MAR DEL PLATA.- On November 15 of next year, ten years will have passed since the sinking of the ARA San Juan submarine, which occurred as it was heading north off the Patagonian coast. That day, with the dream of a crowd cheering him on and welcoming him in La Quiaca, Jujuy, retired Navy captain Guillermo Tibaldi hopes to complete 5,200 kilometers on foot along the iconic Route 40, from end to end, and from there pay tribute to the 44 crew members who died with a memorial like the ones he has already organized and built in Mar del Plata and at the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego. This new journey, named "La 40 por los 44" (Route 40 for the 44), is the third one undertaken by this submariner who commanded that same vessel between 2002 and 2003. In 2019 he already reached the summit of Aconcagua and there he flew an Argentine flag in honor of his comrades who fell in the line of duty and in defense of the homeland. In 2024 he overcame another grueling challenge: a walk-run of more than 3,000 kilometers from the Mar del Plata Naval Base, where the submarine was usually moored, to Puerto Almanza, the country's last corner from which the vessel set sail and was last seen navigating. "Erecting the third memorial in La Quiaca will make it possible to unite the southern and northern ends of the country and the Atlantic coast, thus achieving a symbolic embrace of all of Argentina, and through a QR code installed there, people will be able to learn the story of the ARA San Juan and of its 44 heroes," Tibaldi tells LA NACION, as he begins to coordinate a departure planned for March of next year, while at the same time intensifying his training for a more than demanding physical effort that will find him on the road approaching his 72nd birthday. Tibaldi during his training. Mauro V. Rizzi In addition to the ultimate purpose of paying tribute to the vessel's final crew, Tibaldi focused on ensuring that his adventure carries additional values that resonate with the effort and commitment of naval officers. That is why, on his last walk-run, he made stops in every town he could to visit schools, talk about his naval experience, and explain the role of the Argentine Navy and the defense of the country's maritime interests. He will do the same along Route 40. At the same time, on that occasion, he also carried out his journey with a charitable goal that he was able to fulfill thanks to contributions from the community at large: three diapers for every kilometer he covered, a donation received by the regional hospital of Ushuaia. In this "La 40 por los 44" experience, he has also set out to add this extra element. In this case, his intention is to deliver school supplies and books to educational institutions in each of the towns he passes through, a campaign that will have the support of the Ruta 40 Foundation. Tibaldi in Mar del Plata. Mauro V. Rizzi The challenge, he says, excites him. On this occasion he will have to take his first steps from Cabo Vírgenes, on the shores of the Strait of Magellan, and from there cross 11 provinces to a final stretch that will place him at the foot of the Andes mountain range and uphill, until reaching his destination after climbing to nearly 5,000 meters above sea level. The travel plan, he estimates, will take him 241 days. Just like the one he managed to place in front of the Mar del Plata Naval Base and the one built in Puerto Almanza, the memorial he is planning for La Quiaca includes a "time capsule." It is a watertight compartment in which messages from the community and from those who contributed to the project are stored. In all cases, they will be opened and read on November 15, 2067, the 50th anniversary of the sinking. "The hardest part is already done: in La Quiaca they have already granted us the space to install it," Tibaldi confirms, and while he is in the midst of this journey he will keep track of the progress of that work. The former commander waves the Argentine flag. Mauro V. Rizzi He believes that beyond the personal aspect, he feels that this memorial will be the first great tribute and geographic landmark commemorating the ARA San Juan and its crew. "Nine of them were from Jujuy," he emphasizes, referring to the additional meaning this tribute may have. Other of those comrades were also from provinces in northwestern Argentina. He reached the summit of Aconcagua after walking from Mar del Plata. That first tribute was followed by the one to Tierra del Fuego, which took the entire winter and part of the spring on foot along the roads of the Patagonian coast. What awaits him next year is far more ambitious and also more difficult: while he will cross that southern part of the country with its harsh climates earlier on, as he advances he will encounter changing weather and geography that will find him in the final stretch between extreme altitudes above sea level and temperatures above 30 degrees. "I train all year round, but we will soon begin to mark some peak in order to build up a reserve," says Tibaldi about the preparation for a route that involves about 150 kilometers of walking per week. Exceptionally, he can reach 200. It always depends on what the weather puts in his way. The strong gusts of Patagonia have already imposed several limits on him, and he has also learned to take advantage of windows of calm wind to keep moving forward. The walk-run method Tibaldi uses on his journeys. Mauro V. Rizzi Throughout the entire journey he will be accompanied, as in previous experiences, by a support vehicle driven by "a friend of iron," as he likes to describe him. In that truck he has the comforts to rest, eat, wash himself and, if necessary, take shelter for a moment if in a hostile setting and in very bad weather conditions. Tibaldi hopes that on November 15, 2027, when he arrives in La Quiaca, a unique moment will be lived there. Not because of his journey, but because of the flag that accompanies him: that of the 44 crew members of the ARA San Juan who gave the most important thing they had in fulfillment of duty. "The greatest pride will be that they are remembered as heroes, that they are valued, and that it is never forgotten that they did it for our homeland," he emphasized. By Darío Palavecino