I've always wanted to have a romantic view of life, I'm the type of person who could spend hours people watching, imagining if I were them, or staring at the trail of a plane, wondering if I were the one to take that flight, where would it take me?
I've just come back from hitch hiking to Morocco for a charity LCD. Three students, taking lifts with strangers, crazy concept right? But it was actually the most amazing experience I have ever ever had. When we took our health and safety meeting for the hitch I remember the reps repeating how the hitch would re-affirm our faith in humanity, and help us reassess so much, but I really didn't think it would hit me with so much impact.
Hitch hiking is probably one of the most defeating, yet uplifting tasks you could ever do. Our first day was probably one of the best, our first lift a lexus with a financial adviser- cushty right?! Just to be followed, within a wait of about 20 minutes, by a guy who'd taken hitchers a year before. He even went out of his way to take us straight to the ferryport, a feeling of euphoria that I thought we couldn't beat. I think after these first amazing lifts we'd become slightly too optimistic, thinking the rest of the hitch would be just as easy. The optimism began to fade as soon as we stepped onto the ferry, Le Havre bound, to find about 30 other hitchers, who we knew would all be battling us for a lift the other side of the ocean. And to make things worse, all potential lifts were fast asleep. When we got off the ferry at Le Havre only to see the final car pull away (Yes, we were let off last) I have to admit we already felt defeated.
Yet three hours and three laps of Le Havre later the feeling of optimism had returned when a couple of Armenian guys pulled over and agreed to take us to Paris.
Anyway, the hitch continued, probably the lowest point being stuck in a dead end service station, thunder and lightning and hail raining down on us making it impossible to camp, the service station about to close, and after about 5 and a half hours of waiting, even I (who had been dancing like an idiot all day) was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Hitching truely does make you reassess your outlook on bad and good things in life, putting the little everyday things into so much perspective. Every little lift, even if it was from one side of town to the other, meant so so much to us. And like the reps told us, it really did restore our faith in people, knowing that they are willing to pick you up and even despite not speaking a word of English will take you on a 5 hour lift, or go an hour out of their way to take you directly to the ferry port.
I have to say, getting off the ferry in Tangiers, Morocco, was probably the most euphorically happy I have ever felt in my entire life, but I think the major feeling was sheer disbelief that we had actually managed to make it all this way, just on the kindness of other people. To top it off, even before we boarded the ferry we met 5 other people, also hitchers, who we agreed to spend the next 8 days with. Meeting these guys, who had also gone through the same experience, was such an uplifting thing, knowing that they too had gone through the same feelings of despair and euphoria.
The whole experience has truely reshaped my outlook on life, seeing a 5 year old child being forced by his own mother to sell a packet of tissues, just so they can eat, or hearing a girl ask you for one sip of your water, is truely humbling. When you hear about stories like this or see them on tv you feel a momentary impulse of guilt, but it isn't until you see them face to face that it hits you how lucky you are.
True to say, I have not travelled the world in 80 days or reached the top of Mt Everest, but for me this experience has been absolutely amazing. I now feel I can acheive so much more, just knowing how lucky I am to be the person I am today. I feel like I am a true traveller, even though it is one single experience, and can not wait to get on the road again. It's so true that the freedom of travelling is amazing, a feeling that I can not wait to feel again, a reminder of how lucky I really am.
Wild horses, I wanna be like you, throwing caution into the wind, I'll run free too
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