Does travelling give us access to a more human form of knowledge? We’ve long discussed in this blog the topic of the relation between tourists and natives, and the difficulties of this relation. But, what happens with the knowledge we obtain from this relation with other tourists? Going away from home implies taking certain risks. Not only a change in food and routines, but many times living long hours with people we barely know or we’ve never seen before. There are those for whom this contact results shocking. Unable to get used to sharing a room, use unknown bathrooms, carry heavy backpacks. During a trip, there are not many options. Either you get used to new routines and stop being so delicate or you’re bound to spend horrible days in route.

The downers on the route can be worse when we travel cheap, using tents, using bar’s or gas stations bathrooms, having irregular access to a shower or any other method of hygiene. Many people not only have a hard time tolerating dirt, but they become obsessive with other things.

For example, the weight of the backpack. I’ve seen people on the roadside with a nervous breakdown, going through their belongings, giving them away to anyone who happens to be around, emptying their luggage in such a way that it becomes lighter than a Coke can.

Not to mention the stress related to hitchhiking. When you travel in a group, there always those who try to travel before everyone else. Much worse is the competition between groups when, for example, they pass right through your group to get ahead and stop first the upcoming vehicles.

If backpacking culture many times can be identified with solidarity, at least in this topic it’s not a good example. And if someone wants to see this topic in action, go spend a summer in the lakes area of the argentinean Patagonia.

Is that contact with the others, their manias, their frenzies, make us more human, more understanding? It’s hard to tell, since generalization, in such personal topics, usually doesn’t give the best results. But I’ve always believed that physical journeys are complemented with other forms of travelling -what we could call “inner travelling”- that goes inside ourselves.

“To travel is to learn” might sound too marketing-like but, sometimes, it sounds interesting. And reminds us why we love to be in movements, tolerate the dirt when we’re on the road, and put up with those unconfortable seats in buses and airplanes