Villa Carlos Paz

During the last couple of weeks before Christmas, I had planned to join Augusto and his family for a summer holiday in Uruguay. Unfortunately, a few days before our departure, Cecilia's mother, who was battling cancer, fell seriously ill, leading us to cancel our plans. Since I had already finished my last day at work, I decided to spend those two weeks traveling to Mendoza instead.

On my way to Mendoza, I stopped in Cordoba and stayed at Mariana’s mother’s house. One evening, after watching “Into the Wild,” I felt inspired to travel like the main character in the movie, which meant embarking on a journey without spending any money.

The next morning, Mariana drove me to the highway outside Cordoba, where I began hitchhiking. As cars passed by, my confidence gradually decreased, and I started to doubt whether this was a good idea. Eventually, an elderly couple stopped and asked where I was heading. My answer was that I simply didn't know and asked if I could join them in their direction. They kindly drove me to a village called Carlos Paz, where I continued on foot.

Amazingly, a stranger approached me out of nowhere, asking who I was and where I was going. He invited me to visit a friend living outside the village. Suddenly, we were on a bus heading into the countryside. We arrived at the home of a couple in their 30s with two young children, who were in the process of establishing their home. The woman was a teacher, and the man was a plumber. They had a small house with a large garden and greenhouse and were gradually building an extension to the house. They spoke about the challenges of establishing themselves and their long working days with low pay, which made progress on the house slow.

That evening, I felt for the first time that my Spanish was good enough to communicate with strangers who spoke no English, even though it was challenging. Despite having little, the family seemed happy and full of love for each other. A memory that stands out is lying down in the garden with the two other guys while the mother and children sang and danced to Bob Marley’s “Is This Love” up in the house. At that moment, I truly felt as though I were living a scene from "Into the Wild".

The next morning, I woke up on a mattress outdoors and decided to continue my journey. My plan was to hitchhike towards Mendoza, but I got scared when a man, whom I tried to hitchhike with, asked if I wanted to go home with him for sex. I decided to end my "Into the Wild adventure" and rather continue my journey to Mendoza by bus. However, I was very happy with the short time the adventure had lasted. Czytaj więcej