When we initially planned our trip, we knew we would be on the road for at least six months. Living out of our backpacks and staying in some pretty dodgy areas. For a long time, I debated whether or not I should bring my Canon DSLR to help document our amazing journey. In the end, weight and space became too much of a factor. Plus, we didn’t want to make ourselves too much of a target for thieves and vagabonds. As much as it hurt, we decided to only capture our memories on our phones. And what we sacrificed in picture quality, we would make up for in speed of travel, safety and lightness of packs...
I was three cervezas deep and contemplating a fourth when the epiphany hit me: cavemen took selfies. Now, I know what you’re thinking -- Cavemen didn’t have phones. (Or perhaps that I was under the influence of something other than cerveza). But, hear me out. I am absolutely convinced cavemen took selfies, and by the end of this article, you too will believe.
See, my Spanish lover and I had recently abandoned our home in Auckland and our careers in TV and architecture to embark on a six month around-the-world odyssey. I won’t call it a mid-life crisis. (With modern medicine, forty is too young to be mid-life). But, things were getting serious. And talk of babies and marriage were starting to permeate every conversation.
So, the only sensible thing to do in that sort of situation is to run for the hills. We figured, a good place to avoid the pitfalls of a life-more serious, would be South America. The Parque Nationale. Torres Del Paine.
There are certain places on this planet that seem to call to us. A siren song blowing on the winds of Instagram feeds and condor’s cries seen on saved Pinterest boards. Mythical lands of creatures and people who are far more exotic than we could ever believe exist — except we know they do, because they are documented in click-bait articles with titles like, “Ten Best Hikes in The World” and “Do This Before You Die!”
So. With cell phone in hand, ready to document that exquisite moment next to the towers and live in the rarefied air of instagram-fame, we set off on a hike into the unknown…
But first, some logistics; to paint the proper picture:
This story is from the December 2018/January 2019 edition of Adventure Magazine.
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This story is from the December 2018/January 2019 edition of Adventure Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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