Welcome to Buenos Aires
It’s different not going home and traveling to a new country, as there is a new energy associated with it. It is obviously easy to see how so many people around the world take a year off of work and travel, explore, and learn about other nations and the variety of cultures that exist.
So as my plane took off with lush green fields and the crystal clear blue ocean of Easter Island beneath me, a smile came over my face as I was leaving a culture that understands its history and lives as though they are one heartbeat.
Therefore, as I landed among a city full of high risers, movers and shakers, and a unique energy it was as though I was shot out of a canon as the Buenos Aires vibe sent juice through my bones and adrenaline into my veins.
My first night was spent in the business district, as my new home became Hostel Florida. It was relatively mellow as I arrived in a rainstorm, thus soaked. So I took a shower, crawled into my bunk bed in room 706 and began to doze off.
Almost immediately as my eyes began to close, the door sprung open with four young guys talking a mile a minute in Portuguese. What typically happens in hostel’s is that you say hello to your roommates, but rarely talk to them as when you get up, they’re sleeping and when you go to bed, they’re still out – particularly if they are South American. Thus, for the four guys from Florianopolis, Brazil and I to remain awake until 4:00 AM talking about life, their journey, and the Win Forever philosophy was not only unique, but an anomaly.
Leonardo, Daniel, Paulo, and Raphael were riding their bicycles from the Pacific Ocean in Chile to the Atlantic Ocean in Argentina. For the past three months these four newfound amigos rode in the pouring rain and sweltering heat as well as riding hungry, sick, and at times even hung over. But through it all, they achieved their goal of teaching people from their university that the sport of cycling is one full of excitement, exploration, and friendship as this was a university sponsored project for them during their semester break. Yet most importantly, as Leonardo so enthusiastically said at 3:50 AM on my first night (or morning) in Buenos Aires, “To me Winning Forever is having a dream, and then achieving it. And now that I’ve realized my dream of cycling across South America I will go home, hug my parents, kiss my girlfriend, and dream up something new.”
Quite a first night in Buenos Aires. Jump on board to see where this Win Forever approach takes us next. But first I have to get some sleep.
Yogi
