Mighty readers! How are you? Sharing another adventure story, this time a really wet one. Hope you enjoy it!

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Have you missed my travel stories? If you've been reading my series you may have noticed that almost all of them have a small touch of misery to it hahahaha, it's part of the game. This time it wasn't diferent, check it out and have fun!

I'd like to start with a quote, from myself.

You know what? Let's freaking' do it!

Incredible how all my craziest and funniest experiences have started with this exact sentence. As always, no planning, barely no money and a lot of enthusiasm, that's the way to have fun and enjoy whatever you are proposing. That's how I want to start this story, which begins with life thoughts, passes through peaceful moments in nature and ends in a total misery (in a funny way of the word).

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May 26th, 2016. In Brazil it was Corpus Christi holiday on that gray Thursday, I had just finished university 5 months before and was yet unemployed, I was trying my best do find a path in life and my psicological was not in the best shape. Can you imagine how it is following a 5 years university and internship routine, and all of a sudden be thrown into the market, just like that? It's like being completely lost, without knowing what to do. 

At that time I was living in the capital, 300 km away from my parents, and per tradition on holidays I used to visit them in my home town. I was loading my backpack to travel when the incredible idea hit my brain:

- Let's go camping!! - I thought. I had just bought some new equipment that I wanted to test, for my Patagonian adventure, and that was the opportunity. I packed my tent/sleeping bag with some clothes and just like that I was ready, 4 days in the wilderness. How I would do and where I'd go I had no idea, however it was a beginning.

The plan couldn't be more precise: Say hello to mom, take a bus to Uruguay and come back 4 days later. That's what I did. The only thing I forgot is that I was incredibly unexperienced when it comes to nutrition, I only bought a bunch of junk food at the supermarket, but that's another story.

Off we go! Weather was not that great that day, a mixture of gray sky with rain warnings, but I didn't care much, all I wanted was to set a small fire pit and spend time reading some books in the woods. 

After 230 km, two buses and a border crossing I was at the entrance of the Santa Teresa National Park in Uruguay, I just needed to walk 6 km to the camping sites near the beach. Easy peasy.

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How exciting it was, the brand new backpack was feeling like heaven in my shoulders, the small hiking routes along the Eucalyptus trees exaling all that fresh air, the cold May weather, the breeze. It was a pleasing walk. The park was completely empty, therefore I've chosen the best spot to set camp; near the bathrooms, near the beach and near a built table made of a tree log. Perfect! Within minutes everything was prepared for a weekend of doing nothing but enjoying myself.

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First day was spent reading, eating, walking and maintaining the fire. Isn't it incredible how slow time passes by when you are out camping? It's so good to relief all that stress, to feel free from all the boring and imposed responsibilities. Many people tell that travelers are only trying to run away from adult life, but why can't we? Who told you that there's a need to follow some certain lifestyle? That's the way I see it, human beings were once a free beast.

Night came early, together with the promised rain, my only option was to retreat to my tent to continue reading an amazing book by Amyr Klink. I just can't explain how confy it is to be inside a tent, in a warm sleeping bag during a cold and rainy night. Have you ever experienced that?

Many people think it's stupid to camp with rain, but why not? It's just as confy as being home, just a matter of chosing the right equipment.

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So I kept my camp steady, rain on and off, fire on and off. 

That day I've made a new friend, Black the dog, he appeared from nowhere and quickly gained my respect. We shared food and conversation (I was the only one talking, but whatever), wish I could've kept him.

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There's nothing to say about the weekend, besides the fact that I've spent it all doing exactly what I proposed to do in the first place: Nothing! hahaha It was just a matter of consuming all the food to go back home.

On the last day I woke up early and waited since seven in the morning for the rain to stop, so I could pack everything and leave. I ate my last pack of crackers for breakfast, folded my wet tent, dressed my rain jacket and hoped for the rain to give a break, which it did eventually.

- Easy, I just need to walk back the 6 km and wait for the bus - I thought. It was that simple, didn't mean I would make it simple.

At around ten in the morning I started walking through a new route, to pass near the old Fort for some photographs, from there I planned to catch the bus on the road. Ah man! How I wish I had used the same route I've used to enter the park.

