Pachamama - Highlights and Lowlights of my travel in South America

Pachamama means Mother Earth to people of the Andes.  You hear that mentioned a lot when traveling in South America.  It embodies the spirit of the people here; to take care of the environment because Mother Earth provides for you.  It's something that they worship because their lives are so entwined to Mother Earth.

At this point I am finished with my South America trip.  I am sitting in my daughter's apartment in New York City (NYC) writing this last post for the trip.  Six weeks of adventure and excitement went by too quickly.  However, memories start to fade after only a week.  That's why I am writing this blog.  To preserve those memories so that I can go back and read them.  And cherish them.  It's also how I share my travels with friends and family who read this blog.  Friends who are not as fortunate as me to be able to travel so much.  I write as if I am telling my story to them.  Thank you for reading.

I want to summarize my South America trip in this post.  What are the highlights?  What are the lowlights?  What did I like and what I did not like.  I started this trip on February 7, flying from NYC to Rio de Janeiro.  I returned to NYC on March 20, which means the trip was 42 days long or a total of 6 weeks.  Here are my favorite moments and memories of the trip:

1. The hike on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu .  Visiting Machu Picchu has been on my bucket list for a long time.  But hiking the Inca Trail, then seeing Machu Picchu for the first time from the Sun Gate, that's even sweeter.  It's the reward after a tough four days of hiking.   
   
2. Rio Carnival.  Before I came to Rio I thought the Carnival was just a parade.  Then on my first day I heard about blocos, or street parties.  The first one I attended was in Santa Teresa, near Lapa.  I couldn't believe the spirit and joy of the Brazilians as they dressed up, dance, sing and simply have a good time.  They drank and laughed.  But they did not fight, as some in other cultures would do.  It was partying for 5 or 6 straights, day and night.  Yes, the parade at the Sambadrome was nice but the spirit of the Brazilians just overwhelmed me. 
   
3. Iguazu Falls.  One of the biggest waterfalls in the world and seeing both sides of it.  What a spectacle!  And hear the roar of the waters falling over the falls.
   
4. Christ the Redeemer statue.  The visits to the statue on top of Corcovado and then to Sugar Loaf Mountain, two famous landmarks in Brazil, were moments to remember.  Everyone has seen the statue but to see it live and be so close and touching it, that's a different feeling.
   
5. Altiplano of Bolivia.  I never thought much of Bolivia before although I've heard of the Salt Flats and La Paz.  It's a poor and obscure country that is not in the news much.  Traveling through the Altiplano, or the high plateau of Bolivia, changed my opinion.  I eat salt.  I don't stand on it.  But, that's what I did.  Standing on salt that is submerged in water.  Seeing the volcanoes and lakes and the remoteness of the land gives me an appreciation of the beauty of the country.  
   
6. Wineries in Mendoza.  Maybe it's not the wineries themselves but the way the tour was conducted. We ended up at a nice winery with a wonderful lunch.  It was a perfect setting for trying some Argentinian food and wine.  If we had just ended the tour with just a sampling of wine, it'd have been different.  But everyone left with high spirits, probably because we drank  too much Malbecs.
   
7. Food.  I tried very hard to eat local dishes.  They were all good.  I don't think any of them stood out but just the local flavor made my culinary experience so much better.  However, this is the first time that I remember eating quinoa and I love it.  Whether in a soup or like the dish I had in downtown Lima, it made a favorable impression on me.  I will be eating more of it.
8. Fruits.  Chimoya, tuna, passion fruit are the ones I remember because I've never had them before or in a different form.  But I love all kinds of fruits, unless they are sour.  My golden rule for traveling is "have at least 1 fruit a day."  This wards off minor illnesses like cold, sore throat, etc, and it keeps your "internal plumbing" working smoothly.  All the countries I visited have a variety of tasty fruits.
9. Meeting some excellent and professional guides.  Two stand out:  Santiago, who took us on the Inca Trail, and Wahberto, who took us through the Altiplano of Bolivia.  They made the places we visited so much more enriching and memorable.  I learned so much from them!

What are some of my disappointments?  Here they are:

1. Santiago.  I hear a lot about Santiago because it's a big city but I didn't find anything that stands out.  The pre-Columbian museum was nice and there were a lot of activities around the Plaza de Armas but nothing else was exceptional.
2. Amazon Jungle.  Perhaps this was an anti-climatic visit after the high of visiting Machu Picchu.  Maybe we were just tired but the 2-night stay at the Eco Lodge did not spark any interest in many of us.  On our first hike, we were sloshing in the rain.  The other problem was that the guide did not do as good a job explaining what's exceptional about a tropical rainforest.  We also did not see much wildlife as we thought we might see.
3. La Paz.  Other than the witches market, it is an uninteresting city.  Many of us said that it's very unlikely we'll come back to Bolivia.  The poverty of the city and the people really shows.  Besides, the Bolivians just did not want to be photographed.

Surprises?  Here they are:

1. San Pedro de Atacama.  I've never heard of this place but when we arrived there I was surprised to see so many tourists along the unpaved main street.  When we went to watch the sunset, the area was full of people.  Where did they come from?  For as remote an area as this is, the number of tourists here is stunning.
   
2. Buenos Aires.  I've heard that BA is a beautiful city but visiting it made me a believer.  The wide boulevards lined with old European-style buildings make this a unique city in South America.  It also has some modern buildings to balance off the old.
   
3. Favela.  They were mentioned a lot before and during the 2016 Summer Olympics but I did not have any clue what they were like.  Going into one opened up my eyes to the poverty of some of the Brazilians.  Give them credit for their ingenuity too, for being able to survive in such a tough neighborhood.
   

I will be taking a short break in Phoenix before embarking on another trip in May, this time to Asia.  I will be traveling to Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.  Stay tuned.