Juan Villarino has been called the King of the Ride! No not that kind of ride, get your mind out of the gutter! Villarino has mastered the art of hitch-hiking. Equal parts Don Quixote and Che Guevara, he relies entirely on hitchhiking to cover tremendous distances.
Most people would think there is no skill whatsoever in being a hitch-hike master, all you have to do is pretty much crack out your trusty thumb and stand there. But such notions would see Villarino give a big thumbs down! According to the Argentinean there’s a great deal of skill involved to quickly and safely arrive at your destination. “You don’t catch a ride with your thumb,” he said, “You catch it with a smile.” And that cheeky smile has served him well; he has catalogued every ride he has ever taken, 2,350 to be precise, that’s about 100,000 miles in 90 countries, which is actually enough to circumnavigate the globe four times!! He’s a glutton for punishment.
If you fancy following in Villarino’s footsteps, here are the countries with the shortest hitch-hiking wait times:
Iraq: 7 minutes
Jordan: 9 minutes
Romania: 12 minutes
The longest:
Norway: 46 minutes
Afghanistan: 47 minutes
Sweden: 51 minutes
GIPHY:
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