Life's Hard As A Norweigian

With South America in the books, I finally got to start my travels back to Vancouver.. with a quick detour in the  Caribbean first! Landing in Fort Lauderdale, I was lucky enough to catch up with Vanessa for dinner who I had met 5 months ago in Brazil, as well as meet her friend Jennifer! It was definitely a highlight seeing an old friend, catching up as if we've known each other for years, and not for just for a few months. Good for the soul!

Ladies with accents..

Afterwards my parents picked me up and we had a big ole happy reunion! It was great seeing them after my trip and it couldn't have been a better reception stateside. Sitting in the car with them on the way to the hotel however, I realized I had just had one of the last conversations where I wouldn't have to explain any of the places, names or things that I've experience to the other person. Where they simply just understood what I was saying. I'm going to miss that.. a lot. Meeting up with the rest of the family in our hotel led to an epic exchange of personal belongings brought from Vancouver and a bag of presents from South America in return. Then after a short sleep we were off cruising!

Cruising!

The Norwegian Epic was my home for an entire week. Unpacking my bag into drawers and clothes hangers was definitely a huge change of pace for me. As was having catered food anytime 24/7, as was being able to flush toilet paper down the toilet.. as was having the same bed for more than four days, as were many many other things. Days were spent lounging on the sun deck, guzzling protein in between sets at the gym (ha), going to three hour dinners, drinking bottles with the cousins and sisters, and exploring three different ports of call! A hard life as a Norwegian indeed. 

La vida es duro

Three stops. Nassau, Bahamas. Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Cozumel, Mexico. 

Nassau! As we departed the cruise we got into a 15 passager bus and took off immediately. Or not. We ended up waiting for it to fill up to take off to Atlantis Waterpark when we were introduced to Sharky the Swiper. By that, I mean he literally convinced us to ditch the van and go into his air conditioned SUV to take off to Atlantis instead of waiting for more people. Service first right? Atlantis was beautiful, a "Mayan" temple had three slides built into it, two of which would shoot you through a glass tube filled with sharks! Many pools and and a few more rides dotted the park. A lazy river rapid on tubes ended up being the best ride of the day, full of laughs and smiles. A lunch date with a classmate of Rosalyn's led to a one really awkward handshake video and the dubbing of my "jobless travel bracelets". I definitely need to return. To get a real feel for the location. To get under the skin of some locals. To really discover it.. and obviously not just for a passport stamp and another patch on my backpack. Obviously. 

Mayan Temple. Discovered as is.

Ocho Rios! Ya maaaaan! No problems in Jamaica, only situations! Some of the friendliest people live here in Jamaica, also some of the best salesmen! We got a chance to explore Dunn's River Falls just outside the town. It's essentially a series of small waterfalls connecting into a river running down the course of some 600 feet to the ocean. Climbing/hiking/swimming up it from the bottom with my family including mom, dad, uncle, and aunt was awesome. Thankful that I was able to share an experience like that with the generation above. Definitely was a bit of a balancing act carrying my camera up it but well worth it in the end. A little jerk chicken later, a few snaps at a decent mirador and quite a lot of coffee bags later and off we were! Proximo?!

Dunn's River Falls

Cozumel! Palancar reef is suppose to be one of the world's best dive sites. I had tried to sign up with a seperate dive shop prior to the trip but a lack of wifi, 4 other people to deal with and a dive center on vacation crushed those hopes. Signing up for the cruise's diving excursion with equipment to Palancar and then a secound dive spot afterwards had me quite excited! Up until I got off the boat and saw the meeting place. Seeing all the people, filling out all the disclaimers and paperwork with "Sergio" left me feeling like I was just another person being shoved along the conveyor belt. It was to be expected and that wasn't a problem. What I didn't expect was the extra 12$ wetsuit rental fee (apparently a wetsuit doesn't count as equipment in Mexico), the impersonal divemasters and the fact that we didn't even go to Palancar! While the first dive site was pretty enough and the visibility 40m+, it wasn't enough to compensate for the piss poor secound dive, the lack of care and not going to Palancar! Seriously what the heck! With a serious bitter taste in my mouth I went in search of tacos, of course. I found the local marketplace off the tourist strip and replaced my bitterness with delicious tacos and iced horchata, a rice drink made with orange and cinnamon. Food can solve all problems in the world. Try it. 

Problem Solver

All three were beautiful, all three were serene, and all three were filled with tourists. Really I knew that and had prepared myself to brace for the worst. Landing in a cruise ship next to 2-3 other cruise ships who are all there at the same time for the same hours leads to my least favourite type of travelling. The obnoxious, waterproof passport sleeve around the neck, fanny pack & socks and sandals wearing type of travelling. It's simply not for me. Air conditioned buses jammed with people high on their horses, artisanal markets where every vendor has the exact same thing for the exact same prices, and 20$ plates of Jerk Chicken. Maybe it's something I'll grow into. Maybe I'm just not mature enough to understand it. Or maybe I'm just too adventurous for my own good. Wandering through the gritty parts of town where homeless orphans sleep in the street and shifty characters try to sell stolen goods. Eating at the local markets and grimy street carts even if I might get salmonella from the 2$ skewer of beef hearts sizzling over a charcoal fire. Too risky for my own good. 

