number of times I shaved: 2

New wonders of the world visited: 2 (Machu Picchu and Cristo Redentor)

Hitch-hike rides obtained: 4

total distance walked: some hundreds of miles (wish we had used a pedometer)

Completos (the local hot dogs, decked out with Guac and other things) eaten in Chile: at least 25

Foods eaten while unaware of their true identity: 2 (cow intestines and chicken hearts)

Official travel song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh2GgCFR2dw

And I suppose that does it. I don’t think I’ll post anymore on this blog, at least not for a long time…

is it really over?

So we left our friend, Orlando, a few days ago.  He was the most incredible host, and it was hard to leave such a relaxing environment, but we had Rio to see.  We arrived after a relatively short 6 hour bus ride, during which we went over our trip in its entirety to ensure we didn´t forget too many stories and details.  We´re in a really nice hostel here in Copacabana in Rio, surprisingly just a few yards from the beach.

The Beach!  And it´s actually warm!  We now understand why Rio has some of the most famous beaches in the world and why the city itself is known as one of the most beautiful in the world despite its reputation as the most dangerous.  Large islands of rock rise up out of the picturesque bay, and the number of perfect bodies is beyond count.  The culture here is so obsessed with physical perfection that there are even gyms for weightlifting right on the beach.  It´s quite unfortunate that we are ending our journey here after 2 months of muscle atrophy and completely covered skin.  Our skinny white selves contrast nicely with the hugely built black guys all over the place, haha. 

Even so, the beaches are absolutely incredible.  I´ve never enjoyed being on a beach so much.  Today, we also checked out some parts of the city and got to see our third wonder of Latin America, the Christ the Redeemer statue which overlooks Rio.  It was far more impressive than we expected it to be, and the overview of the city from there was astounding.  Bays and islands and more bays dotted the horizon in every direction. 

Tonight was the biggest game in all of South America for the year, and it was in Rio.  Jonathan and I tried to get some tickets, but we couldn´t get ahold of any, and we ended up just walking around the huge stadium, Maracaná, a few hours before the game started.  What we tried to make our way through was the best definition of a mob that I´ve ever seen.  We saw three men almost beaten to death right in front of us, and fireworks were going off all around us.  It was wild.   Anyway, we returned to the hostel to watch the game, and the team from Rio just lost, so I imagine the city will be quite depressed tomorrow. 

I guess that´s all, and this is my last post from South America (I had hoped to make it more conclusive, but I dont have time).  It´s been crazy.  Hopefully I´ll write my last one from home in a few days.