Assignment 6 – Part 1 Kamil Karamali Headline: Backpacking South America in 3 Months Summary Deck: The story of one man as he immerses himself in the South American culture for an entire summer. Name: Kamil Karamali Location: Burnaby, B.C.…for now. Subheadings: Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina Pull quote: “The landscape was like nothing I had ever seen. It was like being on another planet.”
Ecuador The journey to begin all journeys started in the mountainous city of Quito. Located at high altitude, right in the crevas of two towering mountain chains that are part of the Andes, the placement Quito gave you a feel that you were walking through the clouds. The culture, however, gave me a completely different vibe. There was a lot of poverty lain along the streets of this elevated metropolis, and it seemed as though the higher in altitude we got, the poorer the living conditions were. Beggers along the streets, children in torn clothes, and people using straw huts as homes were only some of the things that I witnessed. However, there was still plenty to do around the area when my hostel was located. Bars, clubs, and malls were just a few of the surrounding destinations that were in that area; but that was not why I had traveled acrossthe equator. I had all those things at home. I wanted adventure; I wanted to do things that only South America could give me. So I met a few people at the hostel that were craving the same sort of thrill, and we decided to trek a nearby volcano. It was more than what we’d asked for. The conditions were foggy, the climb was near perilous. Cliffs with jagged edges, and narrow paths strewn with ash led us to reach the highest point that we possibly could, until we thought we could go no more. The entire excursion took us an entire day, but what a day it was. After Quito , we headed Eastbound towards the Amazon jungle. That was quite the adventure on it’s own. We were greeted by bugs the size of your hands, snakesthe length of your body, and trees that seemed to almost endlessly reach towards the sky. It was amazing. Our next destination was Banos, Ecuador. This was another town, like Quito , which was nestled right between the surrounding mountains, except for one difference: the volcano next to Banos was extremely active. At night the eruptions from the volcano shook our hostel. However, the locals acted like it was nothing and went about their day, and continued to tell us to do the same. The best part about Banos was the canyoning, as we decided to take a tour where we climb down waterfalls. After that, we left for Peru . Peru The first thing we did in Peru was head towards the shore to this tiny little beachtown called Mancora . The town was full of surfers who would just lie in the sun for most of the day and only got up to jump in the water to catch some waves. We then went down the coast to Huanchano which wasn’t much different. It was there where I was able to catch some great waves and celebrate my 24th birthday doing so. The next journey was a long one as we continued down the coast towards Lima . The capital of this particular South American country was just another metropolis, so we did things like go to malls and catch a couple of movies, but it wasn’t what I was looking for. Like I said, I wanted to do things here that I couldn’t at home, so the stay there wasn’t long. I then made my way to Cuzco, which ended up being an amazing party town. There was a lot of clubbing and nightlife oriented shenanigans that I took part in there. It was perfect timing becausethe journey afterwards to Machu Picchu would be long and extremely nature-oriented. Therefore, I was able to find a great balance in doing the
two back to back. Machu Picchu was incredible but far too touristy I found. So onward we moved down to Lake Titicaca , and the Peru-Bolivian border. Bolivia Bolivia was nothing like I could’ve ever imagined. It was raw, which was what I was looking for, but it wasn’t until I had almost finished my journey there when I realized that it was too raw. I started the Bolivian journey in the capital city of La Paz . This flourishing urban sprawl was all hustle and bustle since the moment I entered it on a rickety old bus. Random markets on the sidewalks, no place to walk, and worst yet, no room on the roads to drive. This is where I would spend my longest time in South America. I ended up staying in this city for a week and a half becausetime just flew by. There was wrestling events, crazy party hostels, and even crazier party clubs, not to mention the countless street markets that were available for shopping. The next city I decided to go to was Potosi , where there was nothing interesting but the mines around the town. Myself, with a few people I met, got a tour of the mines and it was a clusterphobic’s nightmare. There were holes and tunnels that we had to squeeze through that were the size of a grown mans arm, as well as dynamite exploding on occasion in various areas. After that, I bussed to Uyuni , which is only interesting becauseit is right outside of the infamous Bolivian Salt Flats , which were absolutely breathtaking. After taking a three day tour of the Salt Flats , I went up to Sucre, where the main attraction was a dinosaur dig. Having an absolute passion for dinosaurs, I was extremely excited to visit this dig site, and it turned out to be absolutely amazing. After that, I went up to Santa Cruz , where I just relaxed in the heat for a few days seeing that the city was technically in the Amazon basin. Then I made my way west towards the shore becauseI felt the ocean calling my name; but before I did, I had to cross the border and into Chile . Chile It was so strange to be in such a well developed environment after being in what are considered 3rd world countries for the past 2 months. Chile had buildings and well paved roads, and very little poverty. The first town I stayed at there was called Iquique , which was a tiny little surf town, but even better than Mancora or Huanchaco. The children would get out from school and grab their surfboards and jump right into the ocean as soon as they could. There was also the draw of paragliding, which was an unbelievable experience. The next stop in Chile was the capital, Santiago, which was a 26 hour bus ride away, and what an experience that was. I mainly just knocked back a few tylenols and slept for an entire day. But it was worth it as Santiago has become one of my most favourite cities in the world, due its beautiful architecture, people, and nightlife. It was an amazing 4 days of food, fun and laughter. During that time, I also decided to make a short trip west to Valparaiso , which was a small artsy beach town. Not bad, but definitely no Santiago , which was where I stopped one last time before making my way to Argentina .
Argentina Unfortunately, I didn’t get to spend much time in this amazingly diverse country, but the two cities I did visit made quite the impression on me. The first stop into Argentina was the city of Mendoza which was a thrill-seekers paradise. There were almost a limitless number of options in which to explore the surrounding outdoors, but since I am living off of a backpackers budget, I could really only afford one, so I decided to go white river rafting. It was an unbelievably and exciting experiencing. After that I headed eastbound off to the capital city of Buenos Aires. They live fast and hard in this mega city. The night life was unbelievable, but so was the food. The one thing that was tough about this city was that it was too big, and there was too much to do, and worse of all, it was too expensive. I clubbed and ate to the most of my light wallet’s ability, before I left for the Galapagos Islands . Galapagos Islands I flew back to Quito , and it was strange seeing the city and staying at the same hostel I had just been in over 3 months ago, which now felt like a lifetime ago. After a couple of days I flew over to the nearby islands, where I experienced the most amazing 10 days of my life. Swimming with sealions and whales, while scuba diving with hammerhead sharks, and living on a boat for over a week is something that I fear will never be topped.
Links List http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quito http://banosecuador.blogspot.com/ http://www.mancora.net/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galápagos_Islands