Cycling Around the World: An Argentine Couple Becomes a Family of Three

 

    Six years ago, he and his wife set off from Argentina, cycling around the world on a tandem bicycle. Over two years ago, while in India, his wife became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Instead of ending their journey after the birth, they added a baby seat to their bike, turning their tandem into a triplet ride. Three months ago, they arrived in Yunnan, China, where they set up a stall in Dali to earn travel funds before continuing their journey a month later.

A simple social media post was shared and commented on by tens of thousands of users. The Chinese journey of Diego, Anna, and their child Mael captured widespread attention. A pair of young, free-spirited hearts ignited the spark of dreams. Diego, a 29-year-old bank executive, and Anna, a 22-year-old college student, abandoned their high-paying jobs and put their studies and families behind them to chase their travel dreams. From South America to Europe, then to Asia, they rode a €200 tandem bicycle, selling their own paintings and photographs along the way, documenting their stories as they crossed borders. Along the journey, they even welcomed their child, turning the story’s protagonists into a family of three.

Although netizens have mixed opinions about their choices and lifestyle, the Diego family remains content with their current life.

“No matter what your dream is, you must pursue it.”

“Everyone says our lifestyle is dangerous. But any other lifestyle comes with its own risks too.”

They also have no worries about their child’s education and daily life—travel experiences are the best teachers for them.

“The kid is very fortunate because no matter what difficulties we face, we’ll protect him. In the tent, he has his own sleeping bag. All of our clothes as adults fit into one bag, but just the child’s clothes fill three bags.”

“We plan to have a second child. We might give up cycling, but we won’t give up traveling.”

As a woman who loves beauty, Anna hasn’t bought new clothes or worn makeup in years. “Appearance doesn’t matter—it’s so freeing,” Anna said. “The first day we met, we were walking down the same street. Diego approached me, and we both felt instantly that we’d share our lives together.” For Anna, sharing ideals with someone she loves is the greatest happiness.

“Achieving a dream together is love. Sharing these things means love is in everyday life.” Diego and Anna want to tell everyone who envies their happy life that you can’t be timid when it comes to love.

Diego, 29, studied economics and held a high-ranking position at a bank in Buenos Aires, earning a generous salary.

Anna, 22, was a student studying photography and art film at the University of Paris and in Buenos Aires.

One day in January 2006, the then-strangers Diego and Anna met by chance in Buenos Aires. The two young people were pleasantly surprised to discover they shared a common dream—to take a long, distant journey.

About 10 months later, the two held their wedding in the city where they had met. Disliking routines and others controlling their lives, and with Diego coming from a very traditional Christian family where the wedding should have been held traditionally, the couple defied expectations and faced strong opposition from both families.

During the wedding, the like-minded couple also planned to give up work and studies to pursue their travel dreams. This idea was again met with persuasion and disapproval from relatives and friends, many of whom thought their behavior was unimaginable. Someone even asked, “Are you crazy?” Anna’s mother was the most opposed to their decision to travel.

“The hardest part of the journey is starting!” Anna exclaimed.

But on the second day of the wedding, October 21, 2006, Diego and Anna ignored the objections and set off on their journey. Their initial plan was to spend one year traveling from Argentina to Mexico, celebrating Diego’s 30th birthday abroad before returning to Argentina. What they didn’t expect was that once they started, they couldn’t stop—the farther they went, the less they wanted to return.

A year later, they had reached Colombia. And Diego’s 30th birthday was celebrated midway through in Peru.

“We’re not afraid of danger—the real danger is fear itself. You’ll encounter many things on the road, and many will try to scare you with their fears, hoping you won’t go further. Don’t fear what’s ahead, and don’t listen to what others say.”

When they started their journey, Diego and Anna had no vehicle—they traveled by hitchhiking. After leaving Buenos Aires, they went to the southernmost tip of South America, then traveled northward. On their trip from Argentina to Mexico, they passed through many countries and even reached Venezuela in the northernmost part of South America.

Although the trip was full of fun, it wasn’t without challenges. In 2007, Diego and Anna experienced an unforgettable incident while traveling through Bolivia in the heart of South America.

