Few moments have stirred my heart like the first time I saw Cerro Castillo, towering imposingly high at 2,318 meters. I felt like time stood still as I contemplated the inhospitable beauty of that place, far from the hectic pace of the city and at the mercy of an untamed place where I could lose myself in my own breath.
My name is Alexandre Toledano, I am French-Spanish, although I prefer to define myself as a citizen of the world, an adventurer who does not believe in borders. The adventure caught me, possibly, at the age of 7 years old in the house of one of my mother's clients. I was browsing through the photos in the living room and one of Sebastiao Salgado's captured my attention. It was a black and white image of Serra Pelada, in Brazil, and it showed men with tired faces, fierce looks and covered in mud, after having excavated the heart of the gold mine. I was fascinated, and it awakened in me a desire to know other places, other people and to open myself to the world.
Sebastiao Salgado's photo of Serra Pelada, Brazil. Source: La izquierdadiario.com
When I was in high school I knew that the traditional lifestyle was not for me, that's why once I escaped from classes to go on a trip, I dreamed about the ships I would sail on, the lands I would tread, the languages I would learn, the different cultures and people I would meet. However, in this attempt at adventure I could only reach the port of my city, but I was sure that life would give me other opportunities.
One of the advantages of having parents of different nationalities is that there comes a time when you want to connect with your roots. That was the motivation that at the age of 18 took me to Spain, where I experienced a special connection with my father's country and was able to learn his native language.
Later, India was the first country I visited as an adventurer. This trip gave me the opportunity to live a series of experiences that awakened all my senses. Colors, flavors, landscapes and stories, many stories. My childhood dream was on the move.
I spent a few years working in France for a few months of the year, and the rest of the time I gave myself to the adventures that Asia had to offer. The landscapes of India, Thailand, Indonesia, Greece and Morocco became a constant in my travels. I crossed northern India, and rode the unforgettable Himalayan plains on my Royal Enfield twice!
The first of those rides in my Royal Enfield began in the holy city of Pushkar, India. It was an eye-opening experience, I can still feel the sand splashing on my face like water. I ended this journey in the city of Jaisalmer, which is at the gates of the Thar Desert, bordering Pakistan.
The second of these motorcycle trips was during the same year, but I started from the Himalayan plains. I reached the Rohtang Pass, a high altitude pass located in northern India, which is considered the gateway to the small kingdom of Ladakh. It is a mythical itinerary for travelers in the 1970s. The Karakorum Highway is one of the highest and most remote roads in the world, linking the city of Manali to Leh, a journey through the clouds, absolutely wonderful.
My time in Bali deserves to be highlighted in this story. Just as the heights and clouds dazzled me at the time, the sea of the islands of Bali captivated me for being particularly crystalline. The mystique that exists in the islanders, the sailors, and the travelers of that time. There is a recurring landscape to this day, which is that of a ship on the seashore, waiting for the right moment to set sail again.
If I had to summarize my experience in Asia, I would say that touching the summit there was like touching paradise, I felt complete, at peace. Even more so in moments that make the mystique that Asia proposes to travelers, such as the Mother Temple of Pura Besaki, very important in the Balinese culture, and which is located at the foot of the Agung Volcano.
I knew the pleasure of getting lost in a Bombay Bazaar, immersing myself in its aromas, in its people. The faces of the people gave me even more charm than the place, which is undoubtedly exuberant and beautiful.
There was still much to discover and answering a call to the heart, I was motivated to get to know South America, a continent that I always considered fascinating. Initially I spent some time in Atacama (Bolivia) living with the local communities, where I was able to participate in projects of land protection and communion of people with nature.
Eventually it was time to take the next step, this time heading south. In Santiago de Chile I met another adventurer, Kent Westfall, a crazy American who called me "frenchie" and suffered from the same burning desire to see new places as I did. He was the one who told me about the southernmost point of the planet: Patagonia.
My experience in Patagonia made me understand why this place is called "the end of the world". It is a land full of magic where I learned to live at the rhythm of nature. An untamed and unexplored land that gave me time, space, a sea of silence and peace, a home to discover. A space that invited me to connect with my essence while walking through the most preserved and protected natural parks in the world; and sailing on the most turquoise waters I have ever seen in my life. To rediscover myself.
This first trip did not limit me to be just another spectator of the landscape, but to live the experience of community and the warmth of its inhabitants. I was fortunate to have some mates with Guido (a Patagonian from the area). Initially I did not understand that this had a meaning beyond accompanying a good time, however, after talking about it with other villagers I understood the welcoming meaning of this act, which officially received me as one more of their community.
Patagonia is always ready to surprise you. For example, it has one of the most pristine places: Valle Leones, which is the entrance to Campos de Hielo Norte, a natural and imposing wonder that shrinks you, makes you feel small and reminds you how fragile you are.
Patagonia taught me that there are many ways to travel, on foot in trekking, by car along stretches of the Carretera Austral, by boat on Lake General Carrera or the Ibáñez River in the direction of the Capillas de Mármol (Marble Chapels). And also on horseback, accompanied by locals like Guido, in search of the impressive Towers of El Avellano.
Myths are mixed with traditions, and these become ways of understanding life. During my riding tour I fell off my horse and Guido told me that in Patagonia the land you fall on "belongs to you", so on the road to Torres del Avellano I have a little piece of land that "belongs to me".
The relationship of the Gauchos and the Patagones with the horses is amazing, one afternoon, when we were going towards the Hudson volcano, I observed how they were talking with their horses. From one moment to another we left the trails, following a route that only the animals knew, a kind of ritual, which was also a sign of respect for the place we were going to visit and indicated that Patagonia accepted me as one of its own.
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If you ask me for the most mystical experience of this first trip, it was undoubtedly seeing the sky totally flooded with stars. It was early in the morning and it surpassed even the northern lights I saw on my trips to Norway. The Patagonian sky makes you feel like a fragment of dust attached to the mysticism of the universe. I was so excited that I called my father at 4 A.M. (French time), I woke him up just to tell him that I was living a moment of absolute beauty.
Sometimes I wonder what would have become of my life if I had not dared to follow my dreams? That call of the heart led me to pursue them to the most remote corner of the world, to live without such haste because, as the Patagonians themselves say, "in Patagonia, he who is anxious loses".
Everyone's limits are different, with this story I want to invite you to explore our expeditions to Patagonia and live this experience with Tolhuin Expeditions. Contact us and start your adventure now.