The past weeks I’ve been very silent on the blog and social media. BUT I HAVE RESURFACED! The last major update from Ushuaia, Argentina, was about quitting smoking. I know you might think I started smoking again, but that’s not the case at all. That’s actually going mighty fine! No… my mind has been stuck on drawing parallels to my trip five years ago and the one today. Five years ago to the date, I was rounding up my first year at university. I was planning a five-week Spanish learning trip to Buenos Aires. Argentina’s capital was then the cityContinue reading
hitchhiking
Ushuaia: “The End of the World” or whatever…
Twelve days ago I had my last ride to Ushuaia, Argentina. Ushuaia also goes by “The End of the World” (Argentina’s greatest marketing success!). I smoked my last cigarette upon arrival. Today I leave the place that embraced my – for now – last cigarette butt. I’ll hitchhike back to where the sun wants to shine. I just made this silly plan to quit smoking four weeks ago. That’s when I still thought it would be poetic AF to go cold turkey at the End of the World. Little did I know Ushuaia would be a supermassive black hole forContinue reading
The Chiloé Archipelago
It’s hard to imagine I’ve spent nearly two weeks here, but the time really did fly by island hopping and digital detoxing in the Chiloé Archipelago. It’s a group of islands in the south of Chile that many drivers had spoken of before about how special this place is. Not a single driver was like “So you’re going to Chiloé? It’s pretty average there… better skip it”. South of the Ruta 5 The main road in Chile, the “Ruta 5” just continues on the island like there wasn’t some water to cross. My truck driver named Walter drove from theContinue reading
It’s a Vlog! Hitchhiking Southern Chile
I had been playing around with this idea for a while now but here it is… my first vlog! Some fans had shown their interest before in me making a video of a day in the life of a hitchhiker, but I never really went for it until now. It took some nerves to use that ‘recording’ button for the first time with my face in it, but what’s really the difference from taking a photo? That’s just beside my complete lack of video editing skills until I tried with the help of Windows Movie Maker and what Youtube provides,Continue reading
Blackberries: Autumn is the New Summer
It’s the season of the free blackberries in the south of Chile! These kinds of bushes surrounded nearly all my hitchhiking spots. Somehow, nobody else eats them. I wonder why, as it’s tasty, healthy and most importantly completely free. A bush like this in a public area in Europe would have been looted the minute the blackberries turn ripe. Perhaps this hassle-free food is nature’s way to compensate for the freezing nights I’ve spent in my tent around Puerto Montt and the Llanquihue lake. Autumn has definitely arrived in the southern hemisphere and yet the days have been blessed withContinue reading
South! Por Favor… (Chile)
“SOUTH” por favor, señor. It is the only hitchhiking sign I’ve really needed to travel down Chile. Chile is the skinniest and tallest country on earth and it shows in its road maps. A month ago my drivers already offered me (truck) rides to Puerto Montt. But until now I always responded that I wasn’t traveling that far south. At least, not yet. Until now. I’ve actually arrived in Puerto Montt with Jonas and it wasn’t as daunting of a journey at all. Three thousand kilometers just in this country, just so far. The hitchhiking sign saying “SUR” hasn’t survivedContinue reading
Santiago de Chile: Achievement Unlocked!
Hello from the roadside! Your friendly neighborhood worldwide hitchhiker just arrived in Santiago de Chile, which is Chile’s capital city. To get here, Jonas and I hitchhiked an empty bus/van of sorts. We met a guy who lived in Punta Arenas. For reference: Punta Arenas is close-ish to Antarctica and my goal for traveling southward. He was planning to just stay there for two months, but then he lived there for fifteen years! I wonder if the same will happen to me… We exchanged phone numbers so by the time I reach Punta Arenas I can give him a callContinue reading
Atacama Desert Hitchhiking—Trees + Rain, Please! (Chile)
The Atacama is a huge desert, yet it only takes a handful of cars to get going to where you need to be! As in the entirety of Chile, you can basically only travel North or South, nearly all traffic goes a long distance. It’s easy to find a ride to Chile’s capital city Santiago. But seriously, one can only appreciate so much Atacama Desert. I need to see a tree or a bunch of trees. Something taller than a shrub. I’m traveling in the wrong season to see the (annual?) blooming of the Atacama Desert. The people I’ve takenContinue reading
Paranal Observatory, Chile: Tour Group Crashing
“Paranal Observatory, Chile: Tour Group Crashing” has a Russian 🇷🇺 translation: «Паранальская Обсерватория, Чили: Незваные Туристы» Today cannot be described as anything else than plain epic. Together with Jonas, I hitchhiked from Antofagasta to the Paranal Observatory. Our drivers were kind enough to drive us up the mountain out of their way. They drove back downhill and we anticipated hitchhiking another car down within the hour. I definitely didn’t expect to come closer to the Very Large Telescope than the security guys at the gate. But it is a Saturday today and the tour group was just about to leave.Continue reading