If you would have told me I would be sharing laughs and dinner with a wanderlust struck Canadian and nutrient saavy New Zealander; I would have thought that's a bit mental.
Then, I met Pam and Joanna.
Vilcabamaba was beautiful in that I met so many inspiring people and these two chicas. Though we were all headed to Peru, I went to Galapagos and bid them farewell. Lucky for me when I returned, I had mountainous Huaraz on my mind. In fact, I arrived and cut my Huaraz time a bit short because we're all headed the same way and Pam always knows what she is doing. Bolivia will be the 30th country Pam has visited and literally everywhere we go she knows some secret off the beaten path route.
+ in Joanna's poignant observations on everyday life, accent and singing multiplied ( *) by my inability to find anything in my backpack, difficulty in walking without tripping and abundant enthusiasm / Pam's photography skills ^ our conversational Spanish = the best traveling TRIO ever.
So who are these hoodlums I picked up along the way???
Pam is a traveling, knitting , waitress, who has a background in humanitarian work in Cambodia. She is also the group photographer and the an insomniac who provides us with endless amounts of energy when we are lacking. She can be found handing out toys to kids in the street, making friends with all the locals and saying exactly what is on her mind: case in point! To the man pissing on the sidewalk in front of us" ARE YOU FING KIDDING ME?" she also hates about every other backpacker with a fiery vengeance because they're " not that epic,we're all doing the exact same thing!"
This description of her made her exclaim " I sound like a hippie dippy". Pam also provides me with words of wisdom when I' m in need, this is rather often.
Joanna is a recent nutrition Graduate from Auckland NZ. When not informing me on what will give me cancer ( everything) she keeps occupied by doodling indecipherable images and staring pensively out the window. If we ever lose her on the street she can usually be found at the fruit tienda, taking a shower or pretending to like nature. Pam and my own hygiene is rather lacking in comparison. Polish by birth, if your lucky you can hear her Skype her family and get an earful of the most awesome sounding language ever. She also enjoys long walks on the beach and Pina coladas.
Thankfully Asha, (her other name) takes charge when things are not right! Like yelling, but still sounding polite at 3;30 am an absent Peruivian Tour group, counting correct change, being on time and also the only one who thought to bring a Swiss army knife ( a backpacker essential).
And myself? I provide comic relief in times of hardship, usually unintentionally. Can usually be found searching for something,always, talking- alot, sleeping with one leg off bed and not sleeping with my knees to my chin on all transport. I am also habitually that last one: packed, in the taxi, on the bus and always 5 minutes after everyone else.
Most importantly I usually pretend to be Canadian, this is because the rare Americans I meetI usually would like to dissociate myself with. ( not you awesome folks I've mentioned) But the really overweight ones, who complain about everything too loudly, don't understand why the sign is not in English. I also crack stereotypical jokes about Amurica, but really it's out of patriostism.
Pam has 5 weeks left in her 6 month adventure starting in Guatemala through all of central and most of south America.
Joanna is schedule-less at the moment. In 10 days she will celebrate her 8 month day of travel and will probably travel for the rest of this year. She started in Costa Rica.
Pam has been living in Banff, which is "The Canadian Mountain Town of my DREAMS" and NZ land of Lord of the Rings had always been on my pot of possibilities list.
So what for we have in common other than epic taste in music? We are all seeking plaid wearing mountain men who rock some facial hair and we're all a bit cynical and sarcastic, though if you asked us, we'd say we're all totally attractive and humorous.
We're enjoying the couple weeks we have left on the same path before bidding each other adieu. However a road trip and possible move to
Banff are always possibilities.
Solo traveling allows these kind of instantaneous and impact-full relationships that I find to always overshadow the hardship of self reliance.
After writing this; I may be leaving college to write personal advertisements on dating websites for living.
My first customers? The always chuckling Pam and giggling Joanna
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