What is it about hitchhiking i dig so much??

I am sitting on the third different beach today, and something comes through my mind, i get out my eee friend and decide to put that down. Sort of. i was just realizing how much i enjoyed the first half of this day, and might even enjoy the rest of it more. What is it in people that make me feel so good? Maybe those simple conversation witch are all the same but all different. I always get asked the same questions, you could think that would get boring real fast. But no, the way they are asked, expressions, reactions to my answers are never the same. And the story told on the other side might be very similar but there is always something more about it. Be it the smiles, the silences, a couple’s argument, a joke, a lifetime story... Or sometimes like today after the second beach stop, the ride itself. I got piked up by a towing truck, and something that didn't happen to me since an other fabulous ride in south of Australia happened. I got to sit on the back, on the platform. It was empty since they were towing not a car but a Mobil home, hooked to the back. So i made myself comfortable, secured my bag, out of the greasy spots all over the platform and i pulled out my camera.

One would think the ride was uncomfortable, too hot from the engine i could see right bellow me and from which I could feel the heat, no good air, almost constantly smelling the exhausts fumes, very shaky and under the midday sun. But i loved it! I was digging it completely. The wind refreshing me and bringing me fresh air when i would lean of the side, the panoramic view on the sea and mountains around. Which by the way are the best i have sen so far in Albania with far less rubbish by the roads. I cannot tell if it is more because of the influence of that passage of J.Kerouac’s on the road where he sits with 4 or 5 other hitchhikers on the back of a raging truck or the feeling of freedom, the view and the sensation of progressing. Maybe it is also because after 7 days in Albania i used the buses 3 times and finally get back to hitchhiking

In the end i could say that hitchhiking is more or less the same in every country and every place I have been so far. People will tell you it does not work, it is dangerous, there are many psychos out there. But once you overcome the laziness and the bit of fear people put into you, everywhere it is the same story again. Surprises, nice people, adventures, unplanned stops, coffees, sometimes food or a beer, a lot of landscapes and many lessons to learn.

Long live hitchhiking!

Albanian south coast