The past few days I’ve done a lot of reflecting on this trip and what I’ll take away from the last 10 months I just spent in South America. When I sit back and really think about what will stick with me as my life carries on, I realize it’s not the literal places I’ve been or beautiful landscapes I’ve seen, but the people I’ve met and formed bonds with. I feel super grateful to have explored stunning places like Machu Picchu, the coasts of Colombia and Ecuador, the Salt Flats in Bolivia, bustling cities like Buenos Aires and La Paz, and the mountains of Patagonia, but it’s the reveling in the human experience with others from all walks of life that has really made this trip special. The locations themselves didn’t really matter as much– some of the best and most hilarious memories this year unfolded in buses and places I’d consider somewhat boring on paper– the common theme is they usually were with people I felt deeply connected with.
It’s a strange rhythm you get into traveling solo for such a long time– you meet people from all over, inevitably get super close with some of them, laugh your ass off and have various experiences together, and then just as you’re starting to get comfortable, you say goodbye and go your separate ways and then you’re on your own again. And then you do it all again. And again. And again, and again, and again, and again. It can be exhausting trying to find some thread of social continuity. At a certain point you kind of just have to give in to the magic of the temporary experience, knowing that there is a very good chance of never meeting this person again and accepting and appreciating this one specific alignment of time, space and human.
I found that quite often when saying goodbye to someone, we’d try to end the time together with some sliver of a loose plan to see each other again and making the good times last forever (“yeah maybe I’ll be in Spain in 2020 and we can meet up then”). But I also think there’s a lot of beauty in saying something to the tune of, “you know what, we probably aren’t ever going to see each other again, and certainly not under these circumstances, but wow what a damn good time we had together”. I hope we do see each other again, but let’s just let it be what it was without overthinking what the sequel will look like.
With that said, a huge shoutout to all the people I’ve met this year who have made this an unforgettable journey, especially those who have hosted me or shown me around — you guys are some of the funniest, most open minded, curious, kind, and badass humans I’ve ever encountered. Please hit me up if you’re nearby or I can ever help you out. One love.
Blair Lineham Live 