Travelcast with Igar Garai

E14 - Federico: Navigating the Digital Nomad Lifestyle and Cultural Adventures

• Igar • Episode 14

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Have you ever wondered what it's like to navigate the world as a digital nomad? Meet Federico, a spirited traveler from Argentina, who turned his love for exploration into a lifestyle. Listen as he shares the thrilling stories of his transformative journey from a student in Argentina to working as a receptionist at a luxurious hotel in Andorra—without even having Italian citizenship at the time! Federico's tale starts with an adventurous post-high school trip with friends, setting the stage for a life of travel peppered with both uncertainty and freedom. 

This episode takes you on a whirlwind tour of Federico's most exhilarating travel experiences, from working a ski season in Andorra to exploring 16 different countries. You'll be captivated by the cultural challenges he faced and a near-miss financial fiasco involving a hotel owner, a bank, and the Russian mafia that almost threatened his travel plans. Despite the bumps along the way, Federico's journey is filled with fascinating cultural encounters, from the vibrant streets of Italy to the breathtaking wilderness of Patagonia. His story is not just about places; it's about the connections he made and the roots he discovered in Italy.

But the adventure doesn't stop there. Discover how Federico balances his professional commitments with a love for spontaneous travel, thanks to the flexibility of remote work. From the picturesque landscapes of Mendoza to the chaotic allure of Latin American culture, Federico's experiences showcase the unique blend of work and leisure that defines the digital nomad lifestyle. He also shares insights on the joy of connecting with indigenous cultures and the thrill of crafting travel itineraries on the go. Join us for an episode that promises to inspire your inner wanderer and maybe even spark your next adventure.

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Igar:

Hello, dear travelers, and welcome back to another episode of the Travelcast. Today we have a guest from Argentina, federico, the guy who traveled in Europe a decade ago as a student working in Andorra, and now you are traveling as a, let's say, working person uh, working remotely and uh, well, and also you are the patagonia enthusiast, right. So, federico, please drop some words about yourself, from yourself, and how you, how you start your first, like, let's say, steps, and travel back then and like where it came from yeah, yeah, for sure.

Federico:

Thanks, cigar, for that intro. Amazing and nice being here. It's super good. It's like uh, first of all, thank you for having me in your, in your home. Um, so now I'm doing this kind of digital nomad that a lot of people is doing now. Uh, working and traveling. Uh, as you mentioned, this is my second travel here in Europe, really enjoying it. I think it first started with traveling like hard traveling when I was like 17 or 18, like finishing high school, I did like a really good trip with my friends and then I got like this great taste for traveling and I can never stop now it's, it's a drug, as you can imagine.

Igar:

That's good, that's good work. Yeah for this. It's like always this eager to, to discover more.

Federico:

Yeah to to to see more things, to taste more things, as always, yeah yeah, it's like that hunger that you have for more, not only culture, like new places, meeting new people, exploring things, uh landscapes, peacefulness, like uh nature, everything. It's like a little bit of everything sweet indeed indeed.

Igar:

Um, well, how let's, let's go to this first trip, not 17 years old, but this Europe trip, man, how you like? Firstly, encourage yourself, because it was not also a trip. Yeah, you came to work, yeah, and like. How you encourage yourself as a student, like, and also, as you mentioned to me, like it was a student, student time. Everybody has not much money, uh, or like, maybe not money at all. Yeah, like. And again you came to another continent to work. For me it's a lot, you know, like I would not have the car. So how it all happened.

Federico:

It's funny. It's funny and it was all the idea of one of my best friends, Franco Hope you are listening to this, Shout out to Franco. Yeah Well, we were training back then and I was studying industrial engineering. Now I'm an industrial engineer, but it was my second year, I believe and Franco, he wanted to go to do this work and holiday in the United States. That is, it was like pretty common back then in Argentina and he was like he didn't want to go like alone there for X reason he didn't go to the United States. So he told me and he tried so hard to convince me to go to Europe, to come here basically, and try this. Hey, we can go there and see how it goes.

Federico:

The thing is that back then I didn't have now I have Italian citizenship and back then I didn't have it, so it was a little tougher for me. He had the Italian one, so you can imagine coming here to work without the citizenship. It's not that easy. So what we did is we went to Andorra. There are a lot of Argentinians working there and they allow for people outside of the European Union to work back then. Now I think that they do as well, Kind of half legally.

Igar:

Exactly, no, no, super legal, yeah, super legal.

Federico:

So when we arrived, we started working. Well, of course, I did have to have like a return ticket to Argentina and everything else, and if I didn't find work I will come back, all right. But we found work like in 13 days I believe. We started handling CVs. I speak English, I started learning German. I think I had like two years and two years of Portuguese, so with all the languages, I found this job for a receptionist. So I was a receptionist at the five-star star hotel. Amazing experience, man. Uh.

Federico:

But rewinding back a little bit, it was all franco's idea and it was a little scary at the beginning. You can imagine we were young, I was uh studying. Uh, starting to study was my second year out of five, so you can imagine I have still a long way to go. Uh, my mother, my father, we were like a little reluctant for me to going hey, are you coming by? You will continue studying. Uh, but they encouraged me, they really supported me. Uh, they were like really, really supportive. Um, of course, uh, they lent me some money to to start the trip and uh, yeah, the rest is history.

Igar:

Nice man, cool, cool, cool. And back then it was also your first like ever trip to europe, right? Yeah yeah, how did you feel like, how was your experience?

Federico:

I really remember this. I have this super clear image of me landing into barcelona's airport. But, man, I can tell you, yes, sir, like for sure, it's like me grabbing the suitcase, the big one with my jacket, because it was cold, it was December and it was like what is this? Where are we going? Now it's like I'm not sure about nothing in my life. It was like I knew that I was studying in Argentina, but from that moment when the the plane landed, I was with my friend. It was like what are we gonna do? And that feeling now I'm like really, uh, leaving it again while I'm telling you goosebumps, and it was like, oh, man, this it's. It was like a mix of freedom, uh, adventure and not adventure, not knowing anything. So really good feeling. And like that, as the trip started, I really learned a lot of stuff.

Federico:

Maybe we can't we will talk about this in a little bit but it was like like this freedom experience feeling that I got at the beginning was amazing and how did you feel, like, let's say like culturally, like again, maybe some did you have any cultural shock, or like you know, yeah, you landed in barcelona and then, like I don't know how, you move somehow to andorra, or like yeah, how it all happened it was like I think it, we want, we, yeah, we went right away to Andorra and I think that, culturally, maybe the first hit that I had it was like people like all this Catalonian community that Andorra is part of, well, in terms of the language and everything, and it was like the first touch that I had with anything extra, rather than Latin America, for example, and it was weird maybe at the beginning, but kind of cool because you get to learn and see how other cultures are. There are lots of Portuguese people as well in Andara working. So I got like, uh, several uh people in in the hotel, in the hotel like working from portugal. It was amazing as well. I spoke, as I mentioned you, portuguese from portugal for from brazil, but the one from portugal, as we already said, it's it's a little bit tricky.

Federico:

So for me it was like this is not Portuguese. What was this Exactly? And there's this, I think, two or three weeks during the winter season in Andorra, that all the Portuguese people come because they have the holidays in that two or three weeks, and I was like, okay, I know how to speak Portuguese, I'm going to be super well. And when all the was like okay, I know how to speak Portuguese, I'm gonna be super well. And when I when all the like, I remember this bus with like 40 Portuguese people came in and they were like checking in all at the same time and I was like man.

