Ruby slippers

Our journey takes us to the mythical island of Chiloé, and we find ourselves feeling let down when it doesn’t quite live up to our expectations.  This island has been on our itinerary since before we made the decision to go north instead of south, and so we have had almost four months to build it up in our minds only to find it not to be quite what we had imagined.  But it is, undoubtedly, beautiful.  We spend one afternoon on a beach from which, across the sea, we could see a seemingly endless stretch of snow-covered Patagonian mountains.  We visit ancient churches constructed entirely from wood, and sample delicious Chiloté seafood.  We visit the wild coast and stare at the Pacific Ocean, remembering back to our time in New Zealand when we stood on its coast and looked the other way.  We admire the quirky, colourful stilt houses for which Chiloé is famous, but something doesn’t feel right.  Maybe our hearts just aren’t in it anymore.

Cutting our time in Chiloé short, we spent a couple of lovely sunny days in Valdivia, and, finally, some not so sunny days in Pucón, where we rebel against its reputation as the adventure sports capital of South America with a relaxing couple of days spent horse riding and indulging in a spa day (for who knows when we’ll next have the money to do that!).

Though this last part of our trip has been filled with incredible things, it is hard not to feel like our hearts have not already flown home ahead of us.  We want to embrace and enjoy our final days, but I can’t deny that we’re wishing the time away. 

The journey home is by no means going to be easy.  Tonight it begins with the first of three overnight buses, the last of which ends in Lima.  We have a couple of days to rest and then we’re on the road again, only this time it’s not the road – we will be departing on the first of our three flights from Lima to Madrid, followed by Madrid to London and, finally, London to Glasgow.  If only we were in possession of Dorothy’s ruby slippers and could murmur “there’s no place like home” whilst clicking our heels together three times.  Though I wonder if such magical shoes were available to me, would I have already used them?

There have been so many days during this year that I have wanted to come home, and have told Phil, wholeheartedly, that I wanted to change our flights and make that final journey back to what I know; what is safe.  But now, at the almost-end of our trip I am so incredibly thankful that my level headed husband managed to talk sense into me, and I have not one regret in our decision to extend our nine month trip to a full year.  We are broke, exhausted and 100% in need of our home comforts, but it has been worth it.  For every sight we have seen, every person we have met, every difficulty we have faced has made the journey so wonderfully unforgettable and, ultimately, life changing.