Farewell Argentina, how you have changed me

After almost a month and a half in Argentina (and 3 months into my entire trip) I bid farewell to the lovely diverse country and will be heading north into Bolivia.

It’s interesting how travel changes people, in their personality, behaviour and thoughts. A few weeks into Argentina I travelled to Puerto Madryn to see whales, penguins and seals and the next day it hit me. I was tired. I slept in. I needed 3 coffees to wake up. I ate a late lunch. Late dinner. Didn’t go to bed before midnight. This pattern hasn’t really changed that much since then.

Granted I’ll get up early if I need to, but I’m not as much of a morning person that I used to be. Look at this, I’m blogging and making sense (I hope) at 5pm – normally I’d be struggling to string two bits of code or words together by now and need a rest!

I can now handle having only two coffees in the morning with breakfast (I totally value a good hostel breakfast now too), but generally may need a bit of caffeine with lunch again most days. Doesn’t sound too healthy does it? Well, after eating out often, like I normally would when I travel, from Christmas onwards I’ve tried to cook dinners in hostels as much as possible. It’s the best way to get a well-rounded meal (with vegetables in it) and save some money.

Argentina has been beautiful and often reminded me of New Zealand.

Argentina hasn’t changed my Spanish much. I’ve been lazy and haven’t tried hard enough, so still can’t speak much past the basics. When things go wrong I’ve just been tired and then the language becomes even harder to master. Yes I know I should try harder.

Speaking of things going wrong, it seems that once it starts its pretty hard to stop. I’d probably say sad stuff or wrong stuff started just before Christmas and now stuff keeps on piling up. This is when you really notice it isn’t a holiday. In the space of 30 minutes one day recently I had 3 different zips (2 bags and my hoodie) break. My GoPro doesn’t work properly and despite buying it for this trip I can’t return it until I finish my trip. Then there’s the night buses with bad food and little sleep, the lack of internet to Skype family, and the hostels where people aren’t considerate about waking others up. The list goes on.

I’ve decided that stops here.

Tomorrow I’m in Bolivia, it’s new scenery, new culture and lots of exciting stuff ahead. I’ll continue my blood noses from the dryness and get headaches from the altitude for a few weeks, but it will be fine. The food won’t be as amazing as Argentina, but as long as I eat and get some veges in me, I’ll be healthy. I’ll turn back to a morning person, particularly when visiting the Salt Flats, but that will be fine.

As I head north the weather will get worse, but that can make environments even more unique… (remind me of that someone in a few months please). I’ve had my ups and downs, but still wouldn’t give up this chance to travel for anything. I just need to make sure I appreciate each place I visit in its own way. I’ll dig in my heels and push through the walls to make myself happy about what is to come.

Onwards and upwards!

¡Hasta luego!