Dear South America

Dear South America

When we think of you, our eyes begin to glow and a smile spreads across our faces. Because although our bodies have arrived in Switzerland, our hearts have been lost to your continent. We indulge in memories every day.

In the months we were able to experience you, you gave us so much to marvel at, explore, reflect on, laugh, cry, and discover.

We have embraced every corner of your vast continent, even if it wasn't love at first sight. You have shown us with your diversity, variety, and colors that life is not just about the gray and mundane everyday. But you have also made us realize that we should always appreciate Switzerland as our home.

Our adventure together started in Peru and we spent most of our time in this country.

The stinky and dirty big city of Lima didn't give us the best start, but as soon as we got to know the region of Paracas with its wildlife and desert, we fell in love with you.

In Peru, we experienced what it means to push our own limits and feel the air getting thinner at high altitudes. Exploring the high Andes with our huge and heavy backpacks made us realize the luxury of having good equipment that keeps us dry and warm in rain, wind, storms, and snow. As proud as we look back on these hikes, they were the greatest adventures of our journey.

When we embarked on the trail of the Incas, we realized how they could stack stones into walls and entire houses through human labor.

Our stop in Bolivia was brief, and due to the political situation (elections), we didn't feel very comfortable. But what the Salar de Uyuni offered us in terms of natural diversity, words fail to describe. In one day, we visited the wonderful salt flats and took many funny travel photos for our memories, and less than 12 hours later, we passed by lagoons of different colors, where flamingos found their home surrounded by the gentle hills of the volcanoes. An absolute highlight of our trip!

In northern Argentina, we drank the best wine of the trip and even Carla developed a taste for red wine. What an Argentine Malbec can do!

At the roaring waterfalls in Iguazu, we experienced the incredible power of water. As beautiful as these waterfalls are to admire up close on the Argentine side, a day trip to the Brazilian side allows you to fully appreciate the size of this natural spectacle.
In Buenos Aires, for the first time in two months, we felt at home and spent a week in this very European city.

We even made a short trip to Uruguay for four nights by ferry. Here we were able to swim in the sea for the first time and enjoy the summer sun in November. But somehow the so-called Switzerland of South America didn't convince us, and we were glad not to have stayed longer.

And then, finally, we made it to Patagonia. Our main destination, and we wanted to spend enough time there. So we traveled through Patagonia for two months, crossing the border between Argentina and Chile multiple times.

One could write a whole book about the natural beauty and solitude of Patagonia with its forests, mountains, lakes, fjords, animals, barrenness, seas, and winds. But no words can explain how beautiful nature is there. You have to go and see it with your own eyes.
After our first "wow" of whales and penguins in the wild, we headed west and experienced the different facets of water in Pucon, Chile, for a week. From the biggest waves that swallowed entire kayaks to impressive waterfalls and thermal springs, there was always something for our adventurous hearts to discover.

With a rental car, we explored northern Patagonia and saw places that would not have been possible to visit by public bus. The beautiful and diverse lakes, the water-sculpted marble caves, and the varied spring landscape with lupines are still vivid in our memories.

Over Christmas, we headed south and personally visited the trekking village of El Chalten. Although we had less luck with the weather at Cerro Torre, we witnessed a wonderful ice spectacle in the lagoon on a cold morning in the tent, and we admired Fitz Roy in all weather conditions.

We know glaciers from Switzerland, but the Perito Moreno Glacier at the start of the new year was truly impressive. It reminded us once again of how strong, big, and beautiful nature can be in its colors.

Yes, dear Patagonia. We had to plan everything around our Torres del Paine hike because we had booked it eight months in advance. A week of hiking with a tent in one of the most beautiful national parks in the world. We really have no words for this, especially since we had incredible luck with the weather.

As the end of our journey, we headed to the end of the world, Ushuaia. Our equipment was once again tested by the diverse and windy Patagonian weather. And now we know that not only our equipment goes to the end of the world with us, but our hearts belong together beyond the end of the world.

From the cold of Patagonia, we were looking forward to the Brazilian sun. But luckily, you can't buy good weather. So, somewhat atypically for this season, we saw a lot of rain. But we were able to explore the sights in Rio, enjoy island life on Ilha Grande, and discover the beautiful old town of Paraty. Somehow, Brazil didn't quite resonate with us, maybe it was the language or the many impressions we had already experienced. But we found a reconciling and colorful conclusion in Salvador.

And then we traveled to the last country on your continent. We were incredibly excited about colorful Colombia, and we were not disappointed. Bogota greeted us with incredibly delicious fruits, in Salento, we hiked to the tallest palms in the world. In Medellin, we learned about the sad history of the city and the country and were impressed by the artistic graffiti.

We experienced a true island paradise without tourism in Providencia. We only now realize the significance of this detour to the island, and we are incredibly grateful for it.

In Minca, we hiked once again in the mountains and enjoyed the beautiful coastline from a distance. The finale would have been the beautiful city of Cartagena, where we would have left you, dear South America, with a sailing ship to Panama. That would have been almost perfect. But then came Corona, and so we have to dream a little longer about this adventure, eagerly looking forward to a reunion soon.

And now... we are sitting at home in our own four walls, and we would have had so much more time to explore the beauties of our planet with our backpacks as light as feathers and our minds free. What remains are the shared memories of the time of our lives, which ended too soon, and thousands of stories that want to be told to our loved ones. South America, we will return - because you have stolen our hearts!