South America Reflections – All 4 Bartman Perspectives

We arrived in South America on August 17th and we left on September 18th.  Over the past month we have spent a week in Guatape, Colombia, 3 weeks going through different cities in Peru, and 1 week in La Paz, Bolivia.  Now that we are heading out of South America and over to Africa, we wanted to provide you with the final thoughts and reflections from each member of the family.  Below you will find a section written by Fred, Michelle, Teagan and Molly.

Fred:

From my perspective, South America was dominated by 3 main storylines: 1) The importance of family, 2) History (especially of the Inca people), and 3) Unique and differing landscapes.

From the moment we arrived in Colombia, the importance of family could be seen and felt everywhere you went.  This remained true as we traveled.  Multiple generations often lived together in one home and it was clear how much younger generations respected and appreciated their elders.  They spoke to us about stories and traditions passed down from one generation to the next and the importance of that verbal family history/lessons.  You could see the love and joy on locals faces when they were out with family and friends.  No major event or festival needed.  I remember watching a father sit on a cramped bus with his younger daughter (maybe 7 yrs old).  She was curled up on his lap and he just kept smiling down at her and kissing her head.  It was beautiful and something that transcended the language barrier!

Secondly was the history we learned along the way.  Spending the most time in Peru, we really had a chance to dig into the Incan history.  It was noticeable how proud today’s generations remain about their heritage.  It was also visible in many areas the ways in which ancient history has continued to impact their daily culture.  

Finally, it was surprising to see how different the landscapes were throughout our visit.  Guatape was probably the most pleasant weather.  At 6,000 ft above sea level, the elevation created a space that had almost zero bug/insects, however, the altitude didn’t impact your daily activity.  The weather was also perfect (sunny and 70s every day).  In Peru, we experienced everything from the ocean to deserts to highland plans to mountains to rainforest.  It was fun to bounce between the different landscapes from day to day.  

Michelle:

South America was full of life, color, and activity.  People were always moving – always active and talking and living and working and, well, moving. The larger cities were especially busy – cars, people, buses and motorcycles weaving around each other with barely a pause. The straight lines and highly regimented spaces and rules of America were relaxed.  Sidewalks and roads meandered, and homes grew in different directions. But the relaxation of North America’s order didn’t mean chaos; it just meant that there was space for (and value in) everyone and everything.  The number of small mom and pop minimarts, or tiny restaurants with only 3 tables, or one woman fruit stands meant that more people could own their own business, or make their own way.  There seemed like there were more ways to succeed when success happened on different scales.

And everyone was so hardworking.  Multiple of our guides talked about the social taboo of being lazy. It was an unwritten rule that everyone must contribute. Even people who were living on the streets. It was rare for someone to ask for money; instead, they all had something small to sell. One woman might have small packages of tissues, another might have bottles of water.  Small things, but instead of asking, they were earning.  

Another thing that struck me was the scope of their history.  Pre-Inca, Inca, Spanish Conquistadors, colonial times and freedom – the history stretched for 1000s of years.  In the US, we talk about time periods that span significantly less time – while societies of indigenous peoples existed pre-European contact, don’t seem to dominate our historical timeline as much – maybe because they didn’t build like the Inca, or because there were multiple smaller, independent groups.

Regardless, nature in South America was beautiful and breathtaking.  The people were kind and hardworking. The history was long and fascinating.  It was an incredible way for us to begin our year of travels.  We were so very, very lucky to visit and experience this place!!

Teagan:

Overall, South America was pretty cool and definitely different. South America has such beautiful places, like the Andes Mountains, Machu Picchu, and Huacachina. My favorite place we visited was probably La Paz, Bolivia, because everything there was super cheap and we did a lot of fun things there. We got our nails done, went to an escape room, went on the sky rails, and I got a really pretty dress for only $25.

South America was also very different from America. There were lots of stray dogs around, and many shops had food set aside for them. South America also had lots of motorcycles. They would usually swerve in between cars and it was very different from Wisconsin driving.

Also, many people spoke English and were very kind to us. We were trying to communicate with one guy who didn’t speak English, and another girl came up to us and translated what he was saying, which was very nice.

Molly:

When someone asked me how South America was I would probably say that it was a fun country but it was very different from Wisconsin. One thing that was different was that there were big cities everywhere. There were a lot of cars and even more motorcycles. We also saw a lot of stray dogs, especially in the very first place we stayed, called Guatape. 

I would also say that the people there were very nice. Every time you pass someone they would say hola,  buenos dias, buenos tardes, or buenas noches, which means hello, good morning, good afternoon, and good night in Spanish. But in the bigger cities you couldn’t make eye contact with people or they would run to you and ask to sell you things and if one seller saw another seller trying to sell you something, all the sellers would come to that one spot and swarm you. And despite all of these differences, South America is still a lovely place to visit.