The Motorcycle Diaries

Guevara and Granado struggle to find a free ride to Tarata, and wind up walking a high-altitude road on a cold, dark night. Completely exhausted, hungry, and without any water to make mate, they try to sleep on the ground. Guevara writes: "After five minutes Alberto informed me he was frozen solid; I responded that my poor body was even colder. But this wasn't a competition in refrigeration, so we decided to tackle the situation" (70). The two decide to build a fire. The fire is too weak to heat them, so they pack up and continue walking instead.

The friends pass the rest of the night walking slowly, hoping to hail each passing truck and failing. At 6 am, they happen upon some huts and hurry toward them with relief: "It seemed that we had never been welcomed with such friendliness, that we had never eaten bread and cheese like they sold us, or had such revitalizing mate" (71). After regaling their hosts with tales of an idealized Argentina, the men sleep under the rising sun in a dry riverbed.

From noon to 5 pm, the friends walk along the road. At last, a Civil Guard truck invites them in and they ride along with a group of Aymara Indigenous people.