Igar:

I don't know. Portuguese, so so it's crazy interesting man and like how was your work experience in general Working there? How long did you work?

Federico:

I worked for four months, I believe, december to, yeah, the ski season, december to end of March. Yeah, it was super good because I really enjoy like winter, snow and everything. So I have been to skiing in in Argentina, in Mendoza, we have like several ski resorts, um, but like living around the snow for me was something new. Uh, one day I woke up and I had like one meter of snow out of my home and I wanted and I needed to go to work.

Federico:

So, from that small things to I don't know um, getting people from Israel into the, into the hotel and, as you, as you know, people from Israel, they have different cultures, different way of living Uh, we had to put I don don't know different food into the hotel. It has a buffet. So we had to change everything. Of course it was planned, but we had to put uh, I remember that, if I'm not correct, they can there's not sure what I'm, what I'm gonna say, but there was something with the, the electrical, uh keys from the doors. Uh'm not sure if they could touch it or not, minus one, but we had to change that from the doors from the hotel. We had to put like signs in Hebrew in the elevators and everything.

Federico:

So I was like getting in touch with all this global culture that I have never been in touch with and it was young so I experienced this all kind of stuff, like learning from the world that maybe once you've seen TV and Maybe interacting with someone from Israel or another country like in flesh, it's totally different and exactly so that also came into my mind, like well, when you're wanting, when you travel and like you know, you're hanging around like like good vibe and so on, but then your work is kind of hey, you're responsible, you need to give a service or something to people and it's like a little bit different expectations and connection, you know, yeah, so interesting experience.

Igar:

And again, like you came from zero, you know, without knowing one thing, now you will work, you will be like, hey guys, like all my friends, yeah exactly.

Federico:

But then it's like yeah yeah, I also practiced a lot of english there, because it was a little rusty before coming now it's not perfect, but uh, yeah, I really perfection it in doing the trivia.

Igar:

Nice, man, I know that you have something to tell a story about it, like, so so we can slowly wrap up the hotel experience and and yeah, you can drop the story what happened with this work? I can drop the bomb, yeah, yeah, let's go with hot yeah yeah, it was super fun.

Federico:

As you mentioned, I was working there for the ski season. So end of the season, like in march last week, um, they pay you like your last paycheck, and in that paycheck it's like the big, big one because it has like the unpaid holidays, the days that you work double or triple that are like new year's eve, for example, christmas and some other national holidays from andorra. So it was a huge one for me at that age and it was basically everything that I needed because I was going to travel two months, two months and a half after that, before coming to, before going to argentina. Um, so when that last final two weeks came, there was a problem with the hotel owner. As you may know, andorra is a tax haven, so you have some I won't tell names.

Federico:

You have some banks and the owner of one of those banks was the owner of my hotel. So there was this kind of problem or incident with the funds of the Russian mafia that had funds in this bank. So they did a hidden camera for these people and they found that, of course, the Russian mafia was hiding money in the bank or laundering money. So they froze all the assets from the bank and thus from the hotel. So the hotel didn't have money to move at all, not only to pay me or anything else. They had 5,000 euros per week to spend in everything. As you can imagine, it's how they limit them exactly, yeah, exactly. They limited all the funds and that's what the hotel got out of that. So you can imagine I was like my last week and that happened it wasn't to be and everything, the hidden camera. So what for me was like man.

Igar:

I'm leaving you moving, what's that?

Federico:

and After that it was like, well, what I'm gonna do. I talked with my manager that was like the head of the the hotel and I told her I need to be paid with one, with a part of those five thousand dollars euros that you have more than and as the last week, I think I, my last day was on a friday, so I had to cut.

Federico:

I didn't start my travel saturday or sunday, so I lose those days. And on monday morning I was like at 6 am in the morning or five, I don't remember to be the first one on the on the bank to like in line. There wasn't a line likely to to get paid and it was like my the manager told me do this because you are gonna get paid first and luckily, yeah, they opened the doors. I was the first entering and they paid me and luckily I got to start my trip a little late.

Igar:

But it was sweet, yeah, like anyway that all end up. Well, yeah, you had your money, full money, all everything yeah, yeah, full money everything cool, cool, cool and uh. So, and since then you start like you're with your friend.

Federico:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was when my friend and we started traveling, where you guys went all together, we went to 16 countries, if I'm not mistaken. Uh, we first started in france, in south france, the, the blue coast, um, that we did nice, uh, marcy. Then we went to Monaco, italy. That part from Italy is amazing. My great-great-grandfather is from North Italy, that's why I have the citizenship. And then we went to South Italy, then we split there. He went to Bari. He has his relatives there. Then I went to Amalfi Coast Amazing, I really want to go back there. And then we went to Croatia, slovenia, slovakia, germany, czech Republic, even to Holland. Yeah, belgium A lot, man.

Igar:

Yeah, belgium a lot man yeah a lot, so cover all Europe literally yeah, it's actually very nice. And how you guys back then traveled. Did you backpack, did you? What was your type of your travel?

Federico:

it was. It wasn't like backpacks, backpackers, hitchhiking, it was. We were like backpackers, but I remember that at that first time it was when I knew BlaBlaCar and for me it was man, why this isn't in Argentina? And later on I did some project on my university when studying about bringing that back to Argentina, so it was super fun. That's another story. But yeah, we travel by like blah blah car, a lot by train. We did some hitchhiking, though not like long distances, but we did, especially also working in Andorra. We did that like to move between towns, but it was kind of low budget hostels, hostel vibes, because we loved like meeting new people. It was like and I'm not sure if we talked about this, but I truly remember this girl that I met on a hostel in Italy in Lake Garda, amazing place, and she was working for a big car company. She had a nice position. She earned like super good, for sure not the exact numbers and I remember that she told me I could be sleeping at a 5 star hotel for sure, but I love being in hostels and that kept me. That remains until today in my mind and I feel like that until today I may be paying. I. I feel like that. Until today. I may be paying.

Federico:

I don't know a nicer hotel, not maybe a five-star hotel, but I don't know three, two and a small one, but the vibes that you get in hostels, it's like I don't know. You meet random people, you go sightseeing, probably. You met somebody for one or two hours and then you friend them on Instagram and maybe then you meet in another city. That happened to me and for me it was like super crazy. I only know him for one, two hours and it's, and then it's like really good friend and like we can talk. I don't know, I have some that we still be still talk, and I have only seen them like two hours in in flesh in the first one, yeah yeah wasn't mine still contacted yeah and this is interesting, the hostel vibes.

Igar:

They have the vibe I I really agree. Yeah, lately I think I was, let's say, mixing if, let's say, I travel with partner or something.

Igar:

Yeah, I would like some privacy, comfort and chill yeah, but if in other conditions, just like if I don't want to, let's say, rest from, or like let's say I don't want to be social, so then I will, I could go to some hotel or something. But besides that, you know, or as everybody already know, like or couch work and go hostel, yeah, definitely, because social, social part of your trip, and then you I'm not really like party animal but uh, hang out, you know like it's much different we're social creatures.

