A creative, spiritual project
One of our side project while traveling was to collect stories through different mediums, including one which was inspired by Jane who launched Seize Your Moment, a worldwide project asking people to draw a happy moment in their life. We loved this concept so much that we decided to launch a similar project while on our journey asking people to either write or draw the recipe of a happy and better life.
The Miranda family
Our first humans we met were the Miranda family, living in the middle of no where between Bariloche and El Bolson, completely disconnected from civilisation, with just the radio as a medium of communication. One solar panel providing limited electricity at night, a wood burning stove to cook...the notion of time is completely different. There is no such thing as taking a quick tea or coffee, as the wood needs to be cut, then placed in the stove to burn! When we arrived, they spent the whole day greeting us with mate and feeding us bread with dulce de leche.
Their main economic activity is based on their ovejas, sheep, which provide wool that is sold to a local cooperative. They also have chibuts (small goats) that they only use for their own consumption. Their main diet is meat, bread, and mate (the local tea that they share).
Bringing up conversations around the table was not always easy...so imagine when we talked about our project and brought some paper and pencils to draw! Blanca felt very shy and first refused, until finally she accepted to write a message on our white piece of paper mentioning what is important for her: a more united country and strong ties with her children she raised far from everything but close to God. Talking about emotions, happiness, and reconnecting with the inner child using paper and pencils was a massive step outside their comfort zone. We felt so grateful when finally she accepted.
As for the men in the house, the father asked his wife to draw for him! Finally he said that the happiest moment was our recent visit into their place. Such kind words. We unfortunately could not get Manuel the son to draw. He kept laughing, refusing to step out of him comfort zone!
The wonderful people of Rio Pico
The kindness we received from the people of Rio Pico was just incredible and worth telling. We arrived in this little village and we had so many people come to greet us. One young man invited us into his garden to pick some cherries in his tree. We met a really kind man called Tiso, who lent us his house and his garden for our horses. After Rio Pico, we headed South to Las Mulas. Again there, we asked hospitality to this family who let us camp in their garden and who offered us food for dinner and excellent breakfast and offered us so many gifts before we left. We kept going on Ruta Apeleg, a deserted but well traced track. The pampa on our left and the cordillera on our right. Amazing vast landscapes without anyone to be seen in the distance. It's getting dark, and we are looking for a place to stay. We found a "puesto" (little farm house). A man comes out excited to see us. He had been waving at us for quite a while but had not waved back because we had not spotted him in the dark. His name is Nelson, he is 25 years old and he has not seen one single human being in two weeks! He was so happy to have some company. He put an asado on the fire for us. The following morning, he accepted to draw for us and prepared us some milanesas to take with us. A lovely person.
A pedagogical project
Capucine ran an exchange program with a primary school in France, providing monthly communications with french children on the adventure lived, answering their questions and presenting the project to the class upon her return.
A personal project
This travel is also about sharing our own story throughout the journey. Follow us on Facebook to discover our adentures.
