Patagonia?? Wait, what?? No… again?!
Door: Gerben
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Gerben
09 Oktober 2011 | Nederland, Maastricht
“I’m afraid so.”
That’s what I imagine the gist of the average conversation to be if I told everyone individually about my travel plans for the coming months. That’s why I thought a blog post would be easier. Plus, I wouldn’t feel as bad about going because I can avoid all the stares that seem to ask: “when are you finally going to do something useful with your life?!”
So, I’m going. Where? South-West, generally. I hope to arrive in Patagonia somewhere during summer/autumn on the southern hemisphere. It includes getting across the Atlantic and through the Amazon, which should each make for some interesting times really. As for the ocean – those of you who have had the dubious pleasure to occasionally hear me whine about getting across the Atlantic will know – I would really like to try to hitchhike across it with sailing boats, starting in the south of Spain, arriving in the Caribbean/mainland South America.
Why not fly, you say? It’s easier, granted, and possibly even cheaper because it takes less time. I guess I’m just really curious about how far away those other continents really are, and staring at maps and atlases just doesn’t cut it anymore at some point. That, and it just seems like a really nice adventure.
Now, for those of you that haven't gotten bored yet and are for one reason or another interested in why I'm doing this now, and not later, here's why. My two previous big trips to China and Kenya were each with a goal: I had something to do there upon arrival, mostly studying. This time is a little different. My original plan after graduating from university last December had been to go on a big long trip around the world. I realized that I was going to need a bit more money for that than I had, though. Still, I didn’t want to go back to university for masters straight away, so I focused on trying to get some internships abroad instead.
After getting a really nice internship in Utrecht for the summer, I tried and got pretty close to getting an internship in China for 9 months. When I heard that that finally wouldn’t come through a few weeks ago, I realized I had a lot of time until September 2012, when I want to go back to university for masters, and I did in fact save up some money. I came to the conclusion that the combination of having this much time, a modest amount of money and a willingness to adapt to a lifestyle that can make that money last for a while is pretty rare, and such an opportunity would probably not present itself very soon again. That, the wonderful fact that winter here means summer on the other side, and the equally wonderful fact that the hurricane season will end in November – a prerequisite for crossing the Atlantic by sailing boat – made me decide to try to go in this direction as far as I can get.
Of course, I’m still a lunatic too. But I trust you all knew that already.
Still, not really having something to do there once I arrive might be an anticlimax when I reach my goal. That’s why I picked a region known for some fairly breathtaking landscapes to make up for it. And to be honest, I am counting on some crazy things to happen on the way to make everything more than worthwhile. And that, you poor bastards, means plenty of things to tell you all about whenever I find myself in an internet café, and that’s really all that I wanted to warn you about writing this blog post. I sure took my time doing that, huh?
As for the more practical matters: I’m leaving this Wednesday the 12th of October, and I expect it will be a while before I catch my first boat from southern Spain to the Canary Islands. The first stories to tell will consequently also be a while I think, but I’ll write stuff here if it’s anything worth writing about.
Now, on to life!
That’s what I imagine the gist of the average conversation to be if I told everyone individually about my travel plans for the coming months. That’s why I thought a blog post would be easier. Plus, I wouldn’t feel as bad about going because I can avoid all the stares that seem to ask: “when are you finally going to do something useful with your life?!”
So, I’m going. Where? South-West, generally. I hope to arrive in Patagonia somewhere during summer/autumn on the southern hemisphere. It includes getting across the Atlantic and through the Amazon, which should each make for some interesting times really. As for the ocean – those of you who have had the dubious pleasure to occasionally hear me whine about getting across the Atlantic will know – I would really like to try to hitchhike across it with sailing boats, starting in the south of Spain, arriving in the Caribbean/mainland South America.
Why not fly, you say? It’s easier, granted, and possibly even cheaper because it takes less time. I guess I’m just really curious about how far away those other continents really are, and staring at maps and atlases just doesn’t cut it anymore at some point. That, and it just seems like a really nice adventure.
