Four Month Update: Chile and Bolivia

In my 10 week update, I was finishing up my time in Patagonia and was on my way to Northern Chile. I was feeling very grateful for my time in one of the most beautiful regions in the world. I was humbled by all of the incredible experiences and challenges I had while I was there. And for the amazing new friendships I made during my 10 weeks on the road.

As I wrote this update about my time in Northern Chile and Bolivia I realised something. I am in a very different place mentally and emotionally than I was in six weeks ago when I wrote my 10 week update. Patagonia was an enormous dream come true for me and everything since has struggled to live up to my Patagonian level expectations. It was the conclusion to a long time build up of planning, excitement and research. It was also the first place I had felt truly free and alive in a long time.

As I flew out of Patagonia and towards the North of Chile I was full of so many mixed emotions. I was absolutely exhausted and looking forward to some downtime in the city. I was looking forward to seeing my Chilean friends again who I met during my time on the Carretera Austral. But at the same time, I couldn’t help but be a little sad that my time in Patagonia was now over. The realisation was setting in that I was headed towards the typical tourist trail through South America.

Where Have I Been?

Chile – 3 More Weeks

(see here for my first 4 weeks in Chile)

• Santiago –  9 nights
• Valparaiso – 6 nights
• San Pedro de Atacama – 5 nights

Bolivia – 3 Weeks

• Uyuni – 2 nights
• Salar de Uyuni – 2 nights
• Sucre – 9 nights
• La Paz – 4 nights
• Copacabana – 1 night
• Isla Del Sol – 2 nights

What Have I Experienced? 

Santiago

Arriving in Santiago was like being hit with a freight train. The airport was overrun with people, the traffic was intense and there were so many street vendors and people bustling around ignorant to each other. I was no longer in the dreamlike South of Chile and Argentina. I knew this new stage in my trip would have it’s own amazing elements and charm but I was in total and complete shock. The smells, the sights and sounds were an assault on my senses and I was entirely overwhelmed. 

Despite the initial shock, my time with my Chilean friends in Santiago and Valparaiso was still incredible. I was lucky enough to experience Santiago the way a local does. I got to see and experience so much more than I would have otherwise. The hospitality and generosity shown by my friends in Chile was overwhelming and beautiful.

They let me into their lives. It felt like I had been friends with them all for most of my life. My friends took me to a house warming party with a bunch of law students and law grads. It reminded me so much of my very own University days. I also got to experience a Chilean Asado (BBQ) which really wasn’t all that different from an Aussie BBQ and reminded me so much of home. I even experienced the local pub life on two occasions where I realised even in South America, 20-something’s really aren’t that different. 

Valparaiso

Valparaiso was the first city post-patagonia that really captured my heart. My first impression was that this city was the South American Melbourne. It was so full of culture, art, music and good food that I couldn’t help but fall in love. I also ate way too many empanadas here from the most amazing little empanada shop…

When I initially arrived I had booked myself a private studio and was ready for a break. It didn’t take long for me to get sick of my own company. Before I knew it, I was depressed and home sick for the first time on my trip. Once I moved into a dorm room at the nearby hostel though, the feelings of sadness and loneliness quickly faded. I met some incredible people here and truly started to embrace and explore what this amazing city had to offer.

San Pedro de Atacama

Although I had picked myself up in Valparaiso, by the time I got to San Pedro de Atacama I was starting to feel the travel burn out again and hard. I was literally hitting the infamous three month roadblock where a lot of long term travellers start to lose their excitement and passion for travel. Where every new place, new monument and new mountain start to look and feel the same. Where all of the shininess and excitement that goes with meeting new people starts to just mean hard work and mental exhaustion. 

When I was six weeks into my trip I didn’t think travel burnout would be possible for me. At that time it seemed so insane to think that travel would ever be something that wasn’t the most enjoyable experience of my life. And yet, there I was seeing some of the most unique and incredible landscapes ever, in the Atacama Desert and I was still going back to the hostel each day lost, confused and a little disappointed. I still met some pretty awesome people while in Atacama and bumped into a lot of friends I had met along the way. Despite this, I still felt like I was on autopilot and just going through the travel motions. It didn’t feel all that different to how I had felt back home in my full time job before quitting and leaving my life behind.

Salar de Uyuni – The Bolivian Salt Flats

With the salt flats tour on my horizon I knew I had to try and shake this feeling. I had to try and enjoy every second. I needed to make the most of my time in this magnificent place. Once we started the tour, I quickly realised it would be one of the most beautiful, but most touristy experiences of my life. Each day was spent driving from one viewpoint to the next, along with hundreds of other 4×4 Land Cruisers packed with tourists. Luckily the vastness of the landscapes still allowed you to feel somewhat alone. And with how incredible each and every location looked it really was difficult not to fall in love.

