The End of the River

After four thousand three hundred and eighty four hours, thirty three minutes and a few seconds in South America, my flight home looms suddelnly into view. The hot Brazilian sun stifles the air as I sit, below the watchful gaze of Cristo Redentor, in an internet café almost identical to the one I first wrote from way back in Pisco. One last blog, one last sprite, and a final battle with keyboards set against the use of any punctuation. A sign on the wall tells me to smile - Jesus is filming me.
Argentina has been perhaps the highlight of our whole six weeks´ travelling. With friendly people, stunning scenery and enough meat to feed Hulk Hogan for a month, our fourth country along the way was one worth waiting for. In our 19 short days there, we managed to visit Salta, Mendoza, Córdoba, Buenos Aires and Puerto de Iguassu, in whixh places we went snowboarding, experienced the Argentine asado (the best form of barbeque ever invented), rode South America´s finest roller coaster, and got absolutely soaked to the bone underneath 700,000 litres of falling water per second.
And then came Brazil. Aside from being absolutely terrified of people who were talking a language very close to one I could understand, but which actually sounded like a bizarre mix between Spanish and Russian with a South African accent, I soon realised than I was gonna love Brazil. The variety of the landscapes - from quasi-English countryside, to a rainforest island boasting the best beaches I´ve ever seen, to the crammed city of Río de Janeiro - and the friendliness of the people, despite my inabilty to have a conversation with anyone, make for a country that I´m definitely sad to leave, and to which I´ll doubtless return.
But, as my time here draws to an end, I can´t deny that I´m looking forward to getting home. I´m gonna miss this continent, and those I´ve traversed it with (Luke, Fi and Hattie - you´re absolute ledgends :D) and yet, the lure of clean clothes and familiar surroundings is too hard to resist. From both the beggining and the end of the January River, I thank you all for following my progress throughout the last half a year, and my thanks go especially to those who have been praying for me and the team´s work. I´ll leave you with a Peruvian saying: "Never kick a cow in the tail." Take it from me, it´s sound advice.