≡ Menu

Two Lives Compared

The Side of the Road, ArgentinaI was a happy traveler once again on the move out of Asuncion and out of Paraguay. I moved through immigration easily and was welcomed to Argentina for the fourth time. I was traveling on one of the double decker luxury buses that have come to spoil me. I had [...]

The Side of the Road, Argentina

I was a happy traveler once again on the move out of Asuncion and out of Paraguay. I moved through immigration easily and was welcomed to Argentina for the fourth time. I was traveling on one of the double decker luxury buses that have come to spoil me. I had befriended a young Argentinian couple next to me and a customary communal maté was circulating amongst the three of us.

Soon thereafter a burnt rubber smell permeated the bus and it pulled over to the side of the road and turned off. Smoke was pouring out of the back. Engine trouble.


Such is my current life and the type of speed bumps I now confront. A broken bus. A broken bottle of vinegar spilling all over my bag in the cargo hold. Stolen cameras. Canceled ATM’s in foreign countries. These are what have replaced car repairs, lost cellphones and late nights working. Romance languages have replaced computer languages. Product roll-out schedules replaced by travel schedules.

The past eight months has seen a radical change on my daily living, views about money, opinions of myself and others. There isn’t a way these things couldn’t have changed and they will continue to change as I interact more with the world around me and meet more people than I ever could have in an office building.

I have loved all of these changes that come with a life constantly on the move but there are the drawbacks as well. Long-time friends and family are no longer seen but only talked to on occasion through Skype or texted. Establishing and building any type of friendship on the road is also difficult and most people met are nothing more than acquaintances for an afternoon or a couple of days. Tez and Alan were two great exceptions to the previous statement and I’ve spent about three and a half of my eight months traveling with the two of them.

Eventually, though, you go your separate ways. Alan took off for Bolivia and I moved back to Argentina. But, this is the life I purposely chose and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else at the moment.

That bus incident? It worked out. After two hours sitting on the side of that Argentinian road a mechanic fixed the engine troubles and I was once again rolling down the road on another twenty hour bus ride to a new location.



Booking.com

Filed under: Argentina, Cubicle Ditcher, Random Thoughts

About the Author:

Sam Langley left a comfortable and profitable job with an insurance company in the USA to travel the world. He has been going for years, and has not stopped yet. Keep up with his travels on his blog at Cubicle Ditcher. has written 147 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.

2 comments… add one

Leave a Comment

Cancel reply

  • Anonymous April 26, 2011, 2:22 am

    Where to next, Sam? You've spent close to a year in South America… maybe Asia? Europe? I'm getting the travel bug and this blog doesn't help… Hope you had a happy easter of some sort. -Emma

    Link Reply
  • Sam May 1, 2011, 2:04 am

    I'm staying put in South America for now. Until at least August anyway. Who knows though since I seem to change my mind every couple of weeks.

    If your getting the travel bug there is only one real way to cure it.

    Link Reply