Wanderlust by Erin W

Adventure Edition No 4

Autumn 2014

4 6 12 Intro

Guide to: Iceland

Spotlight

This quarter’s issue focuses on the

Discover a land unknown.

Casey Neistat, Filmmaker.

Iceland is a country of extreme con-

With over 100 million views on his

trasts and endless possibilities. Widely

YouTube channel, Casey Neistat is

known as “The Land of Fire and Ice”.

a talented filmmaker who travels the

aspect of adventure.

world for his craft.

Contents

14 Feature

Graham Hughes: A Man on Foot A British man travels to every country in the world without flying.

Contents

Wanderlust Magazine is a travel publication, highlighting photography from around the world. This issue focuses on the aspect of adventure and the places where one can seek it. Our previous issues this year have focused on relaxation, culture, and communication. Autumn 2014

Info

Guide to: Iceland

Discover a Land Unknown Iceland is typically divided into different geographical

tacular Blue Lagoon, the Reykjanes Peninsula is a destina-

regions. Each region differs slightly in respect of culture and

tion in its own right.

landscape, but all are uniquely Icelandic. Find your favorite

Reykjavík is the natural starting point for any visit to Iceland,

part of Iceland.

and not undeservedly so. The capital city is world-renowned

The east coast of Iceland is home to the country’s largest

on all fronts; for its culture, history, and natural beauty.

forest, lush farmlands and a range of small fjords and

For centuries, the interior of Iceland was virtually inacces-

islands. Thanks to the East’s many natural harbors, a variety

sible, for years at a time playing host only to outlaws in

of fishing villages and small seaside communities border the

hiding. Via the mountain roads Kjölur and Sprengisandur,

coast.

the untouched wilderness of Iceland’s mountainous centre is

The western peninsula is one of Iceland’s most geologically

now open to the general public—for cautious exploration by

diverse regions. Its natural wonders are a nearly exhaus-

foot or 4x4 vehicles—in the summer months.

tive sampling of all that Iceland has to offer, ranging from

The north of Iceland is truly a place of contrasts. Its long val-

slumbering volcanoes and majestic waterfalls to a variety of

leys and peninsulas are interspersed with mountains, lava

flora and wildlife.

fields and smooth hills carved out by rivers. As one nears

One of Iceland’s best kept secrets is undoubtedly the coun-

the Arctic Circle in the northern latitudes, the midnight sun is

try’s North-West corner, usually known as the West fjords.

invariably awe-inspiring.

Isolation has preserved the region in relatively unspoiled wilderness. Largely uninhabited, the West fjords are frequently distinguished by travel guides as a destination of excellence, and are a must-see for any serious explorer. The south coast of Iceland is home to some the country’s most visited tourist attractions. The coastline itself is renowned for its beauty, and the towns along the coast are famous for their fresh seafood. The Reykjanes Peninsula is a geothermal wonder, where lighthouses outnumber villages. Besides hosting the Keflavík International Airport and, just a few minutes away, the spec-

Guide to:

Adventure Awaits You

Iceland remains largely uninhabited,

Whatever you do, don’t forget to pack

with more than half of its 320,000

a swimsuit and a towel. The geother-

inhabitants living in the capital city.

mal energy under your feet is used to

In fact, a mere twenty-minute drive

heat more than 170 public swimming

from Reykjavík center takes you out

pools around the country, and nothing

of the hubbub of city life and into the

says awesome like pulling over on the

seclusion of Iceland’s spectacular land-

side of a gravel road to find one of

scapes, which inspire adventures from

Iceland’s natural hot-springs tucked

its shores to its mountaintops.

away just out of sight.

But the landscape is not just for gaping at; Iceland’s rivers are perfect for rafting, fishing, diving and snorkeling; its mountains, volcanoes and glaciers are good for hiking, climbing, dog-sledding, and snowmobiling; its snowy hills for skiing and snowboarding; its waves for surfing; its caves for exploring; and its barren highlands for jeep safaris. Sharing Icelandic nature with its natural inhabitants is just as rewarding. Whether you are on board one of the many whale watching boats around the country, taking in the bird life, or trekking around the country on an Icelandic horse, the riveting beauty of the rugged landscape will never cease to amaze you.

