"How are you dealing with being alone?", a question I hear a lot. Ever since I started traveling, I have been traveling on my own and never had any issues. Sleeping at hostels, taking busses and surfing couches makes meeting people quite easy. You meet likeminded people, for whom traveling is not only an important part of life, but to travel is to live. It can happen, that you have deep conversations, before even asking their name. You also kind of skip certain parts of the normal "getting-to-know-each-other-routine", because you feel connected straight away.
This trip has been a bit different. Sometimes days go by, when I don't talk to anyone, besides the gas-station-smaltalk with the locals: "Where are you from, where did you start, where are you going?"
Like most things in life, traveling alone, has it's ups and downs. But each one of those ups and downs, has their own ups and downs as well. Or as Paul Theroux said: "When you are traveling, you realize, that the biggest distance awakes the biggest illusion and that traveling solo is both pleasure and punishment."
I am sitting on my bike eight hours a day, listening to music or podcasts, meditatively pedaling and thinking about things. Thinking about myself, others, the past, the future and this project.
Even the lonest wolf of all the lone wolves needs some kind of human interaction at some point. Because at the end of the day it's the people, that make moments special and unforgettable. Ibarra will always remind me of Hamilton and Yachay Tech University. Quito will forever be unforgettable, not because of it's beautiful old town, but because of the wonderful time with the Matabay family. And my stay in Baños will always be a special memory, because of the love of the volunteers of Papacho's Hostel. And all these memories join a huge amount of memories from past trips. Happiness is only real when shared.
And that's exactly, what this fundraiser has been showing me. People donate for other people, very special people, because this fundraiser is for kids. Children should be surrounded by this exact kind of love, because it builds the base of their future.
Before this gets too emotional: Donate here.
Even "only" 5€ help!
And for everybody who has read to this point (or scrolled down): Here are some pictures of the past days.
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