South America, a retrospective

Here's a little map of our route.

Countries visited: 5
Furthest north/south: Quito (0.25 S) / Buenos Aires (34.6 S)
Furthest west/east: Piura (80.6 W) / Buenos Aires (58.4 W)
Highest spot visited: Sol de Manana geysers (southwest Bolivia) 4900 m
Highest spot spent overnight: Laguna Colorada (southwest Bolivia) 4300 m
Highest spot hiked to: Pasachoa (near Quito, Ecuador) 4200 m
Highest spot seen briefly through a bus window: Aconcagua (Chile/Argentina border) 6962 m

Best wine: Chilean Carmenere with Rodrigo in Santiago (thanks!!!)
Least favorite wine: Peru (yes, all of it)

Best accidental food order: Tacu Tacu (Lima)
Worst accidental food order: Cow Lung (Lima)--same meal!

Favorite cities: Cuenca, Ecuador; Arequipa, Peru; Sucre, Bolivia
Favorite country: Ecuador
Favorite volcanoes: Tungurahua (Ecuador) for the name (throat of fire) and Cotopaxi (Ecuador) for the view
Favorite museum: Nazca, Peru
Easiest accents to understand: Ecuador, Bolivia
Hardest accents to understand: Chile
Worst border crossings: Ecuador into Peru & Bolivia into Chile
Easiest border crossing: Peru into Bolivia (other than the $270 in visa fees)
Prettiest money: Chile

Lessons learned: always wear skirts for bus travel, always have your towel, ordering random food at restaurants not knowing what it is is fun, organized tours are usually not worth it, make friends with other travelers because you will be seeing them again, ... we'll think of more on the plane.