The curse of the traveler

Well, since some of my non-Italian speaking friends asked me to translate the blog, here I am, making them happy. I will translate at the least some of  the most interesting things I wrote and then try to support the new posts with a translation right away. If you spot some mistakes just let me know - seriously, I have no time to do it all perfect and nice. After all, English is not my mother tongue and I'm translating pretty much literally form Italian. To keep track of the translations, keep an eye on the "English translated posts" label, left side of the home page.
Fasten your seatbelts, off we go.

The curse of the traveler, originally posted on the 25th of Genuary

Mind, it is not a real curse I'm talking about here. It's only the latest stage of a process that was born as pleasant and rewarding. In a long-distance travel we get to know many people, we drink together, chat together, laugh together, even hate each other in the first place. But one thing is given: sooner or later the time to say goodbye comes.

Today I'll tell you the story of Felipe and Gabriela.

Felipe comes from a town in southern Brazil of which I still struggle to remember the name, although he has told me more than once. His great-grandparents moved to Brazil from Veneto and his mixture of Italian and Portuguese is not bad at all. His smile from ear to ear and a golden boy face give him a friendly expression. The fact that he would be able to speak also to the walls allows him to approach us to ask info about the Mar y Valle bus, Buenos Aires-Puerto Madryn route.

Gabriela is native of the province of Chaco, the name of her city already says it all: Resistencia. Same as for Felipe, also her great-grandparents moved to Argentina from Italy. She does not speak much Italian, but everytime she can she throws a stronzo here and a eeeeh there. Her gentle big bright eyes and the fact that Felipe would be able to speak to the walls strike the spark between the two, on the Mar y Valle bus, Buenos Aires-Puerto Madryn route.

The third wheel is Pablo (full name Pablo Diego, Vladimir Dimitri in this blog, following his own request), Gabriela's brother who works in Puerto Madryn. His Italian is limited to some swearwords. I guess that from the Mar y Valle bus, Buenos Aires-Puerto Madryn route, he was just awaiting the arrival of her sister. Luck had it that we had already paid the hostel, otherwise his house would have been invaded by five unknown people camping in the living room. The fact that he's crazy and can talk to walls and stones put together makes Pablo a great companion right away. We spent only three days together, but it looks like they have been many more. Effects and counter-indications of the traveler's friendships.

As in the movies, credits are displayed at the end showing what has happened to the main characters. Well, we boarded a bus that took us to the west, to San Carlos de Bariloche, from there we'll be heading south. Pablo will finish to work in a few months, before becoming a mochilero himself (literally, mochilero can be translated as backpacker) around Argentina. Gabriela will remain for a while in Puerto Madryn, then decide what to do. Felipe has already headed south, toward the "world at the end of the world", perhaps there is a remote chance to see him again down there.

The friendship of traveler burns quickly, there might not even be the time to call it friendship. It is a candle in the dark, a reference point, it gives comfort, you follow it. But you already know that a gust of wind will turn the light off at a bus station, where the closing credits will be broadcasted, with memories and pictures in the background. Together with the embrace of Felipe and the moist eyes of Gabriela, it's all that remains.