Unsustainable Travel

“We humans have two great problems: the first is knowing when to begin; the second is knowing when to stop.” - Paulo Coelho

Well I apparently figured out the first problem, but the second...When do I call this trip complete? How will I know when I am supposed to fly back to the States? Why does not knowing when I will return again to Latin America make it so much harder to say goodbye?

A good friend back home sent me an email the other day that simply said:

Dear Aeriel, In case you didn't know, you have been away for a long time.

And yes, finally I am beginning to feel that I have been away for quite a while. Perhaps it is partly the fact that my hair feels unhealthy and every time I comb it I say to myself, “when I'm back home I'll buy some really good conditioner.” Or, that all of my 12 articles of clothing are currently dirty and as I sift through a calendar to see when is the next chance do find a lavanderia, I think to myself, “it sure will be nice to do laundry at home with a washing machine.” Maybe it is also the fact that it is simply exhausting to unpack and repack your backpack every single day, to sleep in a new bed every single night. And dare I say, even the hippie in me is finally realizing how nice it would be every now and then to have a phone and feel connected with my family, friends, and the world.

But whatever the reason is, I have lately been feeling further away from the rest of what I know and I am getting more excited about what lies ahead “back home” – wherever that ends up being.

As Amanda and I walked through the hills of the avocado farm at sunset the other day, we reminisced about all the ideas we have respectively come up with over the last 5 months while brainstorming how to extend our time abroad. and to continue our travels.

Here are a few of the psychotic plans we came up with while high on the travel buzz:

1. Fly from Buenos Aires to Mexico City, then backpack north all the way to Albuquerque. – Aer

2. Work as a barista at a cafe that has yet to be finished in Mal Pais, Costa Rica and become a surfer chick. – Manda

3. Live for free in our friend Al's house in Mal Pais, Costa Rica and...just get really tan. *Note: the reason we were “friends” is solely based on the fact that we gave him a lift in our (rented, shhh) 4-wheeler. – Manda & Aer

4. Work in Haiti for 2 months and then puddle jump to the Dominican Republic. – Aer (I seriously don't know where I come from sometimes.)

5. Work in a hostel or bartend in Buenos Aires. – Manda & Aer

6. Backpack solo down the west coast of Africa after finishing family vacation in Egypt. – Manda

7. Simply move to Africa. (This one didn't get much more detailed...??) – Aer

Needless to say, it should be noted that both Amanda and I have since arrived at slightly more, shall we say, sensible plans. Amanda will be returning to the States at the end of May (post family vacation in Egypt – that part wasn't made up) and will then begin grad school at American University. And, might I add, will be spending a significant chunk of her degree studying in Costa Rica! As for myself...I am surprise surprise less sure of my plans, but I am currently applying to work in Central America next year, though still holding my breath and crossing my fingers on that one.

I would not trade a second of this trip for anything, but I have learned that travel as pure travel is not sustainable – emotionally or physically. It is exhausting on the body and the spirits. For now, I have 2-3 more months, with still 3 countries left unseen. And then? I want to find my way back to Latin America, to continue to work on my Spanish speaking skills, to continue living in this amazingly beautiful culture. Yet with a deeper purpose – a longer project where I can see results and change.

So with that, here's to the future: the immediate – that still holds Patagonia and Argentina; and to the long term – that hopefully will include a longer, fulfilling project somewhere south of Mexico.

And I suppose also here's to finally, for the first time, being struck with the desire to return to the States in the near(ish) future. My hair will certainly thank me.