EPISODE 16
Odisea Panamericana
In 2009, Swiss graphic designer Martina Gees sold most of her possessions, flew to Buenos Aires, and started pedaling. She got as far north as Inuvik, Canada, and eventually as far south as Ushuaia, Argentina. All told, her incredible Odisea Panamericana spanned 5 years, 25 countries, and 60,000 kilometers. This conversation with Martina is focused on her experiences traveling with a partner (with whom she started in Buenos Aires), with people she met along the way, and alone. During her journey, Martina fell in love, broke up, made lifelong friends, and was deeply touched by the hospitality of locals. Having lived through a series of coincidences and strange happenings on the road, it’s no wonder that Martina identifies herself as an accidental bicycle tourist.
Episode Transcript
Martina: Yeah, you’re laughing, that’s why it’s a very weird story. I call it Odisea Panamericana because of so many strange happenings.
Gabriel: You just heard Martina Gees, a native of Switzerland, describing her nearly five years of cycling in the Americas, including traversing South America twice. Having so many interesting themes to choose from, we decided to focus our conversation on Martina’s experiences traveling with a partner, with people she met on the road, and alone. During her Odisea Panamericana, Martina fell in love, broke up, made lifelong friends, and was moved by the hospitality of locals. All of this happened in the midst of some of the world’s most stunning landscapes, including the Andes Mountains, Machu Picchu, and the Iguaçu waterfalls.
Sandra: You’re listening to The Accidental Bicycle Tourist. In this podcast, you’ll meet people from all walks of life and learn about their most memorable bike touring experiences. This is your host, Gabriel Aldaz.
Gabriel: Hello, cycle touring enthusiasts. Thank you for tuning in to another episode of the Accidental Bicycle Tourist podcast. It wasn’t exactly the Odisea Panamericana, but my family and I survived – and that is the word I want to use, survived – our Odisea Emiliana in August with our 10-month-old son Emilio. My wife Sandra and I will be talking about some of those adventures during our special 2024 holiday episode in December. And listeners, this is a great time to mention that during the holiday episode, we’ll also be reliving some of the most memorable moments from this first season of the podcast. So please email me your favorite adventures, tips, anecdotes, or quotes to feedback@accidental-bicycle-tourist.com. Now let’s get started on today’s episode, Martina’s Odisea Panamericana. How can someone who spent so long on the road identify with the term “accidental bicycle tourist”? Stay tuned to find out.
Gabriel: Martina, thank you for being a guest on The Accidental Bicycle Tourist.
Martina: Well, I’m happy to be here.
Gabriel: I’ll start off by hearing a little bit about you. It seems like you’re a graphic designer or something like that?
Martina: I am a graphic designer. Well, actually, I’m not really working as a designer anymore. I’m doing, right now, design and brand management for a foundation, a not-for-profit organization in the medical area. Yeah, I think it was an interesting change. But yeah, I studied visual communications. I worked as a graphic designer in design agencies for a very long time. And I think that was also the reason, initially, why I went on that bike journey. Because after almost ten years in an agency in Zurich, the word “spare time” was something I didn’t really know. So I just really needed a change. I think it was more of a coincidence that I ended up on a bicycle for such a long time.
Gabriel: Why was it a coincidence?
Martina: After this time, I really knew that I had to change something in my work life. I applied for other jobs, but it was always like, OK, it’s just the same thing in a different color. Since a very young age, I always wanted to see Mexico. I don’t know why Mexico. Quickly, the idea came up just to travel Latin America. But for me, at that time, I had no idea how. I think I would have ended up with a backpack, maybe. But my partner back then, he said he would join the journey, but he doesn’t want to sit in buses or cars for such a long time. So why we don’t choose the bicycle? Cycling, for me, I do that ever since I was a kid. I loved mountain biking, so cycling was fine. I just I never went on a bigger trip before, but I was like, “OK, so let’s go on the bike.” That’s why I say coincidence.
Gabriel: Yeah, that does sound pretty coincidental, or accidental, if you will.
Martina: Yes.
Gabriel: Which is perfect for this podcast. Just to give a bit of context, you grew up in Switzerland. So many Swiss people are really outdoors people, whether it be skiing or hiking or bicycling. So you at least were familiar with bicycling. You just never considered such a long journey by bicycle.
Martina: Yes, I grew up in the Swiss mountains. So it was more like mountain biking, but traveling on a bike is still a different thing.
Gabriel: So how did you go about it then, from this initial idea of “let’s do this by bicycle” to make it a reality?
Martina: Well, I mean, after we decided, “OK, let’s do that,” I did some research on what bicycle you need to buy because I had my mountain bike. I ended up buying a touring bike. You had to go into all the gear stuff, but then finally we bought everything. And then, yeah, it was like selling all the furniture at home, quitting the job. And one day we took a flight to Buenos Aires. I need to say there wasn’t so much preparation.
Gabriel: OK, but it’s an important point that you actually gave up your housing at that point.
Martina: Yes.
