 In Chile , Guevara found himself enraged by the working conditions of the miners in Anaconda 's Chuquicamata copper mine and moved by his overnight encounter in the Atacama Desert with a persecuted communist couple who did not even own a blanket , describing them as " the shivering flesh @-@ and @-@ blood victims of capitalist exploitation " . Additionally , on the way to Machu Picchu high in the Andes , he was struck by the crushing poverty of the remote rural areas , where peasant farmers worked small plots of land owned by wealthy landlords . Later on his journey , Guevara was especially impressed by the camaraderie among those living in a leper colony , stating " The highest forms of human solidarity and loyalty arise among such lonely and desperate people . " Guevara used notes taken during this trip to write an account , titled The Motorcycle Diaries , which later became a The New York Times best @-@ seller , and was adapted into a 2004 award @-@ winning film of the same name . 
