The last first?

Our trip to Quitaraju wasn't quite as successful as previous ones - As the 5th expedition our bodies were getting tired and I had a passing fever which stopped me getting to the Alpamayo col camp. Two of my friends did, but even they didn't make it to the summit. When we got back from that trip we decided it would be our last trip into the mountains - there is a limit to how long and how far you can push your body and going beyond it wouldn't be sensible. So the two of us that are left have been using up our last few days at the beach and doing a bit of surfing. 5 months is a long time to be away, and I am ready to come home now. I know that I'm not the type to catch the wanderlust and become a perennial traveller. I'm looking forward to having roots and work to focus my energies on.

People keep saying to me that I've packed a lot into my gap year, and looking back, I suppose I have - but none of it felt rushed. And in the main, I wouldn't change the things I've done or the way I've done them. The highlights for me have been learning Spanish and climbing the mountains. Others have used the phrase "trip of a lifetime" - but I don't like this phrase because for me the implication is that I will never do anything as exciting again. It's all about your horizons - and each time you do something new they are expanded a little bit further.

Looking back, it is hard to overestimate how much a trip like this can mature you and give you confidence. Before I came, I was nervous about travelling solo in an unknown culture across a language barrier. But now these things are familiar and not daunting. There is plenty more of South America to see - now that I have some Spanish I am keen to visit Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Columbia, Mexico... But although I still have many places I want to explore, travelling will be less daunting, and I don't need to prove anything to myself. Travelling now holds less firsts, though of course there are many challenges in other parts of life which I feel ready to take on. I also know myself better and have greater discernment in deciding the things I want to do.

So this will be my last entry from South America. Whether my new life as a PhD student is interesting enough to keep me blogging is an open question.