But there's safety and security in travelling like this. You know that if you book a tour that you're not going to get swindled 100$. Three appetizers, a main course and two desserts topped off with a show afterwards is quite the norm. Doing nothing but sleeping in till noon and lying on a sundeck until sunset is far from abnormal. Anyway, I have no idea what kind of point I'm trying to make with this post so.. Highlights?!

High Lights

I got to see my family for an entire week after 6 months on the road. Awesome. 

I got to spend an entire week on Caribbean time, and not having to deal with any of the annoyances of being a short on time. backpacker. Fantastic. 

I'll be home in Vancouver in a few hours and can FINALLY eat all the asian food I can stomach. Entonces bueno. 

Finally, I'll be off again on my next adventure in two weeks. Can't wait!

Channy

Instagram - itsnathanchan

December 28th, Gate A12, PDX, USA

Time´s Up

Conclusions. Some adventures have proper ones, while some simply have a giant cliff hanger. This is just a brief interlude between adventures. This is simply just the end of one adventure. This is simply just the beginning of the wanderlust. This is just the beginning to it all.

I'll be home in Vancouver in just over a week and it's a bit of a bittersweet prospect. I'm utterly excited to see all my friends back home, and yet I'll miss the randomness of meeting people in hostels. I'm too stoked to eat some proper Asian food as anyone whose spent more than 2 hours with me in the last month should know, however I'll miss the tasty pollo a la broaster that's simply everywhere, all the sketchy street food that may or may not give me the runs for a week, and most definitely the freshest fruit juices on this planet with a little yappa/extra served on the top. I'm honestly excited for the weather, for the snow, rain and cold. In all honesty while I sweat like a pig in this 30 degree sunny weather, I already know that I'm taking it for granted, but I seriously just miss wearing jeans, my winterjacket and a toque!

To say that this journey has changed me would be quite cliche and a huge understatement. It's broadened my perspectives, awoken new passions in my life, made me more open to constant change, and simply made me learn about myself and who Nathan Chan really is. I realized that you seriously don't need a ton of money to travel and that it's simply a luxury travelling with it. I found out that I'm quite in love with Scuba Diving and Photography, two things that I would seriously consider as a career in the potential future. Last minute change of plans? Waste a little bit of money to stay another night somewhere? Roads washed out so you need to figure out a new path somewhere? No worries anymore! I started this trip with set dates of when and where I wanted to be in places and as time went on and on, it slowly dawned on me little to late that sometimes, or most of the time, it just doesn't matter.

Todos es possible, nada es seguro/Everything is possible, nothing is certain. 

Never say no just because you're scared or uncertain. I've ended up doing so many random and brilliant things that I hadn't thought of doing simply on other people's suggestions. Tango shows in Buenos Aires, going to Easter/Galapagos islands, horseback riding in Salento, trekking for 4 days in rainstorms and mud to the Lost City and countless other things. Looking back I would've actually had a somewhat boring trip had I stuck with "The Plan". At the start of the day you simply should just ask yourself - Por que no?/Why not? Push yourself to try something new and you'll constantly surprise yourself. 

This was my first big trip alone. 6 months on my own except for a 3 week visit from my sis Ros. While I always say you're never really alone while you travel, a lot of the time you seriously are. Hundreds of hours of bussing and very little of that has been with a friend next to me to pass the hours away. Many days in different countries that I've had no one to talk to all day and explored on my own. An unfortunate amount of meals that I've sat on my own with just a book to keep my company. As sad as that all sounds there's quite definitelty a silver lining. If I want to go rafting this morning, I'm going to go rafting. If I want to make quinoa with asparagus, mushrooms and broccoli, well that's what I'll make. If I desire to fly off to Easter Island, I'm going to book a flight that night. It's awesome. How often do you really get to be THAT in control of your own life?? Think about it. Have a job? Why 5 days a week instead of 3? Go to school? Do you get to choose your exam dates? Have a boyfriend/girlfriend? Don't even get me started on picking a movie to watch. 

New people. I've made the best of friends on several different continents and I simply want to visit you all. I want you all to come visit me so I can show off my beautiful city Vancouver! We've stared dumbstruck standing on top of Pico de Papaggaio in Brazil, grunted in pleasure over the first bite of an Argentine steak or struggled up and over Dead Woman's Pass, together. We've lounged on white sand beaches in Colombia, sat on 18 hour buses in Peru eating grapes and figs or simply bumped into each other in 5 different country, together. We've had countless birthday (everyday) meals that I've had the privilege (or not) to cook for all over the continent, built one giant pillowfort to share stories in at 5am in Milhouse and cycled down Death Road in Bolivia, together. We've done a lot, laughed a lot and I'll miss each and every single one of you dearly. Please keep in touch!

