South of America

1. There are people taking the cruise with us and for them, that is the trip of a lifetime. For me, the cruise is a taxi back to the U.S.
2. Looking forward, The beach in Montanita is beautiful, I am happy to see it. Looking away from the beach, the poverty is depressing. It reminds that I can pick the way my life going forward looks.
3. I’ve been on the road a month and a half. When I think about going home, I don’t think it needs to be home, per se. It just needs to be a place familiar, and easy. Every day on this trip, has not been easy.
4. Elevation sickness is a real thing, and something I need to remember whenever I start from sea level.
5. It’s ok to travel alone even when we are together.
6. Cruising was better than I thought but oddly I wanted more slow days, which was the opposite of what I anticipated.
7. I miss talking to people. When everyone around is speaking a different language, I really miss a lot.
8. Private tours and guides are expensive but worth it, being 1 of 50 people feels like a herd.
9. I really like the excitement of a learning a new place.
10. Accept that half of the time you’ll get on the bus going the wrong way!
11. Most of the people you meet and the people you ask for help from, have good intentions.
12. Travel keeps your brain active.
13. Being brave is really hard and sometimes it’s just not possible.
14. Other people have different ideas of “what is safe” but don’t let their safety level trump yours, say something when your gut tells you something is “off”.
15. Eat when I am hungry and pee when I have to.. Nothing works right when either of those needs aren’t met.
16. The world is really an interesting place.
17. I love seeing a place I have personally visited in a movie or on tv and thinking “I’ve been there”.
18. Just because people look like they are poor and unhappy, doesn’t mean they are.
19. I have a lot more in common with the random people I meet while traveling than I would have thought.
20. Thank you to the random person in Buenos Aires who put that sign up, I think about the phrase all the time “Bravery becomes easier when you give yourself no choice”.Read more