March 17, 2006
This was relayed to me by a good friend, Dave, just prior to my departure from the US. I felt it was so important that I’m posting it from the terminal at London Gatwick. This can be applied to life in general as well…
From Outside Magazine March 2006 by Patrick Symmes:
I once made a rather rash decision to ride my motorcycle across South America. Looking for last-minute advice, I cold called other riders who were preparing for similar hemispheric jaunts. Some of them were so well organized, with so many “to do” lists , that ten years later they still haven’t gotten out of the driveway.
If you wait until you have everything ready, every detail dialed, every piece of worst-case-scenario gear squared away, you’ll never leave. Instead, learn to master the elusive art that makes adventure possible: the ill-planned, under-financed departure.
First of all…
Unprepared. Unlearn all those rules about what not to do. Put your “ten essential” checklists in a drawer, and lay down that gear catalog. Half the information I received about South America was wrong. Maps were wrong. People were wrong. Guidebooks were wrong. Learn to trust your own judgment.
Unplan. Fill your schedule with blank spots, so that you can linger in one place or flee another. Improvise, and don’t be afraid to screw up. I ran out of gas on Argentina’s Valdez peninsula once, was bitten by a dog, and ended up in the care of a rotund gaucho who still writes me letters nine years later. Adventure is almost entirely contiguous with misadventure, and the best travel memories come from these accidental moments.
Unpack. The more you travel, the less you need. Start shedding pounds now. And then, at the very last second, as you are about to walk out the door, remove three things from your bag: the music player that will break down, the video camera with its rats nest of cables. Maybe that fourth pair of pants. Stuff the freed up space with $20 bills.
That’s it. Your as ready as you ever will be.