Gabriel: There’s long trips and then there’s trips where you’re sort of a nomad because you don’t have an apartment, at least.
Martina: Yeah.
Gabriel: So it looks like you gave up your home.
Martina: I gave up my home. I sold everything. I also deregistered from Switzerland. So for me, it was like, I’m going into a longer journey or adventure. It wasn’t like, OK, this is half a year or something. But I’m sure certain people were betting, “Yeah, yeah, she’s back after three months or after half a year.” But it was really my thing. If I do all this, then it’s not just for half a year.
Gabriel: Right. So then your first experience with touring was touring with your partner at that time, with one other person. So let’s talk about advantages and disadvantages of touring with your partner.
Martina: I mean, we both had no experience in bike touring. I still remember that day finally leaving Buenos Aires. I think it was the first time I ever cycled on a fully loaded bike. And I mean, Buenos Aires isn’t the best place.
Gabriel: Wait. No test rides?
Martina: We did some test rides, but not really with everything on it. We had way too much stuff. That’s how you start. I think when you haven’t done it before, when you’re not experienced, you always start with too much stuff.
Gabriel: Right.
Martina: It was always my dream or my plan. And if I do such a journey, if I start in the south, of course, I want to start in Ushuaia.
Gabriel: Ushuaia is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, and the world’s southernmost city, complete with international airport. To the south is the body of water called the Beagle Channel, named after the British ship HMS Beagle, which surveyed the area in 1833 under the command of Captain Robert FitzRoy. Later, the Beagle would be the ship on which Charles Darwin sailed, and his observations would inspire his scientific theories on evolution and natural selection. To the north of Ushuaia is a low mountain range, and the main access on Route 3 is over the Paso Garibaldi. At just under 1,500 feet, or 450 meters, the pass is not a major obstacle for cyclists in summer. However, in winter, it can be impassable due to snow.
Martina: My partner, he said no, he doesn’t want to go there, because it’s too cold down there. We headed then north towards Uruguay. So we already had some fights about just where to go. It was hot, and yeah, we were not experienced in bike touring. It was the first time that I was really with him 24/7. I mean, that does not happen when you have a job. Even when you live together, you’re not together, like, just all the time.
Gabriel: Yeah.
Martina: That was difficult. I remember I mean, it’s a while ago, but we had many fights also, because at some point we decided then finally to head south, but he still resisted. He didn’t just want to go to Ushuaia, so finally we started in El Calafate. It’s south too, but it wasn’t Ushuaia. For me, bike touring meant then, OK, you need to do a certain distance, because otherwise you don’t get anywhere on a bike because you’re slow. I mean, I wasn’t racing, but for him it was then more like, “OK, let’s get up late, have a late breakfast, and then let’s stop again very early.” So I think we just also, before we went, we never talked about what our idea is of that journey. So he had his idea, and maybe I had my own, but I think we kind of forgot to agree on a common base.
Gabriel: Yes, and a bike tour is a super-intense time.
Martina: Yes.
Gabriel: Because of everything you have said: new experiences every day, highs and lows, extreme togetherness. It’s really… intense is the right word for it.
Martina: Yes.
Gabriel: You’ve already pointed out a few things that can be a problem when cycling with another person, any other person, but maybe even more difficult when it’s your partner, and that could include everything from the route to the daily plan. Get up early, get up late, ride a lot, ride a little. So those are super important things to have some kind of agreement on.
Martina: Absolutely. This was one of the big learnings. We just jumped into the cold water in so many areas, but I think it wasn’t only this. Somehow it didn’t work, and we both, I think, quickly realized, and we were fighting a lot, not just about how one wanted travel, I think it was also because finally we were just together all the time. I ever since enjoyed having, like, my space. I like being alone, and then at some point you don’t have this chance anymore. I mean, you can do your own stuff, but there is always someone you need to kind of make sure that he’s happy too. Yeah, I think this was so bad that my partner back then somehow figured out that maybe the bike wasn’t the best choice.
Gabriel: OK.
Martina: He didn’t really enjoy the cycling so much.
Gabriel: It was his idea.
Martina: Yes, it was his idea, but he then decided, “OK, I don’t want to have this anymore. I go back to Switzerland.”
Gabriel: OK.
Martina: He was then also, “Would you come back with me?” But for me it was like I said before, I really gave up everything, and I enjoyed being on the road. Even if in the beginning it was, yeah, you encounter so many difficulties, but the longer you’re on the road, the better it goes, and I really enjoyed it. We started in the south, the climate was coolish, I like cool weather. He doesn’t, so there were a lot of things that were not fitting, but for me it was very clear that I’m not going back. So then I came to the point again, “Oh, what shall I do? Shall I head on alone on the bike, or shall I just change again to the backpack?” I think that was maybe an accident or a coincidence again. At some day, usually when you see other cyclists, you have a little chat, because back then there weren’t so many on the road – that might be different now – but at a gas station in Argentina we met two other cyclists, a woman and a man. They were brother and sister, we found out, they were from Switzerland too, and of course you start talking a little bit, and by doing so we found out that the brother, he only had half a year to travel, but the woman, Monika, she had open time. When you talk about traveling by bike, very, very far in your mind is the Panamericana, like from Argentina to Alaska. For me that started to build in that first month, and somehow we, the two women, we decided that we would cycle together. My partner wanted to go to Switzerland, and her brother only had half a year, so yeah, that was then the conclusion. So I changed like my travel partner from being my partner to just a woman I met on the road.
