Alastair Humphreys

EasyJet Adventure

Al Humphreys — Mon, 14 May 2012 10:09:43 +0000

At first I hesitated to write this piece as I have not travelled very widely in Europe. But then I realised that this was actually emphasised the point I want to make!
I haven’t explored Europe much because it is more expensive to travel in than other parts of the world. And it is close to home and an easy, comfortable place to explore. All good reasons to “save” Europe until I am old.

However I also don’t believe in putting off things in life: you never know how long you have left. Also I don’t always have the time or money to go on long journeys halfway across the world. And, thirdly, I have already proved to myself that you do not need a lot of money to explore Europe and that it is not merely the preserve of old folk on bus tours.

A few years ago EasyJet ran an offer to fly to Spain for £5. That sounded so absurd as to be essential. My friend and I arrived in Spain with no plan and no agenda, except to have an adventure and to spend less than £5 in our week in Spain.

Walking out of the airport we stuck out our thumbs and began hitch-hiking. If you have no plan, let someone else make it for you. A car stopped. Picked us up. Drove us to Ronda. We got out. I had never heard of Ronda before, but those of you who have been there will know it’s a pretty great spot for a couple of hitch-hikers to arrive in.
“What next?” we wondered. Perhaps due a chronic lack of imagination, we decided to walk back to the airport. But in a straight line. Cross-country.
We set off on what turned into a pretty epic week of scrambling up and down steep hillsides, buying bread in tiny, sleepy villages, pinching occasional oranges from trees (Sorry! ¡Lo Siento!). We followed our noses, slept under the stars, cooked pasta on campfires, chatted to farmers surprised to see us far from the tourist trail. It was a magical week. The last night we slept in sewage pipes (clean ones!) in a builders’ yard on the outskirts of Malaga. But that’s another story. We flew home hungry and smelly, but it was one of the best adventures I’ve ever had.

That anecdote should prove my point: that if you are short of time and money, but eager for travelling someplace new, then don’t neglect the idea of an EasyJet Adventure (other cheap but irritating airlines are available).

I am sure that readers will have many more suggestions than I do, but here are some fabulous EasyJet destinations that I can recommend. There are so, so many more as well!

Sharm el-Sheikh – the idea that we live only a few hours from Africa is very exciting! Fly to there, walk to the Pyramids?
Chosen purely because of the evocativeness of the two names: fly into Casablanca, then make your way by local buses to Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport, named after one of the greatest travellers of them all.
Amman – Jordan is one of my favourite countries for coming a feeling of the exotic unknown with amazing sights, great food and lovely people.
Istanbul. The very hub of the world for so many centuries. If you can’t think of an adventure setting out from there I would be very disappointed! One of my favourite cities.
Anywhere in the former Yugoslavia. These little countries are under-rated and under-explored. I love the little villages, the photogenic farmers, the woods and hayricks. And I love the vibrant cities with all the street culture and strong coffee you expect from a visit to southern Europe.
Gibraltar. Take a tent, buy the cheapest bike you can find (under £100) and cycle home.
New for 2012: Reykjavík. Iceland is right up there with India as my favourite country in the world. High praise indeed for somewhere less than three hours away from dreary old England!
Málaga. Where it all began for me!

What other suggestions do you have?

This post originally appeared in Wanderlust.

Caine’s Arcade

Al Humphreys — Fri, 11 May 2012 09:02:58 +0000

OK, so if I was to sum up what my blog is really about, I guess I’d say:

Dream Big
Start Small
…but do Start
Work hard at it
Be clever and imaginative with it
Persevere, perspire, innovate
Do what you Love
Do it because you love it, not for fame or fortune or praise or prestige

Do all this and I reckon things’ll turn out alright in the end.

A bit like this film. Definitely the best 10 minutes you’ll spend today…

No related posts.

