In January 1952, the 23-year-old Guevara was just a medical graduate student who did not receive a diploma and majored in leprosy. However, driven by his uncontrollable crazy youth, he resolutely bid farewell to his parents and girlfriend, and friends— —Alberto, a 29-year-old biochemist, hurriedly hugged his tent and set off on the road. In the eyes of Guevara and Alberto, the beautiful curve across the Americas on the map is beckoning to them, "Quickly, the front is as beautiful as Neruda's love poem." It was this interest in unlimited exploration of the unknown that led them to drive the Norton 500 motorcycle side by side to start an 8-month journey through Latin American countries such as Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Cuba. At first, Che Guevara thought that this journey would be full of romanticism, so he went from the motorcycle broken halfway to being transported away by the cargo ship, from falling in love, drinking, fighting, and acting as a firefighter to help fight the fire. Every novel adventure made them enthralled, but when the two young people experienced the social and political problems of their Latin America, the tone of their travel changed and their values were completely subverted. In Chile’s "path not taken by humans," the two met a family of migrants who were so poor that even the last barren piece of land was taken away by the landlord. Their "lucky" was that they could find a job in a nearby mine. The boss didn't even give them a sip of water. This encounter allowed Guevara to experience "the coldest night in his life". The world in front of him was so far away from the life they enjoyed.
The new things they felt along the way continuously impacted and changed their views on the world and perspectives on things. The wonders of Inca culture and the beauty of Machu Picchu deeply shocked them, and at the end of the journey, On the day of Guevara’s 24th birthday, they came to the leprosy quarantine area in the mountainous area of Peru. The personal experience of living with lepers made them question-what is the value of the so-called "progress" defined by the economy?
Although the journey is over, the poor people, helpless children, difficult miners, and suffering patients. Ruthless eyes still shock their nerves, at the same time the warm dance of optimistic Americans, the unhappiness and misfortune released between dance steps, and the freedom of nature that comes in time with beautiful music, It makes them hard to let go for a long time
.
