Category Archives: The First Adventure

Posts from the first overland trip in 2014

Excitement

We’re in St Michel! I guess I should start from the beginning, although I want to talk about everything at once. My excitement hasn’t died down from the moment we were lining up to drive onto the ferry, all throughout the exhausting drive through France at night, and even when Jonathan was being eaten alive by mosquitoes yesterday and his mood was slightly soured, I am still sitting here, smiling from ear to ear. This feels more like a well-earned holiday (which I haven’t really earned) than a difficult and somewhat important trip. Perhaps it is because we are sitting in Jonathan’s house in the south of France, he knows his way around here, the weather is amazing, there is plenty to do, the views remind me of picturesque movies, and my only enemies are hairy spiders and persistent flies. Even the mosquitos don’t seem to acknowledge me, which made the situation last night with Jonathan, running around slapping his legs and shouting, even more terrible, as I was standing there left alone in peace. Perhaps they don’t like my blood, my sweat, or maybe I am immune to them, as I used to get eaten alive when I spent summers in the Russian countryside.

Beer on the ferry! So many flags!
Beer on the ferry! So many flags!

We got on the ferry on Sunday, and I could barely contain my excitement as I ran around the deck, asked silly questions about how the ferry works, how sailing works, how anything on water works, and eventually we did collapse into a nap, and then had a repeat meal of chips, as that was pretty much the only vegan option in the ferry restaurant. The excitement only got higher as we ended up unknowingly and accidentally chasing an enormous thunderstorm cloud for about two hours in the night. At first we couldn’t figure out whether it was lightning in the sky behind a cloud, or whether they were fireworks lighting up the sky. After a while it just became clear that we would have caught up with the fireworks, but this lightning seemed to keep moving away from us, no matter how fast we drove. It was the most amazing weather phenomenon I’ve ever seen: the lightning was striking every few seconds, and it was slightly different colored, either light blue on the top, or pinkish-yellow on the bottom. We even stopped at one service area and just stared at it for a while. Because of this strange weather, we encountered patches of wet ground and puddles, or sudden misty spots. I tried to record this on video, but I am not sure how well it translates, I feel like this was one of those things you have to experience.

Of course, after driving through the night, we were completely exhausted, so when we finally reached the house in St Michel, it was time for a nice nap in the shade outside. I was even given the Mexican hammock as it was my first time here, and my first time in a Mexican hammock.

Mexican hammock! Silly hats!
Mexican hammock! Silly hats!

We ended up having quite a busy day after that. Jonathan tended the garden, I explored around the area, we cleaned up the house and the spiderwebs. Then we decided to do some food and car shopping, but on the way back we drove up to the top of a steep hill / cliff, and decided to go swimming in the waterfall that was below. That was a very steep climb down on foot, and wearing a dress with exposed limbs wasn’t ideal, because I got scratched by the prickly plants a lot, especially on the way up. It was also quite a difficult climb down, with the dry earth crumbling under my feet. The exhausting exercise made my thighs hurt a lot for the next two days, but it was so worth it! The waterfall fell into little pools of greenish-white water, probably tainted by limestone. The water was very cold and the amount of insects and other strange things in the pools made the swim quite unpleasant, but after such a sticky sweaty long climb it was alright. I actually ended up getting in the water twice, just to prove that I can.

View from the waterfall place, after swimming.
View from the waterfall place, after swimming.

Now onto the “what do vegans eat” section. That evening we had a barbecue. It wasn’t just grilled vegetables, it was an amazing meal! Using the wok, Jonathan grilled mushrooms, cauliflower, eggplant and courgette with spices and garlic, and then tomatoes and asparagus right on the grill. We also threw in a vegan burger patty and some awful bread from the service station. Speaking of the service station, in the middle of the drive at night we had to stop for food because my stomach was eating itself. Surprisingly, they had some quite alright salads and loafs of bread, which just goes to show that even at night in the middle of France on the motorway you can eat something other than crisps or nuts.

Some of the barbecued food!
Some of the barbecued food!
Eating on the stone wall of the barbecue pit.
Eating on the stone wall of the barbecue pit.