Igar:

Yeah, that's the thing, definitely and again, like you can even vibe and then travel, somebody like go to same direction and you guys, you know, get there and go, yeah, yeah, super cool, and back then like that trip, what did you like remember in general? Uh, what? What memorize like, what catch your you know soul, I don't know, uh, yeah, well one thing that it was like is it gonna explode? Yeah, it's going to, oh, okay.

Federico:

Well, one thing that I really remember that it caught a lot of my attention. It's like the history that Europe has. Of course it has tons of history, but like seeing that it's not the same. We have learned about that in school. In high school you read books, your friends tell you, tells you your parents, the war, this and that. But coming here and I don't know, looking at the historic monuments or any or all, that for me was like man, I'm here. The history that this place has, for example, I think the one that I remember the most, it was like the Berlin Wall. When I saw it it was like man. I have heard about this a lot and seeing that and there happened so many things, it was like I cannot believe this. I was like the only thing that I did when I arrived there. It was like staring, it was like a little meditation. I could say, but yeah, that's like you are actually in touch with the history that happened.

Igar:

Literally yeah.

Federico:

Of course, we have history in latin america, argentina, everything but we learn from european history mostly and it's like, oh yeah, that one is like one thing that I and I was young and I had everything like fresh from high school, for example, per se, and yeah, it was crazy for me to actually see every place that got history. Or, for example, now I went to Auschwitz last week. It was like crazy man, super crazy. Not only the sad story we have really good ones in other places but that for me was like huge.

Igar:

Yeah, interesting, interesting.

Federico:

Interesting.

Igar:

And I also can resonate yourself like, especially when you said Berlin Wall.

Federico:

Yeah.

Igar:

I remember when I also came first time, I was like, oh crap, like because this stuff and it's like, it's not like big, even stuff, but it was dividing the city, like in country, like for two parts, For example. For me it was also like in the city, like in country, like exactly for two parts, for example. For me it was also like in the head, like because, again, one thing, when you're reading something, okay, there's some wall there's something, it must have been tough yeah, like not really okay, like interesting.

Igar:

But when you see it and you're like holy cow, like it's really was, like this is like how they live, and then, and then people cannot go to another part. I mean like they was like oh, shoot us. I mean, like you kind of start to feel that it's crap, it's real and you can really picture how it was back then yeah, yeah, and then like how people destroy it.

Igar:

We just talk about wall, but other things as well, as you mentioned. Yeah, exactly, and wooden bed, yeah, like something, oh, wow, like something, really, how people can do it. Like something else when you see it by yourself, when you touch it, yeah, one thing to see, one thing to feel, yeah to touch. Anyway, totally agree totally agree.

Federico:

Same happened, I believe to add a little bit more on that with the castles. I remember when I went from Andorra to Barcelona. I remember to. I went from Andorra to Barcelona. I remember to see one like in the distance, like really fast in a BlaBlaCar, and I was like man, that's my first one, I will see more of them. And then when we went into the first one that I believe the first one that we entered with Franco, it was like the one in Carcassonne in France. It's a big one and it was like that one. It was like the things that this huge piece of like stone have seen is like no, yeah, that was like yeah.

Federico:

I believe that we don't have those kind of things or we do in Latin America, but it's different. Yeah, yeah yeah, yeah.

Igar:

Well, europe is Europe, you know. But what I also personally interesting to touch is your South American experience, because you also mentioned you travel a lot and, as we said in intro, patagonia is there?

Federico:

yeah, of course, yeah, so I don't know even where to start.

Igar:

Maybe I should let you lead because, again, for me, I've been only brazil and all other countries. It's a destination like where I should go, yeah, one day, sooner or later. Uh, yeah, man, I don't know where to start. Maybe start from your hometown, like you course, If you can, because you showed me many amazing pictures. Just yeah, let's go from here.

Federico:

Yeah for sure. Well, mendoza, it's where I live and it's this desert, near to the mountains, to the Andes. For me it's one of the greatest places to live because it has, like, this combination of nature. You are near to the mountains there that are like 40 minutes away from my home. Uh, we have a lake, we have, like the well, it's the highest altitude of the whole Andes. Where, near where I live, we have these, what the biggest mountain of America, that is Aconcagua, or almost 7000 meters. So it's tall.

Igar:

As we were discussing, like maybe you don't see my reaction now but I already had this wow like what the fuck? Like 7000 is it? Like I don't even know what is it. Yeah exactly. Even my skate down is only 4000m. You know it's double.

Federico:

Exactly, and you see it, it's like massive man. I know we have the Himalayas and everything.

Igar:

But I didn't see the Himalayas either. You know like, for me it's like.

Federico:

No, no, and seeing that from the sky, man, it's the first time that I saw it from the plane that it's all snowed. I think it's one of the best views that I ever had and it was from a plane and you can imagine that from a plane. Okay, you can see some clouds from top, but, yeah, the Andes are like impressive, massive. Well, we have this story about the, the Uruguayans, that their plane fell into the Andes and they walked a lot.

Igar:

You heard some kind of.

Federico:

Yeah, it was in Mendoza that story. I don't recall the name in English, but yeah, getting back to Mendoza again, it has the perfect size as well. It's not this huge city, it's not that small, it's not a town, it's not a really big city. So for me it's like that's the perfect size and you have also the the nature inside on the side to go, so it's really nice. It's the wine region of Argentina. We have the best Malbec in the world. They don't pay me to promote this.

Igar:

Sadly, you can come here give them a wine, yeah just one please.

Federico:

Oh man, I have one friend with a winery. It would be good to have this one here. Yeah, maybe next time. Yeah, maybe next time when I will be in indonesia exactly for sure you have my place waiting for you.

Igar:

So yeah, and like locally, like what, let's say, you can tell to people who listen to, who watch maybe to watch this video will be good About Mendoza, you mean About, yeah, like obviously, like it's mountain region and you mentioned wine region and so on how people, let's's say who will come, should spend time there.

Federico:

Yeah, or like, let's say, your style, spend time there, you know, yeah super good question, because most of the tourists that goes to Mendoza they go to wineries, they do these wine tours. Of course you get drunk. You eat really good food because, as you can imagine, we have super great meat.

Igar:

Yeah, you guys have this reputation Exactly the best meat.

Federico:

That's a nice. I'm not going to lie, I love that way of spending my time. We have spoken a lot of food. You have given me like this food tour over here. Yeah, locally Food, it's a really important part.

Federico:

I would do that, of course, because you could try really good wine with really good views about like wineries, with the big mountains on the back, snow. That's an amazing postal um. But I would also go, like not to the traditional uh mountain tour that they give you. That is like going to the lake that we have near and then to a little bit uh upper in the mountains that it's near to the border with chile, but you only go with the, with this van, and they show you some pictures. I would definitely do some hikes.

Federico:

Uh, of course depends on how much time do you have, but if you have like two days to be only for hikes, I would say that would be the best. Like, maybe you can do a small hike. You have a really good one in the city that you can go by bus and then walk and you get to see the city from above. That's a really good one, but it's crowded. Maybe if you can go a little bit more into the mountains, you can do some super good ones above the lake and you you see, like on the back, the high end, the, the middle of the andes, that it's, uh, the highest part, and from behind you can see the, the lake, uh, so it's super good. Then you have the other side, that it's by the sitos, that it's a, an abandoned ski resort, um, that it starts at 3,000 meters. So you can imagine, you start from that, you get there with the car and then you can walk until, I don't know, you can walk the highest peak there. It's 5,200, if I'm not mistaken, or no, 5,800, I believe.

