The Top 10 Spartan Travel Adventures of 2012
It’s amazing what’s possible when you free up your time and the need to be in a single location.
My wildest dreams couldn’t have predicted the outcome of 2012. The original plan (launched in August 2011) was 15-18 months of travel, circling the globe while mixing in a bunch of adventure sports.
What actually happened was a frantic potpourri of world travel, randomly divergent adventures, and moderately successful online business shenanigans.
The adventure starts when everything goes wrong. -Yvon Chouinard
While the plan itself was fluid, the framework certainly wasn’t: back in 2011 I deliberately opened up my time (and bank account) to make these adventures possible. It turned out that everything was easier and less expensive than I thought it would be, and I’ve repeatedly tried to convince my friends that they too–if they choose–can do something like this.
Strike Mission: From Budapest to Istanbul in 4 Days
This has happened before: I have a deadline to be somewhere, I’m nowhere near it, and I’m out of time.
Back in late November I was in Southern Peru and needed to get to Santiago, Chile in under a week (just look at the map – it’s FAR). I waited until the last possible minute and then blew through Arequipa, the international border, and all the surf towns of Northern Chile, making it to Santiago via nonstop 24-hour busride (with a day to spare). I even managed to get a few days of surfing in along the way.Continue reading >>