Yesterday we also had a productive day. Jonathan assembled his “Hobie Cat” boat as we decided to go sailing. Of course, when I say “assembled” and “attached to Troopy”, I really mean hours of hard labour in the blistering sun. By the time we actually went down to the lake, it was about 4pm. Then it took us another 2+ hours to get the boat ready for sailing. We were sort of failing with the mast for a while, so much so that even the friendly guy sitting in his trailer nearby and listening to hard rock, came over to us and asked in English whether we needed help. Some bits didn’t require my help, so I went down to the water and filmed little fish, the green things growing underneath in the mud, and I found a dead crustacean, which of course I had to scoop up into a plastic cup and bring back to the house. His name is Kevin. I will include the underwater footage in the next video.

Katana seems to have developed an interest in dead crustaceans.
Katana seems to have developed an interest in dead crustaceans.

Sailing was not quite what I expected, and also I realized I am mostly useless because I know nothing about sailing. I also realized this requires a lot of strength and I have about zero. We sailed to the other end of the lake, and got out onto the beach. As we were coming closer to the beach, I noted the disgusting and creepy looking plants growing tall under the water, and of course I ended up having an encounter with them later. When we pushed the boat off the beach to sail back, my job was to run in the water pushing the boat and then and climb up; I was wearing flip flops and both of them came off my feet as I jumped onto the boat. I was about to leave them there because we started approaching the section with the underwater creepy greens, but Jonathan convinced me to go after the shoes. So I jumped off, swam quickly to grab them, and as I swam back I ended up in creepy territory. I really don’t want to relive that moment again.

All in all, a very lovely few days. Jonathan is covered in mosquito bites from when we ended our sailing trip and were packing the boat and putting it back onto Troopy, for some reason he got attacked by the little flying devils, while I didn’t get a single bite. We also had our first couscous, which incidentally I ended up making, because Jonathan was in the shower cooling off and easing the itchiness. Our motto for food at the moment seems to be “tomatoes and garlic” because pretty much every meal we have eaten so far involves both of them.

Jonathan barbecuing. Look at all the tomatoes!
Jonathan barbecuing. Look at all the tomatoes!

Trepidation

Well here we are – the countdown has hit zero days. We’re off…eek! When I thought about this moment a month or 2 ago, I thought about following up Inspiration with Trepidation, thinking it might be appropriate today. As it turns out the trepidation has diminished and this should be titled Anticipation. We’re about to go on holiday for a week in the South of France after all! Once we’ve managed to clear and clean the house we have a few days of sunshine (hopefully!), wine-tasting, swimming in the Med and a bit of sailing to look forward to. Vegans on a mission can also have a nice relaxing time just like anyone else 😉

OK, there are things ahead that warrant a little nervousness – I’m still waiting on my Iranian visa, and as always the situation in various countries en route needs watching for safety – and next week there’s the small matter of a 190m bungy jump I seem to have committed myself to. That deserves trepidation!

Tough enough for Africa?
Tough enough for Africa?

Katana continuing here. I asked Jonathan a few days ago what was he scared of about the trip, and he replied very bravely with “nothing”. I don’t believe that is true, but seeing as how he is trying to maintain this idea that everything will be dandy, I won’t go into his fears now.

For me the biggest fear is that I might lose my documents. This comes from the fact that to replace my passport takes about three months, and I don’t want to take three months out of my life to be stuck somewhere unable to travel outside of the country, fearing that more and more time is wasted on just waiting. Another fear is that something would come up to cut the trip short. But most everything else is doable and treatable, so I don’t see any significant risks that can’t be avoided or fixed.

We got a med kit and bought extra bits and pieces for it, and I had a fun time going through it all. I think if I wasn’t an artist, I would have been in the medical field, diseases and cures fascinate me! I think the most exciting time I had in preparation for this trip was my first-aid course.

The hardest part of leaving is saying many goodbyes. For me it is an ambivalent goodbye, because even after Africa I am not sure I will be here or there, but I definitely know my time is London is up. Perhaps I will find a place in Africa that I can call my own, or maybe I will get homesick. Let’s see what happens!

Deck Shoes and Desert Boots

Everyone knows that being vegan means not eating animal products, right? But there’s more to consumption than eating…and what we wear is an important part of that. I’m sure the majority of people these days also see wearing fur coats as unacceptable – a luxury item made of dead animals? Well…how about all those leather shoes?  Leather is animal skin too. OK – shoes are not a luxury item…but is the choice to use leather rather than alternative materials not just the same thing as choosing a coat made of animals? Perhaps leather is a better quality material and its about practicality, not perceived luxury or status, or availability?