Federico:

So, it's super high and you can do do like. Whichever your level is, you can do like a three hour hike or a an eight hour hike, so super good, totally recommend it, that's for sure I would do that and if not one extra that a little bit tougher from like the, the higher part of the mountain, that's a really cool to this 7k yeah, that is the one that I showed you the picture.

Igar:

Yes, yes, like yeah, but like, if hike, let's say several days, can you camp there, or it's a little bit too cold yeah, no, no, for sure, you can camp, you can do.

Federico:

You have like any difference of hike that you want to do, depending on your level. Of course, if you are pro, you can climb up the Aconcagua, but you can do like there in Valle Citos. You can do some camping as well. You can do like the first base camp is not that high.

Federico:

It's like, I believe, like one hour from the base of the abandoned skill resort and then you can do like one of the highest peaks there in In that zone. That's super good. It's like a trekking spot for all Mendoza. That's super recommended and weather-wise it will be cold. Yeah, weather-wise, mendoza is known for its sun. We call it the land of the sun and the wine. So you can imagine, we have, I think, more than 300 sunny days in the in the year, so 300 and something okay so weather in the Lodz is super good and temperature will go yeah, super good, but mountains will be.

Federico:

Yeah, it's warm over there in summer. Of course the thing is at night it might drop a lot. For example, you can get on a good night. You can get I don't know 10 degrees On a more average night on summer. At that height of course you would be like zero degrees. You can be Okay.

Igar:

So, like you're better to prepare? Yeah, obviously, because, like I remember, in Georgia I had this, not mistake. I think it's not enough experience, not knowledge, and the day is like hot and everything. Then we sleep and it was like, oh fuck, it was cold. And then next day we had hike and we didn't know, we just like going, going and stuff, but it's getting colder and colder, colder and colder. I mean like man, we put already everything, already cover, like you know. So so, yeah, that's why I'm asking, but I just like don't have enough experience to know.

Federico:

That's the thing about yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, nice, nice, you have to truly be careful, because weather in the mountains can change from one minute to the other. For example, last week I was in in germany doing this hike and I saw that it might rain a little bit. It was the, the forecast said a little bit and probability that it was the forecast said a little bit and probably it was like 20%. So it was almost nothing. But as I do mountains like a lot with my friends, I know something. I'm not an expert, but I know I I know how to be careful.

Federico:

And when I was almost reaching the top of this mountain that I went alone it was also in a ski resort, but in in autumn, uh, I saw that the clouds were approaching and like from really far, and I told myself, no, you cannot go a little bit, you cannot go more, because it would the. The weather closes and you are like in the middle of the cloud, all right and raining, and so it's uh, and then you, you get lost. Yeah, so luckily, because I started to go down and it started to Pour in rain. Man, I was soaking wet. It was like Super fun. I was like alone, running down the mountain, screaming. It was like this sentiment of freedom. Yeah, but yeah, you have to be careful.

Igar:

Yeah, oh man, that is fun, fun, fun, yeah, well. And Besides, oh man, that is fun, fun, fun, yeah Well. And besides Mendoza. You said also like you are close to Chile border. Yeah, and like, yeah, I know that you travel, and yeah, can you also tell me, like, about the Chile experience and in general, like let's keep going to the South America.

Federico:

We will reach Patagonia. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We will reach Patagonia.

Igar:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and again like yeah, like Patagonia, because, again, if I'm like wrong with the we will organize the pieces.

Federico:

Yeah with mountains. Oh, sorry with mapping, yeah, like move me so you can picture, like Mendoza, it's like in the middle of Argentina, yeah, where the highest part of the Andes is. Then, if you reach the end of Mendoza, that's where Patagonia starts you have another province To look down Exactly. From the end of Mendoza to more south. But Chile is also there.

Federico:

Yeah, also Chile Chile and Argentina from that latitude. Patagonia starts Not until the end of the war, but it starts almost. Yeah, let's go to. Patagonia starts Not until the end of the war, but it starts almost.

Federico:

Yeah, let's go to Patagonia, yeah the fun thing about Patagonia it's like oh man, I love it. For me it has everything. It's like this combination of woods, forests, lakes, everywhere. Then you have the mountains that are not that high as where I live, but high enough to be impressive, and you can picture yourself like in the middle of the like. If you go to a beach on a lake, you can see like the forest wrapping up all the mountains from behind, then the top of the mountains white of snow. Um, if you're lucky enough, you can see deers, for example, or other animals.

Federico:

Um, it's crowded in summer, uh in peak summer, but if you go like in autumn or spring, it would be like less crowded as every touristy place and you have like tons and tons of good spots. If you don't like one, or if you already visited like I don't know 70 spots and you still have places to go. I think I've been there like I don't know like eight times, uh, like road tripping with my family, with friends, and I have not even visited like I don't know, not even like 20% of it. It's like I still have. I mark on Google Maps the spots that I want to go in green, as you said, and I have a lot. I have a lot. Luckily, I have a lot because these are excuses to go back. Yeah, and is it considered like a national park? Yeah, we have several national parks within Patagonia itself. It's not a national park. It's like the region, okay, between Chile and Argentina, and Patagonia has, from the Argentinian side, we have several national parks and from the Chilean side as well, they have their several parks from there.

Igar:

So and like, if it's national park, because it's like here, you know it will be forbidden to camp in Patagonia. How it will be.

Federico:

Yeah, good question. You have, for example, in the parts that are national parks, you have these camping spots, of course, like like, like to like sports, like, like where you can pay, like you know exactly you go, first you have to pay the entrance to the park and then you go to this specific camping spot or site and then in some of them I believe I didn't come there, in those park, in the national parks, I have come in other sites.

Igar:

But let's say illegally, like somewhere hidden, like between woods, yeah, yeah, people do it, do it it's it's it's illegal, and it mostly in terms of um the fire fire. Yeah, yeah, it's all about fire.

Federico:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, there last year I went in summer. I went like three times, once my family and then two with different uh groups of friends, and in between there were like these super huge fires, uh. So we arrived after the fires, yeah, and man, it's like all ashes and burned and you can see like all the mountains, it's all like covering around and you can see like, and it's like that was because one stupid uh burned something or even accidentally, like some wind exactly, and this stuff forgot to all the forest and all the stuff burns like like immediately.

Igar:

You just need, if it's some dry I don't know, like leaves or like woods or something. It's spreading super fast. Like you go, I don't pee, like come back, you're five already, exactly like it's just like matter of minutes. Yeah and uh, you said the entrance, so do you have to pay in general to visit patagonia?

Federico:

uh, not patagonia itself, but the national yeah, some national I believe one or two are free. I'm not quite sure now. But yeah, in general you have to pay. It's nothing, and if you make the conversion to euros it's even less, but that's something you have to know.

Igar:

You have to have an idea of the conception of the regional parks or something nice and is there any difference, like your personal opinion, like Patagonia, like Chile side and Argentina side.

Federico:

You have touched a really interesting point, my friend. It's a controversial part.

Igar:

You have arguments there? Yeah, of course.

Federico:

No, no, no.

Igar:

Some people say one side is better than the other, of course like locals, but you as a traveler.

