Day 20… 21… it all becomes a blur at this point as we lose a day to the International Date Line.
We farewelled Lastarria with a final breakfast at Le Fournil – our local South American French bakery. Santiago prices have been pretty comparable to Australia, although it always seems odd to hand over 20,000 of any currency, even if it is only about $40. Weirdest thing is that they still use a 10 peso piece!
We’ve used Uber in both Peru and Chile, and have found it to be a similar experience to Australia – cleaner and more modern cars than the average taxi. Seems like Santiago has had some issues though… as we arrived at the airport, the driver whipped out a ‘Turismo’ (tourism) sign, stopped the fare, and hid his phone. No Ubers allowed, and an entrepreneurial way to deal with it!!!
So, as we fly out, what are the highlights of our trip? It’s hard to pick because we’ve had so many…
Without a doubt, #1 is the Inca Trail and other Inca hikes around Ollantaytambo for the history, beauty, challenge, calm, and sense of achievement that it brought to our trip. Nothing compares to the shared adventure of taking on a big challenge and digging deep into our bucket of positivity to reach great heights.
Machu Picchu was also a highlight. We saw a lot of Inca ruins along the way… the geography of the mountains surrounding Machu Picchu was like nothing else. There is definitely something deep and spiritual about the site, and the journey there enhanced every moment.
And then Peru overall… the food was unexpected fabulous (Aji de Gallina & Lomo Soltado are new favourites!), the people were great, and I really appreciated their deep respect for their history and our planet. I have great respect for the connection that these people have to ‘Pachamama’.
Chile was a huge contrast of energy, and our tiny taste of the country tells me that it needs to be on the list of places to explore more deeply. Highlights will come with future trips.
These are just my reflections, so I encourage you to explore the girls’ perspectives. Again, it’s been wonderful to see how they’ve embraced the experience, and pushed themselves out of their comfort zone into their ‘courage’ zone. With each trip I suspect the travel bug grows…
Then, just as we thought the highlights reel was complete, we had the privilege of flying over Antarctica, with the golden sunlight emphasising this magnificent part of our planet. Absolutely unforgettable way to finish the trip.
Now, it’s time to click our heels and repeat… ‘there’s no place like home’ as another awesome trip comes to a close.
Love M & theBunch x
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