QueenPuya

Its way too early and I am on way too little sleep, as our neighbors in Lima hosted a raucous party until three in the morning last night. I’ve got a long day ahead of me as I travel to Chicago, but I’ve got some time to kill at the airport so I will finish off my South America blog. Sniff, sniff…I can’t believe its over. But I am more than ready to come home

Drumroll, please! Announcing my South America awards. I would hate to add tension to already tense situations between Andean nations, so please note that most of these could have gone any number of ways! :)

South America Awards!
Food: (tie) Colombia & Peru, Argentina (Note how the two winners are the places I stayed in actual homes!…but actually the winner is my honeymoon in BA)
Fruit: Ecuador, Chile, Colombia
Capital: La Paz, Buenos Aires, Bogota
Medium Sized City: Cusco (Pe), Cuenca (Ec), Valparaiso (Ch)
Small Town: El Angel (Ec), Villa de Leyva (Co), Samaipata (Bo)
Local Festivity: Christmastime in Colombia, dia de los Muertos in Ecuador, Semana Santa Peru
Historical Center: Quito, Cusco, Bogota
Booze: Argentina, Peru, Colombia
Seafood: Peru, Argentina
Meat: Argentina, Peru
Puya Collecting: Ecuador, Chile, Colombia
Best Herbarium: USM, Lima
National Parks: Iguaque (Co), Podocarpus (Ec), Huascaran (Pe)
Natural Preservation: Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina
Mountains: Peru, Colombia, Chile
Telephone and Internet: Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia
Local music: Brazil(the only thing I will mention about my trip in 2002), Argentina, Peru
Best long-distance bus services: Peru
Worst taxis: Peru
Worst traffic: Bogota
Best public transportation: Quito
Best airport: Lima
Most Catholic: Peru
Best shopping: Peru, Colombia, Argentina
Country I would return to soonest; Colombia, BA for the food
Country I think you should visit: Peru

And so we bid goodbye to Raquel, my South American self. My how she has grown! I remember being absolutely terrified and wanting to go home immediately when I first set foot in Bolivia, less than three years ago. I barely could speak Spanish, I barely knew anything about Puya, I could barely get around. I thought there was no way I could possibly complete my project and collect in all these countries. But thanks to more than a little luck and hard work, now it is my second nature to be here and I feel like I can handle myself traveling and working here with little stress or confusion. I am very proud of myself for coming this far. It is so rewarding to have stretched myself to the limits and see myself thrive. I do hope everyone in their life gets a chance to do the same. Muchisimas gracias to Matt for all his love and support…I miss you and I owe you. And to my family whose attention to and enthusiasm for my work helps enormously.

As for the future, I don’t really know if I will do more plant collecting in South America. I truly love it, but the buracracy involved in collecting and exporting plants frustrates me to no end. Also, all this travel has been a bit taxing at times. Regardless, I know how fortunate I am to have gotten to do all of this and I will always look back fondly on this time in my life. Back to the US (with a trip to Costa Rica to look forward to…just for fun!) and back to the real world. Thanks for reading