The Dogs of San Carlos de Bariloche

A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. ― Albert Einstein

I have never found companions that were so companionable as animals. I could only remember the time spent with them during my trip, with the sea lions of The Galapagos, the dog who accompanied me through the night in Bolivia, Darwin's finches, Alpacas and sharks. One part of my travel that I would never forget was my time with the dogs of San Carlos de Bariloche, probably because I felt so happy with them.

My couchsurfing host is of Ukrainian heritage and he named his dogs Chernyy or черный (above) and then there's Sochi or Сочи. I fell in love with this small town that I spent 2 weeks here. While my host was working in the school, I went out every day to see these unexplored parts of the world with his dogs. His place is close to the national parks where you can go hiking or marvel at the snowy peaks from a distance. There's also a large glacial lake surrounded by the icy Andes Mountains. I must say that this is such a nice place to live because you have this amazing nature all around you.

I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it. ― William Shakespeare

We call this dog Oso or bear because he is big and white. He's the neighbor's dog but he usually just tags along whenever I walk with черный and Сочи around the neighborhood. I guess it's nice to have a good company. Before this trip, I was not really a dog person. I just found out that dogs are so adorable and loyal that they follow me wherever I go, that I don't usually get with humans. I guess they are just pretty scared of the cat that always runs away.

It was not really possible to walk without them. They would even follow me up to the supermarket and it felt really good being followed and needed by those I like - the dogs. I felt powerful at the same time, it was like nobody or no other dogs could attack us - we were like a gang.

One bright sunny day, I went hiking down to the river and it was a pure joy just being with the dogs outside. The water was very cold but черный went swimming anyway. I was just there watching them run around like a mother watching her kids in the playground. We were a family and nature was our big playground.

I was here during the Patagonian winter, tolerable and beautiful cold. The water was icy but the dogs knew how to have fun. As I sat by the river, I wondered where all the troubles in this world come from, life is not all that bad. If only one learns to take pleasure in the details then there would not be that much sadness and worries around. Depression and mental illness seem to be just first-world problems these days. So what if Mommy and Daddy don't notice you, go out and see the beauty around you - in your backyard or in some unknown parts of the world. Be somewhere where people don't usually go. Be with animals or take a walk in the woods, I don't know - do whatever makes you happy. Do others and yourself a favor - stop moping around. That's your life to live so make yourself happy. Look at the dogs.

The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before. ― Albert Einstein

There was this man who was fishing in the river. One of the dogs was barking at him and I never felt so protected. Actually, the man was just curious why I was there because it's not every day someone from a very far away land could get this far. It was pretty strange for them. He was nice and he showed us around for a bit. Sometimes you get too cautious of people. In this day and age, people seem to lose faith in humanity, but in the end, it is your choice if you want to live in a friendly or hostile universe. What made my travel so great was that underneath it all, I still live in a friendly world.

Before I came to this part of the world, I was just as confused as everyone else. I've never thought I would be really happy with just the simple pleasures in life. I enjoyed every second of my trip even the bitter parts. I guess I just learned to be carefree and content, just like the dogs.