Why do we travel? Its different for everyone, of course. Some people travel once to see something they have always longed to see and are happy to stay put from thence on. Some people start off thinking they will travel just once and end up trying to satiate “the Bug” for the rest of their days. Irrespective of why one travels, I think most of us hope to meet some interesting characters along the way.
Enter Mario the miner. I had just finished a 23-day Antarctic expedition that totally blew my mind. I had a couple of extra days after the cruise and decided to head north to Chile’s Atacama Desert to do some desert photography. I was heading from the driest place on earth to the 2nd driest (I kid you not).
The last day of the cruise began early at the “FIN DEL MUNDO” where we disembarked and then headed for the airport and a couple of flights that were barely connecting. Having managed to run the length of the airport in Santiago (why are the gates miles apart when you have a shortened connection to make?), I was totally exhausted aa I scrambled aboard the plane. I had visions of popping my headphones in and blissfully spending 2 hours in a world of my own. As I searched the overhead bins for my row number, I looked down to find a beaming face by the window, staring at me as I sat down. Oh s**t I thought. This is going to be a nightmare!
Please let him speak Spanish, my ticket to “no hablo español” heaven.
G ’Day mate! comes out of his mouth. (Puts headphones back in pocket).
“My name’s Mario, I recognised your accent” (from where I’m not actually sure) but he had, and my goose was cooked.
Or so I thought.
So began one of the most informative, funny, and enlightening 2 hours I’ve ever had (Not Billy Connolly funny, but pretty good for a plane ride).
Mario was heading up to work in one of the Copper mines in Calama. He was one of the supervisors and worked a rotating 7 on/7 off shift. He lived in Santiago with his wife and family and had worked all over the world in mines and spent quite a bit of time in mines around Australia, especially Western Australia. So, he was keen for a chat.
We spoke about what I was doing, and how I came to be in Chile. We chatted about what he was doing, his life in Chile and the current state of affairs (the upcoming referendum was a big topic). He spoke about his time in Western Australia and began to regale me with the less than subtle (or repeatable) words he’d learnt from the Australian miners.
The conversation meandered like a river, veering unpredictably here and there. At one point, he started quoting “The book of Job” (though I didn’t get the impression he was super religious) and how it related to today’s world, then we veered off into existentialism and back to mining in Chile! Wow.
As the sun set out of the plane window, and we sat for a couple of minutes watching the golden glow over Calama, I thought how lucky I was to have met Mario. What a terrific bloke.
Then a wave of sadness hit me. These 2 hours of utter madness would end soon, and Mario would be but a memory. I’d probably (almost certainly) never see him again, and that saddened me. It happens when you travel but doesn’t ever get any easier.
We said our goodbyes as we hopped off the plane, and I wished him well as I went to collect my bags. Damn, I didn’t get a photo with him!
While waiting for my ride to arrive, I reflected on the past couple of hours and realised my life was infinitely better having met Mario. Another small piece of the fabric of our lives that makes us who we are. People you meet always add something to your scrapbook, albeit an unimaginably small piece, but stitched together, they create your own rich tapestry.
For me, THIS right here is why we travel. For without life’s interactions with the Mario’s of the world, we’d almost certainly be a lesser version of ourselves.

This category is sponsored by Freely Travel Insurance.

 Freely is a brand of Cover-More Insurance Services Pty Limited ABN 95 003 114 145 (AFSL 241713) (Cover- More). The information provided is only on the availability of Freely products. We do not give advice and the information provided is not intended to give an opinion or recommendation regarding the product. For information on what’s covered and how to contact Freely, refer to the PDS, FSG & TMD which can be found here: freely.me/au.