Source: My UM
What could you do with a three-month holiday and 2400 Patacas? Denis De Castro Halis, a senior lecturer from the Faculty of Law, travelled throughout South America.
Destination: South America
And Denis, as he prefers to be called, was not kidding. In fact, he accomplished this feat while he was still a sophomore at college. Denis was born in Brazil. He completed two bachelor courses, in law and in social sciences, as well as two postgraduate courses, in contemporary philosophy and education, in Rio de Janeiro, where he also received a master’s degree in legal and social sciences. Up until he left Brazil, first to France and then to China (first in the mainland and, then, in 2007 in Macao, when he joined UM), Denis had lived most of his life near a beach in Rio de Janeiro. Growing up with travel-loving parents who often took him camping in scenic sites, Denis learned that travel is not about flying first class or staying in luxury hotels; but rather it is about being curious about people and exploring the world in a simple and spontaneous way. In the summer holiday during his sophomore year, bitten by the travel bug, Denis decided that South America would be his great adventure destination.
An Authentic Experience of Local Life
He started from Brazil, travelled southwards to Uruguay, then went to Argentina, and travelled northwards via Chile to Bolivia and Peru, until finally heading back to Rio de Janeiro, while covering Brazil from west to east passing through the exotic wetland of Pantanal (a huge area larger than some countries with wild animals such as alligators and a specie of leopard). Often he had to rough it on the journey — staying in a stranger’s house, camping, or sleeping in a variety of unusual places with his sleeping bag. He also had to deal with the unexpected, such as becoming the target of pickpockets and encountering an alligator while bathing in a lagoon. Amusingly enough, his homecoming treatment was less than welcoming. When he returned to his neighbourhood, tanned and disheveled, with a long beard, he was nearly driven away by the doorman who mistook him for a vagrant. But to Denis none of that matters in comparison to the unforgettable experiences of him climbing the Andean mountains, driving across the desert in Chile and the salt desert in Bolivia, and backpacking for four days through the Inca Trail to reach the mystic Machu Picchu in Peru. When asked if he would have preferred a more comfortable way of travelling, with nice hotels to stay in and all the logistics taken care of, he shook his head and said, ‘Give me my original way of travel any day!’
A spontaneous person by nature, Denis did not make any detailed travel itinerary. He only had a rough idea of the route he wished to follow. He usually travelled by coach or by hitchhiking. Once he arrived at a destination, he would chat with the locals and make travel plans based on their suggestions. This way of travel allowed him to build real connections with the locals and gave him an authentic experience of their ways of life. ‘When you have to ask local people’ s help for making travel plans or itineraries or for directions to a supermarket or restaurant, you will have more interactions with them, and only in this way can you have an authentic experience of the local culture and life,’ he said.
Things that Make Life Beautiful
More than once, Denis was struck speechless by the beauty of the natural scenery on his journey. But standing out in his memories are not the stunning views, but the kindness of the people he met. One night he met two female travellers while staying in the house of a local who rented out spare rooms to tourists, as is a prevalent practice in some tourist cities in South America. The girls invited him to join them in a bus tour to a scenic site the next day, he agreed and mentioned in passing that the next day would be his birthday. The following day he was deeply touched when they threw him a surprise birthday party on the bus. ‘Turns out they got up early that morning to buy the birthday cake and candles for me and then secretly brought them onto the bus,’ said Denis. ‘I was deeply touched. We had just met the day before, and they didn’t have any reason to do this other than to make me happy. It was one of the most unforgettable birthdays I’ve ever had.’ Denis believes travel should be made a priority in life, because it broadens one’s horizons. ‘People often feel like they are stuck in some predicament or other, and travel is like an antidote. It helps you forget your worries and reminds you of the things that make life beautiful,’ he said.
