HITCHHIKING: Clermont Fd - Geneva

Day # 3 - part. 3/3

"Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you". Princess Diana

17/08/13

So, this car pulled around and I was feeling the happiest person EVER! The guy told me he could give me a lift near Lyon and of course I said yes!

HH. Clermont Fd - Chamberry (272km)

His name was Emmanuel, but he told me to call him "Manu". I shared my spot in his car with his lovely dog. I couldn't be more happy, I just love animals.

We talked  - I tried to use my poor french skills - a lot about traffic laws and the crazy amount of tolls on the highway. In France there are a lot and it's very expensive.

We made a quick stop so his dog could walk for a while. I asked him if in the parking there was some place to drink water or something because I was thirsty and he offered me some soda he had on his car. I couldn't have been more grateful.

I told him my final destination was Geneva, so he looked up in his GPS - everyone has a GPS here. And he told me he could leave me at Chambery which was closer to Geneva.

Manu was an amazing person! When we were on our way to Chambery, we saw an accident on the highway and he pulled over to help people! I don't see that everyday! It was a great action from him! The car was almost on fire and he told me to stay in the car taking care of his dog and he went to helped the family to take everything away from the car. He also called the police and gave the family water and juice. I was really impressed by how he reacted.

I was happy that a person like that picked me up, even if I had to wait for almost 2 hours.

HH. Chambery - Annecy (52 km)

When I got to Chambery, I sit in a corner and start writing in my cardboard "Annecy" which was de city in my way to Geneva. As I was sitting there, an old guy come across and looked at me. After some minutes he come back and said "Bonjour!". He seemed nice so I stood up and asked him where would be a nice spot to hitchhike. His name was Dominico and he was italian - from Milan by the way. When I told him I also speak italian he was so happy because there he just can speak french.

We talked for a while and he tried to tell me where the train station was. I had to explain that I was going to hitchhike but he didn't understand. After some minutes of explaning it to him he told me I should take a bus till a good hitchhiking spot. When we got to the bus stop, he helped me and asked the drivers which one should I take and then he even gave me a ticket for the bus. What a wonderful person on my way! Before taking the bus, Dominico gave me his number in case I had any problem and told me more or less where his place was. We said good-bye and I got into the bus.

I got out when he told me and tried to find the spot. It took me 2 minutes walking to got there, but like 5 to realize the way! I'm so stupid sometimes. Anyways, it was easier there, I waited 10 minutes - so much better than 1 hour and a half!

The guy who picked me up had an small truck. His name was Antoine and he was transportating blood. I don't know why at the begining I freaked out when he told me he had blood in his truck! But then I realized probably he was taking it to a hospital or something.

Antoine was also really nice and he left me at a petrol station before Annecy. He even got out from the truck with me and helped me asking some people if they could take me but I wasn't too lucky.

HH. Annecy - Annecy 

I thought the petrol station was a good spot, but almost everyone who was going to Geneva was with kids, which means, full car. Some families even apologyzed because they couldn't pick me up. It was getting late but I didn't know because the sky was still clear. I thought it was still early, but when I checked it was almost 9pm.

I was already kind of desperate. I saw a guy who was getting out from his car so I asked him if he was going to Geneva. He told me no, so I asked him if he at least could take me to some other spot few kilometers away. He said he was going to think about it and went to buy something in the petrol station shop. When he got back we talked for a while and he invited me some water. Finally, he agreed to give me a lift.

Ervin left me near a toll so I could find more people going to Geneva. It was a great spot! I just waited like 3 or 4 minutes!

HH. Annecy - Geneva (41 km)

A couple picked me up  and lucky me they were going some town just next to Geneva. They were a cute couple. The guy who was driving was from Belgium and his girlfriend was french. I didn't have time to ask for their names because we were talking about so many things and even they were kind enough to lend me their phone so I could call my friend who was going to host me in Geneve. I tried to call him but I think the reception wasn't really good but at least he got the message! - that I was going to be kind of late at his place.

