For some unknown reason the signs were all there.
Upon entering a charity shop for a brief browse the first thing that met my gaze was a $2 copy of Che Guevara's The Motorcycle Diaries - with an added personal message from a former reader who addressed me as ‘a fellow revolutionary’. At the same time, a picture from a tenuous South American friend sat at the top of my newsfeed and on my idle stroll to work I was notified that my Australian tax return was back and I’d be receiving $600. It was enough I guess, though much to my upset knowing that I’d in fact been taxed $2500 since my arrival and doubtless wouldn’t reap any benefits from my contribution to the Australian government. Though in light of it being free money it was certainly enough for something more important. Like a lightbulb illuminating over my tanned forehead, the seed was planted. Without a seconds hesitation - or before my inner adult caught onto my impulse - I had found a computer, scrolled through skyscanner, vaguely decided that the 18th October would do (because Wednesdays are the cheapest for flying remember) and booked a flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Unlike previous travel plans and the added anxieties that came hand in hand with booking any form of flight, I quickly watched as $800 evaporated from my account and a confirmation email quickly landed in my inbox. I panicked and shed a single tear and when my mum responded to the news with ‘you little bugger,’ my fate as a backpacker of South America was sealed - the dream bubble of that symbolic day finally burst into a reality. And just like that, at the literal click of a button I wave goodbye to the friendships, the job prospects, the routine yet expensive beers, trips to Op Shops and an entire life that I had strived so hard to build just ten months earlier. Just like that I have secured the knowledge that I probably won’t be returning to Australia and it’s unlikely that I will see half of these wonderful Aussie friends ever again and just like that my journey opens up entirely to the complete unknown. I hadn’t really thought this far ahead and with Australia always being the ultimate destination the next step on my journey had so far remained a grey zone. Yet the flight ticket in two and a half months time has triggered the countdown to adventure and the necessity to get a lot of things in order before any form of plan comes into fruition. Staring with excited eyes at a map of South America I brainstormed everything that could be on my itinerary and before I knew it I already had far too much on my bucket list. In a matter of moments my plans began to stretch months and months further than I had anticipated as I considered checking out Bolivia for the Day of the Dead and Brazil (of course) for Rio’s carnival next February. WIth this in mind however, I have always said go hard or go home and I simply don’t have the urge to go home just yet (though it will eventually come). And so my next aim is to earn $10,000 before my departure, practice my Spanish and sell the vast accumulation of clothes I have picked up along the way. In two and a half months time I will resume the status of backpacker and say goodbye to my income for a long, yet exciting while. Expect panic and stress along the way as I strive towards my next destination(s) yet I guarantee it’ll be worth the read when I write of how I climbed Machu Picchu in Peru, tried illicit substances in Colombia and probably, definitely fell in love with a Latin American local.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Tamara DavisonNepal, China, Malaysia, Australia, Argentina. Archives
November 2017
Categories |