Federico:

For me, independent, it depends when you ask me. No, no, for me both are equally good. I really really love both. The thing is that I find, like the Chilean side it's more compressed as Chile is more thin, so it's like you go in your car and in less distance you have like, or you are more covered in the mountains, Like you are more inside the mountains. I see, okay, in Argentina you can have that in some roads, but in general it's a little bit more wide or open For me. That's my view, but yeah, it's like in Chileile it's a little bit more compressed as they are like so thin. Um, but yeah, it's equally good for me. Both sides. You have like. You have also what? It's part of the how do you say? It is the, the fire ring of the of the earth that has a lot of volcanoes, so there are now active volcanoes really, yeah, um, so super good when I went and go like, but like like.

Igar:

You see this, yeah, yeah yeah, last year.

Federico:

No, I didn't see. I, I wanted to see lava man. That was that. It is still like right now, like you have lava inside.

Igar:

Yeah, oh really you can. Yeah, yeah, because this is fascinating, this is a good one.

Federico:

In the chilean side you have this um, this town that it's called how. Now I'm gonna forget about it it will come, to my mind, it will come but you have this town, that it has the, the active volcano, and it's been active for some, quite some time and when I visited you can see the smoke coming out and sadly for me, I couldn't see the lava, but at night you could see like reddish, like the From the Exactly how to say? Like the reflection.

Igar:

Yeah, yeah.

Federico:

And you could really see it like on the sky. It was like this red brightness, so it was amazing. It's like asking you to come exactly. I'm here, I won't harm you.

Igar:

you have to make a donation interesting and so like volcanoes from both sides also.

Federico:

Yeah, yeah for both sides um. When I graduated from high school in 2011. I I believe it's a tradition in Argentina that at that time you travel, every school does it, and generally you go to Patagonia, to Bariloche, that it's a really common place, beautiful town, and when we arrived there it was right after a volcano eruption, so you had ashes, but tons of ashes. It was like a pile of snow of ashes, like super, like light, because it's like, yeah, it's ashes and those stones like super, super light and they were like everywhere.

Federico:

I really it was like super crazy man and like what people live. Somehow they're around yeah, they live they? I I'm not sure if they. Yeah, they had some safe zones, but I not sure if they evacuated some at the time.

Igar:

But it wasn't that harmful for towns or anything, but yeah, it erupted yeah, interesting man, interesting, crazy, and as a touristic uh side, I mean as a tourist itself, like did you mention which side has less tourists is? Like, do you feel it? Because, for instance, I know that, in like here in poland, the copane, polish side I wanted to go, sorry, uh tatra mountain and polish side is the copane.

Igar:

Oh my god, man, like it's, like that's why I didn't go yet it's like full of people, like just everywhere, people everywhere, literally. It's what I heard from people who've been there yeah, and. I've been only from Slovakia. If I'm trying Slovak yeah, yeah, slovakia yeah. Slovakian side man, like almost no. I mean like there are people, obviously, but but you climb to the because you can go up.

Igar:

Oh, like I was hanging out there like there's also some lake was there, but I mean people was like normal amount, normal kind of, but not overcrowded, and I heard it in Polish side because it's beautiful and everything, so people go, it's like national, I think. So like, do you is there?

Federico:

any difference?

Federico:

yeah like this in uh, let me think no, I think it both, both, both are crowded yeah especially in in season, in, yeah, in summer season you can see it more because, uh, you have a lot of national tourists that are everywhere and, of course, everyone from outside Patagonia is super well known. So people from the United States, europe, in the Chilean side, from Israel, they do this, like I mentioned you, after they graduate high school. They took this trip to Patagonia and I think they do most more the the chilean side. We saw when we went last year oh, a lot of israeli people and young ones because they do like this.

Federico:

Uh, it's not, yeah, it's like this after graduation trip yeah, interesting, yeah, interesting super cool all right man yeah, this is good, this is very good.

Igar:

Like we can go to Patagonia, I think, more and more because a lot of questions, but I think it's better to go and see guys, you know, just like, go like we have promotion already and I know the place, like I know the place again, influencer mentioned a lot and everything. So, like, definitely place to visit from I believe, like nature is nature, yeah, I think. And well, and moving more to South America, yeah is there anything you would like to add or share?

Federico:

some stories oh yeah, some stories, I think. Oh, I have. I have one great one, one funny one, not a great one. When I went with my friends to Colombia, we went like I don't know in 2018,.

Federico:

I believe, we were four and we went to the Caribbean side of Colombia, like Cartagena, and we went to this national park that they have, but it's too expensive to to to sleep there inside the park, so we decided to find an airbnb after outside the park. Uh, funny thing, the airbnb was like inside of the jungle. We had had to walk three or four blocks from the main road into the jungle, climb sort of climb, go up into this hill. When we arrived it was raining, so it was super difficult to find the address that we were supposed to arrive. We asked locals and everything and nobody knew because you didn't have, you don't have like a number there, like yeah, go straight into the jungle, nothing bad can happen in colombia.

Federico:

So we finally arrived and there was this couple, like I don't know, 40 years old, this woman with his, with her husband, and the woman was super excited about us. She started telling that how cute you are. She wanted to take pictures with us. The husband took pictures from her, with us, and she started sending them to her daughter. Friends, it was crazy and the lady was hitting on all of us. It was. The husband was sitting like right there. It was like All in Spanish. He understood everything, of course, and they were like we were like we don't know what to do, so it was like Sounds like a horror movie.

Igar:

From perspective she's hitting and somebody up and the husband check, check everybody. You know you're in the jungle. Nobody will find you. We didn't know.

Federico:

And then we were making jokes. Until today we make jokes with my friends and it's like we were making jokes. Until today we made jokes with my friends. And it's like we were wondering what the husband is going to do, so we told him he probably is going to hold the camera?

Igar:

We don't know.

Federico:

Exactly right. Something later and I remember that when we sleep that night we were like in two separate rooms. The house was like old and, as you can imagine, in the middle of the jungle, the view of the house was impeccable. You could see like the whole hill that you have in front. It was super great. I cannot complain about that. It was super amazing. But the rooms they had like these metal doors and we were like, okay, we were going to close them, them just in case, but we didn't have like the keys. So it was like, okay, we're gonna pray.

Igar:

We don't know nothing else, but nothing happened and she was lovely in the end. Yeah, interesting. Yeah, this is a story exactly like, and what countries you visited in South America?

Federico:

South America. Well, argentina, chile, of course, colombia, then Uruguay, that I went last year. It's pretty similar to Argentina, Of course, if you go, you will hear that they speak the same as in Buenos Aires, like the accent. And Brazil, of course big fan of Brazil, it's a super huge country. Well, you have been there.

Igar:

I don't have to sell it to you. Well for me, not for people.

Federico:

So yeah, I truly love Brazil. I think I have been there like four or five times and each time that I go back, it's like I don't have to forget that this country is the best I have to go back. I don't have to wait that much to come back. For example, this year I went with my girlfriend. We went to Rio and Búzios, and the time that we went it was July.

Igar:

It was July.

Federico:

Did you touch the carnival?

Igar:

no, no, carnival is in February. Yeah, yeah we went in in June or July, for example, something I'm sorry, like I don't know, in my head, like I, I just pronounced like I heard, like general. I don't know why I do do yeah, no, you said correctly I. I don't know why, I know words.

Federico:

So we went like in winter, in winter time. Yeah, it was winter.