When we arrived to the city they were going, they left me in a bus stop and when I was leaving we had this conversation:

The guy "Ok, here it is."
Me: "Thank you for everything! you have been..."
the girl: "We're going to give you some money"
Me: "Oh, no, is not necessary. You have been really nice..."
The girl: "No, no, we're giving you money"
Me: "Seriously, you don't need to"
The girl: "Yes, but you just have euros and not swiss francs"
Me: "Oh!"

And then I understood why they wanted to give me money. The gave me some coins for the bus and asked the guys who were there to help me to buy a ticket for the bus. I said thank you again and left.

FINALLY IN GENEVA!

When I got there I started asking people how to get to my friend place. People were very nice and tried to help me all the time. I met a couple who were kind enough to walk with me till the right avenue. After that I saw the building but I had no way to communicate to my friend to tell him I was there.

I wondered around asking for public phones. I asked a couple of guys on the street and the offered me money to call. I said no thanks. They tried to helped me but they didn't have enought money for a call. I told them it was not necessary. In front of my friend's building there was a kind of a park and I saw public phone there. I didn't had money so I tried to asked an old guy who was sitting in a bench if he knew how I could call, but that my friend in the other site could pay instead of me. We had the following conversation:

Sir: "So, do you need to call?"
Me: "Yes, Sir, do you know how can I ... "
Sir: "I'll give you money so you can call"
Me: "Oh, no, Sir, is not..."
Sir: "Yes, yes, take it"
Me: "Thank you Sir!!"
Sir: "No problem"

After that I was SO convinced that people are AMAZING. There's not any other word to explain it.

I went back to the public phone and tried to call my friend. He answerd and I told him I was outside. I hanged out. After that, I got back with the sir who helped me and I thanked him again. He asked me if my friend was going to pick me up. I told him yes and he seemed to be happy.

I got back where I thought was my friend's place. It wasn't! It was another building some meters away but he saw me. We hugged! - There was a long time we didn't see each other.

We went to his student residence. We talked a lot and we had "some wine". After 2 bottles and a half I was a little bit "happier" than usual. And I made a fool of myself talking with his neighbors. I don't remember too much about that night but I think I deserved it after a LONG day.

DAY 3

MONEY SPEND: 0 euros

ALCOHOL: So much wine
PEOPLE I MET: 7

Starting my hitchhiking adventure

DAY # 3 - part. 2/3


17/08/13

"How many man has thrown up his hands at a time when a little more effort, a little more patience would have achieved success" - Elbert Hubbard.

So me, my backpack and my map started walking till somewhere near the highway. I had no idea how to hitchhike because I have just done it 3 times before in Brazil, but it was quite different. 

I was so unprepared that I didn't even had a bottle of water! I just walked till the highway because I wanted to visit some parts of the city where I was going to live. 

I wrote LYON as it was the biggest city in my way to Geneva.

I was wondering around with my not very big sign and after 20 min a car with 2 women told me that they could drive me to a better spot. Those women were the start of everything and made me believe that I had took the right decision. 

They left me even more near to the highway, but in the wrong direction. So I had to walk for a while to find a good spot. When I finally saw a good one, I stood in a visible area and use the "hitchhiker thumb" as my sign was too small to people get to see it. I waited for around half an hour standing up and no cars were stopping.

I started feeling sad and exhausted. I thought maybe I needed a bigger sign so I looked around and I saw some cardboard on the street and I took it and made a bigger sign.

Lyon... SVP?

I stood there for 1 more hour and when I was almost giving up, a car pulled around! I WAS THE HAPPIEST PERSON ON THE EARTH!

DAY 3

MONEY SPEND: 0 euros

ALCOHOL: 0
PEOPLE I MET: 2

What's hitchhiking?

Hitchhiking, in few words, is to ask strangers for a ride on their vehicules. - As simple as that.

You just have to go near a good spot outside the city and use the "hitchhikers thumb" or a sign with the name of your destination.

Hitchhiker's thumb

And then you would say: What!? Is not that dangerous? Well, in fact walking on the street is dangerous, but not because of that you're going to stay at home forever!

