Pictures

No narcissism, but I have often been asked for photos in which I can be seen. There are truly not many of them. On most trips, for example, I never or almost never took any.

First, we had a wave of people taking selfies while looking directly into the camera and filling almost the whole frame. The background was barely visible. Almost everyone dominated every picture, and the Eiffel Tower in the back was almost invisible. Next, everyone started jumping in the picture—millions of photos of people jumping alone and in groups. Today, most of those pictures have been deleted, and some people seem to feel ashamed that they ever took them. Now, everyone photographs themselves from behind. Well, at least now we can see the actual scene and not people with artificial, posed smiles.

It seems to me that most people simply follow trends, doing what others expect them to do. Try to find a travel blog without the protagonists photographed from behind.

It’s crazy to see travelers spending hours creating artificial-looking photos just to compete with the masses. Photos are edited for hours, all kinds of clothes are changed—everything just to present an image that doesn’t reflect reality but rather a cliché or exaggerated expectation.

You often see bored or bad-tempered travelers who suddenly put on the biggest smile and pose for selfies, only to return to their original mood immediately after the photo.

I’m waiting for the time when people start following so-called influencers wearing underpants on their heads. 99.9% of all my pictures show the subject itself. I had to dig very deep to find a few with myself.

Abroad

<During my travels, extremely few photos were taken of me, and even less often did I take a selfie. I am/was far more interested in capturing everything else. Here are some of the very few that show me, along with some others I added randomly.

A very special place

In South America, I drove many times above 5,000 m and traveled above 4,000 m for weeks. But once, I had the opportunity to drive up to 5,752 m (18,871 feet) on Cerro Uturuncu in Bolivia by myself. All pictures are from this mountain or the surrounding area.

Others

Private / My girlfriend

We met on a flight from London to Santiago de Chile in 2018. One of the advantages of the British Airways forward-backward cabin layout is that you can see each other with the divider down. So, we sat across from each other.
She is from London, UK, and we talked a lot. After landing, I was surprised to learn that she was born in Germany. She spent just a few days in Chile and then went to Argentina. Meanwhile, I was driving further south on the Carretera Austral. After a few days, we decided to meet and travel together. I crossed the border into Argentina and drove to Bariloche. She took a flight to Bariloche, and so it started. We traveled together further south and back into Chile, all the way down to Villa O'Higgins (I rented a house for a few days, and a cat lived with us). The Carretera Austral is fantastic. I drove this road in 2003, and it was an adventure. Sadly, it is now partly a paved road, and much of the charm is gone. After three weeks together, I drove her to Esquel in Argentina, and she flew back to Buenos Aires and from there back home to London. My journey continued for a few more weeks with many high-pass border crossings between Argentina and Chile, including trips to Easter Island and Paraguay. We became a couple. I fly to her in London, she flies to me in Germany, and we travel together.

All pictures and footage © Achim Baqué. Any form of reprint or reproduction (including excerpts) only with written permission.