Field Notes From Around the World: Argentina I — Heading South
HEADING SOUTH
Then farther south if I can figure it out.
Possibly Patagonia.
Possibly hypothermia.
Hard to say this early.
Girlfriend packed me two peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for the flight like I’m eight years old.
One already gone somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico.
Honestly?
Best thing that’s happened so far.
I cannot sit still on this plane.
Every time I look at the map screen I get more excited.
Tried sketching Patagonia from memory across the tray table.
Mountains look terrible.
Too small somehow.
Everything in my head already feels oversized:
wind
distance
roads
horses
stone
cactus growing directly out of gravel somehow
old men drinking coffee slower than Americans know how to drink coffee
Woman at the gate asked where I was headed after Buenos Aires.
“Mendoza first,” I said.
“Then farther south if I can figure it out.”
She nodded slowly.
“Long trip.”
“Honestly,” I said,
“Where aren’t I going?”
Which sounded cooler in my head.
Still true though.
My Spanish is improving approximately one word every two hours.
viento = wind
lejos = far away
gracias = thank you
cordillera = mountain range
Spelled cordillera wrong three times before getting it right.
Still not convinced.
There’s a folded atlas underneath this notebook and I’m realizing I may have dramatically underestimated the size of Argentina.
Which somehow makes me happier.
FADE IN:
dusty road somewhere south of Mendoza.
Impossible mountains in the distance.
Me...wildly underprepared.
The guy beside me has been asleep since Dallas.
How?
I feel like I drank pure electricity this morning.
Been staring out the window imagining roadside cafés and gas stations and strange little towns I’ll probably never remember the names of later.
That’s the thing nobody tells you:
sometimes you start loving a place before you even arrive there.
Flight attendant just told me to put my tray table up for landing.
Apparently even world explorers must obey basic aviation procedure.
Fair enough.