Epilogue

The biggest event of the last few days is Bolivia is the Waygoer’s stomach virus. It prevents us from seeing the Aymara wish-granting ritual on top of the Cerro Carvalio above the lake Titicaca, but I try to make the best of it and sit him down for a few hours of interviews, which will hopefully provide me with a meaningful soundtrack to the Waygoer’s adventures.

There is enough time for a daytrip to the remains of the capital of the ancient civilization of Tihuanaku. The most dominant pre-Inca empire in South America, lasting for over 1,500 years, it’s demise has been estimated to have taken place in a single generation.

The Waygoer isn’t particularly impressed with the ruins, but I find some rather interesting faces and gates that keep me occupied well beyond his initial hint that we should go back.

Finally we head back on a local bus, while I observe that if the locals were as efficient in everything as they are in making sure that the buses are full or in exiting them as soon as possible, regardless of how far back they’ve had to sit, this would be a very well organized and rich country. Alas, they’ve specialized in the bus efficiency business and don’t seem to care so much about other ways to make their lives more pleasant, so I accept things for what they are and exit last.

It’s been a long and tiring journey. I won’t know if I have good material for a short documentary until I start editing in New York, but I certainly feel I’ve already learned much. I’ve seen the ways of the Waygoer, I’ve met quite a few of the global nomads who cross paths with him. I’ve been able to feel the excitement and the desperation of their rootlessness and constant quest to find something more interesting and exciting.

In some ways I’ve confirmed for myself that it’s better to stick to one place and to one thing and try to make it work. And I think that’s what I’ve done on this journey – I’ve stuck with it. So despite that I didn’t get any real sense of additional freedom, that I’m unsure if this project will really work, the trip to Bolivia has given me a lot of material, so now I have to find the gems, just like the miners in Potosi.

Another thing that made this trip unique and invaluable for me has been sharing it with you, my friends, and getting your reactions. That has made every moment on the road a little more interesting and significant. In some ways it’s helped me see and appreciate the journey in a completely different way. Through the prism of sharing the experience, the bad moments were just as interesting and important as the good ones and I managed to see things with a lot less internal judgment. Now if I can hold on to that feeling, then the next journey has already begun.