Now, for those of you that haven't gotten bored yet and are for one reason or another interested in why I'm doing this now, and not later, here's why. My two previous big trips to China and Kenya were each with a goal: I had something to do there upon arrival, mostly studying. This time is a little different. My original plan after graduating from university last December had been to go on a big long trip around the world. I realized that I was going to need a bit more money for that than I had, though. Still, I didn’t want to go back to university for masters straight away, so I focused on trying to get some internships abroad instead.
After getting a really nice internship in Utrecht for the summer, I tried and got pretty close to getting an internship in China for 9 months. When I heard that that finally wouldn’t come through a few weeks ago, I realized I had a lot of time until September 2012, when I want to go back to university for masters, and I did in fact save up some money. I came to the conclusion that the combination of having this much time, a modest amount of money and a willingness to adapt to a lifestyle that can make that money last for a while is pretty rare, and such an opportunity would probably not present itself very soon again. That, the wonderful fact that winter here means summer on the other side, and the equally wonderful fact that the hurricane season will end in November – a prerequisite for crossing the Atlantic by sailing boat – made me decide to try to go in this direction as far as I can get.
Of course, I’m still a lunatic too. But I trust you all knew that already.
Still, not really having something to do there once I arrive might be an anticlimax when I reach my goal. That’s why I picked a region known for some fairly breathtaking landscapes to make up for it. And to be honest, I am counting on some crazy things to happen on the way to make everything more than worthwhile. And that, you poor bastards, means plenty of things to tell you all about whenever I find myself in an internet café, and that’s really all that I wanted to warn you about writing this blog post. I sure took my time doing that, huh?
As for the more practical matters: I’m leaving this Wednesday the 12th of October, and I expect it will be a while before I catch my first boat from southern Spain to the Canary Islands. The first stories to tell will consequently also be a while I think, but I’ll write stuff here if it’s anything worth writing about.
Now, on to life!
-
09 Oktober 2011 - 02:18
Celine:
Altijd blij om te lezen dat ik niet de enige ben die nog niet echt serieus bezig is. Klinkt weer fantastisch, ik kijk uit naar je verhalen! -
09 Oktober 2011 - 06:00
Nijat:
So, u read 'The children of captain Grant"? :D -
09 Oktober 2011 - 08:44
Hristo:
It'll be great trip. Good luck ! :)
Hristo from Plovdiv :) -
09 Oktober 2011 - 11:03
Henk Nap:
ik hoop dat je een goeie boot vind met een gezellige bemanning
we zullen je verslagen lezen -
09 Oktober 2011 - 11:18
Philomene Limonard:
Beste Gerben,
Succes met je nieuwe reis en good luck!
Phil -
09 Oktober 2011 - 18:19
Mieke:
Hey Gerben,
I'm not quite sure that you (still) know who I am, but we studied at UCU together. I want to tell you that I have always enjoyed your travel stories so much, that I think you should get it published!
Wishing you incredible travels is in my case, next to the fact that I of course really wish you the best, a little for my own pleasure as well :P So please stay a little lunatic for a while longer.
Mieke
-
10 Oktober 2011 - 09:44
Maaike:
I wish you, again, all the luck getting where you want to go and finding enough internetcafes to keep us posted regularly.
Stay safe little brother! -
10 Oktober 2011 - 09:51
Hanneke:
Veel plezier weer! -
11 Oktober 2011 - 16:15
Rohan:
Hey man! Remember meeting you at a party last month back when you were pretty excited about your internship in china. But even before I could say bummer about it getting cancelled, it seems you have already found a new adventure! :)
Wish you success and some craziness on your travel!
Rohan -
13 Oktober 2011 - 18:05
Marius En Marjoleine:
Help! what do if that lunatic is your son? The best thing probably is to accept and enjoy the stories on the blog. Your trips have given us a good spin off since today we drove through the Kranska Gora area and the valley of the Soca river, all based on your advice. Wonderfull views and we decided that we want to come back here.
Whishing you to find many beautiful people and places on your trip and to tell us about it.
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