Igar:

Again. I'm in January again. I'm stuck in that. That's why I say yeah, it's your winter, our summer, our winter yes yes, yes, sorry, sorry, no problem yeah, I cannot mix it up yeah, yeah, no, no, all good, all good, yeah, june is, yes, june, but it's perfect time to go because it's not that hot.

Federico:

Yeah, it's not that hot, it's not that crowded. You still have people, it's real, of course. We went up to Christ and it was like a lot of people and we shared the pictures with our friends or people that already went in summer and they told us that's absolutely nothing, it's empty, and it was like for us it was too much. Uh, so it's the perfect time to go.

Igar:

Uh, please don't go there, because it's when I'm planning to go but man like, uh, and all being said, all the south america, uh, I know like again, reputation safety here there. I don't know what kind of trips you had, like I don't know hotels, or like car, like I don't know hotels or like car trip, maybe both. I don't know how all this thing is for you as a traveler. Did you have any accidents or situations? Good question because, yeah, like how was your experience?

Federico:

Yeah, really good question, and I have thought about it before coming here on this trip, because I have never had like a big problem or situation. The only thing that I can recall that it was a problem but nothing major. It was like in a family trip that we went with my family mother, my dad and my brother to Chile and my mom had her appendix extraction in Chile. It was quite an experience, but that's the only thing that ever happened to me.

Igar:

So but it's not connected to like some safety or something.

Federico:

No, no, you mean safety, no, no, in terms of safety, as, as, as I'm, I live in latin america. I tend to be super careful about that when traveling in latin america. I mean, for example, now I'm, I don't even care about anything. Maybe I have to care a little bit more because I'm like I leave my phone anywhere well you're not in france man it's full of the same it's super safe here.

Federico:

But yeah, what I experienced, for example now, the most recent trip to Brazil, to Rio and Búzios if anyone listening is planning to go for me it was super safe. I had, I had gone with my family like 10 years ago or a little bit more, and I was more afraid and I had this memory that it's dangerous favelas, you have to be careful and everything. Not sure if it was because I was younger, but now it was like it's, of course, you are still in Latin America, but you can walk on the beach and nothing's gonna happen, like, but if you have, if you are careful, but you don't have to be afraid of going and there's a local.

Igar:

What can you recommend? Like all this because you say you over careful, you always like yeah what are those measure? Measures, yeah, how, how you call it.

Federico:

Yeah.

Igar:

Um, what you do like to, to be safe, to be how you, let's say, take care of you, of like your people around, like I mean like girlfriend or like family, or like yeah, yeah, yeah, what can you? What is recommendation in general?

Federico:

Yeah, for example, uh, for example, I, I, for example, I can give you like the Buenos Aires starter pack tips. Yeah, for example, walking with your phone on your hand, like don't even care with anything about anything in Buenos Aires, it's a little dangerous because you get you get these guys from motorbikes that can come from nothing and they steal your phone. Of course, purses for girls and everything, but that's like super common in Buenos Aires, even though if you are in your car, they can smash your window and take your belongings from the middle of the highway. So in that sense, you have to be a little bit extra careful just to not show off your things in public. And of course, you are visiting and you are a tourist. You are gonna scream tourist all over the place, but try to keep it a little bit more quiet in like sensitive places, I don't know, like places that you see that are not that uh, touristic, for example. Okay, or like if you are going like walking down the street at night, I always look on my back like every 15 seconds. For example, in buenos aires, yeah, now I can enter like a park here in poland that it's completely dark and I wouldn't even care, but yeah, it's like those small things, or maybe like don't carry I don't know all your important belongings, passport if you are, I don't know, going to some place, because they might pickpocket you. That can happen here as well, of course.

Federico:

Or like some common camps in Argentina with the exchange as well. That happens a lot because people are not aware of our currency exchanges, because it's not the traditional one. We haven't spoken about this, but, um, we have like the formal exchange rate and the informal one. The formal one is like the the government uh, approved, yeah, that it's, let's say that it's like 30% lower than the actual one. All right, and so if you don't know about this and you are going to exchange money in the middle of the street, they may give you like fake bills or provide them at this lower exchange, because the actual one, for example, $1, it's a thousand pesos. That's the formal one, but the actual one is $1, $1,300, $200, $300 pesos. It varies.

Igar:

So I'm going to say, like, where to find this rate?

Federico:

You can find it like in in internet. You can find like a dollar blue. We call like, like blue, but it's not like you have like exchangers yeah, yeah, you can see it and everyone in the street will change it at that rate. But if you are, if you don't know about this, they will take advantage of it.

Igar:

Well, that's, this is cool stuff. This is cool. We would definitely know and, all being said, like again your trips around South America and Europe now and back then, how you can say also like compare those trips, cultures, I don't know, emotions again maybe, as we touch this safety moment in general, like how those two experiences, let's separate them as two different experiences, even though, like it's much more like a new trip is different.

Igar:

But I mean like you say by continental yellow, by by the region itself. Yeah, let's so. Uh, yeah, like, how can you compare traveling around there and here?

Federico:

yeah, I mean, that's a really good question. I haven't thought about it. Huh, for me that just like thinking quickly about this could be. It's like Latin America. It's a little bit, as you know, it's more chaotic. It's not that chaotic, but you can find this like chaos. That it's. It could be like organized chaos, as we have spoken previously, that it's super fun to watch and to, I don't know, to learn, because even though you are still in Latin America, if you go outside of Argentina, you will learn about other cultures, how they live, everything. So, but it's like, I feel like it's a little bit more chaotic. The struggle of the people, not only the yeah, the culture is how I feel like we have more effort to do, for example, um, or like that things here are like I don't like to say like more easy, because they are not. You have, it's different. There are like different problems, but you get to see the difference on how you live here or in Latin America.

Igar:

And let's say, when you travel itself, is it any difference? Let's say like priorities what you do or like your activities what you do. Any changes here, there?

Federico:

Maybe that I will go. I will pay a little bit more attention to the history here in Europe. But in general for me, I love nature, so I'm always looking to go to nature. That's the main thing. But for example, in this trip not that much, but on my previous trip I went to a lot of museums, learned more about history even though I was young. Sometimes, to be totally honest, I was a little bored sometimes because it was too much to process.

Federico:

But yeah, I learned a lot and in this trip I said to myself, maybe I'm not going to go to that much museums or learn that much history like that way. For example, I would like to maybe, like this, get to know the locals a little bit more, the culture that somebody tells me how is to live there, maybe to connect a little bit more with the people, rather than the history itself.

Igar:

I see, I see, right, okay, makes sense, makes sense. Yeah, you know what came to my mind super fast and I think, like this, like super fast, um, yeah, we finished, let's say this comparison somehow. Yeah, here there, uh, the thing is because you mentioned Colombian jungles.

Igar:

Man, you've been in the jungles in that column maybe because you also like start to explain about Europe and stuff, nature, and I was like crap, you know that South America, again, amazonian region and so on, and apparently you you might been there. And yeah, just like briefly, uh, if have you ever been?

Federico:

firstly, no, no to a jungle. I I couldn't call that a jungle in colombia. It was like a, it was like the start of the jungle.

Igar:

But I wasn't like in amazonas, like you've been there, right, you know also I can touch it a little bit. I've been like in some island. I crossed the amazonas a little bit, maybe I don't even know like because there's some kind of river. Maybe I don't even know like because there's some kind of river together. I don't even know what I was crossing, like it was.