Gabriel: That’s amazing, but okay, a couple of questions, so first of all, how long a time passed that you were touring with your partner? After how many days or weeks or months did you meet this Swiss couple?
Martina: I was traveling with my partner for roughly half a year, and a bit earlier we met the two other Swiss cyclists, and then for, I think a week or two, we decided to cycle together, just to see if things work fine, and then just let’s say after half a year I started cycling with Monika.
Gabriel: OK, so you overlapped, the four of you overlapped for a couple of weeks, and then I don’t know, the men disappeared.
Martina: Yes, exactly.
Gabriel: If you don’t mind me asking, what was your relationship status with this partner of yours at that time? Did it end like, “OK, well, see you at home?” or, “See you never?”
Martina: No, I think, I mean, we were in a partnership when we started, but I think it wasn’t only like having the fights, because we didn’t have, like, the same idea of the trip, I think it also showed that the relationship, many things are not where they should be. From that point of view, for me, it was just like the bike trip with him was over, but also the relationship was over.
Gabriel: Okay, so when he left for Switzerland, it was the end?
Martina: Yes.
Gabriel: Wow, well, I guess a bike tour together is a good test of a relationship.
Martina: Oh yeah, definitely, I would say so, yes.
Gabriel: And then you immediately switched to biking with this woman, also from the German-speaking part of Switzerland?
Martina: Yes.
Gabriel: You said that you had the Panamericana in the background, but what were your immediate goals with this new cycling partner?
Martina: There was not a plan, I mean, we just kept heading north, I mean, just seeing where we go, where we will end up, yeah.
Gabriel: Where did you start riding together?
Martina: We started riding together, only the two of us in Cusco, in Peru.
Gabriel: Oh, okay. You must have gone to see Machu Picchu.
Martina: Wow, yeah, that’s another story, Machu Picchu.
Gabriel: Now I have to ask, with that response.
Martina: Yeah, I mean, Machu Picchu is like, it’s such a touristy thing, so when I was heading north, we crossed Peru once. I came back because a lot of other coincidental things, so I cycled Peru twice without visiting Machu Picchu.
Gabriel: Okay.
Martina: But then the second time I was standing at the border to Bolivia, because I was coming from the north, thinking like, “Wow, you crossed Peru twice on a bicycle, you spent, I don’t know, maybe six, seven, eight months in that country and you didn’t visit Machu Picchu.” So I was standing there at the border and I said, “Yeah, you can’t do that.” I just left the bike there and I took a bus back to Cusco and really did the tourist visit. But I have to say, I mean, it is a very touristy place, but when you’re standing there, I was getting up early, you’re there six in the morning, it was, like, foggy and that mist and you’re really just standing there looking at that area and I was thinking, “OK, there is really something about this place.” Yeah, you’re kind of deeply touched just by what it is.
Gabriel: Yeah, it’s a unique place for sure.
Martina: It is, it is.
Gabriel: And interestingly, you decided to leave the bike behind for it, which is a good idea, I think.
Martina: Yeah, yeah.
Gabriel: You’ve been all around, so I’m still trying to get this in my mind. When you were touring with Monika, you started in Cusco, but you went north.
Martina: Yeah, we didn’t, we didn’t see Machu Picchu.
Gabriel: Didn’t see it. And then it was only when you came back south and were about to leave the country, you said, I have to see it.
Martina: Yes.
Gabriel: Well, we’ll get to the southern trip later, I’m sure.
Martina: Oh, yeah.
Gabriel: Now you’re with a different partner. How was that time together with this random Swiss person that you met?
Martina: It went much better. Maybe being both from Switzerland, so we had kind of the same idea. We didn’t visit Machu Picchu, so it was like, we don’t want to visit the big touristy places, but because it’s also usually quite expensive. But we somehow always had kind of the same idea of what places we want to see, and not many of them, but the ones we went to see. It wasn’t a fight. “No, I want to see that.” “No, I want to see that.” And then maybe because also being two women, I think we had way more similar, like, travel speed. You fight with the same problems being a woman. And yeah, it just went very well. I think otherwise we would haven’t cycled together for such a long time.
Gabriel: Two questions. One: what year are we talking about here?
Martina: That’s quite a long time back. I think it was 2010 when we started cycling together.
Gabriel: OK. And then you lasted for, sounds like, for some months.
Martina: Two and a half years.
Gabriel: You cycled together for two and a half years?
Martina: Yes, exactly. There was nothing that made us having to go back.
Gabriel: Yeah, that makes sense at one level. But then, just, this is just so incredible to meet this person and travel for so long together. That’s amazing.
