Knowing the desolate land that awaited me upon leaving Bahia Blanca, I decided to spend the holidays here.
With the horses installed at the local rodeo grounds, I rested, wrote blogs and got to know the city. Pachi, a friend of Joselma from Chavez, took me under his wing for during time in Bahia.
“Whatever you need Filipe, don’t be afraid to ask, I’m here to help you,” he said to me over and over again.
For christmas, Pachi took me to a friend’s house for a major BBQ celebration. A traditional Polo family, I was taken in with open arms. Literally. After the delicious dinner, we danced the night away in their neatly trimmed yard. At one point, one of my new friends lifted me up in the air and danced with me in his arms. Much to everyone’s amusement.
“Argentina loves you Filipe,” he yelled up at me as I laughed hard.
While in the city I also met a group of Gauchos who became great friends! Roberto Millan and Luis, two horseman with much wisdom, told me many stories, gave me gifts and helped me make connections for my route south.
“Don’t worry Filipe, we have contacts all the way to Rio Colorado,” Luis said as we ate a delicious stew one night.
Roberto, who runs a mechanic shop in Bahia Blanca ended up helping me out so much. The support van broke down again and he fixed it for me charging the bare minimum. It ended up costing $700 dollars which killed me, but if it was with any other mechanic it would have been double that or more.
For new years eve I decided to drive to a beach town 40 kilometres from Bahia called Monte Hermoso. I love the ocean and thought it would be good to take in some of its powerful energy prior to taking on this next stage of the journey – an arduous portion of the adventure.
I spent the day sitting in the sand watching the waves crash and thinking about life. It ended up being a lot more lonely than I imagined. There were so many families and groups of friends around me that I couldn’t help but yearn for someone to laugh with… talk to… spend the last day of the year with…
Life out here seems to get more and more lonely with each day that passes. This might be the hardest obstacle of all.