Igar:

It was heavy, like you can kind of even puke and so on, but like somehow I would probably be crossing then yeah, like because it was kind of for me it was the hard, the most aggressive river I ever likely seen, like it was like yeah and yes, so I've been in some island. Definitely, I think it was jungle. I can consider and again that region it's already like connected to jungles itself, so but I didn't let me go to indigenous oh yeah this is something I feel where you're going. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but so you haven't yeah no, no, I haven't.

Federico:

I really want to go, so interesting we have like, for example, in North Argentina, we have like jungles, like more towards North East. And yeah, it's, it's on my list. Then I can come back to the podcast do you have indigenous people in Argentina?

Igar:

yeah, yeah, of course, yeah indigenous people in Argentina.

Federico:

Yeah, yeah, of course we have like in the south, of course, and north it's like more towards Salta, jujuy, that are the provinces more near to towards Bolivia and north Chile. There we have as well.

Igar:

And still like actively living. Yeah, yeah, yeah Can you visit or are they open?

Federico:

to visit.

Igar:

Yeah, yeah, exactly, shit, man. This is another fascinating thing.

Federico:

Yeah, and you can see that part of Argentina. I haven't been the northwest. We will go.

Igar:

Yeah, yeah, of course I will wait for you, man. Yeah, man, yeah, really I haven't. I think my indigenous is like Slavic indigenous, some babushkas grandmas.

Federico:

You know, like this Babushkas, this is my indigenous, that's what I thought. Some babushkas, grandma, babushkas, this is my indigenous, what I thought, I think I never. No, okay, I've been like In Asia. You've probably seen her Indigenous, no Like more like how to say. Local.

Igar:

Again, maybe Touch a little bit. In Jordan. I've been in Bedouin vibe. It's kind of indigenous, very did just.

Igar:

And I saw another people, I don't know how you call them maybe also like a Bedouin lifestyle. So Bedouin is like people as a nomad, some, yeah, yeah. And I saw the guy he was with sheeps and dog and he even like when I even tried to make photo of sheeps he was quite aggressive and said no, no, no, you cannot. I said like even the sheeps, yeah, I kind of even tried to argue, but for them it's I don't know, as my friend explained that it's a game, hey, it's not touchable, it's his, it's, yeah, you know, and he can be mad and upset and you know, not like do something with me. But he was like kind of stop, stop, stop, like even I was kind of even selfie mode. Yes, he was not still happy, very unhappy, I would say no. But also I've been like the same desert with those bedouin experience. But it's like touristic stuff, it's like what the name of it? It's like what's the name of it? Wadi Rum. It's like in Jordan desert it's like it's very touristic.

Igar:

It's like a touristic destination. Definitely it's like a touristic trip and so on, but it's experience. Again, they try to make for you, let's say, food in the sand. You see these stars, like pure stars how to say pure, pristine, clean stars, tons of stars, yeah, like Milky Way, everything like there. I mean very interesting, but it's touristic. It's not like something randomly you find yeah, even though somebody told me that they had such experience like some random people, even though, let's say, bedouins, but they have internet and so on, so not that kind of dangerous, but you kind of can and have experience like this kind of hiddenly, because when you go to this Wadi Rum it's kind of mandatory to have some tour or something, because these people it's their territory, they live they live, they all are is their land, is how they do.

Igar:

But again, I heard a story from another couch surfer. She went with another couch surfer, like your host, somehow, there, and they slept, but not in the house, not in the igloo or like this tent, yeah, but just by themselves on the sand, a lot of blankets, yeah. So somehow they did it, I don't know how, I don't know how.

Igar:

Yeah, anyway, anyway, back to the your current trip, man, because now like also another topic, let's let's dig a little bit, because it's also a little bit might be personal for me remote work and travel. Okay, another camera is gone. Right, we lost a good camera, it's okay. I think it's just memory finished. So the thing is yeah, like, because now you do like again, you travel, you travel already three weeks, yeah, three weeks, and then you'll travel three or two more.

Federico:

Three and a half more.

Igar:

Okay, so like pretty pretty long in general, and you're still working.

Federico:

Yeah.

Igar:

And that's what I want to touch, like how, like? How is it? Like, how is your day-to-day activity? How is? How do you find this like balance between work and travel actively, because you move a lot, you already, yeah, like you say in mountains and and like in germany and here now, and then like you go next we will touch, like balkans, yeah how is it super good, question man, because uh, I have never imagined when I was younger that I was gonna live like this and it's super fun.

Federico:

I can tell you, sometimes you struggle a little bit, but it's part of the job. Um, first of all, what I can tell you, it's like to have to be on a good company that allows this work life, digital nomad balance, for example. That's like the first first thing, of course, my company, athena. Luckily, I'm lucky to be there because they have like this um vacation and pto policy that you have, like a real, a great amount of days that you can spread as you want and use them, for example, a full day or a half day that we call digital nomad.

Federico:

So that's why that's the way that I've been traveling. Now in this trip I have, like I don't know, 20 days, I believe, left for this year, so that's how I'm spending them now. For example, this past three weeks, I believe I made a combination. Some days I took full days, not every, not all of them, maybe four or five or three, I don't remember, but most of them it was like half days. So, thanks to the time difference as well, for example, that I have with argentina, that is the time that I usually work with or with eastern or pacific time from the united states.

Federico:

Um, I, on the mornings here in europe, I'm free to do whatever I want, and then I have to work only four day, four hours per day on the half days. So that allows me to be this like active and do some. Maybe I can do. If I have a meeting, I work one hour, then I do, maybe I send some emails and then I go back to being a tourist, a regular one. Maybe then after three hours I log in a little bit more and do some stuff and like that. Maybe sometimes I go to a cafe, I have, of course, like my chip with with data available. If not, it wouldn't be possible. Yeah, but unluckily here in Poland not that working. But well, you can always go to a Starbucks or, I don't know, a nice cafe that you have recommended me and yeah, that's mainly it because first being able to have that in your own company.

Igar:

Man. Firstly, I think it's very lucky right, this is, let's not lie, this is kind of a treasure somehow to find a company who stimulates you to travel, to explore and be nice. I would totally choose this option if I would have so, because in my case I can do only, I'm fully remote, but I'm locked in Poland. You know, like I can be only in Poland. Yeah, for me it's a little bit stupid and unfair. I don't really agree, and I believe that people can. We are all adults and we can do and travel. I understand what company scary, the, you know the safety, security and so on and so on. Definitely no, really judge over this. It's pretty obvious. However, again, as we're adults, we have responsibility. If you screw up, okay sorry, you're fired, you're fired.

Igar:

But if you're all cool, responsible, I don't know, have some again, not full-time, of course, I know that also. Another problem is taxations. Yeah, definitely also. But again, we're all responsible people, we're responsible for ourselves. If you screwed, if you like, went to thailand for one year, sorry man, like, yeah, sorry you know. Like you fired, yeah, obviously. But I believe that company should make somehow this, not about even balance, but motivation to people, to natural motivation. Give the possibility to people to have the choice what they want to do, especially as, like we work, it's IT, it's DJI shout out to you.

Igar:

So yeah, like as we work through internet, we don't really even like connect. And again, we work all globally, mostly because nobody really nowadays work in local market. I mean like it's really local, so you can, you don't see these people that much, you don't need this like office or something.

Federico:

Okay, if somebody wants.

