Overwhelmed by Travelling

There's a distinction between travelling as a backpacker and being on a vacation. The word vacation is a noun. It's something you go on to get away from the normal grind. Usually a short two to four weeks, the focus is usually on the luxerious commodities, hawaiian short sleeve button ups, safari hats and piña coladas. Meanwhile travelling is a verb, an action word. It's an obsession for those in the bubble. It's really about a lifestyle you're embracing. A bubble you're entering into that people on the outside have a hard time relating to. The entire time travelling your senses are working overdrive to keep up with it all. New foods, foreign smells, different laungages, odd cities and epic people. As I'm sitting on this 20 hour bus from Buenos Aires to Puerto Madryn I've finally had the first time in a week to actually slow down and reflect on a few things. Now that I've had the time, here's where I get to destress :)

The World is HUGE

When I hitchhiked across Canada it took 4.5 days of straight driving to make it coast to coast. From Buenos Aires to Ushuaia I'll be on a bus for about 51 hours in total. New York to Rio was a 10 hour flight going at well over 600km/hour. The world is massive. It's SO big that I'd have to travel for the rest of my life to see it all. And that's a little stressful. Especially because somehow I have this facination with going to far away places for reasons that most people wouldn't see as justifiable. I did my Canada trip so I could simply get a picture on the east coast. I'm currently on the way to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world just so I can turn 20 there! Some things I stress about? Where will I find time for all that I want to see? How will I fund a motercycle trip from London to Mongolia? When will I have time to travel next? Which of my new friends will I visit first? Will I be able to see it all? Or will there be countries that I'll never get to see?

Being Alone

Travelling alone has been a blast so far for all sorts of reasons but actually the alone part is a bit of a double edged sword. See when I'm travelling solo, I'm forced to be social (which I don't mind) as I don't have a friend to gravitate towards and in return end up with a few new friends in each city that I can hang out with. I'm also able to make my own decisions without having to check with someone else if they agree with it. If I love a place (Ilha Grande) I'll book another four days that morning. If I want to take a lazy day and do absolutely nothing but nap in a hammock I won't have to hear anyone's complaints about wasting my time. And so on and so on. However, when I'm actually alone and by myself without anyone to be with, I can get quite lonely. Having to pack your bag and hop on a bus or plane by yourself and leaving everyone behind is lonely buisness. Especially when you're definitely sad to leave a great city or have the Buenos Aires Blues. Also I'm not talking depressed lonely, but more like the feeling of when you quit a great job to start a new job or move from one sweet city into another.

Saying Good-Bye

One of the best parts of travelling is meeting people. Figuring out what the locals are like, seeing the grimier sides of every country and doing it all with people from all over the world. It's amazing how you can meet someone in the morning over breakfast, hang out for a day and become the best of friends. By the end of the week you can have friends from over a dozen nations and end up wishing that you could have just one more day with the group. Emotions run high on all sides and none more so that those between men and woman. One day you can start your day single, be dating by lunch time, and then be fighting and over by dinner time. Hasn't happened to me, but I've seen it happen!

Chan Clan. And Sam

When it All Comes Together into one Sloppy Mess

Unfortunately sometimes you'll run into all these emotions at the exact same time and it's just a bad mindset to be in. I'm in wading through one of these times at the moment. Travelling with Ros and Erin for the last bit meant having a friend 24/7. Being in Buenos Aires was definitely one of the most epic places I've ever been in with the enormous amount of things to do. And lastly meeting an amazing woman and completely falling for her in such a short time and only leaves me wishing that I could spend another day with her, sometimes life is just cruel. Soooo saying goodbye to the chan clan and the good times back in BA, and hopping onto this long haul bus, I feel like I need some classical music, a lot of sleep and just some time to decompress. Travelling isn't all smiles and laughter after all.

P.s. Feeling waaaaay better after writing.

P.p.s I'm in Argentina. Argenfreakingtina. On the way to Patagonia. That is freaking surreal and super cool! :D

Channy

Ig/Twitter - itsnathanchan

August 21, few hours short of Puerto Madryn, Argentina