What happens is that the park is enormous, full of small roads and trails along the trees, where perception of space can get confusing sometimes. But there I was on that morning, having fun while walking until the first disaster struck: The damn rain had started again!

No problem! On the bus stop I change my clothes. I kept on going, visibility now was really poor and I could barely see on the distance, I had no option besides to keep on going, and going, and going. I got to the fort completely wet, it was sunday, thus it was closed. Genius!

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Chaos

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Let's continue! Rain was still strong, in front of me a cross road: Left or Right?

- Left - I thought. Walking and singing! I continued, it was strange though... I couldn't remember it being so far, but I had no watch so time perception was also not very good. I walked for a solid one hour when I stopped.

- No... it can't be. It's a Déjà vu. - I thought. I looked around in complete discredit, I even double, triple checked if I was not getting crazy or something.

I WAS IN THE EXACT SAME SPOT I HAD CAMPED!!! How is that even possible, to wander around in a circle, in a place with marked roads! I was feeling so dumb, a damn wet dumb.

I had to accept my complete defeat and start walking all over again, I was so miserable that even the rain had decided to give me a break. Now I could see on the distance, on that same crossroad I realised that the road was actually to the right, just a couple meters from my nose. What a soldier I am, right?

Second plan was to catch the bus, but there was no bus stop. The only way to do it was waving to the buses so they could stop. And I waved, and waved, and waved again... none of the bastards stopped. I was so pissed and bored that I had my second briliant idea.

- I'll walk on the road and try to find a bus stop, that way I kill boredom. - I stupidly thought. Eventhough now I think it was stupid, at that time it sounded perfectly ok, and there I was... walking along the road and waving at buses. 

Five kilometers and nothing. Did you know that what is bad can get worse? Have you guessed? No? Yes! Rain! 

I was now walking on the road below the rain. Ten kilometers, nothing! 

- What the heck do I do now? - I thought. Wet, tired and hungry. I really wanted to get out of there. I spotted a small wooden hut by the road. I aproached in a miserable condition.

- Hola, amigo. I've been walking, can I stay here for a bit? - I asked. The poor old man, a classy gaucho sporting a moustache and a  big belly, couldn't believe my story and looked wary at me.

- No! Here you can't stay. Try staying below the roof over there. - He said. 

I thought he didn't like me, but I realised that the hut was a small market place, which I had aproached from the back, do'h. After changing my clothes below the roof he mentioned, I came back, now through the front door, and I was incredibly well welcomed. I explained everything that happened and ordered some amazing homemade sausage with bread and sauce. I must have eaten 3 or 4 of those gigantic things due to my starving condition.

- So Mr. Raul... I've been trying to catch a bus for hours, but the bastards don't stop!- I said.

- But they have to! Are you raising your right hand? - He asked.

- I'm doing everything! Both hands, jumping, screaming! Nothing seems to work. - I said.

- No, no, no! Here in Uruguay you have to raise only the right hand, pointing to the road, otherwise they'll never stop! - He said.

I mean, for real? I've been doing it 'wrong' the whole time? All I had to do was raise my right hand? I just couldn't believe I had walked 15 km in the rain, only to discover that I could've catched the damn bus hours before.

- Unbelievable! And now... what time is the next bus? - I asked.

- Ah.... now only at 5, three hours from now. - He said.

With no other cards in hand I had no option besides waiting.

- Well.... gimme one more sausage then.. I'll have to wait. - I said.

And there I stayed for three hours, eating, chatting and trying to warm my wet feet. At 5 o'clock, armed with the correct hand signal I spotted the bus coming. Mr. Raul said good-bye, this time the bus stopped and I was able to go back home.

It feels really good to write about this story now, because since then I've experienced so many other crazy adventures that I laugh just by thinking of it. Because of ideas like that I'm now a much stronger and motivated person, I even feel bored if everything happens exactly like planned.

~Love ya all, Arthur.

And you, have you ever passed through some miserable situations and was able to have fun at the same time? Share it down below, I'd love to read.

If you like this story, consider giving your upvote for a hot coffee!

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I'm Arthur. I blog about Brazil, Adventure Stories, Travel, Camping & Life Experiences.

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