Igar:

But anyway, let's don't discuss, I went too personal. But the thing is what I'm trying to say. This is firstly very cool, very lucky, really happy for you and secondly, very interesting that you can take this half days for patients and, yeah, very nice that you have different time zones because you can uncover and trip and stuff. And does your trip activities change towards your work and this way of travel?

Federico:

Well, that's another good question, question as many, as you have asked because, uh, I tend to plan my days towards this because I have to be do this balance.

Igar:

But do you plan like, let's say, in very advanced as a week?

Federico:

no, not that, not that advanced, maybe this kind of only the next week. The week that I'm I'm currently living, uh, for example, this week is the first one that I'm fully working, uh the full time, uh during the whole week. So I'm not doing that much of of uh visiting touristic places. But the other weeks, for example, I have I don't know the monday, it's uh fully off. Then I have, uh, the other four days half day. So I kind of try to make it towards, like, for example, if I, if I, if I want to do a hike, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it on on the weekends or monday, that is the day I took off, and the other days I can juggle a little bit with the times.

Federico:

That's the good thing, but always keeping in mind that, for example, I have fixed meetings, weeklies or monthlies or other meetings that I cannot move. So always having in mind those meetings, that I already have them in my mind. So, for example, I have a weekly on Tuesdays, 9.30 am, argentina time. So I know that on Tuesdays at 2.30pm European time, I need to be connected. So I'm always trying to be around.

Igar:

That it's not that hard once you are, you get used to it. I see, I see, sweet, very sweet. And so what about your upcoming trip? Next trip? No, no, not like upcoming, but like ongoing. But let's say next step, what's next?

Federico:

Yeah, yeah Well, I kind of been planning it on the way. I had this like general idea of what I wanted to do, but I have been planning not more than like three or four days ahead from where I am. That I kind of like it, because if you like one place, you can stay a little bit more maybe you can change it on the way.

Federico:

I have changed some, some reservations that I got. So that's a cool thing that I totally recommend not to stick to a fixed schedule, that, of course, in some trips you are gonna do it, I have done it and I like it when it's shorter, but now I'm more like free, living day to day and being like free in that way and I truly love it. So what's next? To answer your question, I'm going to the Balkans. First, I'm going to Montenegro. Now I'm going tomorrow. So I will be renting a car and doing like this road trip that I love, road tripping. So it will be like five days of pure road trip. I will be working, I think, like only two half days of those five, so it will be super good, yeah, and after that I would go up to croatia, maybe stepping in a little bit in bosnia to visit mosta um yeah, that is good, nice place, nice place.

Igar:

I'm really excited sorry, just to fast bosnia for your rock trip in bosnia. This is that's what I want to come back for. Bosnia for road trip, like I was by bus, like always with you. Like, oh my god, oh my god, like it's always you want to stop everywhere.

Federico:

Oh yeah, that's the thing when you go by bus or train and you see some cool place and it's like please stop it yeah, yeah, really really yeah.

Igar:

So Montenegro, maybe Bosnia, then maybe Croatia, yeah, I think.

Federico:

Croatia.

Igar:

It's a definite yes, how long have you been there? Yeah, I've been only to Zagreb. Ah, okay, so capital, yeah, yeah, I got you, I got you.

Federico:

It makes sense, so I want to do the whole coast because my mom has the Croatian citizenship, as you probably have.

Igar:

I didn't pronounce Ah, you didn't pronounce my last name. Well, it's a diminutie.

Federico:

So well, my so uh. Well, my great-grandmother from my mother's side is from croatia. She's, she, she was born there and, yeah, I have this, uh, this, willing to visit all the the country. I want to go to, the, the island that my, my, my family is from, that it's brach, uh, to visit, I don't know, to see my last name maybe carved on a stone on a graveyard, to see some, some history about our family. That would be super cool.

Federico:

Um, and after that I will meet with a friend as well that I already was. I was with him in in Munich in Oktoberfest another funny story. And, uh, after Croatia, I will head back to Spain to visit my brother that he's living there to Alicante and I really miss him. So I want to spend, like the last part. I already spent the first part of my trip with him and the last part I'm going to spend it with him, because basically, the first reason of this travel was to visit my brother, so I extended it a little bit and make it a little bit more of visiting and our friends are and countries nice, nice, cool.

Igar:

Yeah, really excited for the road trip. Really excited for the road trip yeah man, really thank you for conversation.

Igar:

Yeah, we're having a nice time. I think we can keep going, keep going. For sure, let's keep some stories, maybe for another time. However, yeah, like if you have some tips, maybe for travelers you already mentioned one and I really like it to be honest, especially like, hey, don't't. Like if you have a plan, like be chill and like don't fully, um, think about this plan, like be open to be flexible, yeah, like to to change it to, yeah, yeah.

Igar:

So this is kind of, in my opinion, it's really nice advice because, uh, when, let's say you have full planned trip and then something start to not work or something delayed is fucking stress, and then like why you need the stress in the trip, yeah, so this flexibility of cancellation or lose some money, yeah, I know that people can argue and like I was, I've been there like when it's like no money and stuff. But again, I think would be good advice, if you don't have enough money, don't really plan, be still, leave a room for you because, yeah, better to, let's say, maybe a little bit overpay if it would be something more expensive, like, let's say, bus tickets or something can change with times then like lose this money fully. Yeah, like kind of, of course, if it's like 10 euros, whatever, but like if it's like 50, like it's really it's money yeah for instance.

Igar:

So I think this would be nice not to fully lead like stick with the plan many, any other tips, any other ideas, like through your experience here there yeah, I would.

Federico:

I would recommend like experiencing different kind of trials. Probably people are already planning on these, but, for example, for me it's it's been really good to experience traveling with my friends, with different group of friends Not all of them are the same Then travel with my family, my girlfriend alone as well. If you travel alone, sometimes you will be lonely, sometimes you will be. I feel, at least for me, that I make more friends and that's what I enjoy the most about traveling alone and you also get to know yourself more. Sometimes you are alone, you want to be alone, you are sad, you will experience sadness or you miss your family, and it's like different type of trips that I totally recommend to make at least one of each, like family, friends, partner and I'm alone, because each of them it has its own beauty and you will get a lot of each of them yeah, this is very nice.

Igar:

I like it with the device. Thank you. Thank you, cool man. Last words, last touch. Where people can, I don't know follow you, be in touch with you, maybe join your road trip if you have a space in the car I think you go alone, it would be amazing If somebody listens, because I'm going to publish it tomorrow, so who knows, maybe freshly. So, people, if by any chance you listen to it and you're around Balkans.

Federico:

So where are they? How they can find you? I can, I can share my instagram.

Igar:

That it's fede bubinich, I will put in the description. It's my last name, that is.

Federico:

You will put it in and yeah, you can friend me in instagram and we can join. You can join me in the balcans.

Igar:

I have like three free spots in my car in montenegro nice, nice, and I think we can also put your couch short if somebody wanna host you, of course, and I'm more than happy I'm.

Federico:

I'm as I head back to argentina, I will start hosting people because I didn't have my own place and now I will have some spare room to to host people. That I'm really, really thrilled off, like hosting random people like you are doing with me now. So I'm thrilled about that. So my my coach profile will be great sweet.

Igar:

Yeah, man man, thank you really once again. High five. Thank you, yeah, and see you all in the next episodes.