Hitchhiking is amazing, and I'll tell you why:

1. It's free
2. You know very interesting people - and sometimes you still get in touch with them
3. You learn a lot from the people you know and the city you go
4. Sometimes this wonderful people you meet give you  water, juice, food or money - You start believing in humanity again
5. Sometimes, also they host you
6. You see more landscapes than a normal tourist
7. Sometimes you arrive to a city you didn't plan to go, but then you love it
8. You don't need to be "on time" on the road

Then, you'll think:
"Yeah, whatever! But I'm not young anymore".
Well, that doesn't matter! There're 80 years old people doing it! So, what are you wating for?

Also you can ask,
why would this people stop for me?
Well, in my personal experience these are the main phrases people told me:

1. "I can't leave a women by herself on the middle of the road"
2. "This is not a good spot, I'll take you to a better one"
3. "I'm a hitchhiker too"
4. "I used to hitchhike too!"
5. "I always pick up hitchhikers"
6. "You're going to my same destination"
7. "Are you lost?"
8. "Is forbidden to hitchhike here"

Mostly these is what people tell me, but the main reason is thay they want someone to talk with :) So, the people who stops for you are Wonderful! Because it's also a risk for them to stop as same as is a risk for you to get in. So everything is about trusting people and trust in your instincts.

* "Hitchhiking" in other countries:

Argentina: "Hacer dedo"
Brazil: "Ir de carona"
France: "Faire du stop"
Peru: "Tirar dedo"
México: "Pedir ride"

-These are the phrases I know by experience and because I met people from there, I don't copy paste from other websites ;) 

How did I decide to hitchhike?

Day #3 - part. 1/3

"If I could wake up in a different place, at a different time, could I wake up as a different person?" - Chuck Palahniuk.

17/08/13

I think I still was jet-lagged as I couldn't sleep at all. I spend almost all night talking with my friends from Peru on facebook and figuring out where I was going next. Actually I had a sort of a plan for my first 25 days. Obviously it was not a rigid plan, just kind of where I wanted to go.

My very detailed plan.

And in fact, I couldn't do everything because I changed my plans almost everyday! But the firsts days I was following the plan. So I was looking for a cheap way to go to GENEVA and I thought about doing covoiturage again, but this time from the website. So I looked up for some rides and I found a girl who was driving there. Sharing a car from Clermont to Geneva was like 30 euros. So I wrote to her and she accepted! 

My host's couch :)

I talked with my dear brazilian friend, Caio, who lives in Geneva and he accepted to host me for a couple of days. - By the way, I also met him by Couchsurfing, but in Perú.

The next morning I ask Mario - my amazing host- to lend me his card so I could pay because I didn't have one and then I'll give him the money in cash. He was kind enough to accept and he also talk to the girl by the phone - as I didn't had a phone neither - and he settle everything down. I was supposed to meet her near the station at 11am.

Bonjour, Clermont Ferrand!

Mario invited me some breakfast and also agreed that I could leave some of my luggage at his place for 10 days till my roomate could pick it up. And, while we were talking, this girl called him and told him  that she wasn't going to Clermont anymore. I felt so sad, I thought I wasn't going to make it to Geneva that day. Mario gave me back my money and I was thinking another way to go there, maybe another car, but all the cars were full.

There's when I decided it! I was going to Geneva by HITCHHIKING. Actually it was an idea I was thinking about some months ago when I hitchhiked in Brazil for the first time - Just a couple of times, I wasn't an expert on the field. Also because I met a couple of amazing hitchhikers: Ronan (Brazilian guy) and Annika (German girl), both of them I met in Brazil and they introduced me to the wonderful world of hitchhiking. They're my inspiration!

Mario couldn't believe what I was going to do, but he gave me a map of the city and explained to me how to get near the highway. So I grabbed my backpack, said thank you - I couldn't have been more grateful with him -  and good-bye.

DAY 3 part 1
ALCOHOL: 0
MONEY SPEND: 0 euros
PEOPLE I MET: 0

What's covoiturage?

Well, let's start by saying that COVOITURAGE is french for CAR SHARING.

Have you seen the train and bus prices? It's crazy how expensive they can be! But, if you're on a budget and you want to travel low cost, you can always share a ride with someone.

How this works?

Imagine you live in some city in the north of France and you want to get to Paris, for example. You just have to sign on one of these websites and look for someone who has a car and who goes from your city to your final destination.

