I have now been back home sweet home for a few days. It was kind of weird at first....the jet lag...arriving home in the middle of the night and up early for work the next day...I felt like I was in a bubble. Nothing had changed. Did I think something was going to change??? Or had I changed. Not really....but I can tell you there are a few things that I was taking for granted on a daily basis that I shall no longer....
Bathrooms-As mentioned previously, the bathroom situation! Having nice clean, working toilets....many of them...everywhere, and you can use them for FREE! Every time we had to go to the bathroom in Bolivia, we had to pay and they were disgusting. On many occasions there was no running water, so we had to flush our business down with a bucket of water.
Toilet Paper- Going with the theme above...we had to carry a roll or two at ALL times. Our tour guide in Bolivia said it was mandatory (thought she was joking....nope...we really needed it). We got into the habit of stealing the roll left over from every hotel we were in on the trip. My trips to Cost-Co for toilet paper will now seem much more meaningful.
Flushing your paper-Can you notice a theme yet? This was super disgusting...but EVERY hotel we were in...even the nice one at the end of the trip, made you throw your USED toilet paper into the little garbage can...it was forbidden to throw it into the toilet!!!! SICK...and even sicker yet...Ivan and I have been home for 3 days and each time we wipe, we look for the garbage can.....amazing how quickly you can form a habit...as I have said in other blogs..it only takes 28 days to form a habit....if we can form this gross habit....perhaps we should try exercising daily!
Soap- Yet another sought after commodity...we were thankful for the baby wipes we brought as well as our beloved sanitary gel...used often...but it was nice to come home to loads of thick white bars of soap...dish soap...hand soap...ahhhhh soap.
Heat- when the days were warm, this typically was not an issue...but in the evenings when it cooled down, our hotels/hostels were freezing...FREEZING I say....AND this was their summer season. A few of the hotels gave us little heaters to plug in....one place actually provided hot water bottles...sweet Ivan would scatter them in the bed before I would jump in. The question is...how does one keep their nose warm at night? I have an eternally cold nose...hard to keep that sucker warm.
Showers-This one became the most sought after on the Inca trail...no showers, but heck it was camping and everyone was in the same boat. But the quality of showers on the whole trip was poor...some just a trickle of water...some scalding hot with no balance...some that didn't even work, and some with mould growing inside....I am sooo grateful for my shiny, clean shower, with endless hot water and amazing water pressure...it almost feels like I am in a spa everyday!
Bed-I generally can sleep quite well when travelling...that is when I am staying at a lovely hotel with a plush bed and fluffy pillows...zero problem...sweet dreams. This trip did not quite include any of the above...instead we slept on anything from a huge slab of salt, to a bed with a dip at the end...a single bed, in a room with 3 other snoring, farting people (okay, one was me) that had Star Wars sheets on it...a bed that disguised itself as a bed by piling 10 or 12 gross blankets on top....I am so utterly grateful for my big, queen size, cozy bed with soft 400 thread count sheets.
Pure Water-An essential part of daily life....you cannot drink the water in the places we travelled. Thankfully bottled water was cheap...but a pain to remember to always stock up for the day ahead...sometimes we would run out close to bed time and have nothing to brush our teeth with. This is something I certainly took for granted before...and now I fully appreciate each time I fill my glass up with beautiful, crystal clean water from the sink.
Safe Transportation- I think we almost died a minimum of 25 times on this trip...from the crazy taxi drivers, death-wish bus drivers...bouncing, rickety trains...when I was driving to the office yesterday, I actually felt peaceful...relaxed...there was lots of space on the roads....drivers were conforming to the rules of the red and green lights and staying in their own lanes...not creating new ones...I am certainly thankful that we can drive here in relative peace.
Sunblock- yes they sell it there...but no, not everyone can afford it. It was sad to hear of the high skin cancer rates..and how many people were dying at the young age of 40 because of it. We would see little kiddies with burns so bad on their little cheeks...all because they either couldn't afford it...or just didn't know better...we slathered it on daily.
Those were the main necessities of life (other than my wonderful closet full of clothes and shoes, makeup, hair accessories and jewlery..you know..all the really important stuff) that I was very much taking for granted each day. Basic needs such as water, shelter and safety...every day I sit it my beautiful warm home...I can turn the heat on when I please...my shower is like a spa, and my bed is made for a Queen, I sip water from a clean fountain and feel safe and secure in my beautiful life. We work hard for what we have, and do not teach our children to hold out their hands on the streets for money....perhaps we should also be teaching them that all of these things we have.. big and small, are not so readily enjoyed by millions of others....I am THANKFUL for my entire well being, and the Country we live in...and the fact that we could afford to take such an amazing journey..through the lessons of life...look around you, and ENJOY!
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