Well, we don’t think so – and there’s lots of evidence to suggest that cruelty-free materials are now superior to the leather counterparts. When I went sailing in the Global Challenge race in 2004-5, I was supplied with a pair of deck shoes by Vegetarian Shoes of Brighton as an alternative to the leather ones worn by the rest of the crew. Made of a breathable microfibre, the material was developed to have the same properties as leather and yet not suffer the degradation by a salty marine environment that damages leather. After the race,  where they were worn daily on the foredeck and around the boat, that pair of shoes lasted another 8 years of general summer wear – with a fair amount of getting wet in salt and fresh water as well as wandering around town. They were only retired last year as I’d pretty much worn through the soles – the leather-replacement uppers were still in good shape.

So when we came to look at our needs for an expedition through the desert, there was only really one place to go. This time round we’re wearing something more suitable for the desert – Retread Bush Boots. Lets see how well these work out as expedition footwear – they don’t feel like a compromise!

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Of course…this is just one of many companies supplying a great range of footwear – if you’re looking for something a little more high-fashion for a night out in town, maybe Beyond Skin have something for you?

There’s lots of options out there that don’t involve wrapping your feet in bits of animal…

Camping In Troopy

First camping trip. First REAL trip with the full crew: Troopy, Jonathan, Katana. A trip through the English countryside on an Easter weekend.

In some ways, this was a very eye-opening little getaway, but also nothing like our actual Africa trip: we fought off cold and freezing rain on and off, we had no paper maps, so relying on google maps became harder and harder as we drove further and further away from London (bad reception, non-existent wifi). However, we learned how to operate Troopy, we realized that we have space to fill but also became baffled by the idea of an enormous fridge instead of an enormous cupboard (we came up with a good use for the enormous fridge by the end of the trip: massive ripe watermelons). We wrote lists of things we definitely need to bring to Africa that we forgot to bring camping this time around, and made mental notes of things we don’t need. And we had some tense moments fighting over sleeping spaces, coffee grinds and phones not working.

We started off in Chippenham, where Jonathan lives at the moment. Going on some scenic routes, we were going to visit Jonathan’s Mom, and on the way we decided to stop by some sheep fields and cook our first meal in Troops! Couscous and grilled vegetables that we brought with. The cooker is an ancient looking piece of “Swedish design”, apparently NOT designed to be operated in any sort of wind. It took Jonathan forever to try and light it, and once we finally got it lit (with many exclamations of “We’re definitely going to need long matches and / or gas lighter!”), the cooker then took a long long time to try and boil water. It was during this time we suddenly realized we were doing the couscous wrong, as you don’t just dump it in cold water and then bring it to a boil. Well, that cold soggy couscous got chugged in the bushes. Then the new method of boiling water in the kettle almost melted the whole cooker as the flames were jumping everywhere, including the plastic knobs on the front, because the wind was very strong and we decided we should cook outside. Having scrapped that idea, we used the butane Campingaz which was only supposed to be “emergency fire”. Having finally made some couscous and mixed that with the vegetables, we were happily fed and on our way to Chulmleigh (North Devon).

Couscous

After seeing Jonathan’s Mom, we drove to the beach near the Barnstaple area, Saunton Sands. As we got to the sand, the sun was just beginning to set slowly across the sky, and it left brilliant warm and fiery colors. After walking along the beach, we wanted to climb the sand dunes. Personally I have never done this before, and sinking my feet into the warm soft sand was an amazing feeling. We found a large sand pit in the midst of hilly shrubbery, and as I slowly walked/slid down the sand, I noted that it feels like walking on custard, or pie filling. Not that I’ve ever walked on pie filling.

Sand Dunes

After the sand dunes we decided to find a camping site, which proved difficult with limited internet access. After trying out a site with predominantly screaming children and getting quite frustrated, we did eventually find a little place called “Little Roadway Farm” in Woolacombe, somewhere in the sheep and cow fields. This was going to be our first night sleeping in Troopy. We decided (well, I thought we decided, but apparently it was just me who decided this) that we should try out both sleeping spaces, the top and the bottom, so we put the table down and got all the cushions in place, and then rolled out the fancy new sleeping bags and sleeping bag liners. Getting into one takes some serious skills, but in the end I managed to feel comfortable.

