Interntional Connections

The obvious benefits of traveling are seeing new things, experiencing different cultures, learning about the world and learning about yourself. The less obvious benefit is meeting other travelers.

I have met a lot of good friends throughout my overseas experiences and have been fortunate enough to have visited some of them in their home towns and countries, hosted them in my own home and met up with them in other places around the world. This trip has been no exception in getting to know fellow travelers and this area has made it incredibly easy to do so.

Patagonia covers 475,000 square kilometers. It is vast and mostly uninhabited. The two 16 hour and 6 hour bus rides Laura and I have taken were mostly on the dirt highway, Ruta Nacional 40. Still being paved, it is the main thruway stretching nearly the entire length of Argentina. It is 5,000km long and is called the world´s loneliest road. From what I have experienced, this description is definitely appropriate. The few towns in Patagonia are main tourist hubs and their existences are likely due to being gateways to Argentina´s national parks.

Because there are so few towns and only one main highway, Laura and I have found ourselves playing leap frog or traveling in a herd with other nomads. Tourists in towns are either going north or south and the people going in your direction you are likely to see again, repeatedly. It´s hard to ignore someone you feel like you´re stalking or someone who is seemingly stalking you, so Laura and I have introduced ourselves and made friends with many people. I met Grace from San Jose, CA and will have met up with her two or three times throughout Argentina and Chile before flying home. Jennifer from Holland was on my flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia. She stayed at the same hostel Laura and I stayed at and has pretty much been in the same towns as us at the same time ever since. We played leap frog with Erin and Mike from North Carolina on our 5 day trek through Torres del Paine NP. Laura and I even met a guy named Zach from Winters, CA (next to my college town, Davis) who grew up with one of my friends/co-workers. Laura has stalked a Spanish family or vice-versa that was in line in front of her at the bank on her layover in Buenos Aires. We´ve seen them at almost every town we´ve been in and even saw them while we were backpacking Torres del Paine.

Although we haven´t introduced ourselves to all we´ve recognized, it´s somewhat comforting to continually see the same people in different places. Something as simple as an exchange of smiles and waves from familiar faces makes it feel like they are our family and friends away from home. This experience has been an amazing way to end the decade. Cheers to a new year and decade filled with many more travels and international friends!

Happy New Year!