The Pre-Expedition Jitters

Al Humphreys — Thu, 10 May 2012 08:03:50 +0000

Dan Martin is about to swim the Atlantic Ocean. Yes, you read that right. This is a trip that boggles my mind. I asked him to write a few words so that people who follow my blog will learn about his trip and follow Dan’s progress…

jit·ter

noun

1. jitters, nervousness; a feeling of fright or uneasiness
verb (used without object)
2. to behave nervously.

The fear. The self doubt. The jitters. Everyone gets them. If you don’t get them then you’re not trying hard enough! I had them before both the marathons I’ve run-more on the second as I knew what was coming! On my bike ride from London to Cape Town they got so bad that I brought the trip forward by a month! I brought the second trip from Korea to Cape Town forward by a week too just to get it all started!

In the days and weeks running up to an expedition your mind is in overdrive day and night thinking through all the worst case scenarios. The “what if’s” haunt your dreams and it’s all people ever ask about.

What if you get shot?
What if you get attacked?
What if you can’t find food/water/shelter?
What if you get sick/injured?

Before I started my first big bike ride I e-mailed Al and asked him for advice-he said that the hardest part is getting out your front door. I didn’t believe him at the time but he’s spot on.

Once you’re out your front door, once you’ve started the hypotheticals fade and the day to day management of the trip takes over. I know this will happen on this trip but here I am less than a week from starting my Global Triathlon by swimming the Atlantic and I’m nearly paralysed with fear and riddled with doubt.

But I’ll make it.

You can follow Dan’s trip in these ways:

His website

Twitter – @danmartinadv

YouTube

What to Pack for a Microadventure

Al Humphreys — Mon, 07 May 2012 10:34:30 +0000

It’s been more than fifteen years since I began enjoying sleeping in wild and wonderful places. I guess I’ve spent about a thousand nights sleeping outdoors. Out of all those probably only about ten have been in a ‘proper’ campsite.

I’ve slept on top of England’s highest mountain on New Year’s Eve and on the northern tip of Britain in midsummer week.

I have also spent many nights without a tent -bivvying- and these are often the most magical of all. (Not always, mind!). I’ve bivvied on hill tops, seashores, even on a swimming platform out at sea and in sewage pipes (clean ones) on three continents!

So I know how easy, safe, simple, fun, rewarding and invigorating sleeping wild can be. It is one reason why I came up with the idea of microadventures to try to encourage people to give these things a try. But I completely understand how someone who has never done it might think otherwise.
Therefore I hope that this article will help encourage wild-campers to give a microadventure a try by explaining how to do it all, and answering a few common worries.

What is a bivvy bag and wild camping?

A bivvy bag (bivouac bag) is a waterproof outer layer for a sleeping bag. If you live somewhere it doesn’t rain (ie Not Wales) then you don’t need one, and you can just lie out smugly in your sleeping bag. For a one-off bivvy microadventure a cheap orange survival bag is fine (your sleeping bag will get a bit damp on the outside from condensation). That’s what I used on our howies microadventure last week. A better option is one from Alpkit for about £30.

Wild camping is camping away from a proper campsite, out in the wild.

Is wild camping legal?

It’s completely legal in Scotland and, elsewhere in the world, nobody has ever complained, told me off, arrested me, or been in the slightest bit concerned. In the same way that nobody would mind you having an afternoon snooze on the beach, nobody minds wild camping, so long as you’re not on private land, near someone’s home, or otherwise being annoying.

Is it safe?

Assuming you are out in the countryside, away from people then a night out under the stars is about as safe as a night can be. I will admit to the occasional night when strange noises in the woods have spooked me a little, but that is only the fault of an over-active imagination and a youth frittered on late-night horror movies! This goes away after a couple of nights. If you’re out there with a friend it’s even easier.

Where will I sleep?

Finding spots to wild camp is an art form! It’s also all about compromise: sheltered in an old barn or under a cliff in case of rain versus a full canopy of stars out in the open if it doesn’t rain. Getting out of the wind will keep you much warmer, so if you’re bivvying on a hilltop (my very favourite place) then consider dropping just a few metres down the leeward side. If you’re sleeping on a beach sleep above the high-tide mark or else you might win a Darwin Award.

