After sleeping only 3 hours and covering more than 900 km, I was ready to hit the road again.

This first experience hitching rides in Europe is nothing as I expected. To begin with, the main difference vs. doing it in Central America is that people actually trust you enough to let you in their car and actively engage with you. For me this is very fullfiling because I got to meet new friends (even if they spoke french and my french is basic as hell) and to learn a few tricks thanks to my new pal @martibis.

But it is the idea of doing something new and as challenging as this, what I live for and the reason I do all these crazy stuff.

Of course Europe is not as dangerous - not even close - as Central America (hitching-rides-wise) but the language barrier per se is already quite difficult and if you add to the equation the need of covering so many km each day, is enough rush and adrenaline for my body, and you know I am addicted to those.

I would really like to make this post long, especially because so much things happened in just 24 hours and a 3 minutes video is not enough to tell all those tales but, this recap is not for you to listen to all the details - I will make a post about it after the SF2 - it is for you to experience first hand how it is to hitchhike to Steemfest in western Europe.

I know there are some of you who don´t like watching videos and enjoy reading my stories first hand, so I decided to include a full video with the adventures but also write about it.

First of all, I am sorry for not uploading the second part of the adventure yesterday, but I know Sundays are pretty slow reward-wise and as making this video takes a lot of effort - not just filming everything, but also editing, selecting the music and videos - so I thought I might try today and see if the recap get´s more traction.

If you prefer to watch the video, skip the next paragraphs.

The actual recap. Day # 2

After sleeping for 3 hours while Luca, the truck driver, took us to a gas station outside Bordeux, I spent most of the reamining night editing and doing Steemit related stuff until 8 am, which is when @martibis and me started to try and get a ride. This is when a very old man driving a van to a nearby airport, picked us up.

Martibis slept all the way but as I was in the front seat - the one in the front seat must always remain awake and conversating with the driver (hitchhiker´s rulebook 101) - I got to know this person very well. As opposed to Central American people, some European bros prefer to remain in the shadows. He asked me not to say his name but we got a picture! Anyway, this man was on his way to the airport to pick a friend and then drive to a summer cottage he owns, and spend all weekend with his family and friend, play some guitar, tell stories and eat cheese and drink wine.

He left us in Tarbes. In there we spent a while in the gas station to charge our phone´s and computer and then we met Ludo and Luna, a father driving with his daughter on their way to pick up another family member and spend the weekend together. We didn´t ride a long time but we engaged in a good conversation. It is amazing how many people in France know their way in spanish. They dropped us in Biarritz, right in the highway.

After smoking a cigarette and assesing our options, we walked to a better spot to get a ride to the border. A nice family of three - one mom, one brother and one sister - picked us up and literally just gave us a lift to the next gas station. It was only 15 minutes and I only managed to take a picture with the sister, quite cute if you ask me.

In the last french gas station we experienced what it trully is to get a ride from spanish people. Spaniards do not trust hitchhikers mainly due to the recent events regarding robberies and abuse from these type of traveler towards the drivers. As we expected, we got picked up by a french couple driving a camper. The were on a 12 day vacation across Spain. In the camper, I got to work a bit more on the video because it wasn´t finished. They were lovely and seemed very in love despite the fact that they were married for more than 20 years.

They dropped us in Burgos. Well, outside of Burgos because it is not wise to hitch rides to cities but to stay on the highway as much as possible, and try to stop in gas stations when possible, which is something we didn´t manage to do.

We were dropped right after the toll booth, with no space for cars to stop. We spetn more than 2 hours trying to hitch a ride with no avail. The sky was already dark and no one was even lowering their window or even waving at us. The day was over, we wouldn´t be able to get picked up by someone.

I have never wild-camped before and I know in some parts of Europe it is forbiden but still, we had no other option. We decided to walk to the edge of the road and walk towards a hidden spot where we could pitch our tent and sleep at least for a few hours - you have to wake up very early before the sun comes out in order to avoid being detected in case the police comes around. For me this was kind of stressful mainly because it was my second day on the road and I was already doing something not entirely correct but, as Martibis told me, a lot of people do it, so as long as you don´t bother anyone and you move on before there is light, you won´t have any problems and also the police won´t tell you anything about it.

This was a day full of new expriences and learnings, but if you really want to get the full experience, you should also watch the video...

Remember, be Here Now

If you want to read @martibis side of this story click here.

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Haciendo autostop al Steemfesr: Día #2 - De Burdeos, Francia a Burgos, España (video de 3 minutos, resumen de la aventura)

Después de dormir sólo 3 horas y haber recorrido más de 900km, me encontraba listo para atacar de nuevo el camino.

Esta primer experiencia de conseguir aventones en Europa no es nada como lo esperaba. Para empezar la principal diferencia contra hacerlo en América Central es que las personas que te recogen en realidad confían en ti y buscan pasar tiempo de calidad contigo. Para esto es algo muy satisfactorio porque pude hacer nuevos amigos (aún cuando ellos hablaran en francés y mi francés es menos que básico) además de que pude aprender algunos trucos gracias a mi nuevo amigo @martibis.

Pero la idea de hacer algo nuevo y tan retador como esto, es para lo que vivo y la razón por la que hago estas cosas tan locas.

