What I now see mostly as the best possible opportunity for meeting new people and discovering cultures still unknown to me, initially started out also as a journey about new places and self discovery. The focus of the trip has shifted from something I want to do into something I feel I need to do, mostly because of the urge for sharing local stories. In reference to that, here’s an article about the first part of the trip, written and published by the Finnish Embassy in Argentina.
Canoeing from Tigre to the Finnish Embassy
In Buenos Aires, I contacted the Finnish Embassy on visa issues and before I knew it, they asked me to pay a visit to them. So, one morning after spending the night couchsurfing in Tigre (a wonderful neighborhood built on water channels in the North of Buenos Aires), I literally ran to the embassy to meet the Ambassador, Jukka Siukosaari, who was a prestigious yet very warm-hearted stranger!
Why was I late? Because Tavo, my couchsurfing host, lived a half-an-hour motorboat ride away from shore and as we were rowing towards the shore, we ran into some other locals from Tigre. They were on their way to save a culture house which some people were trying to squat that very morning. As Tavo needed to go with them, I jumped into a canoe which was rowing slowly towards the shore. About half an hour later than expected, I was finally on dry land and started running. This wouldn’t have been a problem unless I knew I was meeting a punctual Finn. Or so I thought: the first thing the Ambassador said was: “no one expected for you to arrive on time“.
Curiosity: strangerless connections
And just a curiosity: Tavo, with whom I couchsurfed (in a beautiful house he has built himself in the challenging conditions of Tigre. Challenging, because the river rises and falls as it pleases), is a wonderful luthier and musician. As soon as he heard I was from Finland, he told me about a Peruvian friend of his, whom he met in Bolivia, who now lives in Finland. This friend is called Cesar.
Now, I didn’t know him personally at the time, but I had just seen him on concert a couple of days before leaving for South America. Then, in August 2016, while visiting Finland, I go to the Independence Party of Peru. There, I see Cesar and tell him about having been at his friend Tavo’s house in Tigre. He’s amazed. After that I send Tavo a message telling him I have just met up with Cesar. He too is amazed (not least because he has no idea I’m taking a break from cycling in Finland).
For further interviews, click here.