Guide to:

Casey Neistat Traveling Filmmaker

Casey Owen Neistat is an American

over 3 million times. Neistat explained

film director, producer and creator of

the film’s concept was originally to

popular YouTube videos since 2010.

show how everyday people make it

He is often seen traveling in his videos

count and at the last minute, without

and makes many movies around the

the company’s knowledge, he decided

world.

instead on the concept executed in

Make It Count is a Nike, Inc video

Make It Count.

written, directed and starring Casey

Casey is also a seasoned triathlete,

Neistat. The video begins with scrolling

having completed 4 full Ironman triath-

text that reads;

lons, with the best timing of 11 hours and 10 minutes.

“Nike asked me to make a movie about what it means to #makeitcount Instead of making their movie I spent the entire budget traveling around the world with my friend Max. We’d keep going until the money ran out. It took 10 days.” The video then begins in earnest with Neistat and his collaborator Max Joseph traveling to the airport. Fast editing of their travels with interludes of inspirational quotes make up the film ultimately ending with Neistat returning to New York City where the story began. The film has been viewed

Spotlight

Graham Hughes A Man on Foot

201 Countries, Without Flying Graham Hughes writes of his 1,426 day journey around the

BBC. I loved it, but I always remember being a little bit

world.

disappointed that he didn’t go everywhere. The second was my father, Graham Hughes Senior, who—while other

On the morning of January 1 2009 I took a ferry from Bue-

parents took their children to Spanish beaches—would drag

nos Aires to Colonia in Uruguay. This would be the first of

the family on camping trips around Europe, popping into

many border crossings as I embarked on what I knew would

crazy places like Andorra and Liechtenstein just to say

be the biggest adventure of my life: the Odyssey Expedi-

we’d been there. On one occasion we tried to get into East

tion, the first surface journey to every country in the world.

Germany, but they wouldn’t let us across the border. Then,

It would take me to more than 200 countries, 60 islands

in the summer of 1990, once the Iron Curtain had fallen, we

and six continents. I thought I could do it in a year. It took

headed back, visiting not just East Germany, but Czecho-

the best part of four.

slovakia, Hungary and Poland. I still have my piece of the

I would be traveling alone, on a shoestring budget and with

Berlin Wall.

no professional support: no camera crew following in 4x4s.

Fast-forward 19 years and here I was charging through

It was me against the world.

South America attempting to be the first person to visit

I undertook this challenge for many reasons: to set a

every country without flying. I got to all 12 countries in just

Guinness World Record, to raise money for the charity

two weeks. As I returned across Molston Creek from Suri-

WaterAid, to have great stories to tell the grandchildren.

nam into Guyana, I remember thinking “This will be easy!”

But the main reason was that I wanted to prove it was pos-

How wrong I was.

sible: to show that all the great travel adventures have not

The idea of doing the trip without using aeroplanes came

already been done; to show that the world isn’t the terrible

about chiefly because people had already been to every

scary place so often portrayed in the media; to show that,

country in the world, but nobody had yet done it without

yes, with a British passport, a fistful of dollars and the right

flying. Plus, when you travel through a country on the bus

amount of tenacity, grit and patience you can—if you really

or train, you get a richer, more rewarding experience and

want to—go anywhere.

you can spend more time with local people. Furthermore,

The inspiration for this expedition came from two sources.

I would have felt dreadful visiting critically endangered

The first was Michael Palin’s Around The World In 80 Days.

nations such as Tuvalu in the Pacific—currently being flooded

I was about nine years old when it was first shown on the

with salt water every year as a result of global warming—

Feature

“Iran turned out to be the warmest and most hospitable nation in the world.”

with 155,000 air miles under my belt. Incidentally, it worked

en canoe) to Cape Verde off the west coast of Africa. On

out a lot cheaper to do it this way.

arrival in Praia, having survived four days at sea in a leaky

The Caribbean was my first stumbling block. I thought it

boat with no radio, satellite phone or safety equipment,

would take two weeks – the islands are incredibly close to

we were all put in jail for six days on suspicion of people

each other, usually just an overnight journey on a sailing

smuggling.

boat. It took two months. There were no ferries; small cargo

After it was all cleared up, I was stuck on the island for six

ships would do crossings maybe once a week; and nobody

weeks while I waited for a cargo ship to take me—and the

wanted to take me to Cuba—the punishment meted out to

fishermen’s pirogue—back. They kept telling me it would

US citizens by their own government put pretty much every-

be ready to go the next day, then the next day. I ended

body off.