As it turned out in the morning, this was not ideal sleeping arrangements for Jonathan. The problem was that once you fold out the top bed and then put the bottom part of the car into a bed as well, it is impossible to get anything out of the fridge or half of the drawers. Jonathan felt trapped upstairs, unable to access things down on my level. In the morning we had a bit of a tense moment where we discussed the possibility of both of us sleeping upstairs, my argument was that it was nice to go off into your own private corner every night. Later in the day we resolved our very (peaceful) tension where I concluded it would be sane for both of us to agree on the top bunk, and then if I need space I can always go downstairs.

The day proved to be a lovely sunshine filled one, so we decided to try out the awnings, which we never took out before. The side awning wasn’t too difficult, except the gigantic mosquito net that is just unbelievably impossible to put on the poles and the car during strong gusts of wind (and the day was so very windy). The other awning, a specifically fitted added-on bonus to the car (by the previous owners) proved a bit of a puzzle, but we conquered it eventually. This awning is particularly nice because it adds extra living space to the car, we can cook in it during strong winds and not burn everything down, but it does take a while to put up.

Awning

After all this hard work we decided to go down to the sea for a swim. It was sunny, rather cold and windy, but we are brave souls, HURRAH! I noted that going under water felt like icicles stabbing you in the lungs. We can’t exactly call this swimming, more like “run in and run out” but we did it, and we feel proud of having done it. Getting back onto the camping site was a bit of an adventure, because the beach was at the bottom of some very steep hills, and the camping site on top of what seemed to be the tallest. We trod through the countryside, across fields of sheep and fields of sheep dung, up the hill on and on, and once we got back, both ran to the showers to wash off our sand-covered feet.

This night was a disturbingly stormy one, and the temperature dropped significantly. In the morning we could see our breathe rising, and the ceiling was covered in condensation. We packed up quickly and headed to Dartmoor, partly because we wanted to catch the scenery in all its gloomy glory, and partly because with the engine running we could put the car heater on. Dartmoor really is everything its made out to be by Conan Doyle in “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, foggy, gloomy, eerie and beautiful.

For dinner we went to an Indian place, and after consuming a starter and a main dish (and being completely confused as to which one of the dishes was the Balti), the waiter kept bringing extra bits and pieces: some chicken thing which we apologetically refused to take, orange slices, two shots, one of some coffee liquor and cream on top (obviously we didn’t consume this one), the other was Sambuca (I braved that one because Jonathan was driving), and then some chocolates. Afterwards we found a huge camping site with even an indoor pool.

(Here are some cows we hung out with, they decided to lick our shoes. Sorry the photo quality is poor, I took these with my phone in semi-darkness)

Cows Cows feet

The evening was spent quietly writing and looking through the footage we filmed. In the morning we packed up, I went for a quick swim in the pool and we headed back to civilization, through Salisbury Plain where I practiced my driving.

Inspiration

April 4th 2014: 10 years ago today, some things were so much the same. I was preparing to set off on one great adventure – to race around the world under sail, against the prevailing winds and tides. On that voyage I would rely on the daily support of people I had only recently got to know well, but that I would come to trust with my life. I had a vague idea from my own experience and reading of others what I was going to face, of the highs and lows ahead – but the adventure ahead was appealing all the more for the unknown. I think a lot of that is the same today.

 But on this day back then, I was also making a commitment to a beautiful person who had come into my life. A decade ago Elena and I were married in Prague and set out on our own adventure. We had so many highs – saw many wonders of the natural world together. Her endless enthusiasm and positivity and gritty fighting spirit in support of our core vegan principles strengthened both of us. We had our hard times, our adventure was not a smooth ride but it was a great one. Then she was taken from us.

Elena

So today, it seems everything has changed, nothing is how I planned or would have chosen back then. But some of those things are actually the same – Elena will again be travelling with us though not physically present. Her spirit has inspired many, and I hope we can do our bit to keep that spirit alive. We can only make the choices from where we are now, not where we have been or would have liked to be. It is Elena’s support that allows us to do what we are doing.

As we set out again, in other ways against the winds and currents – we do so in hope that we can make a difference, to ours and other peoples lives, and to perhaps help the world to be a better place in some small way. I do so, because Elena told me to stay and do good things…and because it’s going to be an awesome adventure!

Katya was there a decade ago, and I’m glad she’s here this time…one of us needs to be the responsible adult, and (since you were excused that responsibility last time) now it’s your turn, Katana. Good luck!