Since Bolivia had no public buses, to make travel easier, Diego and Anna bought a car there. They gave rides to locals along the way and charged a bit for travel expenses. They even planned to sell the car in another country and continue their journey. One day, while driving through the desert, Diego and Anna picked up two hitchhikers in police uniforms. Once inside the car, they discovered the men were armed robbers. After much pleading, the robbers agreed to only take money—not the car—and would charge per kilometer driven. They drove the robbers a long distance through the desert until they found a small shop selling beer and cola, where they stopped to let the men buy drinks.

After drinking, the men stole almost all their money and walked away nonchalantly, leaving them the car and just $10 as agreed. The shop owner asked Diego and Anna to pay for the beer, so they had no choice but to chase after the robbers and ask them to cover the cost. The robbers replied, “If you want money, give us the car back.” They returned to the shop, took out the last $10 they had, and paid the bill. The shop owner, taking advantage of their foreign status, gave them only a few coins for the $10—just enough to pay for the robbers’ beers.

Leaving the tavern, Diego and Anna continued driving. When they ran out of gas, they waited in the desert’s no-man’s land for two days before a truck finally picked them up. The truck driver towed their car with a rope to a city 500 kilometers away. Since they had no money to pay the driver, he became furious.

"Everyone says our lifestyle is dangerous. But if we chose any other way of life, we’d still face different kinds of dangers."

After completing their journey across South America, Diego and Anna arrived in Mexico, then flew to Paris, France, and traveled on to Spain. Along the way, Diego also worked in Spain for six months until the global financial crisis hit.

One day in 2009, while walking in the suburbs of Barcelona, Diego and Anna spotted a tandem bicycle for sale in a shop. Diego said to Anna, "What do you think? Should we travel the world on this bike?" After thinking it over for a few days, Anna finally agreed to Diego’s idea, and they bought the bicycle.

"This bike was cheap, but it’s not a professional one. We only paid 200 euros for it. A professional tandem like this would cost 3,000 euros," Diego said.

After purchasing the tandem bicycle, Diego and Anna set off again on their journey, beginning a bike ride from Europe to Asia all the way to China. The 200-euro tandem bicycle accompanied them throughout the entire trip.

Since the tandem bicycle they rode was very ordinary and couldn’t be used on high-grade highways, they stuck to smaller roads during their travels. Tents, sleeping bags, food—everything they needed for outdoor survival—they carried in the luggage trailer behind the bike. Many nights were spent camping by the roadside under makeshift tents.

When they reached India, Anna became pregnant. They stayed in India during her pregnancy, but later, due to visa issues, they had to fly to Spain just before Anna gave birth. In September 2010, in the countryside of Spain at the home of a friend they had met during their travels in the UK, Anna gave birth to their son Mael. Just three months later, Diego, Anna, and their baby Mael returned to India to continue their family cycling journey.

Since the child was still very young and not convenient to carry on the bicycle, the couple bought a small stroller-like bed, padded it, and let the child sleep inside, towing it behind the bicycle. They traveled all the way to Nepal in this way. Along the way, the child fell seriously ill, which terrified Diego and Anna. At that time, the rural clinic they were in had poor medical conditions, so Diego had to find a car and drive for 13 hours to reach an international hospital.

Later, as the child grew older, they added a child seat behind Anna’s seat and secured the child in it, continuing their travels together.

Having traveled through many cities and stayed in numerous villages, Diego and Anna relied on their own craftsmanship along the way. "I never thought this lifestyle was possible. Professional cyclists think it’s impossible to ride from Spain to China," Diego said proudly.

On their trip to China, Diego and Anna’s first stop was Yunnan. In August 2012, Diego, Anna, and their baby Mael biked all the way to Dali and stayed at a small guesthouse called the "Roadside Youth Hostel."

"Every morning, we do what we want to do, or don’t do anything if we don’t feel like it," Diego said. The couple are both easygoing and don’t like to bind themselves with too many plans. Usually, on weekend afternoons between 4 and 6 p.m., they set up a street stall on Renmin Road in Dali Ancient Town to sell Diego’s paintings and Anna’s photography. Their little stall always attracted many people who stopped to admire the stories of their journeys depicted in the artworks.

Speaking of which, Diego and Anna are also two very romantic young people. Diego is good at painting and loves poetry. He reads poetry from all over the world, including Chinese poetry—even though he doesn’t understand Chinese. Anna is skilled in photography and is also writing a book documenting their legendary journey. Diego’s dream is to make a living through painting, Anna’s dream is to live by photography, and traveling is their shared dream.