up being rescued by a German called Milan who took me

Using a combination of sailing boats, banana boats,

back to mainland Africa on his sailing boat. The cargo ship

container ships and cruise liners, I eventually managed to

in question is now at the bottom of the sea somewhere off

hitchhike my way around the West Indies. I took a container

the coast of São Tomé .

ship across the Atlantic to Iceland and then headed down

Two months later, I was arrested again in Brazzaville,

to Europe. Ah … Europe! The easiest place in the world to

Congo. This time they thought I was a spy. I spent another

travel around. I bought myself an inter-rail pass and I got to

six days in jail, this time in solitary. They deprived me of my

all 50 states in just three weeks.

shirt, shoes, socks, hat and glasses. It was the worst and

Then I hit Africa. I traveled down through Morocco and

most frustrating part of the journey. But once I got out, it just

Western Sahara to the border of Mauritania. There I was

strengthened my resolve to get this damn thing finished.

told visa were no longer being issued on the border. So I

By the end of the first year I had been to 133 of my (then)

headed 1,250 miles back through the Sahara desert to Ra-

list of 200 countries—all of the Americas, Europe and Africa.

bat to get one. I returned to the border the following week.

With only 67 nations left to visit, I was fairly confident of

They were now selling visas on the border again. This was

being home for Christmas. Again, I was wrong. Asia was a

my first experience with African bureaucracy. It wouldn’t be

pain to travel around, not because of corrupt policemen or

my last.

islands that are difficult to reach, but because of visa regu-

After being told there were no other options, I paid some

lations. I wasted six weeks in Kuwait waiting for a visa for

Senegalese fishermen to take me in a pirogue (a little wood-

Saudi Arabia (they wouldn’t issue me with a transit visa),

Feature

then another four weeks in Dubai waiting for a ship to take

and passed me her mobile phone. I took it from her, a little

me to Pakistan and India.

nonplussed, and put it to my ear. The guy on the other end

In December 2010 I reached Papua New Guinea: the 184th

told me in perfect English that I was sitting behind his grand-

nation of the Odyssey Expedition. Asia was done and it was

mother and she was concerned about me. When I asked

now time to turn my attention to the Pacific. I may have had

why, he told me that the bus got in very early the next day

only 16 countries left to go, but they were all islands. I had

and she was worried that I wouldn’t have anything to eat.

to think of a cunning way to visit them all. An Australian

She wanted to know if she could take me home with her

offered me a space on his boat which would be sailing to

and cook me breakfast.

many of the nations I still needed to visit, but after he had

What I have learned from this adventure is that there are

kept me hanging on for six months, I realized it was not

good people all over the world; people who will go out of

going to happen.

their way to help out a stranger in need. I have learned that

Then, in July 2011, South Sudan became a country. I now

people wherever they live are not that different: we all just

had an extra country to visit. I reverted to plan A: to get

want a fair deal. My faith in humanity has been restored,

around the Pacific Islands using cargo ships. By January

although my faith in politicians is even lower than it was

2012 I had made it to New Zealand, where I originally

when I started. Finally, I’ve learned that nobody knows

planned to complete the journey, but I still had seven

what’s waiting at the end of the line, so we might as well

countries left to go: Nauru, Micronesia, Palau, Sri Lanka,

enjoy the trip.

Maldives, Seychelles and the aforementioned South Sudan. I resolved to head back to my hometown of Liverpool and cross these final frontiers along the way. It has taken me most of 2012, but after 1,426 days on the road, on Monday I crossed the border from Uganda into South Sudan and my odyssey was complete. It has been a hell of a trip. Highlights include watching one of the last space shuttles take off from Florida, dancing with the highlanders of Papua New Guinea, a close encounter with an orangutan in Borneo and swimming in a lake full of sting-less jellyfish in Palau. Obviously, being thrown into jail was a low point, but it was the loss of my sister, Nicola, last year to cancer that made me question whether I really wanted to continue. One place that will always stick in my mind is Iran. Instead of the stern, joyless place I expected, it turned out to be the warmest and most hospitable nation in the world. I was treated like an honoured guest by everybody I met. On an overnight bus, an old Persian grandmother smiled at me

Feature

Wanderlust Magazine. Seek Explore. Discover.

ew 2014

Adventure Edition No 4

Graham Hughes: A Man on Foot A British man travels to every country in the world without flying.

Autumn 2014

ew 2014