(T)OUR LATINLAND

I promised still to post something, so better late than ever.. At the moment I'm back to South America and want to finish this blog before publishing new one.

During the trip I spent 210 nights in following places:

Hostel 125 (nights)
Friend's place 35
Couch Surfing 10
Bus 10
Language course host family 8
Bungalow 6
Jungle lodge 6
River ferry 3
Desert lodge 2
Aeroplane 2
Jungle hammock 1
Airport 1
Tent 1

During the trip I travelled some 603 hours by different vehicles:

Bus 329 (hours)
River ferry 78
Canoe 49
Aeroplane 44
Minibus 37
Jeep 29
School bus 14
Collective taxi 12
Boat 11

• *THE END*

It was pretty strange feeling to return home. After seven amazing months of making my dreams come true I was back in Finland. However, it was lovely to see my family and friends, to eat Finnish food, to go to sauna etc.

I want to thank all the great people I have met during the trip, people I have travelled with, people who have hosted me, people who have supported me in a way or another, people who helped me with practical stuff before and after the trip... You really made my trip possible and enjoyable! Special thanks to my family, to Heini and to Ruth!! Last but not least thanks to all the readers of this blog. During 8 months of its existence there have been more than 3000 visits!

Now I'm recovering from the trip in Tampere the whole August before returning to uni. It's time to make some reflection and of course to plan the next trip

Sincerely,

Jemi

PS. I will still write a few post here!

ECUADOR

Quito

Baños

PERU

Kuelap ruins

Pacaya-Samiria Natural Park, the Amazon rainforest

Cordillera Blanca, the Andes

Ballestas Islands

Huacachina

BOLIVIA

Isla del Sol, Lake Titicaca

La Paz - Coroico, "the death road"

Uyuni salt desert

Potosi, the mine visit

ARGENTINA

Iguazu Falls

BRAZIL

Rio de Janeiro

SOUTH AFRICA

Pilanesberg National Park / The lion park

Margate by the Indian Ocean

Wellington, the wine farm

Cape Town / Cape of Good Hope

Two more days around Cape Town. This time we were hosted by Jared and the overflowing hospitality just continued. We were told that the weather of Cape Town is miserable in the winter, but I guess we were lucky this time because sun was shining all the time.

Once we visited Cape of Good Hope. The area was huge and the views impressive. On the way we saw penguins, baboons and a whale, they are always very cool to spot.

Soon it was time to leave Cape Town and to head towards north. I was going to visit Palesa again before taking a flight to Finland!

Photos:
1. Baboon watching towards the future
2. & 3. From Cape of Good Hope

The next destination was one of the most interesting of the whole trip. We stayed four days at a winefarm in Wellington, near Cape Town.

The parents of family Ottle had made a radical decision years ago by changing their urban life for farming on countryside. By working hard for years they had developed their farm a lot. And now it was like a paradise. They were definately a living example of people who follow their passion and dreams. Sometimes it requires going out of the comfort zone, but it's a way to success!

Hectars of verdant land, river with crystal clear water and mountain views. Domestic animals and pets. Honey, eggs, walnuts, redwine and brandy were from the own farm - I can only imagine how it is during the fruit season.

It was such a relaxing experience to spend those days at the farm. Every day we admired the place with Ruth and the feeling was even a bit unreal. The mountains reflecting the light at the time of sunset, delicious dinners with the whole family tasting wine, eating pizza heated by their own pizza oven, playing cards and joking with supercool children of the host family (Jonathan and Melissa) to name a few of those lovely moments. I hope I could return there one day.

Photos:
1. -3. Walking around with Jonathan, Ruth and Jared
4. The group of Jonathan's friends
5. Rat with Jemi
6. Ruth with dog
7. Ruth with farm's own products
8. Sunset

The journey with Ruth and (her) huge number of packages continued to a small town called Margate, located near better known Durban. Ruth had already spent six months in South Africa having Christian mission training and had got that way lots of new local friends. One of them was Paula, who hosted us in this peaceful town by the Ocean.

Before South Africa I used to have lots of private time. Now I was visiting South African families and there was somebody to talk with all the time. Like we used to say: it wasn't wrong, it was just different.

Margate had beautiful beaches both sandy and rocky. One day we were walking there around collecting shells with funny shapes and colours. I felt like a kid again. What else could you do with your childhood friend? Even more joyful reactions were seen when a few whales were jumping far in the sea.

That's why we found ourselves from the whale trip next day. We had a small boat for ten people. It was enjoyable from the very beginning. The size of the waves was respectful and it felt like being in a rollercoaster. So much fun to spot those huge animals, swim for a while and spot more whales and some dolphins. It's winter in South Africa now, but we happened to have a great sunny day, just like a warm Finnish summer day..

Photos:
1. Ruth & Paula
2. Paula, Ruth & Jemi
3. Flowers
4. & 5. Swimming
6. Whale