Martina: Yes.
Gabriel: And so you made it all the way north, at that point, to Alaska?
Martina: Yes, we reached Alaska and our most northern point was Inuvik in Canada. This is where we cycled together in these two and a half years.
Gabriel: Okay. And then she said, “I need to go back now.”
Martina: No, no. Well, when we arrived in Anchorage, we took a ferry from Bellingham to Anchorage to be in Alaska in kind of late spring. And there we met another cyclist. He was a world tourer. I think he was cycling already for eight years back then. And yeah, we also spent time with him. And yeah, there was something, let’s say, growing, between him and myself.
Gabriel: Okay.
Martina: Yeah, it’s again another coincidence.
Gabriel: So did you…?
Martina: No, we fell in love. I kept on cycling with Monika. We headed north. At some point we met him on the road with an Argentinian guy. We cycled together for two weeks, the four of us.
Gabriel: Okay.
Martina: Then that was it. From Inuvik, we cycled south to Calgary, Vancouver, because we didn’t do that stretch. The guy I met, he asked me, “Don’t you want to join me?” But he was heading south. He started in Alaska. So it was like, “Well, no, because that’s just where I’m coming from. I don’t want to go there again.” So Monika and I, we flew to Spain, to Madrid, and then we cycled together back home from Madrid, France, and Switzerland.
Gabriel: Why did you fly to Madrid about places?
Martina: I think it was like just flying directly to Zurich would have been like, “Waff, and here you’re back home.” We wanted to have it slower, and
Gabriel: Got it.
Martina: Maybe it was the cheapest flight. I can’t remember anymore. So we had kind of a slow approach back to Switzerland. We arrived there, and that was then also the time to say goodbye to Monika. But it was really like, that was the end of our trip.
Gabriel: It sounds like you had a very successful time with Monika. And so, are you still in touch with her? And she lives nearby? Do you see her?
Martina: We still live as nearby as before. But let’s say we see each other once per year. So, and it’s a funny thing, because next week she’s visiting me in Davos. So yeah, we’re still in contact. We went on some, like, two-day hiking trips together, but we didn’t cycle together anymore.
Gabriel: Maybe you’d want to preserve that memory?
Martina: Yeah, maybe. For me, it’s like everything I do is usually on a very spontaneous base.
Gabriel: Who knows? Maybe you’ll meet her and you’ll say, “Do you want to go to China with me?”
Martina: Yeah, who knows? Who knows? The guy kept asking, “Don’t you want to come again with me, heading south?” I needed some money, so I just worked for some months. But then he was so insisting that I should come again. So at some point, because I didn’t buy any furniture, I lived for some months at my brother’s place. So it was kind of easy just to go again. So I finally decided to fly to Nicaragua. And then I started heading south with him. So that was the next change with whom I was cycling. Yeah, you’re laughing. That’s why it’s a very weird story.
Gabriel: It’s wonderful.
Martina: I call it Odisea Panamericana because of so many strange happenings. He was on the road for such a long time. By then I was cycling for three years.
Gabriel: Yeah.
Martina: And I knew how I was traveling. But the same problem happened again. So he treated the journey like, “OK, it’s my trip and you just have to do what I want to do.” I had my own ideas because while heading north, I wasn’t able to see certain things. So of course, when I decided to go back to Latin America, I also wanted to visit the places I couldn’t see the first time. I think that was then maybe one problem. He was so egoistic in like, we just had to do what he wanted to do. So that couldn’t last long.
Gabriel: But Martina, Martina. Sorry, you had with this person a two-week trial period.
Martina: Ah yeah, yeah. During these two weeks, I met a completely different person.
Gabriel: Oh.
Martina: In these two weeks, he really was showing a very nice side because he had to convince me that I have to come with him. I think when it really happened, then I think I met a different side of him.
Gabriel: That’s too bad.
Martina: It is somehow.
Gabriel: You fell in love with a person and then you didn’t recognize the person that you met later on.
Martina: No, and then you try to make it work for a long time, but it was… we were also fighting a lot. And then he decided that he doesn’t want to travel with me anymore. And he said, “OK, now you can go back home. I don’t want to see you anymore.” But it was kind of the same thing. I mean, I said before I didn’t go back to Latin America, just because of him. I also went back because I wanted to see some things. When we broke up, that was in Quito, then I really decided to head on alone. Meanwhile, I was a way more experienced bike tourer. It wasn’t fearing something. It was just like, okay, now I’m just doing it alone.
Gabriel: Right. And that is after several years, sounds like the first time you actually bike alone.
Martina: Yes.
Gabriel: Amazing. How was that feeling that, okay, now you’re on your own. You have full control.
Martina: Yeah. Yes. I mean, in the beginning, it was hard because I think then suddenly you just have to carry everything because before you could share like a tent, the cooking gear, food. And now it was really, like, just I had to carry everything. And of course, I’m sure I bought way too much stuff in the beginning. I suffered from this breakup because it was more like, okay, someone made me come and then it’s just like, okay, now you can go wherever you want.