Por supuesto que Europa no es tan peligrosa - ni siquiera se le acerca - como Centroamérica (en cuanto a hacer autostop se refiere) pero la barrera del lenguaje por sí misma ya es problemática y si a eso le agregas que la necesidad de recorrer tantos km cada día, es suficiente emoción y adrenalina para mi cuerpo, y ya sabes que soy adicto a eso.

Me encantaría escribir de manera extensa esta publicación, en especial porque en sólo 24 horas ocurren muchas cosas y un video de 3 minutos no es suficiente para platicarte todos los mini-relatos - ya haré un post sobre eso después del SF2 -, esta recapitulación es para que puedas experimentar en primera persona como es hacer autostop al Steemfest en el oeste de Europa.

Sé que algunos de ustedes no son fans de ver videos y prefieren leer mis historias, así que decidí incluir el video con las aventuras pero también escribiré un resumen sobre ellas.

Primero que nada, una disculpa por no haber posteado ayer la segunda parte de la aventura, pero sé que los domingos son muy malos en cuanto a recompensas se refiere y ya que hacer este video lleva mucho esfuerzo de por medio - grabar todo, editar, elegir la música y los clips adecuados - pensé que sería mejor intentar publicar hoy lunes y ver si el post tiene un mejor resultado.

Si prefieres ver el video en lugar de leer, ignora los siguientes párrafos

El resumen de la odisea. Día # 2

Después de haber dormido sólo tres horas mientras Luca, el chofer de camión, nos llevara a la estación de gasolina en las afueras de Burdeos, pasé el resto de la madrugada editando el video y haciendo deberes de Steemit hasta las 8 am, que fue cuando @martibis y yo comenzamos a intentar conseguir un aventón. Aquí un hombre anciano manejando una van hacia un aeropuerto cercano, nos recogió.

Martibis durmió todo el camino pero ya que yo era el copiloto - el copiloto deber permanecer despierto todo el trayecto y conversar con el piloto (reglas del autostop 101) - pude conocer muy bien a esta persona. Contrario a como es en Centroamérica, algunos Euroamigos prefieren permanecer anónimos.

Me pidió no mencionar su nombre pero pudimos tomar algunas fotos! En fin, este hombre dé encontraba camino al aeropuerto a recoger a un amigo suyo para pasar el fin de semana con la familia de ambos en su casa de verano, tocar guitarra, contar historias, comer queso y beber vino.

Nos dejó en Tarbes. Ahí pasamos un tiempo en la gasolinera cargando nuestros teléfonos y mi computadora, fue cuando conocimos a Ludo y Luna, un padre con una hija, camino a recoger a otro hijo - gran descripción eh? - y pasar el fin de semana juntos. No pudimos pasar mucho tiempo juntos pero tuvimos una buena conversación. Es impresionante cuántas personas en Francia se las arreglan para hablar en español. Nos dejaron en Biarritz, justo en la carretera.

Después de fumar un cigarro y analizar nuestras opciones, caminamos hacia un mejor sitio en donde pudiéramos conseguir un aventón hacia la frontera. Una familia linda - una mamá, un hermano y una hermana - los recogieron y literalmente nos aventaron en la siguiente estación de gasolina. Fueron sólo 15 minutos y pude arreglarmelas para tomar una foto con la hermana, muy linda si me preguntas a mi.

En la última gasolinera francesa experimentamos lo que es realmente hacer autostop por parte de personas de España. Los españoles no confían en los trotamundos principalmente por todo el crimen y asaltos que este tipo de viajeros cometen contra los conductores. Como lo esperábamos, nos recogió una pareja de franceses conduciendo una camioneta tipo camper. Se encontraban en un viajecito de 12 días a través del norte de España. En el camper, pude trabajar un poco en la edición del video porque todavía no estaba terminado. La pareja era muy linda, se miraban muy enamorados a pesar de llevar al menos unos veinte años casados.

Nos dejaron en Burgos. Bueno, en las afueras de Burgos porque no es inteligente conseguir aventones hacia adentro de las ciudades, sino quedarse en las autopistas lo más posible e intentar hacerlo en la gasolinera más cercana, algo que no logramos hacer esta ocasión.

Justo fuimos dejados después de la caseta de pago, en un lugar en el que no había espacio para que los autos se detuvieran. Pasamos más de dos horas intentando que alguien se detuviera, pero fallamos. El cielo ya se encontraba oscuro y and no one was even lowering their window or even waving at us. The day was over, we wouldn´t be able to get picked up by someone.

I have never wild-camped before and I know in some parts of Europe it is forbiden but still, we had no other option. We decided to walk to the edge of the road and walk towards a hidden spot where we could pitch our tent and sleep at least for a few hours - you have to wake up very early before the sun comes out in order to avoid being detected in case the police comes around. For me this was kind of stressful mainly because it was my second day on the road and I was already doing something not entirely correct but, as Martibis told me, a lot of people do it, so as long as you don´t bother anyone and you move on before there is light, you won´t have any problems and also the police won´t tell you anything about it.

This was a day full of new expriences and learnings, but if you really want to get the full experience, you should also watch the video...

Remember, be Here Now

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!steemitworldmap 42.381372 lat -3.585663 long The road to Steemfest: Day # 2 d3scr