On August 9 we took a bus from Ubatuba to Sao Paulo, in order to catch our first flight on our way back to the States at 6:00 AM on the 10th. It was an appropriate time to reminisce about our travels over the past six months, and here are some of the things we came up with (in no particular order)…

MOST SCENIC

Chilean fjiords on the first morning of the Navimag ferry ride

Trindade beaches

Dawn of the last morning of the Nahuel Haupi trek (Travis)

Santa Cruz peaks and alpine lakes on the Alpamayo trek

Iguaçu Falls

Perito Moreno Glacier

Mt. Fitz Roy

MOST ENJOYABLE OR EXCITING ACTIVITIES

Futaleufu whitewater

Hangliding in Rio (Travis)

Surfing in Ubatuba

Candlelit evening at the refugio in Nahuel Haupi (Abi)

Horseback riding in Uspallata

Watching the waves and snoozing in the hammock in Trindade

Swimming with sea lions in Galapagos

Cab ride in Manaus (Travis)

Sandboarding the dunes in Huacachina

Rafting and camping on the Apurimac

Cabin retreat in Trevlin (Abi)

MOST FRUSTRATING

Stolen passport, documents, money in Ecuador

Inability to keep a pen for more than three days (Travis)

Roadblocks by striking miners as we tried to get to Cusco to meet Abi’s parents

Travis nagging Abi to share her Butterfingers (Abi, of course)

Rain, rain, rain at Torres del Paine and Fitz Roy

Initial attempts at surfing (Travis)

Hike to Acongagua lookout and view at the lookout

Run-around trying to find the Valle de Animas entry

Service at breakfast spot run by Hare Krishnas (Abi)

Trying to get a group of rafters together for the Fu (Travis)

Freezing on Huayani Potosi

MOST ANTICLIMACTIC

Nasca Lines flight (Travis)

Colca Canyon

Macchu Picchu (Abi)

Viña del Mar, Valparaiso and Santiago Chile (Travis)

Side trip to Uruguay

Hangliding in Rio (Abi)

Overnight stay on Lake Titicaca islands

Salar de Uyuni (Abi)

MOST DIFFICULT

Alpamayo Circuit

Colca Canyon (Abi)

Volcan Peyue

Huayani Potosi glacier trekking

First hours of Fitz Roy trek (Abi)

MOST DELICIOUS

Steak in El Chalten

Crab in Ushuaia (Abi)

Ice cream in Bariloche (Travis)

Paçoquita peanut candy

Alpaca steak in Peru

Fettuccini in Mendoza (Abi)

Apple flavored Fanta (Travis)

‘Sublime’ chocolate squares (Abi)

Rotisserie chicken in Peru

Minuteman Pizza in Uyuni (Travis)

Strawberry smoothie in Ubatuba

French fries at Alpamayo campsites (Travis)

WORST BUS RIDES

Tupiza to La Paz (miners strike)

Colca to Arequipa (two flat tires and other delays)

Puerto Madryn to Rio Grande (wind, snoring passengers, and stinky toilet)

Lima to Ica (Abi was sick)

THE CHARACTERS

Diablo Dave (Galapagos)

"Discuple" Tanya (Uspallata)

Cliff Clavin of Topeka (Navimag)

The Dutch Duo, Hank & Bert (Salar de Uyuni)

Fine Wine (Torres del Paine)

Rappin’ Millie (Amazon)

"Thanks a Million" Ben (Futaleufu)

Irish Madame (Puerto Madryn)

Antonio the Portuguese Lover (Ushuaia)

The Loud Talker (Garopaba)

Jeremy Look-Alike (Huayani Potosi)

Sergio "Atras!" (Bariloche)

Georgio Armani of the Jungle (Amazon)

"Excuse Me!!!" (Quito)

Werner (Galapagos)

Amerigo the Insane (Mendoza)

"Cookie Cooks" Tanya (Galapagos)

The Crikey Boys (Torres del Paine)

Nervous Laugh Elise (Tierra del Fuego)

"Lost the Plot" Steve (Apurimac)

Drama Queen Ellie (Salar de Uyuni)

The Mute That Wouldn’t Stop Talking (Patagonia)

Drunk, Anti-American Frenchman (Amazon)

"So Nice Construction" Freddy (Macchu Picchu)

Jose the Arriero (Alpamayo)

The No-Volume-Control Israelis, Shay and Merav (Galapagos)

"Stevie B" Brady (Navimag)

Lema the Hyperkinetic (Ubatuba)

"Get Clean…and Dirty" Ethan (Salar de Uyuni)

In the words of Forest Gump, "That's all I've got to say about that." We hope you have enjoyed following along with us, and after a quick return to the States, we'll be heading off to Greece, Egypt, and East Africa in mid-September. You can follow along with us at this same website under that heading.

So long for now,

Travis and Abi