The remotidades of the diary. A few days ago I came across a photograph full of snow-capped mountains. I imagine my pupils must have dilated when I recognized Queenstown and those majestic mountains correctly called the Remarkables, or said in English, the extraordinary ones. It was something like “I know that place!
I think it was in 2000 when we enjoyed them by helicopter, after an unforgettable meeting in Auckland, New Zealand, when we started the movement at Saatchi for Lovemarks. That week I met the CEO in Israel, Moshe Gaon, and together we spent a few days in those remote parts of the world to which I hope one day to return.
Now, why am I telling you this? Certainly not to brag, but to suggest you to travel a lot and add more places to your diary. Because it is a matter of time and some money, although it is much more a matter of decision and purpose in your journey through life. Because if I were 28 years old, single or still without children, and I was in front of the screen with this blog in front of me, I would quit as soon as possible for a year (or three) and backpack the world, which is always possible and has a thousand low-cost options.
In fact, I will never forget the trip I made with my friend Fernando Morúa on buses, first on Ticabús and then on Greyhound, from the church of La Soledad in San José, to the center and the entire west of the United States, with a salveque on my shoulder, a semi-afro and leafy sideburns, bell-bottoms and a rickety budget typical of a traveler at 19 years old in the seventies (Sultans of swing was the hit of the moment). When you have not yet assumed life responsibilities, it is easier to “pick up the ticket and pull”.
Anyway, with the gray hair and the marks on my face, I have been adding phenomenal remoteness. From the Himalayas to Patagonia, from the dunes in the Sahara to the fjords in Alaska and the depths of the Osa, Oman or Montana. Because obviously, it is also a matter of years that accumulate, one every 365 days and a quarter, as well as mileage that is added for each stamp in the passport. So, in case you were of the same tribe of dreamers with remote destinations, I invite you to jump out of the saddle and do it as soon as possible.
Travel is possible also in movies and especially in books, in photos and in videos, in stories and in everything that adds to people’s imagination. However, nothing is comparable to stop for a moment, and get your own vision at 365º and observe the penetrating intensity of a remote landscape.
If you think you can’t, excuse me, you can! If you think it is a matter of a few, let me tell you that it is also a matter of you. Nothing should stop you, because there are not few human beings on the planet who do it by working one time and traveling the other, with the difference that they do it in faraway places, as waiters, as ski instructors or assistants in a raft or a local restaurant.
Life is a journey and the more remarkables you add, the richer your memories will be. Life is a short time and for this reason, I invite you to comb gray hair with many landscapes on your retinas, so you will enjoy many moments like the ones in the photo of the Remarkables that I was telling you about, when even you are amazed to have met them.
If I were you, I would resign (or ask for a leave without pay), pack light and go jogging around the world, not as a tourist but as a traveler.
I only ask you for an anecdote, a story, a photo or a postcard.
Have a good trip!
😉
E-mail: jorge.oller@grupotribu.com
Conventional mail: P.O. Box 11208-1000, San José, Costa Rica.
