(English version below)
Doncs ja tenim fets els primers 1.000 km aproximadament (ja fa dies). Insisteixo en l’aproximadament doncs és difícil comptar tot el que fem.
Aquests 1.000 km inclouen els que fem amb les motxilles entre punt A i B, més els que també caminem amb totes les motxilles quan cerquem allotjament o quan alliberats i lleugers visitem indrets.
Continue reading Els primers 1.000 km |Our First 1,000 kilometers (aprox)
Our first week walking has been full of surprises. Every day we learn something new, and the practice of living in the moment has taken on new meaning.
We headed out of Bangkok uncertain of what lies ahead, but knowing that we had to stop thinking about the big overwhelming mission of crossing Asia and Europe. We had to shift our focus to the here and now. Out walking, the best we can do is have a weekly goal, a daily objective and an hourly status check to see where our bodies and heads are at. We measure progress step by step, minute to minute and one kilometer to the next.
This past week gave us many opportunities to test this “right now” game plan. What we’re learning most is how to manage our own expectations of what this trip will look like on a day-to-day basis and what our bodies can handle.
Aquests dies hem estat per Bangkok fent feina de viatgers, com per exemple, obtenir un altre visat, info d’altres ambaixades. Però per què comencem a Bangkok? Bona pregunta. Aquestes podrien ser algunes raons:
We’re often asked why we picked Bangkok as our starting point.
It’s a fair question, but we don’t really have a fixed reason why this city and why not some other place. But here are a few things that stick with us:
English version only. To translate this post, click here. Versió en anglès només. Per traduir aquest post, feu clic aquí.
We’re starting our trip with backpacks and the most important things we need.
Down the road, we may consider using a cart or come up with some other way of carrying water for long distances. Carrying enough water is our most important concern, and when towns and people are more spread out and water is scarce, we’ll have to invent a solution.
For now, and through much of Southeast Asia, we intend to haul our homes on our back. The goal is to keep our individual total pack weight (everything on us and in our bags) to a relatively manageable 13-15 kilos (28-33 pounds); 10-11 kilos is really the sweet spot we’re aiming for.
Here’s a near-final list of what we are planning to bring with us. We’re still paring this down, and hope to trim a few more grams where we can. Everything weighs something, even the smallest items, and we’ll have to take a hard look at what we really need and what we can do without.
Our packing priorities fall into a handful of mainstream “survivalist” categories: water, food, shelter/sleep and staying warm, dry, healthy and safe. Since we live in a virtually connected world, we’ve also added digital nomad necessities to our inventory list.
In June 2013, the idea of this crazy long walk popped into our heads and etched something deep into our hearts. Since then we have been getting our lives ready for however this adventure will unfold and wherever this calling we’re stuck on following takes us.
But saying yes to a project-change-of-life-trip-challenge like this involves many sacrifices.
Some of the sacrifices may seem trite on the surface, while others will have a lasting impact that will shift our perspective, perhaps, permanently. An infinite number of small pleasures and everyday comforts will fall to the side, and we’ll have to adjust to a completely new way of living.
Here are a few things we’re leaving behind, at least temporarily, in one way or another. It’s not an exhaustive list, but it is representative enough to show how much we appreciate our lives in Catalonia, and what we think we’ll miss when we start walking in a few weeks.
Fer aquest viatge, començar aquesta aventura, plantejar-nos aquesta ‘meravellosa bogeria’ és quelcom que varem decidir fa molt de temps, per que ens cridava i cremava des del més profund dels nostres cors i cervells.
Molt afortunadament nosaltres tenim una vida privilegiada on no som materialment rics, però sí que ho som en experiències, en entorn i en qualitat de vida. Així doncs, algú es podria pensar que ens llencem a la piscina (o millor dit, tenint en compte la magnitud del repte plantejat, ens llencem a l’oceà) per que no estem a gust a casa. Potser algú es pensa que afrontem aquest repte per que fugim de la nostra realitat, de les nostres famílies, de la nostra societat, país o entorn.
Cadascú és molt lliure de pensar el que vulgui, faltaria més, però la realitat és que malgrat la nostra privilegiada vida, emprenem aquest projecte-viatge-repte-canvi de vida a costa de molts sacrificis. Alguns d’ells, molt importants per a nosaltres.
Click here for the English version.
Des de que hem entrat a la tardor, la planificació i totes les gestions relacionades amb la nostra aventura es van precipitant ràpidament. Ens trobem engolits en una cascada de petites i grans gestions amb les que bàsicament estem empaquetant les nostres vides a Catalunya. Les nostres tan estimades i privilegiades vides!
Aquí teniu el post en Català.
Since the calendar flipped to fall, trip planning has taken on a frenzied pace, centered mostly around temporarily closing down a life we love in Barcelona and doing a gazillion administrative things that need to be done before traveling.
Aquí teniu el post en Català.
There is so much to fear about a trip of this magnitude. The sheer amount of uncertainty and what-if, worst-case scenario thinking is maddening. News headlines scream all the terrible things we could face just about everywhere or anywhere we go.
But, like you, we have to filter out the news reports and keep moving through our day-to-day lives, hoping to remain unscathed. We’ll have to do the more or less the same thing when we’re walking.
Even so, now’s the time to ask some of the hardest questions we’ve ever thought about and figure out how to stare fear down.