Definitely my most negative blog post yet

Everyone says that while traveling, one learns much about the world and most importantly, oneself. They're right, but however glamorously masked that journey of self discovery may be, it seems that the most memorable lessons are those that teach you what you truly despise. I've been moving around for a while now, spending no more than 4 weeks in the same spot for the last 7 months, so I've had the chance to really get to know what really irks me.

First, about the world: This place is crazy. It is highly unpredictable and I cannot control everything. There is nothing I can do to keep the person I'm housesitting for from coming home a week early. There is nothing I can do to keep the man in La Paz from groping me (and don't you dare suggest I was asking for it). There is nothing I can do to stop the train workers' strike in London to get me to my plane in time. This lesson would be infinitely more inspiring if I believed in a God. I could tell myself, "He has a plan", and maybe I'd feel better about the chaos. I don't believe in a God, though, so each crummy thing that happens just humbles my heathen self. The chaos of the universe is what makes it interesting, right? 

Second, about myself: I am a control freak and not having the slightest authority over the outcome of the aforementioned situations drives me nuts.

"What's with this mardy blog post?", one might ask. Well, I just missed my flight from London to Dubai to see my family after 7 months of being away from them and I really just want to be in one place with my loved ones. Luckily, my parents are amazing and really good at making me feel like it's going to be okay. I'll be "home" with them in Abu Dhabi within the next 72 hours, hopefully... 

My mom sent me a message after our phone call that said, "Considering how many miles you've traveled in the past couple months, having this one glitch is pretty remarkable." How right she is. I am so privileged to be traveling. So lucky to have been safe this whole time. In the grand scheme of things, what is an extra night in London with one of my closest friends anyways? In the end, it is just another good thing to be thankful for. 

Thinking about the impact of my travel habits
on this quickly melting glacier in Iceland.

South America boiled into 1 blog post.

Whoops, it has been WAY too long since I've posted on here. Last time I wrote, I'd just finished up my first week of travels in Colombia. Since then, I travelled through other parts of Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru for a total of 7 weeks. It was a whirlwind and due to my limited time in each country (between 2-3 weeks), I neglected the blog and spent my spare time sleeping and trying to find veggies to eat (lots of rice and chicken, not many greens down there). Instead of writing about every single thing I did in South America, I have compiled a list of my favorite 3 things per country:

Colombia

1. Guatapé. A gorgeous reservoir a few hours out of Medellin. There's a famous rock, El Peñón, you can climb up, but there's so much more. Hikes through the jungle lead me to hidden waterfalls, horses roamed around in meadows, and there was vegetarian food galore. I met a fellow feisty feminist there (we are scarce in South America, like green leafy vegetables) and she taught me the phrase, "viva la vagina!".
2. Casa Elemento. I wrote about this piece of heaven in my last blog post. It still ranks as a favorite place. 
3. Public transportation in Medellin. Some of the most affordable, efficient, and user friendly transportation I've used in my life! Plus, lots of innovative ideas such as escalators and gondolas to increase accessibility to lower income areas. 

Bolivia

1. Death Road. I road a mountain bike down the 70km "most dangerous road in the world". It was exhilarating. The best part? Nothing bad happened! 
2. Salar de Uyuni. A three day tour in southern Bolivia that included the salt flats, visits to many colorful lagoons, lots of pink flamingos, and some of the most amazing stars I've ever gazed upon.
3. Silver mine tour in Potosi. Bolivia exists as a country because of mining. I got to visit a working mine and talk with miners. It wasn't fun -- the conditions inside the mine are dark, claustrophobic, full of gnarly particles your lungs will hate -- but I appreciate that I was able to see the working conditions of miners. I definitely question the origins of minerals and metals now. 

Peru

1. Laguna 69 hike. Two words: A-MAZING. Snow capped peaks, glaciers, waterfalls, rivers, cows, all leading up to a turquoise blue lake. I had minor freak out because I thought my fingers had turned purple from the considerable altitude (~4,600m). False alarm! It was just the ink from my black jeans and t-shirt that rubbed off on my fingers. Pro-tip: don't wear all black on hikes because you will get very hot and sweaty and your fingers might turn purple. Another pro-tip: do your laundry often enough so that you can avoid wearing all black on such hikes. 
2. Machu Picchu. I expected to be underwhelmed but I was entirely overwhelmed. That place is SO COOL. SOOOOOO COOOOOOL! Go see it for yourself :)
3. Post election yoga. The worst part of my trip was the election (maybe I should compile a list of the worst parts of my trip?). I was in Cusco, and I was all alone with no other Americans to cry with, only foreigners who laughed at America's stupidity. But alas, I found a yoga class (check out the Yoga Room if ever in the area!) the evening of November 9th and it was jam packed with other grieving Americans. My heart hurt a little bit less after that session. 

Now, I am in Reykjavik, Iceland. Yep, you read that right. I am in Iceland. I can hardly believe it myself. The last few months have been so full of moving and ruining my carbon footprint that it's been a challenge to keep up with myself. Iceland will be featured in my next post. Until then, here a few photos from the South America trip:

Guatapé as seen from El Peñón (Colombia)

Me and Peri at Machu Picchu (Peru)

Running from dinosaurs at the Salt Flats (Bolivia)

Laguna 69 (Peru)

Driving to the start of the 4-day Santa Cruz trek.
See the winding road?! (Peru)