‘The furthest distance in life is between what it is and what you thought it would be’
– The Only Living Boy in New York.
I couldn’t agree more, especially when it comes to relationships.
I don’t fly across the world just for anybody. I do that when there’s a connection, when we have chemistry, when I believe we’ll get along better than fine and when I see myself in a long white dress saying ‘I do’ and actually liking my new last name.
Some guys are very straightforward, painstakingly so, and they shatter my dreams in a blink of an eye. ‘If you think I’ll marry you one day or have family with you, you are wrong’ – announced one boyfriend after a few months of being in a relationship with me. ‘You will never be enough for me’ – blurted out the other one after a couple of months of being together. Ouch! Talk about being honest…
So you can see now that taking that flight to Lima, Peru, was the natural step my universe. Did I think the guy was gorgeous? Yes. Was I head over heels in love with him already? Yes!
I told you once this will not be a travel blog. And right now I wish it was. Because I have so much to say, so much to share and so much to be grateful for. For once, I never imagined that I’d be backpacking through 15 plus countries in Latin America. What a mind blowing experience that was!.. I never expected to see so much kindness in this world, to meet so many beautiful souls. The trip made me rich in a way no money ever could. And for that I will forever be grateful to my Peruvian (I would have not done this without him), his family and every single person that I met on the way).
What happened during the 3.5 years is a treasure. Of course, not all of it was roses. Far from it. The beginning was tough. We were very different, we came from different cultures. Things got better along the way as we got to know each other better, but we had many misunderstandings turning into fights. Had we been living in our own places and dating, it would have been a very different story. Spending 3.5 years with another person, when the furthest he gets from you is the other side of the tent, is no joke. Even when we were fighting we couldn’t run away and hide. ‘At least we have each other’ became both our blessing and our curse.
Hitchhiking was no walk in the park either. Those days when nobody stopped (and I mean nobody) was a torture.
But the smile on my face rarely faded.
The drivers that did pick us up were not all sweet as honey. One tried to put his hand on my knee, the other tried to kiss me. I said: ‘No, dude, get off me’, and still took the ride, but let the Peruvian sit next to the driver.
Besides the few above mentioned episodes, we were lucky to encounter a great deal of amazing people, probably as eager for a company on the long road as we were eager for a ride on that same long road.
And riding like this
was definitely better than riding like that
Although at times we came close.
Every ride we took was an adventure.
Be it on the road or on the water.
From riding in a Jaguar to having to sit for over 24 hours on the hardest bus seat ever…
From riding in an ambulance to being pick up by the local police (to give us a ride, of course), we’ve done it all.
But maybe it doesn’t matter what road you take to get there, as long as you reach your happy ending.
