Today we will go through the Africa of Kings and Kings – I don’t think Queens are a thing there – where coronations still happened and each territory has its leader. Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon and Congo were the backdrop of their last four months and that is exactly where we are traveling today.

In the last interview you seemed a bit disappointed by the lack of traditions and identity of the countries you had been in. Did this change during the last months? You seemed to have discovered a different Africa now.

Yes, in the countries like Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast, we unfortunately have not seen much culture. Of course we heard drums during the night many times, but we expected more before we started this trip.

In Ghana the culture of the Ashanti is still very strong and they have a lot of influence nowadays. Ghana is a developed country in comparison to its neighbors, but proudly kept its traditions.

Voodoo has its origin in Benin and is still celebrated in some regions. Unfortunately, it was the rainy season during our visit and at this time, the ceremonies pause. At least we have seen a shrine and talked with some locals about their traditions.

In Nigeria we were surprised about the various cultural aspects of daily life. Nigerians are very proud of their country and each tribe of its origin. Most people wear traditional dresses or at least a traditional hat. Then there are the kings or sultans in most regions, which still hold a lot of power. We stayed with many kings during our time in Nigeria and we loved it. They were always very generous and interested in our journey. Through them, we learned a lot about the culture and what their key responsibilities are.

One of the things that surprised me the most was your encounters with Kings. How did these interactions go and how does this hierarchic system work?

In most countries we passed, there was a chief of the village and in some countries those chiefs are called kings. From what we could observe, in Nigeria, the kings were the ones that had the most power. The king has a kingdom and he rules it according to the traditions. They have no political power, but guide the people in all sorts of matters. They sit on their throne most of the day and have a palace with lots of workers.

The interactions were always different and very interesting. The most surprising fact was the generosity of all the kings we met. They always invited us for food, provided luxury accommodation and even wanted to give us money for the road.

When I was writing the tittle of this post, I almost wrote “The Africa of Kings and Queens”, but the truth is that I never saw any queens or women leaders in your posts. From your experience, what’s the role of women in West/Central African society?

Actually most Kings we met in Nigeria they have a Queen and call them like that. The only thing is that they are basically powerless and are supposed to stay in their palace and take care of the kids. Most kings have several wives and there is no limit to the number of wives or children.

In some villages we have seen women as the head of the village and they were respected without any question. In general the role of women in West/Central Africa is very important, since they take care of the household, the kids and most of the time they are responsible to earn most of the money as well. Unfortunately, it seems that all this effort is not appreciated enough by the men and society. Hopefully this will change in the future, since more and more girls are entering school nowadays.

You have been attacked by bees, visited by butterflies and chased elephants and monkeys. Tell us about your wildlife experiences and if your views on animals have changed.

Unfortunately, there at not many wild animals left in West Africa. We hardly saw any animals, not even monkeys. In Central Africa this changed a lot, since the population density is even smaller than in the West. Gabon for example has large populations of elephants, chimpanzees, gorillas and other mammals. Due to the dense rainforest and the inaccessibility of most regions, it is hard to spot them in the wild.

So, basically one has to visit a National Park to see any animals, since all the others are already gone.

If there is something I love about your Instagram is seeing the resourcefulness of Africans. What were the most prodigious cases of “African engineering” you witnessed?

Every day we saw how they fix their cars, trucks and motorbikes again and again. Their patience and talents are enormous. They fix everything, because no one can afford new equipment. We have seen people fixing completely destroyed TV’s, phones etc.

In one sentence:

Benin: The country of Voodoo
Nigeria: Immense population in a diverse country ruled by kings and sultans
Cameroon: Mountainous, diverse country in the hearth of Africa
Gabon: Dense rain-forest with lots of wild animals and high prices
Congo: Diverse landscapes, rather undiscovered interior and underestimated due to its huge neighbor (Dem. Rep. Congo)

Compared to the rest of your cycling journey, were there any different/harder challenges that you had to overcome in the past four months? Which ones?

The fight against Malaria stayed and we had several infections again.

