Keagan’s World

Salta. My love. I miss you so. From copious amounts of fernet, to awe-inspiring views, and, of course, fantastic people, I was blown away. What’s crazier? No one talks about it. It’s all Patagonia this, Iguazú that, but man… I’ll be damned if Salta isn’t a top 2 experience by the end of this trip, and I’m not talking 2nd place.

When we first arrived at the town, it didn’t look like anything special – just an average town you’d find in everyday USA with a cool foothills backdrop and average food. And if we were talking about Salta the city, the story would end there. But we’re not talking about the city – the province. An area of land so magnificently diverse and untouched it feels straight out of a movie. All it takes is a Hertz rental car, a few mediocre drivers, and a prayer that the car hadn’t blown a tire every time we hit an overly-aggressive pothole.

Now let me take you for a Ride Along:

“I’ll be up and ready to wander no later than 9”
– some donkey that you may or may not know.

Definitely wasn’t me…

Then an unexpected work meeting (this time actually wasn’t me) and un montón of rain. But eventually our group of 5 made it on the road. With our best granola music cranked up, we rolled into the first of the Andes’s foothills.

A Reunion

Our group came from all over to make this trip happen: Phil from Rio, Jacob from Asuncion (?), Margo from Corrientes, Barbara and I from Buenos Aires.

All of us at one point in time had been students at the language school I’ve been attending in Buenos Aires, but I was the only one still there. I had spent a considerable amount of time with a couple of them and knew the others well enough to know it was going to be a great group.

We sang, laughed, bullied (a lot of this), oo’ed, and ah’ed our way around the winding roads stopping at what felt like every other lookout because just when you thought it couldn’t get better, it did.

When we made it to the little villages for the night we bantered, shared drinks, talked life, and just enjoyed the company we gave each other.

Carefree. Present. Blissful.

Moments that Left Me Speechless

Emerging from the clouds:
On day one the rain decided it wanted to join in on our fun. Which really stunk for a bit given that we were in the clouds themselves and couldn’t see more than 50 feet in front of us let alone the valleys below. But then after an hour of nothing we were treated to one of the coolest visual experiences of my life. In moments, we emerged from the clouds into a windy flat desert with multi-colored mountains and blue skies on one side, jagged rock shelves behind us, and a storm brewing in the foothills to the other side. Oh and I forgot to mention the double rainbow too.

And so it was the first (but definitely not last time) I just plopped on the ground and stared.

A window into Mars:
We found an uninhabited extraterrestrial landscape.

Okay maybe not, but if you secretly took me there in my sleep and woke me up, I’d believe it.

We wandered amongst the massive rock shelves until finding one gradual enough to scale. And the top did not disappoint. No one was around for miles and miles. Just us, our thoughts, and the world before us.

So naturally being the mature adults we are, we had to test how good the echo was.

And let me tell ya. It was GOOD.

Turning the corner… literally

The undoubtedly singular most eye-popping moment of natural scenery I have ever seen.

Our reactions in this video says it all.

Apologies for my language, but I was in awe.

Red rocks & realizations:

This one was more an internal moment. As I sat there alone at the top of a red rock formation staring at the insanely beautiful contrasting colors and natural landscape in front of me, I realized everything I had planned was in doubt.

I know I’ve touched on it already, but it was the finality of the road trip when it really sunk in.

If something as indiscreet as Salta could be so damn beautiful, what else am I missing? How can I experience this and just go back to everyday life forever knowing the whole world is out there?

And a little less daunting: How can you really say you’ve been to a country if you’re just speed running the cities and main attractions without taking time to soak it all up?

Hey, you.

Yeah, you.

Whoever you are that’s reading this, I implore you to travel.

It doesn’t have to be expensive! Travel to the countries where your currency goes the furthest while you’re young and broke. It’s so much more possible than you think. I’ve met people who have been traveling for the better part of 5 years on their own dime and only held a part-time jobs to replenish their funds. I’ve met people who have spent less than $30 USD over 5 weeks in a foreign country. I’ve met people who have been to 50+ countries before turning 30.

If you embrace the unknown and discomfort you will unequivocally never regret it.

I promise.