Why I began this journey?

I always talk about the route, the people I meet and the moments that I live with them. I try to transmit what I live on this trip, in more or less accurate way, that in some way you travel with me. But I’ve never explained why I began this journey and the change of life that is it, beyond the brief explanations that I give to those you ask me.

The passion inside me

I think it’s true that a trip of this kind is done because it comes from inside you. I don’t think that you can do something like this if you don’t have passion for something that moves you to leave everything and go. It may be passion to travel, to know people, to change your life, to being lost, to reach remote sites or anything else, but without passion you can’t do something like that.

Sometimes it’s difficult to explain which is the passion that moves you, sometimes we ourselves don’t know why we want to do something that a part of us don’t understand. But we know that we want to do it.

In my case, what made me begin this journey was the desire to see the world, especially cultures that I don’t know. I always tried to see things from multiple perspectives to have a global vision, so I can forge my way of thinking on a range of ideas, the widest possible. But there are things that are difficult to learn and viewpoints that are hard to understand if you always remain in the same place and are always with the same people. This trip is an opportunity to give my mind to think differently or to expand my current thinking, and try to use it to question and rethink everything I know, it’s something I’ve always done but this time I have the opportunity to do more broadly.

The decision

This trip is not the dream of my life. All I had in my mind before the decision was that someday I would travel to certain countries in which people are different from us. A long journey, probably by car or van, through those countries is one of those ideas that have bouncing from one end to another of your head without further approach than “maybe someday”. But in my life I have lived too many “maybe someday” and I learned that this day is not looking for you and will not find you. That day does not exist, you have to invent it.

In my case I had the opportunity to start this with a friend. That was the spark that made this slightest idea would stop bouncing in my head and started to expand on it. As a result, “maybe someday” started to become “why not now?”. It was a project that escaped the limits of my timid idea of making a long journey on some countries, but the idea of going around the world by bicycle began to get me excited, and that helped following the Manel’s journeys , the which woke me the desire to do something like that.

But the desire to begin this journey collide with what I leave behind if I did. My family and friends are an important part of my life and I knew it would be difficult to left them for a long time, and so it’s being. To be away from them is hard, but even harder to be away from Fio, the girl I love. To be away from she is not just miss she, I also have the feeling that I’m missing a part of me, as if a part of myself had stayed there. Some ask me “it compensate?” Well, if it don’t would compensate I would not do it. If I can overcome being away from she it’s because I have enough motivation to do it, and because I know I will come back, and if we see that the relationship is complicated I can return at any time. Is why I continue because I know that this journey as I’m doing I can’t do it later, but having clear what is most important to me over the journey, and I can return at any time. This is certainly the most difficult part of the journey. Those who are single and have in mind a journey like that, I strongly advice to do so before meeting someone (unless she/he joins the adventure).

Why by bicycle?

Even the fact of doing by bicycle was something I had never considered, but did not cost me to accept because I like and it seemed a good way to travel. If at any time I had to let go of the bicycle I would do it and continue this journey in any other way, because my goal is to travel, the bike is my transport method . But I must admit that for me right now is the best way you can travel having time, allowing you to view the world from the roots, meeting people and feeling the way each kilometer without missing a thing. Traveling by bicycle is traveling at the speed of life.

Athens, turning point

As I take route I can say that I have lived through three different phases in the journey. The first two months with Manel was the first phase, in which everything was new to me, I had everything to learn (and I still have a lot). In the second phase, I started going alone, for about three weeks, where I could get the feeling of being totally free, everything depends on me and why not, get lost. And finally the third phase, where I went to meet Manue and Max and those who, together with Clement also, continue our march to Greece.

Here in Athens I will receive the visit of Fio. We almost four months without seeing each other, it is a long time and I can not wait to see her. And though my idea is to continue and I have my plans for the route that awaits me, the decision to continue not only depends on me as I said. Although I have always talked about this trip as “around the world” because in theory is the goal, in practice my goal is to continue the journey while I have enthusiasm and motivation to do so and also while not negatively affect my relationship with Fio. In any case it does not fit in my head a reason to regret, whether I continue as if I stop at any time, I’m really proud (even surprised) from where I have reached so far and everything I’ve lived along the road. It’s making me changing and especially it’s giving me confidence in myself.

In the case of continue my plans, here in Athens begins a new phase of the route, where I travel alone again. But this time is different. I’m practically on the doors of Asia, which becomes practically all the above in a workout. Turkey will be the beginning of a different journey on a different continent, will be a change from what I’ve known. If this journey had started just for a couple of months and I had to choose a starting point it would probably be this. But that awaits me is a complicated continent in terms of planning where to pass and get visas. I decided more or less where to pass, and it may not all be by bicycle, I’ll tell you later.

I want to send a big hug to all my people, I miss you much! I ask only one thing, keep still as wonderful when I come back,  whenever it will be.

Thank you all for reading!