We had to give all our energy and focus to get the visa for Nigeria. Finally, we got a business visa thanks to the help of a friend who works in the country. For a long time, we were not sure if we could actually enter Nigeria, since most travelers skip this huge country.

In Nigeria we were attacked by some villagers while camping. This was definitely the scariest moment on the entire trip.

The border crossing between Nigeria and Cameroon was challenging, since the road was steep and difficult to overcome with our bicycles. We had to push uphill and downhill.

I’m always a sucker for a good landscape. What were the top three breath-taking places from the last months?

Mambila Plateau in Nigeria, the Jungle in Gabon and the Congo River basin in the Republic of Congo.

Africa has been your “home” during the past year. Is there anything from this continent (an attitude, an ingredient, a quote…) that you are definitely going to bring back with you to Europe?

Yes, definitely! We want to bring the hospitality back to Switzerland, since that is not a big part of our culture. Almost every time we have a problem there is a solution to this problem and this is great in Africa. All Africans told us: “Be patient, there will be a solution!” This optimism is awesome and it wouldn’t hurt if more people thought like that.

You can follow these guys on Instagram and their Blog.

The post [EN] Cycling Cape 2 Cape: The Africa of Kings & Kings appeared first on Mudanças Constantes.

Since we last met – and I apologize for the long hiatus on this series of interviews – Adi and Fabian cycled Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and are currently in Benin.

Following them is not only great to increase my knowledge of African geography (can’t wait to play Trivial Pursuit again) but, above all, it’s an open window to this region of Africa that only comes on the news when some sort of big tragedy happens.

I’m sure West Africa is far from being one of your “dream destinations” and that’s one more reason to let them show us a reality we wouldn’t otherwise know.

Let’s start with the mosquito in the room: Malaria. Both of you have had it several times. How are you still alive? How do you feel when you have it and how do you get rid of it?

Of course, there are people dying from Malaria, but mostly if treated too late or not at all. Normally, we feel weak, have strong headaches and eventually fever. Therefore, in case we experience those symptoms we do a Malaria quick test, which is available in every little village. For the treatment, there are several drugs with more or less the same contents in it. After 1-3 treatments with those drugs, we normally got rid of Malaria. Sometimes, after one treatment, the symptoms appear again and one has to do another treatment.

I’m sure you have been learning a lot about the West-African culture, costumes and beliefs. What are the biggest stereotypes and misconceptions you saw debunked?

Actually, the culture in West Africa is slowly dying! We expected to find more dances that are traditional, costumes and music. Unfortunately, we hardly witnessed any of that. Even in the remote areas, we stayed with villagers and did not see that kind of culture. Of course, the people love the local music, have some superstitions and in some areas, there are secret societies. Therefore, Africans definitely do not dance half-naked around a fire and hold a stick in their hands making monkey noises!

On the same topic, what has surprised you the most?

The hospitality is incredible and surprises us every day!

I believe that in Africa, more than anywhere else, it’s the people who make the places. Tell us about two or three unforgettable moments of kindness you lived during the past months.

In Mauritania, we explored the inland by hitchhiking for a change, leaving the bicycles in the capital. During these days, we encountered great hospitality and once a family even invited us for a meal, after giving us a ride. In addition, afterwards the father organized a free transport for us to the next town.

At the Gambia River, we stayed a few times in small villages without electricity or running water. The experience in one village was special, since we installed our mosquito net in the middle of the village on a platform. The chief of the village introduced us to the whole village, showed us the school and even organized a trip with a pirogue to see hippos.

During the rainy season in Liberia, we asked a family if we could stay with them for one night and they immediately accepted happily. After dinner, the eldest said we must try the African chicken and he ordered his sons to kill a chicken for us. One hour later, his wife served us another delicious and spicy meal with chicken and rice.

Now that we have learned about the people, let’s go back to the places. Landscapes, beaches, natural parks… which places have struck you as the most beautiful?

