South America: In a Nutshell

So I felt like I should write an overview about my whole trip to South America; I visited 7 countries in just under 3 months which of course is a lot! It was a shorestring style trip but I feel like I have seen most of the main bits or main touristy bits across 6 of those countries (I am not including Chile because I was only there for less than 48 hours!) There is a huge amount I haven’t seen but South America as a continent is absolutely huge (more than the map lets off!) so I think I’d need a good few years / a whole life time to really see it all! 

My favourite country’s most definitely would be Peru and Brazil. I think these are the country’s I spent the most amount of time in so I probably got to see and know more about these country’s while I was there. They are both very different and I did very different things in both - Brazil I loved because of all the beaches, chilled out vibe and amazing night life! Peru just had so much to offer in terms of its amazing scenery. Every bus ride I would do or place I would visit was just incredible. Sometimes it would just even be a quick stop at the petrol garage on a long bus ride but you would have this beautiful view behind it which by the end of the trip you almost took for granted. I also loved the traditional culture in Peru and how forthcoming the people are to teach you about their way of life. And of course the lamas and alpacas!! All of the 7 countries I visited welcomed tourism and quite often wouldn’t be able to survive without it. 

To me Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay didn’t feel like the South America I got to know from Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. They really felt like Latin America and you could feel a real difference when you traveled from one country to the next. 

I wouldn’t lie and say South America is cheap. I spent more money than I budgeted to but there also wasn’t a lot I said no to! You can do things cheaply but I didn’t want to leave thinking I wish I did that and want to come back. The cheapest country’s were Peru and Bolivia with Chile and Brazil being the most expensive. 

Before I came to South America I had been given lots of advice and read lots of things online... Let’s admit South America is branded as dangerous by just about everyone, to the point where it puts most people off even visiting. The big city’s are the main places where I felt I needed to be more cautious but never did I feel unsafe. Tourists are obviously main targets for pickpockets and I had friends who have had their phones / wallets stolen which is really sad, but it just makes you realise even more how you need to watch your things everywhere you go and don’t flash your valuables. Most evenings I would go out and leave my phone and bank cards at the hostel/hotel or if I needed to take them out I’d use my money belt just to feel that bit safer. Better to be safe than sorry! I would also prepare for the worst ensuring I did a back on my phone every couple of days. Nothing worse than having your phone stolen and not having it backed up! 

Anyway I can confirm that South America isn’t a dangerous place by all means - you just need to have your whits about you. Maybe at times it can be unsafe in certain areas or maybe I was just lucky but the bad press shouldn’t put you off visiting. It’s by far very different to any place I’ve been before but that was my whole reason for wanting to visit. Every journey you take, place you visit or person you meet is a whole new experience and that is why I’ve loved it so much. 

I was having a conversation with some friends on our last night together in Rio discussing our highs and lows of the whole of South America. Although many of us agreed the real highs were the memories we will take with us and as lame as that sounds it’s so true - the best parts for me aren’t things I would have shared on my blog or posted on Instagram. But if I had to pick the highlight - for me it was the 3 day salt flat tour in Bolivia, it wasn’t necessarily the salt flats themselves which I loved but the amazing lagoons and desert scenery throughout the whole tour was just like nothing I’ve seen before. It wasn’t something I’d particularly been looking forward to as such so I think that’s why it also made it so great. 

The low of my trip would be getting unwell and nearly being hospitalised in Bolivia - I guess I couldn’t avoid being unwell the whole time but sadly it meant I really missed out for a few days. 

When I set off travelling in October a friend of mine who has travelled before said to me not to look forward to things or places while I’m travelling because it will make the time in other places go really quickly and some times those places you look forward too aren’t what you thought they were going to be. Very good advice - if you’re reading thanks Amy! 

My next adventure is going to be in India and South East Asia and I’m very excited!!