Yesterday was the last day in South America and as expected it was a very sad one… the day before we'd said goodbye to Andrew, Alex and Fi who have all hopefully made it home safe and sound. Kirby and Matt have set off for Mancora (still in Peru) and I'm now sitting at Madrid airport… This entry is going to be a bit different so let's start off with things I learned in South America, before getting to the thankyou's and then getting to the next part of the journey!

THINGS I LEARNED IN

·Santiago - all big cities are the same (and apparently I look like I speak Portuguese!)

·Mendoza - everyone has to go there to eat the steak

·Iguazu - bus bingo is the best way to learn Spanish numbers!

·Salta - you can communicate a lot by hand gestures, body language and repeating words. Lol

·Uyuni - suspension is the most important thing in the car… asides from petrol. Both of which we ran out of.

·Potosi - what goes down, has to come back up the same way so don't get too cocky. Especially in mines…

·Sucre - galloping horses are only fun when you're in control…

·La Paz - midget wrestling does not always have midgets… and Sprite isn't lemonade it's really lemon and lime flavoured (SHATTERED!!!!)

·Copacobana & Isla de Sol - always double check to make sure everything is attached properly, AND watch carefully when walking down stairs…

·Cuzco - it's best not to change rooms every day, and if someone offers you a room when you first arrive TAKE IT! Lol

·The Amazon - I'm scared of heights! Apparently I have good pronunciation in Spanish which is why I keep getting really lengthy explanations I don't understand… Hahaha

·Cuzco - you don't get sick from eating at Jacks! (This one could also be, South Americans call cold sores herpes… hahaha, try being told you have herpes on your face! Lol)

·Inca Trail - a strong mind can take you all the way to hysteria and keep you on the giggling side

·Cuzco - Australia needs to import the wax that South America uses…

·Lima -it's best not to have any expectations

MY THANKS LIST FOR SOUTH AMERICA (in order of appearance! Lol):

·Em and Joe for being the first people to take us out on the town in Mendoza! You brightened up our to no end, and your advice was perfect through-out our whole trip! Catch you in Cornwall!!!!

·Damian for picking on me for eating whole avocado… I'm telling you it's the bomb! Thanks for coming to San Pedro and not getting arrested with us too! BIG thanks for saving us seats at the wrestling and chatting to us in La Paz - was great to feel welcome! Hopefully catch up again if you ever return home? Lol

·Andrew for making us laugh from the first encounter on the bus to Potosi through the rest of our mixed stops, crazy times in clubs and walking the streets of La Paz and Cuzco… Hopefully catch you in the States or beyond at some point, good luck with the wedding and monkey suit… lol

·Alex for being the most horrible person to me that I've met… definitely helped me not miss my brother (hahaha, sorry Nick!). You know how I value our aquaintancy-ship-ness… Hopefully catch you at your birthday!!

·Fi for always having a story and dancing it up with me in Club Dos! The only person I know who speaks quicker not in their native tongue (which is REALLY saying something!!!)… Thanks for doing our Spanish arguing for us, for letting me play make-up artist and will catch you in London!

·Liv for listening to all of my long and complicated stories, and dancing it up through South America! Meet you at the Church for my birthday chica!!!

·Freddy, Rich and Chris for giving Kirbs and I a chance to hang out with guys again and not listen to all the girly nonsense for a bit! Will hopefully see you about London town!

·Ronnie and Charlie the partying in Cuzco, crazy stories, and more drama than the OC! Stay safe in your South American adventures!!

·To all of Loki in Cuzco for being the most awesome people and place to stay…

·Harry for being the best bartender in Lima who was always ready to let me play DJ. Will be hitting you up for NY and Spain advice for SURE!

·FINALLY, a big thanks to Kirb for being the BEST travel buddy I could have hoped for. Two girls, (sometimes only one bed!!!), food poisoning, upset stomachs, stolen goods and somehow not one single fight or argument! You made my trip chica and I hope you continue safely on yours! Love you lots and will see you in October!

CHAPTER TWO: The end of South America and the beginning of Euro-trip!

The day started off early with drilling breaking through the not so great sleep I was having. After finishing packing it was time to grab some brekky before my taxi to the airport. Kirbs and I both shed some tears as we said goodbye, but it probably would have been a bit more poetic if the cab didn't get stuck in the carspace for another 5 minutes… hahaha. Very South American though… lol. The cab driver then made me try to explain to him why I was crying in Spanish which I think he got through the sobs, sign language and broken Spanish… I've improved, but really not that much… Apparently I still look Brazilian as the airhostesses continued to speak to me in Portuguese even when I answered them in Spanish, and asked my own questions in English… lol

Everything at Lima airport appeared to go smoothly, getting two boarding passes and being told I had to collect the last one in Madrid, but that my bags were checked through… two flights later on arriving at Madrid and finally finding the customer service counter I was kindly told that my ticket to Barcelona had been cancelled because an electronic ticket had not been issued in February… but not to worry, that my bags were still going there… AWESOME!!! Being female, having been on flights for 16 hours, having said many goodbyes in 2 days I did the most obvious thing… start crying. Now the key to getting things fixed when you're crying is to do it silently… that way it looks like you're trying not to make a scene, but you're really upset, and feeling kind of lost. Luckily the customer service rep was male, so he tried to find my ticket, but when nothing was coming up in the system, sent me to the ticket sales desk for them to try. Once I got to the front of that line and mumbled out 'hablas ingles?' I was already welling up, wondering how on earth I was going to get to Barcelona! Luckily this guy (see, always the men wanting to help the damsel in distress!!) 'found' (I use this term really loosely as I ended up on a different flight, so I have no idea what he did…) my ticket… Fingers crossed my bags get there when I do, and not an hour earlier… lol. So, it's with mixed feelings I sit here writing this… feeling a little lost with my awesome travel buddy gone, and a bit lonely too. As usual, got too attached to too many people, so feeling a bit of a 'goodbye' hangover too! Looking forward to meeting some more great people through Spain, and to hitting the beaches and getting some SUMMER!

Missing everyone back home like crazy - feel free to come over and visit me, so I don't have to hold out til Oct!

Love and miss you all lots, keep the messages, facebooking, emails and texts coming!

XoxoX