Sucre

Internal Dilemmas

The first couple of days in Sucre were really tough. I felt extremely isolated and alone. Then my brother turned 21 while I was on the other side of the world. I felt an overwhelming amount of regret for not just flying home from Santiago when I had first started to feel that tug to go home. This was something I had expected so it didn’t hit me as hard as the travel block had a few weeks before. But it definitely hit me a lot harder than I thought it would. Especially when I could see how excited they all were planning his 21st birthday party.

Right when I was trying my hardest to keep it together, I got the infamous sickness most travellers get in Bolivia from contaminated Bolivian food. I was stuck in bed with all of my thoughts, worries and loneliness for almost five days. One positive thing to come out of that though, was my reflective post on mental health. 

Never Say No to Good Advice

Luckily there was an amazing girl in my hostel who really cared enough to help me claw my way out of the hole I had found myself in. She made me realise that I needed to take a serious look at what I wanted. That I needed to make a decision for me, and me alone. She made sure that I knew that it didn’t matter what anyone else thought or said, that I needed to put my needs first and do what was right for me.

Those conversations with this amazing person lead me to the decision to book my flight out of South America to Canada that I talked about in this post. I had been so insanely excited for Patagonia and I had loved absolutely every moment more than humanly possible. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get back into that same mindset for the rest of my plans in South America. It was just not what I needed at that moment.

The Right Decision

I had given it a real go since I had started to feel down and out. I had persevered and stayed when I really just wanted to go home, or book a flight to anywhere else in the world. Despite giving it a go, those feelings had not changed. It was time for me to sign off on my story in South America for now and be on my way to my next adventure.

When I booked my flight in Sucre to go to Canada I left a six week buffer to allow myself some time to explore Peru. The experiences I had in South America were exactly what I needed, when I needed them. I knew I had made the right decision to move on in six weeks time because I felt immediately relieved after booking that flight.

Escape from Sucre and Return to Uyuni

Just as I started to feel a bit better mentally and emotionally I was faced with the obstacle of escaping some pretty hairy protests in Sucre. It was a mix of excitement, adrenalin, and a little fear and concern. Finding myself three days later back in Uyuni where I had started my time in Bolivia was a little defeating but also a blessing in disguise. I had been ready to write Bolivia off in general and go straight to Peru and then onto Canada. Having a diversion to Uyuni allowed me to meet two amazing people who helped reignite my passion for travel. They also made me feel a little less alone and isolated in my concerns and battles. They too had a lot of questions, concerns and difficult situations going on.

La Paz

Before I knew it I was off to La Paz with one of my new found friends. Little did I know she who would soon become a long term travel buddy and a very important friend. We had a smorgasbord of amazing adventures ahead of us. We would both be cheering and urging each other on the entire time. La Paz gave me the exhilarating experience that was mountain biking down the infamous Death Road. It also allowed me to recharge my batteries.

We ate ourselves into food comas at an extremely expensive but amazing touristy cafe while talking the afternoons away. Crazily, we drank ourselves silly to celebrate our survival of death road and my friend’s 30th birthday. We then also faced the severe consequences of a hangover at altitude. We, well I should say I, bought way too many beautiful handmade items at the markets for myself and my family. My tactfully packed bag was overflowing by the time I left La Paz… 

I was able to rescue Bolivia from being categorised in my memory as the country in South America that broke me. I hadn’t laughed that hard, smiled that much or partied that hard in a while and it was great to be feeling positive and happy again.

Copacabana and Isla del Sol

The final chapter for my time in Bolivia really was one of total relaxation. Arriving in Copacabana with the warmth of the sun and the sounds of the water at the lake reminded me how travel can be healing in so many ways. While waiting for our boat to Isla del Sol we just sat by the lake and took it all in. I even got myself some fairy floss from a street vendor, feeling younger by the second.

Isla del Sol turned out to be an absolute paradise. We almost had the entire island to ourselves which was so relaxing and also a bit bizarre. We both needed this break to prepare for the amazing weeks in Peru we had ahead. I had a few more moments of home sickness. I also struggled at times to deal with the sadness that I would be missing my brother 21st birthday party.

In the end though, I felt good to be continuing on my journey. I was excited to be starting my Peru chapter. I had both eagerness to leave South America and sadness that I now had an end date to my time here. Physically walking across the border from Bolivia to Peru cemented in my mind that my time in Peru was going to be a new chapter all of it’s own. 

What Have I Learnt?

Moving Forward

All in all, it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions these last several weeks for a variety of reasons. While it has been extremely challenging at times, it has also made me grow in just as many ways as my first blissful 10 weeks did. I know I still need to continue to grow and learn as a person and that’s why I need to keep travelling. Travel has changed me in so many ways and on so many levels. I’m not done changing yet.

I am very interested to see what my next update will look like as I head off towards Canada and leave South America behind. Until then I still have three more weeks left on this gorgeous continent to see, experience and live as much as I can.

--Girl Seeking Purpose