Big Tours
Long backpacking travels
Big Tours start with a backpack, a passport, and the courage to leave everything behind. Prepare your diary and camera, and venture into the world with a one-way ticket or without a return plan until you run out of money.
Is this a definition of big tours or a reflection of my nostalgic memories of exploring the world back in the early days?
Where is the line drawn between travel and a trip?
One-way ticket to adventure
I set the boundary at three months.
A three-month trip turns travel into a way of life. It allows time to explore slowly, experience local rhythms, and connect deeply through language and friendships. Such a journey also requires major adjustments, taking extended leave from work and managing finances.
In the pre-internet era time was running slower, airplane tickets were less accessible, long distance communication was prohibitively expensive and access to information limited.
For me, at the beginning of my travelling career, embarking on an overseas trip for a few weeks was never a viable option. I preferred to wait, accumulate sufficient funds, quit my job, and travel until I run out of money.
THE BIG 3
There were 3 very extensive journeys in my lifetime that I consider real adventures, marked by moving across continents.
In 2008-2009 I also spent 2.5 months navigating the deserts, overcoming potholes and exploring sideways of West Africa, from Mauritania to Ghana. I consider this an adventurous trip, but I hesitate to label it as one of my Big Tours.
The logistics of backpacking for these long trips were different each time. Technology, communication, and my growing experience changed quickly, so I kept improving how I planned and organized things.
Big Tours are significantly different travel experiences
My luggage reduced drastically throughout the years in the process of traveling light with only hand baggage and choosing to go when the weather was allowing lighter clothing.
Traditional cameras that used film rolls for slides have been replaced by digital cameras, and later by smartphones. The internet has taken over the role of handwritten diaries.
Furthermore, a higher budget has provided me with additional comfort while on the road.
The 3 big tours were very different. Apart from the specifics of each region, the world underwent significant changes over the nine-year period from 1996 to 2005. My travelling expertise also developed.
Securing visas for every country in the Americas, except Ecuador, was quite challenging. The process in Asia was much easier and had far fewer bureaucratic hurdles. In Africa, getting visas was difficult and expensive, but I was never denied.
My recent trips have been shorter, better structured, and less regular, yet the primary goal remains the same: experience various cultures, appreciate the beauty of nature, taste local delicacies, and observe my surroundings with an open mind.
This passion reminds me of my teenage years in the 1990s, when I first ventured into backpacking.