Gabriel: Yeah.
Martina: Breaking up isn’t always easy. I think doing that on the road is especially hard because I suddenly have so much time to think about everything because you’re alone. But after a while, you get used to that, you get over it. And I think then at some point, you really start realizing that things are completely different now. Traveling alone, I quickly found that people were approaching me in a completely different way. Or I was approaching people in a completely different way. With this, suddenly the complete journey was really changing. And it was kind of a completely new way of traveling.
Gabriel: When you say it’s a completely different way, can you give some examples? What kinds of things were you experiencing?
Martina: I was traveling with a male partner. I was traveling with another female. But being alone, I realized that people are approaching me way more often because I think it’s just because I was alone. I sometimes also talked to people and it was like, okay, you know, sometimes we see these couples, but we don’t even talk with them because it seems they are just together and they don’t want to talk to us. But when you’re alone, people are way more curious to approach you, because it’s just you. This was something that was really intensely showing in a very nice way. I was invited so often just into people’s homes. It happened before too, not that it never happened, but I think it happened more. It was also then interesting that suddenly women, and I mean especially Latin America, like Bolivia or Peru, women are often shyer, especially indigenous people. But even they started approaching and when they realized that you speak Spanish, yeah, then things really changed. I mean, I don’t speak Quechua or so, just some words back then. Also from my side, when I had to ask something, I didn’t have a mobile phone, I didn’t have a GPS, so I had a map and I had to ask people where I need to go. So I had to approach those people, because it was only me. And I think this really changed my own behavior, but also how people approach me. It’s not only positive, of course. You also then had some very strange encounters with, well, let’s say mainly men, because that’s also, “OK, she’s alone, so we can try whatever we want.” There were some or several not so nice experiences, but for me it’s like, okay, this is just part of such a trip.
Gabriel: Hopefully there wasn’t anything serious.
Martina: No, no, not really serious, but sometimes just very, very uncomfortable, but no, luckily not serious, serious.
Gabriel: Yeah, that is something that a lot of solo women travelers report.
Martina: Yes, I know.
Gabriel: And then, did you have any, not necessarily from men, but were there any difficult moments, maybe in terms of safety or tiredness or any times that it was really difficult being alone in a situation?
Martina: I think that the most difficult situations for me, I mean, that might be different for all other people, when you’re sick. Sometimes you’re just getting sick somewhere in the Pampa. You’re alone. I mean, sometimes I couldn’t even cook myself a cup of tea anymore, because I was feeling so bad. These were the more difficult situations. But otherwise, I remember, I think that was in Peru, I was cycling in some mining areas, and at some point I got completely lost. And then you’re running out of water, but there it was like more realizing, “OK, you’re the only person to blame. It’s your own mistake.” It’s a difficult situation, but sometimes I would just sitting there, the situation was so bad, but you have to just laugh at yourself. It’s like, okay, there is no one else to blame now. This was your decision. You’re responsible for everything.
Gabriel: Right. There aren’t any fights anymore about who’s fault it was getting into that situation.
Martina: No, no, it was always your own fault. And I think some of these findings were interesting. Also, people asked me a lot, was there a moment where you thought I would rather be at home now?
Gabriel: Mm-hmm.
Martina: No, I think it never happened.
Gabriel: Okay.
Martina: Yeah, the Andes can be very demanding if you’re somewhere high up and the weather is changing and you have hail and snow and just whatever there exists. That was then really seeing it as a part of this adventure.
Gabriel: I think in Latin America, there’s a sense of hospitality and that if people see that you’re in trouble, in some way, a lot of people want to lend a hand.
Martina: Yes.
Gabriel: That’s really encouraging because, yeah, you’ve mentioned the weather, the altitude, health, illness. We haven’t even talked about the jungle and animals.
Martina: Yeah.
Gabriel: There are so many challenges, so you experienced all of it.
Martina: In the beginning, I was so stunned by the landscapes and it was just so amazing. The longer the trip lasted, the more important people got. I mean, I was still seeing amazing landscapes, but at some point, I was like, “Oh, I want to talk to those people. I want to ask them how they live here, what the problems are that they encounter, what they think about me,” or whatever. And I think that’s when then you really start learning about a place or a country and you don’t learn what you can read everywhere, but you really learn from like, let’s say, real people.
Gabriel: What was an experience that you had with some people that really stands out in your mind?
