Along with self-knowledge the road has given me innumerable gifts of experience, from the mundane to the once-in-a-lifetime, from tragedy to triumph, and every point in between. It’s one thing to learn from these experiences, however. It’s another to learn what I’ve learned.
The typical cliché used to describe people like me who go traveling for extended periods of time is to say that, “He is finding himself.” Setting aside the belittling way that expression is generally used – as if the instinct for self-discovery is to be mocked rather than celebrated – after almost 17 months on the road I’ve found the common idea of “finding oneself” to be totally inaccurate.
They say we never forget our first time, and in my experience that maxim applies to more than just its colloquial uses for drugs and sex. For me at least, it applies to travel, as well.
This facial hair thing is apparently no joke. The stuff just grows, I guess. Who knew?
A photographic overview of the first steps of my journey, traveling through Patagonia, to Ushuaia, Argentina.
A spectacular sunset, on a drive through Tierra Del Fuego, Chilé.
A brief update on my around-the-world experience, just over 3 weeks in.