Aquí teniu el post en Català.
These last couple of months, we shared our concerns about planning a trip of this scale, we told you about our scariest what-if fears and showed you how worry worms into our heads.
Inevitably, good things are bound to happen, too. That’s what our experience as independent travelers has shown us so far. Our backpacks, and our hearts, are filled with memories of small acts of kindness that made past trips unforgettable. Truth is, we’re actually counting on encountering more good things than bad things, and that’s a big reason why we’re moving forward with this life-changing walk.
What do our best-case scenarios look like?
Some version of this would be nice:
- People will smile at as us as we walk by. We’ll smile back.
- We’ll play soccer or some other game with village kids.
- Folks may walk with us for a few kilometers, and, in some invented universal language, we’ll swap stories about our lives, where we’re from and where we’re heading.
- We may stumble into a festival, and learn about the region’s traditions, dances, music and attire (that’s what happened in Laos a few years ago, and the three girls pictured above remind us of that serendipitous day and other ones like it).
- Locals will give us impromptu tours of their towns, and show us things we would have missed otherwise.
- Maybe they will offer us a glass of water, a cup of tea or a snack.
- Perhaps, strangers will become friends, and they’ll invite us into their homes for dinner.
- They may let us pitch our tent in their garden.
- They may provide us with safe place to sleep for the night, or a lets us crash in small corner of their homes , as they did in Catalonia and Papua New Guinea.
- They might give us refuge when the weather turns bad.
- They likely will steer us out of harm’s way, and show us a better or safer way to get to the next town.
- When we’re lost or stuck in a place where walking becomes impossible, they may help us pick up the trail again.
- If we’re sick, maybe they’ll make us a bowl of soup or help translate conversations with doctors.
- Visas and visa extensions will be super easy to get, stamp-holding customs officials will find our trip inspirational (or at least find us harmless and amusing), and will grant us as much time as we need or want in every country we pass through (This is a lot of wishful thinking; if it happens, it will be a miracle.)
- We will stand in absolute awe of this beautiful planet, and appreciate how lucky we are to have such an intimate experience with Mother Nature.
- Wherever we stop to rest, it will feel like home.
- We will recreate comfort, and redefine and rediscover what happiness means to us.
- We will learn new things every day–about the place we’re in, the people we meet and ourselves.
- We may have to confront our worst fears, and we could come out the other side of it better than we were before fear forced us to consider the hard things we’d prefer not to think about. What doesn’t kill you, make you stronger, and all that.
- We will discover strength and capabilities we didn’t know we had.
- We will find a way through because we know there is always a way through, if you look hard enough.
- We’ll be touched by the kindness of people whose names we may never know, and will always be grateful to–and for–them.
While we hope to not to need much help along the way, we know we will need it sooner than later. We trust in people enough to believe they will offer us a helping hand, not because they have to, but because they want to. It has happened to us many times in many parts of the world, even in places where they say only bad things happen.
There is goodness and kindness everywhere, if you’re willing to open your eyes to see it–and open your heart to accept it.
These may seem like simple things, things that may not ordinarily seem worth mentioning. When you’re on the road, on a trip like ours, the simplest things are the greatest things. And, every kind gesture, no matter how small, will leave its own unique, indelible mark.
Can you imagine all that accumulated goodness? We can.