Travelers on a cosmic journey

Travelers on a Cosmic Journey-

The experience and travel aptitude of the backpackers I’ve met in South America stood out early and continues to hold true. It’s really a next level continent for backpackers and I’m glad I had a wealth of experience behind me before coming so I can feel like one of the seasoned veterans, instead of a junior varsity call up. There was a time in Malaysia I sat around a table on a beach playing a drinking game called Never-Have-I-Ever where someone says something they have never done and if you HAVE done it then you need to drink. The first “never” someone said was owning a car. I realized I was in serious trouble when I was 1 of only 2 people in the group that’s owned a car. On the contrary, there was a recent time on this trip I sat around a dinner table when the topic of country counts came up. As much as nobody wanted to admit to knowing for sure we all did. Out of the 7 person dinner group my humble count of 50 countries was tied for LAST!

Because SE Asia is the cheapest it’s full of broke gap year kids right out of high school or college. Because Europe is easiest you find a lot of weekend warriors making the best use of a their vacation time. In Africa everyone in the hostel is saving the world and in Australia all the backpackers are getting drunk on goon (box wine). In South America there seems to be a natural weeding out process. By the time most people get here they’ve learned a lot and have matured as travelers. They no longer care about how many countries they can squeeze in in a week (although the country count still has a tendency of popping up). The distances here are vast and getting around is neither cheap nor easy. After 2 months in South America what I consider a long bus ride has changed dramatically and anything under 18ish hours now gets waved off with a puff like a leisurely stroll in a park.

Everywhere in the world I’ve met a lot of interesting people, sure, but the percentage of people I connect with here is another noticeable change. Only a small handful of people before coming here were offered my spare bedroom if visiting Vegas. Now if even half the people take me up on the offer I may as well post funny sayings on the walls, install bunk beds, serve a continental breakfast and turn it into Vagabond Bob’s Hostel… Or Vagabond Bob’s B&B. That’s got a better ring to it…. And then there’s; “Wait a minute, Judith, you are an elementary school teacher back home!?”… “Kiki, I just heard you are a pilot, AND a surgeon! How did I not know that?!? AND how is that even possible?!?

It’s a rare and special connection when you can spend over a week traveling with someone before the conversation of what you do/did for a living even comes up. Getting to know someone, the real person, who they are and not just what they do. A lesson in learning to appreciate differences in people and embracing uniqueness. Everybody has a story and everyone is interesting… Even if the most interesting part of someone is their lack of being interesting, and there’s been a few of those as well. In general though more people are genuinely here enjoying a place for the raw experience, enjoying the company of those we meet and appreciating this special place in time… “We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.”- Paulo Coelho.

Bob