ArgentinaAA…
… is the first stop of the trip. It’s been over two weeks since I left now. And of these 2 weeks I have not wasted a minute. I thought it was about time I started to share the crucial things I have learned during the first days of my trip.
Lesson n°1: South America in winter is cold.
Yes it is cold. It is even freezing. So cold I have not been able to head South from Buenos Aires. So cold that I furiously digged into my 11kg backpack to find something that would keep my bones safe from frost, but all there was is my orange/red fleece and my trekking jacket, both of which I was actually already wearing.
When I rented a car with a fireman from the Paris brigade to go up in the Andes mountains, I was horrified to learn that the access was forbidden to those cars that did not have chained wheels due to massive frost and snow. But hey thank God I am not as naive as I may sound. The fireman, Olivier, who I ended up traveling with for 6 days, also happened to be from Chamonix, hence used to the chaining system – meaning I could stay warm in the car while watching him struggle to put the chains on when the snow kept on falling and the temperature would’ve reminded me of the Ice Age had I been around at the time. Cold therefore has been a central theme of the trip so far. When referred to it, Olivier would normally say something along the lines of ‘I’d send you in the army for a little while and you’d think twice before opening your mouth to complain’. And I would lie: ‘Look, Olivier, I don’t need the army ok. I’m tough tough tough’. And then I’d freeze in silence, but never buy gloves or a hat or a scarf, just to prove my point. Needless to say thanks to this childish attitude I caught a massive cold.
Lesson n°2: I am a girl
Crucial point again here I would like to discuss. I thought my house will be my backpack and everything I need will be in there. I know every single item that’s in the bag, and where in the bag, everything was thought and re-thought and even re-considered many times. But how naive was I?! How crazy even to think that it would be all cool and easy… It couldn’t be, of course, because I am a girl. The first night we went out in Buenos Aires with Jimmy and Olivier (another one, Belgian one this one), I was wearing a pair of jeans, a long sleeve thermal t-shirt normally used to ski, my orange fleece, and my horrible trekking shoes. And the second time we went out… guess what? I was wearing the same! Now whoever has been to Buenos Aires and seen the unbelievably cool nightlife going on this city I am sure will feel pity for me at this stage. How am I supposed to be cool, drink, smoke, dance in a place that’s full of trendy Argentines when I look like a tourist in the Pyrenees? So I tried hard to keep to the rule of ‘I won’t buy an extra thing’, but after a day I could see the inner crisis looming. I had to learn my lesson, and gave in. I am now the proud owner of new shoes, new leggings, new scarf, new makeup and what a relief! I liked that lesson. And also I thought if I buy new jewellery, that’s not breaking the rule, because I can wear it all on me! Yay!
Lesson n°3: Happiness is everywhere
It’s everywhere in general, because I’m starting a cool trip and looking forward to a lot of things, but the point of the lesson here is happiness is in very small things as well. Unbelievable the small things you can get enthusiastic about. When I get into a new hostel and I see that there is hot water in the shower, it puts a smile on my face! When I take a night bus and they give us a blanket to cope with the cold of the 20h drive, I refrain myself from kissing the driver. When I go to bed in my top class sleeping bag, I thank God that I brought one with me, and such a good one. When there is marmalade for breakfast it makes my day, as you all know I hate butter. When they stick me in a dorm of 5 with only guys in there and none of them snore, I’m over the moon! When I manage to take an alright picture with my camera I feel pride. And it will be a while before I forget the day someone showed me how to put titles on the pictures. The list of happy moments is endless.
I have more lessons in mind, but I am running out of time I have a bus to catch in about an hour. To be continued…
Leave a Reply