October 26, 2009
It’s been months since I have been able to get inside my head. The constant distractions and lack of free time “me time” have left me at odds with myself. I have neglected my best friend in the world… me!
The vast African continent and its never ending dirt roads have given me back the most precious thing in the world… the time to get inside my head and think and look at this crazy world from the outside. It’s easy to get sucked into the chaos we call “life”.
We have all been taking malaria pills for the last 2 weeks, and I think they are making us all crazy! One of the common side effects is wild dreams… my dreams have not necessarily been wild, but just recurring ones centered around Barcelona. They feel more like visions of the future rather then dreams… I now only wish I could see the winning lottery numbers.
My days have been filled with endless driving, hunger, lack of water and the constant search for directions, food and a place to sleep. We haven’t been making too many stops, as there is just too much freaking ground to cover in such a short period.
About the cars… well I guess you could call us “African Overlanders”. The term pretty much means someone that drives long distances overland. It’s funny when you see other overlanders in their big Land Cruisers/Land Rovers with their fancy GPS units, massive tires and extra gas tanks on the roof. It’s hard not to laugh at how under prepared and ill equipped we are.
Two things are either going to happen.
1) We breakdown or get to a place where we cant go any further because our cars were just not built for it.
Or
2) We make it all the way and realize in the end you don’t always need the biggest and most expensive toys to have fun!
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October 24, 2009
It’s been over 4 years since I last set foot on the African continent. Last time I was here I did the east coast route from Cape Town to Egypt, this time around it’s down the west coast from Morocco to Cape Town… or I should say, as far as these cars will take us.
I now find myself at a place I never would have guessed I would be, at the edge of the Sahara desert. It’s going to take us 4 to 6 days to drive through the Sahara. No guesthouses or hotels, so we will be camping in the sand.
Driving in Morocco is very similar to India, people, goats, cows, camels, motorcycles, trucks, cars, dogs, cats and pretty much anything else that you can think of, jump out in front of you every other second. At this point I’m glad I haven’t hit anyone, although the site of dead dogs on the side of the road is getting old fast… I have always hated the sight of dead animals.
The cars seem to be holding up, other then a few things that have fallen off, but it was nothing important. It is taking us a lot longer then planned, the roads are packed with slow trucks and sheep crossing the roads that have cut our time in half. The Malaria pills have been messing with my stomach or maybe it’s all the street food we have been eating.
Well I need to go get my hair cut…. here are some photos of Morocco!
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October 21, 2009
Waiting to the last minute is my middle name, it’s pretty much the way I live my life. This Africa trip is no different, but it feels good to be with people that operate the same way.
After pissing away our 2 week “getting prepared” time, we left Barcelona like a band of gypsies in two piece of crap cars that would be lucky if they made it to the Spanish border. The only useful thing we had in our cars other then our stinky clothes was some cheap tents and sleeping bags that already have busted zippers. For some reason we thought it was a good idea to leave Barcelona at midnight and drive through the night hoping to get the ferry port early in the morning. Unfortunately we under estimated the time it would take to drive through Spain. 18 hours later we limped into Algiers looking like a bunch of beat dogs lacking food, sleep and a shower. It’s for sure the wrong way to start such a crazy trip.
Crossing the border into Morocco was full of adventure and chaos and cost us 3 hours. I think we have now learned how greasing a palm can get you to the front of the line and save hours waiting like retards. So after spending some quality time in sketch-ville we finally made it to the beach where we planned to camp. We pulled into a town called Asilah on a Saturday night, which was full of colorful sketchy dudes standing on the streets. We decided to drive a bit outside of town, which we thought would be safer. We found a dark dusty road that looked like it might lead down towards the beach. It for sure lead to the beach but also lead of right into the arms of 2 crazy looking guys with machine guns. We either drove onto a military test range or some sort of national park. I was just glad we didn’t already pitch the tents and have to repack them. It was now 1am, which was over 24 hours since we left Barcelona. We finally found a quite area on the beach, so we popped the tents and got some much needed rest. I only woke up once during the night wondering where the hell I was, the sounds of the ocean through me off. So I guess you can say that my trip is officially underway. Here are some pictures from the last 2 weeks.
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October 6, 2009
The Jeff Buckley song “Last Goodbye” seems to be my theme song lately. The line “I’ll would only make you cry… this is our last goodbye.” Is something that I feel more and more lately.
I have been meeting soo many interesting and beautiful people over the last few months that I am really finding it hard letting go. I just wish I had a huge bus and could take everyone along with me and never have to say that word “Goodbye”.
The first 4 years of my intense traveling I didn’t make as many friends. I guess I wasn’t immersing myself into a country or culture like I am now. I feel if you’re open to meeting people and whiling to except new things, there seems to be people everywhere that are whiling to share a little part of their life with you. For the first time in my life I am starting to feel connected, I am now a part of the fabric called life, I am life, I’m not sitting on the sidelines as a spectator watching people live their lives… I am blazing my own trail and making the best of the short time I have here. It feels strange to say, but if I died tomorrow I would die a happy young man… I have done everything I have ever wanted to and more. I am now apart of this world, and when I go I will leave apart of me with everyone I have touched.
It’s sad, but I guess if I only have a short time with someone, I can always say well at least I had the time at all. Instead of wanting more, I’m glad to have meet you and will take a part of you with me forever!
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October 3, 2009
It has been over a week since my tired and tattered corpse limped into Istanbul. After 4 months, 15 countries and endless partying…. my body was dead! I was in need of a major detox/recharge.
Istanbul has turned out to be the prefect solution. I have spent the last week doing absolutely nothing other then getting a tan and going to the dentist. It’s amazing how just sitting in a place for a week and doing nothing can make such a difference in someone’s mental and physical wellbeing.
A week later and probably a few pounds fatter thanks to the Iskender, I feel 100% again and ready for what lies ahead. The “Summer of Love Tour” has officially come to an end and now it’s time for the next adventure.
I fly to Spain on Monday where I will meet up with my business partner to do the unthinkable and drive from Spain to South Africa! We are doing a scout for our up and coming adventure race “World Cup Trek”. The route will take us down the west coast of Africa for the next 8 weeks. For more info check out our site www.nomadicnation.org
But for now all I can say is, “I am ready!”
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