During their cycling journey, Diego used his paintings to record what he saw and felt along the way, while Anna captured the scenery and culture with her camera. In every place they visited, they held exhibitions of their paintings and photos in public spaces such as bars, restaurants, and hotel lobbies, using the exhibitions to raise money for travel to the next destination. Their exhibition was called "Echoes."

"Echoes is a metaphor for memories—it’s about remembering the lives we’ve lived," Anna said. They have been to many places, and these photos and paintings reflect the lives they’ve experienced. Later, they found that selling photos and paintings could earn them more money.

"Travel is the best school. When we traveled in China and couldn’t understand what others were saying, Mael often translated for us," Anna said. Their little baby Mael, only 2 years and 6 months old, can already speak several languages, including Chinese, Spanish, French, and English.

At the inn in Dali Ancient Town, Diego met Shiyihao, a literary youth who also sold his own poetry postcards at the same street stall. The two poetry lovers became friends.

Anna, who had studied Chinese for six months, knew a few simple spoken phrases, but Diego didn’t know any Chinese at all. To communicate with Shiyihao, Diego found a bilingual book of classical Chinese poems with English translations. The two sat in the courtyard of the inn with a cup of tea. Shiyihao read the ancient poems in Chinese aloud, while Diego read the English translations. They taught each other, gestured, and enjoyed studying Chinese poetry together. Diego even brewed coffee every day in a small clay pot and often invited Shiyihao over to taste it.

Diego’s way of taking care of the child was also very different from that of most Chinese parents. He let the child play freely every day and never restrained him. If the child fell down, Diego would let him get up on his own. Only when the child was sleeping did he ask the inn staff not to disturb him.

Perhaps staying in one place for too long could get boring. A month later, the Diego family biked to Sichuan, but soon returned to Dali. This time, they first stayed at a friend’s house, then rented a civilian house in Cai Village. "The environment is really nice, good for writing and painting," they said. They planned to spend the winter in Dali and then head northward through China, visiting Japan and Korea, then return to China before going on to Pakistan and Turkey.

"We plan to have a second child, might give up biking, but will never give up traveling," Anna said.

They’re not worried about their child’s education. When they traveled in South America, everyone spoke Spanish, so there were no language barriers. Later, in North America, Europe, and Asian countries, everyone spoke a little English, and they could basically communicate with gestures.

"Every time we go to a new country, we learn a bit of the language," Anna said.

"We prefer to live in the present, not worry about the future. What we cherish most is freedom—we don’t want others to arrange things for us, nor do we want to plan too far ahead, because that would take away our freedom."

Diego and Anna have been to many places in the world, but they’ve stayed the longest in Dali.

"We really love Dali Ancient Town. There are lots of opportunities for artists there. Even penniless but talented artists can come here to exhibit their work. It’s a place to share stories, art, and joy. The feeling is wonderful," Anna said.

“The People’s Road in Dali Ancient Town is truly one of a kind in the world. There are similar squares in South America and Spain, but they’re not quite the same. On People’s Road, all the street vendors help each other — once you’re here, you’re all friends, and that’s what makes it most different from other public squares. In other places, street vendors don’t interact at all, no one pays attention to anyone else. On People’s Road, the street vendors and shop owners also get along well; everyone on the whole street lives harmoniously, creating a really nice vibe,” Diego added.

In their free time, Diego’s family often goes hiking in the Cangshan Mountains and enjoys visiting the shores of Erhai Lake.

Anna said, “Traveling isn’t always a comfortable thing — there’s cold, there’s heat, and many unexpected challenges — but it’s our dream, it’s the life we share together.”

“No matter what your dream is, you have to go after it,” Diego said. “Kids are very fortunate because no matter what difficulties they face, we’ll protect them. In the tent, he has his own sleeping bag. All the clothes for the two of us adults fit into just one backpack. But our child’s clothes alone take up three backpacks.” Anna hasn’t bought new clothes in years and has never worn makeup. “Appearance doesn’t matter — this way is much more carefree,” Anna said. “The first day we met, we were walking down the same path, Diego came up to talk to me, and we both felt right away that we would share our lives together.” Sharing their common dreams with the person they love is Anna’s greatest happiness.