Originally from Olemps, which remains his home port, 34 years old, this backpacker has already discovered 45 countries on four continents, choosing immersion, to taste local cultures. He is currently on vacation in Chamonix, for his other passion, that of the summits, before joining Puigcerdà, in Spain, where he works in a hospital environment, with the status of interim.
Forty-five countries, on four continents. “I have never been to Oceania because, for example, Australia does not interest me“, launches Alexandre Théron, to set the scene. Born in Rodez, in 1988, but originally from Olemps, where he returns regularly since, despite his travels, he has never cut the cord, the thirty-something has two passions pegged to the body: travel and the mountains.
Perhaps a family heirloom because his father, “a great mountaineer who especially loves mountaineering“, a psychiatric nurse at the Sainte-Marie d’Olemps hospital (where his mother was a senior executive), had traveled the planet, putting down his suitcases, in particular, in Tahiti. More certainly out of love for the adventures of Tintin. “Young and adolescent, I was totally addicted to the hero of Hergé“, confirms the person concerned.
After a (short) education in Ruthenia, he first joined the school of nursing assistants in Cahors, with practice at the Jacques-Puel hospital in Bourran in Rodez, then that of nurses of the capital of Aveyron, working, like his parents, in Sainte-Marie. But the call of the sirens was stronger and Alexandre Théron thus attacked his world tour. He started with the Caribbean, before opting for Thailand. With the Routard guide as the only traveling companion. “I book the plane ticket, then it’s the “get by” on the spot, he specifies. I go around, in fact, by feeling, preferring contact with the population to discover the culture, the local traditions“.
The Olempian therefore familiarizes himself with the fifty or so destinations on his personal counter, admitting “a special attraction” for South America. Always with the same philosophy, which he baptized “the nostalgia of the return“. For the search or the flight of something? He hesitates for the answer, hammering finally: “No matter. On the other hand, what is certain is that it is vital for me. I can not live without it. The only downside is the ecological impact when you fly. When you see the melting of the glaciers, the drought, it slows down a bit. I tell myself that I will make only one big trip a year, rather than multiplying the short stays“.
A temporary nurse, he took up residence a few months ago in Puigcerdà, on the Franco-Spanish border, where he works in a hospital environment, “with some extras in the restoration when my schedule allows me“. He will also return there on July 1, after a… vacation in Chamonix.
A faithful ambassador of Aveyron
Single, childless, Alexandre Théron says himself that he made “life choices, without regret“. This is how he opted for an (almost) ritualized operation: “Three months of work, one month of freedom“. Specifying, in passing: “As much as I pay attention to my budget when I’m in Rodez or at work, I don’t count during my experiences around the world. It’s really all for fun“.
Suddenly, he must have felt locked up at the time of the peaks of the pandemic… The answer stands out: “Admittedly, the borders were closed and travel was therefore prohibited. But, paradoxically, I experienced this Covid-19 period well. She was very beneficial to me. As there was a shortage of nurses, I worked elsewhere, in Spain, in Mayotte“. Thanks to this life as an adventurous nurse, he also learned foreign languages, especially English (“Which allows you to get by almost everywhere”) and Spanish, self-taught. “It’s very rewarding, rejoices the Aveyronnais. You should only bet on luck, but know how to give yourself the means“.
This excellent mountaineer, lover of hiking, climbing, trekking, with a weakness for the Pyrenees, which he finds “very wild“, is also an ambassador for the department. As soon as he reaches a summit, Nevado de Toluca (Mexico, 4,700m), Etna (Italy, 3,357 m) or Cerro-Toco (Chile, 5,604 m ), he pulls out the “Aveyron vivre vrai” t-shirt, offered by the departmental councilor Jean-Philippe Abinal. As he also introduces the charcuterie of his Ruthenian friend Lucas Azémar. Brazilians have thus tasted sausage in Bolivia. And were introduced to the “chabrot”!
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