today marks exactly one calendar year since i arrived in south
america, and i´ve never been so happy to give up AUD$1000+ in the
decision to stay longer. so many people who just don´t get
why i do this, (many of whom haven´t actually set off like this,) have
asked me what i get out of this seemingly aimless wandering around. so
what have i learnt in one year? it all seems to fall neatly into 3 main
categories:
practical skills that i´ve learnt/perfected but i doubt i´d use if i wasn´t on the road, eg, i now know how to..
- have a shower (including washing my hair) with 2 one-litre bottles of water
- set up my tent in heavy rain with patagonian winds buffeting me, and still keep most of my stuff dry
- make ice-cream from scratch
entertaining
trivia that i´ll never call upon in my life, but worthwhile nonetheless, such as..
-
the pacific plate is still pushing the atlantic plate up, meaning that
the south american andes are still rising at the rate of 2cm a year
(learnt while in Parque Sierra de las Quijadas)
- petrol
expands by 10% with a 10degree rise in temperature (learnt from a
truckie who was accused of selling petrol on the side, when it was just
a difference in temp between loading and unloading)
- in
the ´olden days´, porous sedimentary rock was used to filter water
(learnt while exploring the jesuit estancia in Alta Gracia)
´life´ lessons i´ve learnt, and that i´m still learning, for instance..
- that
despite my best efforts, i´m still a lone female traveller, and this
will always attract sticky situations (no pun intended). and with every
such situation, i´m handling myself better and better. (special thanks
to aunt patty!)
- that ´todo bien´, - it´ll all be ok in the end; if it´s not ok, it´s not the end.
- that it´s good to have a plan, and even better when you change it!
irish playwright oliver goldsmith once said ´a
man who leaves home to mend himself and others is a philosopher, .. he
who goes from country to country guided by blind impulses of curiosity
is .. a vagabond.´ surely one can be a philosophical vagabond?
after
all, whilst there´s definitely a certain comfort in staying in the one
place for a while and learning to call it home, the exhiliration of not
knowing what´s around the corner when one´s on the road
is uncomparable. going to bed with the idea of heading 100km to Merlo
and then waking up thinking ´no, i feel like going 700km further
east´; spending the night in Venado Tuerto, a town that i´ve never
heard of let alone thought of visiting, just because the truck wasn´t
heading to where i wanted to go, and it was getting too dark to get
another lift; or thinking i´ll go south to Mendoza and abruptly heading
north when i find out a friend´s in the the neighbouring province of
Córdoba ... i love being able to say to myself ´i wonder where i´ll be
next week/tomorrow/ tonight..´!
the
friend who i met up with in Córdoba is patty, a funky chicken from
belgium who i met in Buenos Aires in march of this year, and with whom
there was an instant connection. she´s the first person who i´ve
travelled with (as opposed to meeting up with friends in specific
towns, and then continuing on my way), and also the first whom
i´ve allowed to sleep in my tent (key word being ´sleep´..). despite
initial wariness, we´ve been great travelling companions, making me
confident that i *can* travel accompanied - something that i´ve had to
think about recently. it´s nice to be with someone, and breaking
the peaceful contemplation of stunning scenery with a ´so do you like
anal?´... or when we occasionally go our separate ways, it´s so warm
and fuzzy when in response to ´don´t do anything i wouldn´t do!´
to have as a response ´so does that mean i can or can´t swallow?´.. and
the number of times we´ve had intellectual discussions about bodily
functions - never have i had such shitty conversations before! but
don´t think that we´re a smutty salacious pair with minds in the gutter
- we´ve also had many a mundane conversation topic, including the
yumminess of blue cheese, rising interest rates, and the pros of owning
investment property. (incidentally, if anyone wants to go halfers
on buying a place to rent out either in oz or elsewhere, send me a
line...) i´ll definitely be sorry when we part in a couple of weeks´
time, if only for the fact that i don´t know how i´ll cope without her
gentle snoring lulling me to sleep...
on
that note, i think i´ll head off to see what she´s up to.. maybe a
lentil curry waiting for me? it´s like married life without all the
crap! (did i just venture into politically incorrect territory?)
