El Vago en Suramerica

I leave tomorrow, and its a bizarre feeling. For ages, it has seemed that this trip was just a distant dream, and though everything I did was to plan and prepare for it, this day would never actually come. The only other time I have felt that freedom was so near, such a plausible, tangible thing, was the period encompassing my last day of high school and graduation. Leaving the country marks a whole new beginning: Free from routines and commitments, my life will be a blank slate, my mind like clay, free to be shaped by all I see and experience. I’ll go wherever the wind blows, from modern cities to ancient ruins, gorgeous beaches and towering waterfalls.
Honestly, I have no idea what I hope to get out of this adventure. It seems that I couldn’t undertake such a trip and not be fundamentally changed as a person. I’ll meet people everywhere and I will surely have some wild adventures. Assuming I am not robbed of everything or seriously injured, this trip is already destined for success. It would be hard to imagine returning home wishing I had never left.
Everybody asks if I’m frightened to travel alone. I can’t explain why, but I am not at all afraid. This trip has been my dream. I generally don’t have problems meeting people, so I don’t think loneliness will be a huge issue. I have to acknowledge, of course, that crime rates in parts of Latin America are horrendous, and that traveling anywhere can be risky. I’ll be careful though, and do all I can to keep safe. I may still encounter trouble, but I tend to take things as they come. There is no reason to live in fear of what might happen. If I was terrified of the world, I wouldn’t be traveling. Paranoia keeps you safe, but it kills your spirit. As far as I’m concerned, a healthy faith in humanity is the only way to live.
On a slightly different note, I leave at 6:30 am tomorrow, and I arrive at 12:35 in Nuevo Laredo on Monday. That adds up to 54 hours of bus travel, assuming I make all connections on time. It should be an absolute blast. I’m going to see more miles of freeway than I ever wanted to see. I also get to stop in many cities I’ve never seen before, though only for a short time: Richmond, Nashville, and San Antonio. Also, I’m not sleeping tonight so that I’ll be tired enough to sleep while on the bus. Though it may sound like hell to some people, I’m actually excited even about this first leg of the trip.
I only have about 18 more hours in this country, so I feel obliged to make the most of them.
Paz y Amor,
Dan

It is good to think of change as a new beginning rather than an end. As my friends leave for college (or elsewhere), it is difficult to think of how I am experiencing a new beginning, however. I will be here in Arlington until October 1st, and while everyone else is meeting new people and having adventures in college, i’ll be working at Bertucci’s, doing odd jobs, and stuck in some sort of suburban time warp. Not that I’m jealous of everyone else, but I am ready for a change.

To establish some momentum towards my trip, I decided that it would be a good time to start writing in what will become my online travel journal. So here we are. No big changes in my life, but at least something new has begun.

I originally decided to take this trip sometime last fall. It was a wonderful day. I was at crane’s beach, one of the most beautiful spots in the northeast, with Dan, Gaby, Hannah, and Farid. At one point, somebody mentioned the idea of driving to Chile to visit Dan’s sister. I had always dreamed of taking a grand journey, meeting people along the way and having an absolutely amazing time. In the fall, I was still struck by my incredible trip to Nicaragua last summer, and I was enthralled by the opportunity to return. At the same time, the beautiful beach and the cool breeze made school seem like a bad dream… i had absolutely no desire to return to school the next day, much less for another full year. Once the seed was planted, it wasn’t going away.

Plans changed. I am traveling by bus, and I am traveling alone. I’m not even going to Chile; I’ll fly from Peru to Brazil instead, and end up in Buenos Aires. I’ll be attending a Spanish school in Guanajuato, Mexico, for three weeks, then I’ll head to Mexico city for a couple of weeks.

I can’t even comprehend the scale of Mexico city. I hope that a couple of weeks will give me some sense, but I’m not even sure it will. A city of 20 million people is entirely beyond any scale I can imagine. A third-world city at that; Mexico is not a city of high rises, but of sprawl and slums and crowds and noise. I cant wait to see it.

After that, Ill head south. There are no specific plans, except that Ill be traveling though Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and finally Panama. I have no idea how long ill spend in each place, but i will have several months at least.

Then I have to fly from Panama to Colombia. The carnival in Barranquilla is regarded as the greatest in Colombia, and one of the best in all of Latin America, so that should be a ridiculously crazy time. Just imagine: back home it could be snowing in early february, and instead ill be dancing for four days and nights, nonstop, in one of the world’s largest parties.

Then its all south again, all the way to Peru. Ill fly to Brazil, where Ill make stops in Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paolo. Finally, Ill make my way to Buenos Aires, where I’ll stay for several weeks.

I wonder if I will make it to all the places I just listed. Now, they are all just names, simple words on a screen. When I come back, they will be words, but also memories, dreams, thoughts, and stories.

And here the story begins. I promise that it will get more entertaining. Once I leave, I expect everyone to post comments, considering that I’ll be traveling alone and this will be my principal way of getting in touch with people back home.

Dan