Martina: I mean, I still remember one thing that happened when I was traveling with Monica. We were heading into the Peruvian mountains again. You have to climb a pass. I mean, you always have to climb a pass, somewhere. And I mean, we were slow, so sometimes people can walk faster than you cycle. And there was a little girl coming out of a house there. And of course, she was very curious. She asked, what are we doing there? Where are we coming from? Where are we going to? And then she said, “I just cooked soup for my family.” I mean, that girl was about 10 years old. And she asked if we want to have a plate of soup. And then it was like, “I mean, you know, this is a very poor family. We don’t want to eat their food because we have food in our panniers.” But then we still accepted. I mean, then you went into that home and it was just like a dirt floor. In the middle they had a fireplace. There was a bed and it was just like some bamboo wood. There was no mattress and a family of four was sleeping on that wood. Then, of course, the whole family came from the fields because they saw us coming in. So we spent quite some time with them. And I think that was still one of those moments that, as long as my brain is working, will stay with me because it’s like, you know, there’s a 10-year-old girl who cooked soup for a family, a poor family, and she invites you. And I think that that was a very specific happening. But I think it’s something you can say afterwards. I mean, the less these people have, the more they give. Then you go back to a place like Switzerland and it’s like… I mean, I had some very nice encounters also here when I was bike touring here. But just that thinking like, “OK, I’m just sharing what I have. If I don’t have anything tomorrow, I don’t care.” And I think this is something we don’t know. Yeah, you see the world with different eyes, I think, after such a trip.
Gabriel: Yeah, for sure. That theme about people who don’t have very much giving a lot has come up in other episodes.
Martina: Yeah, I can imagine so. If you had the luck to grow up in a place like Switzerland, I mean, if you work here for some years, if you don’t spend a lot, the world is open to you. That little girl or any other encounters, these people, I think they were so curious to see you, to talk to you, to invite you. Maybe that’s their little chance just to hear something from the world. Because I think many of these people, they will never even get to the capital of their country. They will never leave their little village. So it’s like, “OK if I can’t go out into the world, and if someone is bringing some word to me, I just grab that opportunity.” Because they had so many questions. Always.
Gabriel: Yeah, and when I’ve been in those situations, sometimes you do feel badly like, “Am I taking advantage of these people?” Or something like that. But actually, you’re also giving something back.
Martina: Yes.
Gabriel: Which is that for them, this is just an incredible thing. And the next day, they might tell everybody in the village that, hey, they’ve met this person.
Martina: Oh, for sure, they do. When they asked you, where are you from when you said Switzerland, it was the same thing in many places. “Ah, that’s next to Brazil, right?” Because they had no idea where it was. Because in the beginning, you explain, “No, it’s Europe.” But at some point, it’s like, “Yeah, it’s next to Brazil.”
Gabriel: It does kind of make me think when she asked, “Where are you going?”, what did you answer?
Martina: You wouldn’t say we’re going to Alaska.
Gabriel: You can’t.
Martina: Well, that’s maybe next to Brazil, too.
Gabriel: Yeah, that’s next to Brazil.
Martina: At some point, you just say, “We just go up the hill.”
Gabriel: Right.
Martina: One thing I have to say, if you do something like that, respect. I mean, respect the place you go, respect the people that live there. And just because you’re a cyclist and you decided to not earn money anymore, I mean, you have a privilege that you just can do that. But don’t expect that people are just giving or inviting you because it’s also not something that comes with such a trip. This is maybe one thing. I mean, just be respectful. And it’s also mainly Latin America, just learn some Spanish.
Gabriel: Yeah.
Martina: It’s showing also from your side a lot of respect when you just can talk to those people.
Gabriel: Oh, and everybody gets so excited when they find out that you can speak Spanish.
Martina: Definitely. Yeah.
Gabriel: You saw Machu Picchu and then you got into Bolivia. And eventually, you returned to El Calafate and then went further south to complete the last stretch.
Martina: Yes, I did.
Gabriel: How did that feel? By now, that’s like four years after landing in Buenos Aires or something?
Martina: Yeah. I mean, it was, I think, about four and a half years by then. South America, you should also think a little bit about the seasons. When I was heading south, I knew I was a bit late. I was always late. And I cycled the Carretera Austral, the famous Carretera Austral, twice. The second time heading south, it was already late autumn, which came with its own problems. Yeah. It was snowing already in higher altitudes. And I had to learn then that the rats are coming to the valley because they don’t find food anymore. So I had rats just chewing all my paneers.
Gabriel: Oh, wow.
Martina: Headin even further south, I reached Ushuaia in the middle of winter, which isn’t the best time to go there.
Gabriel: So that would be in July or something, which is winter down there.
Martina: Yeah. It was end of June, something like that. But it was also the last pass, Paso Garibaldi, was closed for two or three days because of too much snow.
Gabriel: Right.
Martina: So I arrived in Ushuaia in winter, which maybe just added to the whole, like, very strange journey. But I think arriving there, I thought it would feel different because it was like, “OK, now finally after four and a half years, you had to wait for such a long time, you’re arriving in that place, like.” But I was arriving there and it didn’t felt like, “OK, this is the end now.” So it was just like, “OK, now it’s Ushuaia and what now?” So I stayed in a hostel there and some people there, they were talking about a place called Chapada Diamantina in Brazil. So, and I mean, nowadays you have Google. I googled that. I was like, “Oh, that looks amazing.”
Gabriel: Ushuaia, what? I forgot all about Ushuaia. This other place, that’s the way.