Then, depending on the company, you have to pay on the site, or when you get to your final destination.

When you have everything settle, you just go to the meeting point and that's it, you're ready!

These are some websites where you can find someone to share a ride with.

BLABLACAR: http://www.blablacar.com

COVOITURAGE (It's from Blablacar, but here you can find more trips around France): http://www.covoiturage.fr/

COVOITURAGE LIBRE: http://www.covoiturage-libre.fr/

CARPOOLING: http://www.carpooling.com/

To sum up, reasons why you should do it:

1. It's usually way more cheaper than trains and buses.

2. Usually is faster than trains and buses because cars uses the highway.

3. You don't get bored as you get to know people and talk while traveling.

4. It's ecological

SO, HAVE YOU DONE IT BEFORE?, IF NOT, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Covoiturage Lyon - Clermont Ferrand

Day #2

"If you talk to man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart." - Nelson Mandela

16/08/13

The day before I went to bed at around midnight and I slept for a couple of hours, then I just couldn't. I don't know if it was the excitement of being in other country so far away from mine or just the jet lag. Anyways, I stayed up till 5am when I heard Pierre getting ready for his job. After half an hour I finally could rest!

I woke up around 10:30am, I was feeling better! Then I had breakfast with Meryem and we watched some tv programmes while we were wating for Pierre to come back and go to Clermont! -If you want to know more about car sharing, click in "covoiturage".

Pierre was from Clermont and Meryem studied there, that's how they met. So that they were going to visit Pierre's family and some friends.

The trip was nice. I took us around 2 hours to arrive to Clermont and they were kind enough to led me at my host's house. I couldn't be more grateful because I had a lot of stuff with me. I payed them what we agreed (10 euros) and I said good-bye.

Lyon - Clermont Ferrand

When I arrived, my host's roomates welcomed me and I waited for my host to arrive. Mario -who also I met by Couchsurfing - was a brazilian guy who moved to France 5 years ago and he loves being here. We spend a nice evening talking -Me not that much because really fast french is just too hard for me - and drinking with his friends.

I wanted to speak some portuguese with Mario because I don't want to forget it, but he insisted that I was in France so I had to speak french. And, yes, he was right, even if I love to speak with my friends in their own language, I was there and I had to practise my french.

DAY 2

MONEY SPEND: 10 euros

ALCOHOL: Some beer
PEOPLE I MET: 6

What's Couchsurfing?

Couchsurfing, my dear friends, is the most amazing thing that could ever happened to me!

<<Couchsurfing is a global community of 6 million people in more than 100,000 cities who share their life, their world, their journey. Couchsurfing connects travelers with a global network of people willing to share in profound and meaningful ways, making travel a truly social experience.>> Couchsurfing.org

So, in my words, is the biggest global network which conects amazing local people, willing to open the door of their houses to a complete stranger and share some days with him/her, and curious traveleres, willing to know more about a city by meeting local people and staying at a complete stranger place. That kind of TRUST from both parts is just amazing! 

Just to be clear, CS is more than just a free place to sleep. Is about making friends for a life time! So, get out of your confort zone and do something! Go around traveling and meet this awesome people who are waiting to meet you! Or if you can't, invite some travelers at your place and you'll see that it would change your life. Furthermore, if you can't host or able to travel, you can always join the CS meetings or invite travelers to hang out with you, they would appreciate it!

* Some important words:

1. Host: Is the awesome local person who will host you.

2. Surfer: Is the awesome traveler who will stay at your place.

3. Couchrequest: The way how you send a request to a local so you can stay at his/her place.

4. CS meetings: There're awesome events in almost every city that you can join and meet travelers and locals.

5. Couch: Is where the traveler is going to sleep. It can be a couch, a bed, the floor, mattress, hammock, whatever you can provide at your place.

6. CS: Short for CouchSurfing (https://www.couchsurfing.org/)
7. References: Is one of the safety features this website provides. You can see about others people experiences with one person and also you can leave a references so people can decide if trust or not trust in that person.

By the way, here is my profile if you want to check it ;) 

https://www.couchsurfing.org/people/grace.echevarria/