Some solo travel is a tad more difficult than I'd care to do. For instance, a British ex-Army officer is in the midst of walking the length of the Amazon River in South America.
That's, um, 4,000 miles. As the crocodile swims. But longer, really, since the river widens in many places and Ed Stafford can't always take the shortest route. By February, Stafford had passed the halfway point.
He's accompanied by a guide named Cho, so though he started out solo in April 2008, he now has someone along on the trip.
When I set out solo, I usually go to some cushy place with all the amenities. And often meet up with a guide, too. Stafford, on the other hand, has had to deal with venomous snakes, flooding, electric eels, piranhas and jaguars.
It likely was difficult to get friends to come along. (And I thought I had a tough time getting people to join me in my early travel days?)
Did Stafford say, "Hey, want to take several years and walk the Amazon with me? What do you mean you can't get off work?"
Stafford's trip was written up in the new Ripley's Believe It or Not. I received a press copy from the publisher. Now I'm looking at the other things
Again, you think YOU have trouble finding someone to come along on your crazy trips?
How about joining Edwin Shackleton, 82, a retired British aircraft engineer who traveled on 100 types of transportation in six or so months? He went by car, balloon, rickshaw, chairlift, police car, quad bike and sled, among other modes of getting from Point A to Point B.
And, in other 4,000-plus mile journeys...
... a British woman named Sarah Outen, rowed solo across the Indian Ocean from Australia to Mauritius. It took 124 days.
I'm not here to sell the book or suggest you do nutty journeys. But it does put solo travel in
As opposed, say, to sprinting up Mt. Chimborazo carrying an alpaca and a dozen naranjillas? (Hey, if you're looking to make the record books...)
Photo: Courtesy of Ripley Publishing
I'm with you. I admire people who go on those adventures alone, but no way would I do that. Especially the Amazon, where there are about 17 million species of animals that can kill you in seconds. I'd like to live to tell about my solo travels, thank you very much.
Posted by: Gray | September 15, 2010 at 10:14 AM
Gray,
Agreed! People think I'm adventurous but it's only in that "soft" kind of way. I like to see and experience new things. Not risk death.
E
Posted by: Ellen | September 15, 2010 at 10:50 AM
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Posted by: George | September 21, 2010 at 11:42 AM
WOW! That's some crazy solo journeys, don't know which one is more adventurous. I think that traveling solo is definitely fun, one must have the right attitude, be open-minded, yet cautious, and learn to connect with oneself. Thanks for sharing, can't wait to browse through that interesting book ;)
Posted by: Bangkok Travel | September 22, 2010 at 10:50 AM
Thanks George. I'll email you.
Bangkok - I'll stick to the tamer journeys and read about the wild and crazy ones in those books!
E
Posted by: Ellen | September 22, 2010 at 11:13 AM