You can find safe, snug wild camping spots surprisingly close to towns and villages too. Follow a footpath just a short distance away from a road then nip behind a hedge or a clump of trees. You’ll feel very open, conspicuous and slightly silly as you lie down to sleep but you’ll soon relax and enjoy the novelty of being right out in nature.

How do I use a bivvy bag?

Shove your sleeping bag into the bivvy bag. You can, if you wish, put the sleeping mat in there as well, but I find that’s too cramped. Snuggle in and sleep. If it rains in the night just snuggle even deeper, pull the bag over your head and leave just a little hole for your mouth otherwise you end up getting way too hot!

What do I need to take on a microadventure?

The whole point of microadventures is that you do not need much time, money or specialised equipment. The trip I did with howies is a perfect example – we left their office at the end of the day’s work, rode out of town wearing small backpacks, had a great adventure, and were back at the office ready for work the next morning. Granted, not every workplace will allow you to ride your bike round the office or wear merino cycling stuff as you work, but these are minor problems! A bundled up suit makes a great pillow…

Here then is an idea for a microadventure and the stuff you’ll need:

Leave work
Cycle / walk / run / paddle / swim, even drive (if you must) out of town
Climb a hill / go to the beach / find a lake
Eat
Relax
Campfire (where appropriate)
Sleep
Wake up
Find a lake / river / lido / ocean for a quick skinny dip.
Cycle / walk / run / paddle / swim, even drive (if you must) back into town
Greasy Spoon cafe
Back to work
Ask your colleagues if they did anything interesting last night

Basic Kit List

Bike
Rucksac
Sleeping bag
Cheap orange survival bag
Cheap foam sleeping mat
Torch
Rain coat
Wooly hat
Warm clothes for night (use a spare jumper as pillow)
Food and drink that doesn’t need cooking
Water bottle
Toothpaste with toothpaste already applied and wrapped in clingfilm
Matches to light a campfire
Notebook – even if you never write a diary this is a really good chance to jot down a few observations, thoughts, resolutions
Camera – for smug self portrait

Next Step Up: take all the above plus…

Camping Stove
Pan
Pasta and sauce / pesto, Super Noodles, Pot Noodle etc.
Spoon
Proper bivvy bag (instead of orange bag)

Luxury Additions: take all the above plus…

Inflatable sleeping mat instead of foam mat
Espresso maker
Pillow
Single Malt
Clean pants

Even if you have never cycled or walked ten miles before, even if you have never wild camped (or even if you have never camped) I really urge you to give this a try on a nice warm, dry summer’s evening.

The very worst thing that’s likely to happen is that you get back to work the next morning a bit tired. Far more likely is that you will be thrilled to discover wildness, nature and beauty on your doorstep. You’ll probably enjoy it so much that next time you’ll take the whole office with you as well!

Do a Handful of Excellent Things

Al Humphreys — Fri, 04 May 2012 09:00:26 +0000

I came across the work of Jonathan Harris ages ago through his wonderful Whale Hunt storytelling experiment. It is a website I often return to when I’m trying to hatch an imaginative plan.

Today though I want to share something from his fantastic photo a day project.

I really wanted to flag up these wise words. They’re pretty important:

You will become known for doing what you do. This may sound obvious, but it is a useful thing to realize. Many people seem to think they must endure a “rite of passage” which, once passed, will allow them to do the kind of work they want to do. Then they end up disappointed that this day never comes. Find a way to do the work you want to do, even if it means working nights and weekends. Once you’ve done a handful of excellent things in a given way, you will become known as the person who does excellent things in that given way. And that’s the person you want to be, because then people will hire you to be that person.

As some of you may know I took a photo a day in 2009 and it was one of the most rewarding creative things I have done. It certainly made me better as a photographer, and it is a great record of my year. Even now I can remember every single day when I look through the photos.

Why not try it yourself, if only for a week or a month?