A year ago today I stepped onto a plane to South America. It was the start of an incredible seven month trip through Chile, Argentina, Antarctica, Paraguay and Bolivia. It didn’t go as planned and not everything went well, but it also took me to places I had never seriously thought of visiting. I’d had a tough year at work and this trip was exactly what I needed. It’s funny to me that so many people think you come back from a long trip with clarity. As if suddenly you know exactly what you want from life. Honestly, I still have the same worries as before, the same doubts, the same pains. I didn’t get a major breakthrough. But I did learn. I did grow.
I learned I still love backpacking, but I’ve adjusted my style. I don’t worry so much about the fomo anymore. I travel slower and don’t feel like I have to see it all. It’s easier to make peace with missing something, even if I was looking forward to it. I adjusted my plan and slowed down. I stayed in some places for 10 days, where others might stay 2 or 3. I picked hostels that made me happy and felt cosy, whenever I had the chance. I found a mix of going out for dinners or cake and doing some cooking myself or with others at the hostel. And I still spent money on more expensive activities, or just that extra bit of comfort. So this trip I actually visited Easter Island and Antarctica, two big ticket destinations.
I learned there are some things I may never grow out of, like my constant doubting. But although it is at times a harder process for me to take a risk or challenge, it doesn’t stop me. I think I had doubts about pretty much every hike I did. Hey, I even had doubts about the trip in its entirety. My head is often filled with a million questions and things that could go wrong. I may overthink it at times, but it also helps me to assess risks and make sound decisions on whatever actions I do take. It helps me to prepare for any activity and possibility. So I boarded that plane with excitement. I took that 4 day solo trekking trip to Cerro Castillo. I took my tent and camped in some of the most amazing places.
I learned that family is important to me. It still doesn’t come natural to me to send messages or call when I’m not actually meeting people. So I tried to make an effort to write my brother, to write friends. Being away a lot in my life and living abroad, I’ve struggled to maintain connections. Looking back, I wish I have have developed better habits.
I learned what was important for me to carry with me. I wanted to go hiking and camping, but I also knew that I wouldn’t use that gear for a big part of my trip. I decided to take my tent, mattress and sleeping bag, but not the cooking gear. It did occupy a big part of my bag, so it meant only taking very versatile clothing and not taking anything I didn’t need. I even traveled without my laptop. And it was great! Compared to the 20kg I was lugging around Australia or South East Asia, I felt so light and it was so much easier to move around. I learned to do more with my phone. I learned not to care too much about what I looked like. After all, I mainly spent time in nature, which meant the city people had to just accept my hiking pants. And, I have no regrets about the tent. It gave me opportunities I wouldn’t have had, or would have been so much harder without it! Oh, and thermals. I had no idea I would wear them so much during summer in Patagonia!
Finally, I learned Spanish! Even before my trip I took some courses, so I set off with my A2 level just wrapped up in the week before departure. But landing in Santiago de Chile was a shock. I understood some stuff, but it all went so fast! I kept speaking though, every day. And it enabled me to have conversations during hitchhikes, in small towns, with Chilean travelers. I even joined a tour in Spanish. Some words remind me of a particular place. Barro, mud, will forever remind me of the muddy paths in Ushuaia. Amanecer, sunrise, and atardecer, sunset, will bring me right back to Rapa Nui.
Before I went on my trip I wondered if I would still enjoy a trip this long in my late thirties. And how would it be staying in hostels and just not being in one place for so long. But there were many others in my age range, and honestly also outside of it, that I connected with. It’s something about traveling. You just talk to everyone. I remember a group of 4 teenagers from Chile that started the Cerro Castillo trek together. I remember another Andrea from the US who was about my age. I met her in Patagonia and months later saw her on the street in Bolivia. I remember the elderly couple that drove me to the start of a hike. I remember the two guys in their twenties from the UK, who got robbed in Buenos Aires and wanted to leave the country as fast as they could. They gifted me their Lonely Planet. I remember the mother and her son from Paraguay, who were escaping the city and shared a lot about their country with me. And there’s the random bunch of Argentinian, German, Dutch and Venezuelan people that I celebrated New Year’s Eve with. Although some points in my trip were lonely, all these encounters, however small, added to my experience. It’s a bit of a struggle finding my place again now that I’m back home, but I will never regret taking this trip!
Sounds like a great adventure!