Martina: Yeah, yeah. So I was like, “No, I don’t think that Ushuaia is the end now.” So I, because it was winter and I tried to hitch a ride, but not that many trucks or people are heading north. So finally it took a flight to Buenos Aires again. And yeah, I had, I started heading north again to Brazil this time.
Gabriel: You just did that based on this one conversation in a hostel?
Martina: Yes. Yeah, yeah, but I think it was kind of the conclusion of this, like it’s not feeling right. It’s not feeling like the end now. Maybe I’m not ready to just go home now. Maybe because of this, but it’s also, and Brazil, it’s a big part of South America. And I never got there. When I started in the very beginning with my first partner, we were heading to Iguaçu, but we never reached Iguaçu. So Iguaçu was also one of that places. So I started heading north, visited Iguaçu.
Gabriel: That’s famous for the waterfall that is on the border of Argentina.
Martina: Yeah, Argentina and Brazil. Yeah, and then I really started heading towards this Chapada Diamantina. And yeah, that’s, that’s how the trip then went on.
Gabriel: Okay.
Martina: I really reached that Chapada de Argentina. It’s a wonderful place.
Gabriel: What is it?
Martina: There are these chapadas. It’s like areas with these flat top mountains.
Gabriel: Okay.
Martina: I mean, there are a lot of waterfalls. It’s very beautiful. I mean, just on the way there, I visited other places like Bonito. It’s famous in Brazil. You can go snorkeling in some very clear waters. There are many of these chapadas. I stopped in the Chapada dos Veadeiros. You can go on amazing hikes. You just swim in these waterfall pools. Yeah, Brazil has a lot of beautiful places, but cycling from place to place was a bit difficult, because there weren’t so many secondary roads. Or I was just there when the sugar cane was harvested. So when there were roads, you had these huge trucks, like, dusting everything. So I really had to cycle on the highways with high traffic. It wasn’t such a big pleasure, the cycling, but visiting these places was amazing. And back in Ushuaia, I met the guy who traveled… who traveled on a motorbike and he was Brazilian. So he just wrote to his whole Facebook network that I’m heading towards Brazil if someone wants to host me or something. And I was entering Brazil and I kind of like got one invitation after the other. First, because of that. And then, of course, my second night in Brazil, one of these little newspapers that is read by just everyone, they interviewed me. So I got kind of famous. So I was stopped so often in Brazil, just sometimes in the middle of a road, hey, you’re that woman.
Gabriel: But was this a newspaper with a national circulation?
Martina: Here in Switzerland, we have a newspaper called 20 Minutes. I think that’s maybe the time you need to read it. It’s not very serious journalism. I think just a lot of people look at it. Now in Brazil, I mean, it was completely crazy.
Gabriel: You were recognized all over the place at the supermarket, on the road.
Martina: Recognized on the road. You met someone and then they had again friends somewhere else. So it was really like, “Hey, after here, you can go there.” And that’s how I then kind of jumped from one place to the other.
Gabriel: The network effect. And it’s actually very interesting because even on this podcast, I experienced the network effect. I will interview somebody and then they will tell a friend about it. And the friend would say, “I’d like to be a guest.”
Martina: Yeah, yeah.
Gabriel: I just thought, “Oh, I can’t believe it. This is working in the exact same way as when you’re on the road.” And you stay with someone and… “You have to stay with my cousin! If you’re going that way, my cousin is another 100 kilometers and… stay tomorrow.” It’s so funny that that same dynamic happens with the podcast.
Martina: Yeah, I can imagine. So yeah, but I mean, that’s great, no?
Gabriel: Yeah, yeah, it totally is. Okay, so you managed to reach your goal and did that feel like it was the end or did you then decide I need to do something else?
Martina: The Chapada Diamantina wasn’t the end because I was still inwards. So from there, I was like thinking slowly, where should I head to then fly back to Europe? I decided – or I think it was just because flights were the cheapest – so I decided to head towards Rio de Janeiro. But I also reached Rio de Janeiro, which initially was planned as my final destination in Latin America to fly back to Europe. But I ended up taking a flight from Rio to Santiago de Chile. During the time in Brazil, I started also on Facebook chatting with a guy and he said, “OK, I would come over and we could just cycle together.”
Gabriel: Okay, so you were chatting on Facebook?
Martina: Yeah, yeah. And then you know, then it’s like, “Oh, you’re cycling. Oh, you know, I have some vacation. Oh, I could go over. I mean, you’re there, would you join me for like a month of cycling?” And that’s how that worked.
Gabriel: But he was in Santiago or he went from Rio to Santiago also?
Martina: No, no, he flew in from Spain. He’s a Spanish guy. He just flew from Spain to Santiago for a vacation. I did kind of a last round of honor again in Chile and Argentina. But that was really the last one.
Gabriel: Okay.
Martina: From there, I finally flew home.
Gabriel: Okay, and now I’m afraid to ask this question. But how did it go with this person?
Martina: Yeah, that went okay. I have to say, for me, that was kind of now doing something different, because it was like, I already have been to certain places. So I was more kind of a guide.
