The end of an era — Molly Wanders

Jun 2

Jun 2 The end of an era

I’ve been given an assignment.

“I need you to tell me why you liked LATAM”

It’s the beginning of our last month in Latin America and I’m immediately getting nostalgic about the beautiful, chaotic half-a-year that all began down here. We’re now in Buenos Aires, supposedly the ‘Paris of South America,’ and I’ve already caught myself comparing it to Roma Norte in CDMX. It’s still very Argentine- aka cash only, tiny tiendas that sell the most delicious pears, and late nights reflected by the ghost town that is the city during daylight hours- but it’s fun to be ending the LATAM adventure in a city that reminds us a little of our hands down, favorite city so far (where da street tacos at tho). I also have a feeling BA will be an outing-heavy month since my first two weekend nights here were spent out until 6am, but this very un-American lifestyle is only getting me prepared for Europe, so I’ll suck it up.

That’s another thing about LATAM coming to an end; it’s the end of an era. Six months is a hell of a long time to be on a continent you never legitimately thought to visit before (Machu Picchu aside). I guess people are becoming more ‘wanderlusty’ these days, but it used to be Europe, Europe, Asia, Europe and not a second glance towards a country like Colombia. I get it- fear plays a part in this as well, but with the terror landscape in Europe today, maybe South America should be the new vacay spot?? Anyway, we end our time here- six months of wild fun, unimaginable growth, and some of the most amazing places, people and things I will ever witness with these two eyes of mine- and we move on to a whole new world (cue Jasmine singing). It will be a whole new world in many ways, most of which I probably can’t predict, so I won’t.

But holy cow, looking back on the last 6 months…

Lost luggage. Sparklers. Street tacos. Micheladas. Drones. Lucha libre. Corona. Strep throat. Shamans. Music festival shootings. Sweat lodges. Ants for dinner. Hot air balloons. Pyramids. Bottle service. Tejo. Food poisoning. Fabuloso. Monserrate. Gringo Tuesdays. Addressing my insecurities. Realizing people love me for me. Aguardiente. Lots of it. Maracuya. Real coffee. Spelunking. Graffiti. Grilled blowfish. Carnaval. Roughing it. Soap-foam guns. Bulletproof naps. Cobblestone roads. Poolside workspace. Boat ragers. Tropical oasis. 70’s-coke-den-apartment. Hills that kill (the glutes). Parrots. Monsoon rain. Finding my long lost twin. Laughing til tears rolled down my face. Really unproductive days. Rappi burritos. Bridge jumping. ATVing. Stolen phone. Discovering Justice. Making new friends. Ceviche. Pisco. Lots of it. Merakough. Justin Bieber. Birthday. London. Worst travel day of my life. Realizations. Best 2 weeks of my life. Coca tea. Pizza pringles. Alpacas. Summiting Rainbow Mountain on 4/20. Guinea pig for dinner. Jurassic park. Machu Picchu. Catching my first wave. The last time I saw a lime. The first time I saw a lemon in 5 months. Happiness. 13 Reasons Why. Toilet shower. Asado. Malbec. Lots of it. El Papagayo. Potlucks. Weird park. Long walks. Kittens. Life discussions. Fruitarianism. Master of None. Girl’s weekend. Losing friends on RY. Sleeping too late. Best 10-hour-cross-Argentina bus ride ever. Homesickness. Hotel-motel-holiday-inn.

And BA has only just started…

So what do I love most about Latin America? I’ll let you know if I can condense it down to an appropriate, all-encompassing response. Until then, keep dancing people.