Ahead of embarking on our Inca to Inuit adventure we had few preconceptions as to what South America would be like. We were oblivious to it’s violent and bloody past and ignorant to the abundant diversity, individuality, colour and beauty each country has to offer.
After having spent four months marching across South America, weaving our way from Peru to Brazil we were exhausted. South America was difficult. Navigating ourselves across this monstrous mostly mountainous continent by bus and boat in a foreign tongue had drained not only our energy levels but our bank balances.
Brazil was our final stop on our South American adventure. Everything became harder when we arrived in Brazil. The language we had tried to tame over the past four months had changed to Portuguese, a non familiar language that neither of us had the first clue how to tackle. Our bank balances were looking less than healthy after having spent the past four months saying “YES” to every opportunity on offer. As a result food and accommodation had drastically declined in both quality and volume in an effort to bring our bank balances back out of the red.
In an effort to save money we decided to hide away on the beach for two weeks. We found an affordable tree house on the edge of the Brazilian jungle smack back in the middle of Sao Paulo and Rio where we would be able to cook, surf and live as modestly as possible until it was time to head to Rio our final South American stop.
The house was idyllic, simple but amply equipped with everything we needed to live comfortably for a couple of weeks. A hand crafted wooden structure, it stood tall, blending in amongst the banana and coconut trees that surrounded it. Lizards, hummingbirds, bats, grasshoppers and giant wild pigs were our only neighbours as well as a stray dog who accompanied us on the short walk down to the beach every day.
We have both been privileged enough to travel to some far flung places in our thirty years but we both agree that the beaches of Brazil are unbeatable. Bath tub warm waters, white sugared sands and lush green mountains create a slice of a paradise that is hard to leave behind- and did I mention the speedo’s!
Three days in to our beach retreat and our trusty laptop died. This left us without a means to watch the box sets that had replaced our evening wine and dine routine and a means to update Inca to Inuit. This left much time for thinking, talking and reading. Night after night we would reminisce about the past four months. Reciting our seemingly endless adventures sounded like a big beautiful dream. The difficulty we had faced, whether it be language, sickness or money had made every escapade even richer, even more memorable.
Lying in our tree house safely tucked under our mosquito net the night before our final bus journey to Rio we felt an ache in the pit of our stomaches. The same feeling you get when you’re about to say goodbye to someone you love for a long time. We had both fallen in love with South America.