Gabriel: Okay.
Martina: Knowing my past experiences, I didn’t have many expectations. It was also, I mean, I’m, you know, I’m just doing that now. And.
Gabriel: Yeah.
Martina: The thing is, if it doesn’t work, you know, I’m gone in two days, because I have all my own stuff. But that worked fine. It was a month. It was not like we planned to spend our lives together now. It was really like being with someone. But I mean, anyway, that happened also when I was traveling alone. I mean, sometimes you meet another cyclist on the road and sometimes they’re coming in the opposite direction, but sometimes you find out you’re heading towards the same place. I cycled maybe with two or three people for, let’s say, sometimes two days. I think with one I cycled for two weeks. But there it was always the same thing. You start cycling together because you just meet on the road and you start talking. At some point it’s like, “Well, shall we cycle together for some days?” And it’s like, “Well, we can do that. But, you know, you’re much faster than I am. So either you just go slower or you can wait for me or we just see and if we lose each other, no problem.” So I think there it was then really more right from the beginning. These are the facts. Either we agree on them or you go your way. I go my way. We might meet again.
Gabriel: Okay, so you’d learned something from your experience.
Martina: Yeah, yeah, I did. I did.
Gabriel: That’s good.
Martina: I have some relatives living in Bariloche. He flew out from Bariloche and I decided then just to stay there for a while with my, let’s say, extended family. I think also, like, really thinking now about the future because at some point you have to make a decision. You can stay forever in Latin America, but… yeah. So I think I just needed some extra time there. Then I also flew back to Zurich. I didn’t flew to like Madrid or something. I really, then I went back home.
Gabriel: And that was the end of your odyssey?
Martina: Yes. Initially, my dream was always, after the Panamericana, I wanted to like cycle from Switzerland towards China. But then it was like, in five years on the road, you have so many impressions. You’ve met so many people and then it was like, “OK, I think now it’s, I need a break,” because at some point you realize you can’t digest everything anymore because it’s just too much. So yeah, then it was really like, okay, I have to call this journey, this odyssey an end now.
Gabriel: Do you still have this goal of exploring the unknown East?
Martina: Yeah, I mean, that was always my goal. But then I also had to earn some money again.
Gabriel: Yeah.
Martina: East was anyway always a more difficult place than let’s say the Americas. You need a visa. I mean, the Americas as a Swiss citizen, it’s very easy to travel there. Languagewise, you speak English, you learn Spanish and you might learn some Portuguese and you’re perfectly fine. So everything got kind of more difficult. At some point, I still want to see certain places. It’s like Central Asia, like Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Mongolia. I really want to go there, but I’m not sure if it just needs to be like, “OK, I’m selling everything again and I’ll go.” This is something I’m still thinking about.
Gabriel: It’s a big commitment and you’ve done it once, you’ve done it twice.
Martina: Yeah.
Gabriel: So you might do it a third time.
Martina: That can be a very spontaneous decision, you never know.
Gabriel: And would you set off on your own? After all of your experiences, that would be the question.
Martina: Since I’m back, I did many shorter trips here. I also go on longer hiking journeys. For me, it’s the easiest thing to do it alone. I think I develop my very own rhythm, my very own style. I can sometimes spend half an hour to take one picture. I think I would drive people crazy with doing so. I’m very fine on my own. But the downside of being alone is that sometimes there is something beautiful and you can’t, like, share it with something. You can talk about it or you have a difficult moment. It’s also you have to go through it alone. Knowing from the past, I wouldn’t just jump on a bike with someone. I think… well, who knows. But I think I would need to be very sure that it would work. We would need to have the same idea of such a trip and I think then, maybe. I have no problems traveling alone and I’m very well in my own company. I think that’s something that these last two years taught me.
Gabriel: Yeah, and like we talked about, it seems like if you were considering going with somebody else, now you have a better understanding of what needs to be cleared up in advance.
Martina: Yes, definitely.
Gabriel: And where you need to align and so forth to maximize the chance for success. So in that regard, you have the wisdom of your years of experience.
Martina: Yeah, you would hope so, yeah.
Gabriel: Wow, what a story. I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. To learn more about Martina’s journey, check out her German-language website at colorfish.ch. It includes a map showing exactly when she was headed north and when she was headed south. You can also find Martina on Instagram: @colorfishes. Links are in the show notes.
Gabriel: The transcript for this episode is available on the Accidental Bicycle Tourist website. I welcome feedback and suggestions for this and other episodes. You’ll find a link to all contact information in the show notes. If you would like to rate or review the show, you can do that on your favorite podcast platform. You can also follow the podcast on Instagram. Thank you to Anna Lindenmeier for the cover artwork and to Timothy Shortell for the original music. This podcast would not be possible without continuous support from my wife Sandra. And thank you so much for listening. I hope the episode will inspire you to get out and see where the road leads you.
Martina: United States, that was then a different thing. The chances were higher that they knew that at least it’s Europe or that it’s the watches or the chocolate, yeah.