Epilogue

Our travel day began at 3:30 AM. My Blackberry alarm clock is actually a very pleasant way to wake up. We woke up, showered up, packed up, organized receipts for customs, and prepared for the next 3 airplane rides, a night in San Jose Costa Rica, and a rental car back to Santa Barbara California. The long journey home has begun.

Amazingly John, the host and owner of Rick's Place was up with desayuno prepared for us at 4:30 AM. He made fresh squeezed orange juice, fresh coffee, and fresh fruit for us. This kind of service, I assure you could not be found in the most expensive of hotels. If you ever stay in Buenos Aires, you must stay in Rick's Place.

Andres our taxista was very prompt, picked us up, drove us to the Buenos Aires airport quickly and easily at this early hour. I noticed how few lights were on in the apartments as we sped by them on the autopista. There were very few Portenos up at 5 AM.

Sadly, our month in South America was ending. The sadness was mixed with that welcomed sense of going home. Home to my own bed, my own food, my own coffee, my guitars, my bands, my friends, my yoga teachers, my morning bike rides and my work.

In retrospect, the trip was about the geography and the people. The animals take a close 3rd. The Geography of South America with the Andes, the volcanoes, Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego is unsurpassed. I was constantly thrilled.

The South American animals including the Gunacos, the Nanadus, the Penguinos and the Chilean Flamingos are so tame they are not afraid of people. Next time we will visit the jungles.

But it is the people of South America that I will remember most. The warm friendly demeanor of the South Americans is what I will take with me. Their strong commitment to their families and their elders is what I remember. Yes, I can generalize here because I know what I feel. IIt seems that our country has lost its soul. The USA had soul once, but lives in the depths of soulless, despair, and fear. On the other hand, South America still has the magic.

Oh yea I will remember those beautiful Chilean and Argentinean women and the handsome Peruvians. I also remember, the friendly willingness to help a lost and weary traveler. The happy, genuinely interested people willing to share political opinions and ideas.  Their smiles were genuine and heartfelt.

Lastly I will see South America as a land that is totally misrepresented in North America. It is hard to find a mention in the North American media about a South American Country without a negative, fear-ladened, political, crime filled, war-torn story attached to it. It is a vast continent, rich in history, heritage, and resources. The economies are exploding in South America. I have never seen so many large cranes in one city as in Santiago. This is the land of the upside down Orion, where the Moon and planets rise in the North. It is the land of the Peronists. THe land of paradoxes. The land of the Andean people, the Inca, the Mapuche, the Tango, the land of Yerba Mate,  coca tea, sliver, copper, and more. This is a continent with a diverse population of optimistic hopeful people whose outlook is bright.

South America is a land with history, heritage and with spirit.

Goodbye South America, I will always love you.