Day 102 – On the real meaning of politeness or “Why travel?”

Today, I woke up with this question, “Why do people travel?” Just like with diving, I have no idea why exactly I am doing this (or why anybody does it, for that matter). Without a doubt, it is nice to see different places, to learn different traditions, to get to know different people. But what is the true objective of travel (universal or individual)? And should there even be one? Maybe this is how you can quickly reach your personal enlightenment, rapidly moving through various experiences according to the 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows concept (pardon my “spiritual cheesiness” – after all, I am writing this while sipping delicious yerba from my newly acquired and properly cured mate set watching a most gorgeous Uruguayan sunset – I dare you not to be cheesy with such a backdrop for your thoughts). Or maybe everything is much more complicated… Anyway, here’s what happened today.

I went to Uruguay just for the randomness of it. Uruguay has NEVER been on my “countries to visit” list, but it is so easily accessible from Buenos Aires: the little town of Colonia del Sacramento is only one hour away on a funny Buquebus (pronounced bookeyboos) ferry across Rio de la Plata – I thought it would be a shame not to go there if only for having the pleasure to say later, “Oh yeah, I remember when in Uruguay...”

The place is absolutely spectacular! This little colonial town with amazing cobble-stone streets and gorgeous views is 100% worth not only passing by as a pretty famous tourist attraction but actually spending some quiet autumn days in. I even tried to find a bed & breakfast with a nice river view to come back to after I return from Patagonia – but no such luck, everything is booked tight until the end of the month… But still being here made me rethink my loose future plans to go to Iguazu Falls. I think that I will try to look for a place like this instead, somewhere in Argentina, and enjoy chilly fall mornings with a beautiful foliage view for a week or so.

Curiously enough, I got my morning question answered right here, in the total randomness of Uruguay (the whole idea of me being in Uruguay continues to crack me up for some reason). After saying gracias on multiple occasions, I learnt that the proper response to it here is mereces (“you deserve it”). What a beautiful alternative to “welcome” in USA or “de nada” in Mexico or “por favor” in Argentina! Don’t you think that if you heard this every time you said “thank you”, you would really start believing that you DESERVE IT? Deserve your coffee, deserve your steak… and you travel simply because - duh – you deserve it! Why the hell look for any other reason? Eventually, and inevitably, this simple formula of politeness should work as an affirmation and boost your self-esteem. I would definitely advise to start employing it in our daily conversations and see what happens around…

P.S. More on the advantages of dual citizenship
Apparently, while being a Russian citizen exempts you from paying an entrance fee or needing a visa to Argentina, you do require one for Uruguay. However, Americans don’t. So here we go again – after a small confusion with my red and blue passports at the Argentinian-Uruguayan immigration, I was let out of Argentina as a Russian Maria Shibaeva and entered Uruguay as an American Maria Hykin.