As for me? Well in a few hours I'll be boarding a flight to Miami from Cartagena where I'll be reunited with an old friend from Brazil and my family I´ll ultimately be putting an end to my South American adventures. I'll be trading dirty buses and 10 bed dorms for an awful week onboard a cruise bound for the Carribean, where every single one of my smallest whims will be catered to and cared for. All I get to do is workout, eat my weight in bacon, scuba dive Cozumel, explore Jamaica and run around Atlantis Waterpark for an entire stressful full week. After I have about two weeks home in Vancouver filled with snowboarding, eating at all my favourite restaurants and drinking pounds of coffee with various mates. Then I'm off on my next adventure! More on that soon enough. Life's hard ain't it?

Well obviously my final South American post in South America has to be completely scatterbrained and emotional. I'm not going to lie. I'm quite sad to leave this continent that I don't want to leave. Quite emotional to say my final goodbyes to people who I don't want to be away from. Quite disbelieving that my long long six months has finally now come to an end. I made a snappy jest about how it must be so, so sad to be closing in on the end directed at my British friend Vanessa weeks into my trip when her 9 month trip was coming to a close. She replied with "only people on the start of their trip say shit like that, you'll know exactly how it feels your times up as well." Well.. I know how it feels now, Time´s up eh. Hasta luego America del sul. Mucho gracias, muito obrigado por todos.

The Sun Sets Eventually

Channy

Instagram - itsnathanchan

December 20th, Cartagena, the Final Stop

Catch Up

Lately I've just been a bit of a slob in all aspects. Forgetting to shower every day, missing out on a few key postcards for friends, keeping my life/backpack organized, and most noticeably having a very insignificant online presence. But I'm back on track-ish. This is going to be a whirlwind post updating you all on what I´ve been up to since Banos, which is quite a bit.

Quito, Ecuador

Bought hiking boots for the first time as my FiveFingers finally died after a good 3 years worth of service. Went go karting in the rain instead of taking the Teleferico to the top of Quito. Had my first camp fire/hostel rooftop bar fire in ages. Did a handstand over the (fake) equator line. Spend a friend's birthday dinner smashing out an entire roast chicken together. 

Quite a few meters off the actual equator line

Quilotoa, Ecuador

An awesome inactive volcano that turned into a lake a bit off the well worn path in Ecuador. Took a bus and a taxi there. Walked to the edge. Walked down. Walked around. Struggled up. Took a bus back to Quito. Got some snaps. 

Volcan Quilotoa

Cotopaxi, Ecuador

Unfortunately only had two days here. Such an epic little hostel/lodge tucked away in the countryside near Volcan Cotopaxi. Hiked to some decent waterfalls as well as up to Pasochoa! Didn't actually touch Cotopaxi which was the original plan.. But then again I didn't do a lot of things I planned to do and did a bunch that I hadn't planned!

Straight out of Lord Of The Rings

Cali, Colombia

1 hour long public bus, 5 hour bus to the border, 15 minute taxi to the actual border, 30 minutes stamping through both sides, another 5 minute taxi and finally a 10 hour bus ride took me from Quito to Cali. I stayed with David, Juan's brother and had him as a personal tour guide for a full two days. Through the eyes of a local, perspectives definitely change and I wouldn't have had as much fun as I did without the local insight. We also flew back to Rio de Janerio for the a day. Just because. 

Christ the Redeemer. Colombian style

Salento

Coffee country. Gorgeous landscapes and sunsets. Was able to meet up with Jason and Claire again from the Inca Trail! Hiked Valle de Cocora or Corona depending on how much I want a beer at the time. Coffee tours, coffee tasting, my first horseback ride and a tasty birthday dinner that I had the privilege to cook for with the help of my two sous chefs were what made Salento quite epic.

Valle de Cocora

Bogota

Changed my plans a bit to meet up with Eva and Bianca (also Inca Trail) and send off Eva on her way home back to Amsterdam!  Graffiti tour. SO MUCH GRAFFITI. I love graffiti and everything about it. Proper street art makes me happy and Bogota is at the forefront of it. Crepes & Waffles (a Colombian chain of you guessed.. Crepes and waffles), a kilo or four of street food, one bottle of red wine, perhaps a beer or two and three lovely dutch girls made for one fantastic time in the city!

View from the Telefrico

Medellin

Real City Walking Tour. The best tour I've been on in 6 months. Insightful, deep, and quite personal. Followed up by a night out watching the Nacional vs River Plate game with a good group of boys and girls! A quite monotone filled Pablo Escobar tour left my sleeping through most of the afternoon until I smashed a literal mountain of Ribs and Chips. Food Coma. Hiked up Piedra del Peñol. Here are some pictures, because it happened. 

Classic Photo

Guatape

Literally came here just for this view.

Piedra del Penol

Final two weeks on the Caribbean coast of Colombia before I end my backpacking journey and fly off.. To meet my family in Miami for a week long Caribbean cruise. Very muy bien!

Channy
Instagram - itsnathanchan

December 6, 2014, Dreamer Hostel, Santa Marta