• Sahara Desert in Mauritani
• Wild Chimpanzees in Guinea-Bissau
• Beaches in Guinea-Bissau and Ivory Coast
• Fouta Djalon Mountains in Guinea
• Elephants in Mole National Park in Ghana

A lot of scary looking food has been featured on Instagram lately and you also seem a lot skinnier. What is the staple food in West Africa, what’s the worst thing you have eaten and what gives you energy to keep going?

Especially Fabian has lost around 12 kg since the beginning of this trip and looks quite different. As we are doing a lot of sport and were sick a couple of times, Fabian’s body transformation does not surprise us. Rice is definitely the staple in West Africa. Since Ghana, maize is extremely popular and is available in various variations. The worst thing we have eaten is probably rice with a pepper sauce, which was so spicy that we could hardly eat it.

We eat a lot and accept everything as an opportunity to get energy, even if it’s undefined bush meat or unfiltered water.

Looking back to the time when you were planning your trip, how do you feel it compares to what you are actually living now? Does it correspond to your expectations? Were you naïve or realistic?

It is more or less how we imagined it. There is a difference in a way that is hard to explain. We definitely expected more rain and the humidity to be harder on us. Additionally, we thought there would be landscapes that are more interesting and bigger changes between the countries. We were probably naive in thinking to reach South Africa in 600 days, as we realized that we need more time to discover all those countries along the way.

You have passed by areas that suffered terribly with Ebola. Are there still traces of the disease and can you see its impacts on the society?

Yes, definitely! In Sierra Leone, we met many families who were suffered severe losses because of Ebola. There are many orphans and we saw street kids who will hardly have any future because they cannot afford to go to school. We are sure there was an impact on society, since so many people died. It is hard to see how it is now; we would have to stay longer in the country to get a general picture.

I’m the first one to say “nowhere is as dangerous as media portrays”, but you have passed by several war-torn countries and you will pass many more. Have you ever felt “at risk” and do you take any particular safety precautions?

We actually never felt unsafe so far. The most dangerous aspect is always the traffic, but otherwise we felt extremely safe always.

Has this trip changed your core views on life? Did it change your perspective on what you want to do once this chapter comes to an end?

Time will tell! It is too early to look back, since we are still in the middle of this amazing adventure and it will probably take time once we are back home to reflect on every aspect of this trip and life in general. Maybe we have more clear visions when the next interview is due

The post [EN] Cycling Cape 2 Cape: Into the heart of Africa appeared first on Mudanças Constantes.

The past months have been a cycling version of “Paris – Dakar”, as they have crossed Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Senegal and are now taking a break in Cape Verde (wish I could join!).

By what I saw on social media, cycling Africa really seems like a whole other level of challenge. Stronger language barriers, thousands of kilometres of emptiness and kind people seem to be some of the differences. Let them tell us the rest.

Starting in Morocco, which is a country full of life, diversity and things to see and do. Do you want to tell us about your itinerary, favourite cities (and why), landscape, food, moments…

We took the ferry to Tanger and then cycled a bit along the coast, before we cycled inland to Chefchaouen. At this point, we had to cross some hills in the Rif Mountains.

Afterwards we visited Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech. After crossing the High Atlas Mountains, we reached Quarzazate and then Zagora. From Zagora we cycled the only main road to Guelmim and then through Western Sahara.

Our favourite city was Marrakech, because of the beautiful medina with all its riads and shops. There are many tourists, but it is still quite interesting to eat the food and discover all the crazy things happening at the main square.

Landscape: High Atlas Mountains

Food: Desserts

Moment: Once, a fisherman invited us for dinner and we camped next to him. Even though he was extremely poor and had nothing, he offered us food and water. Unfortunately, we had no common language and communication was difficult.

To reach Morocco was an important milestone for us. This meant we reached Africa and therefore the second chapter or our trip, which we both looked forward to the most. When we entered Morocco, we immediately realized there were changes and we had to adapt quickly to the traffic, culture and climate.

How was it to cycle Morocco? I feel like it’s the kind of country that would attract a lot of cyclists or bike lovers. Any tips in particulars?

Morocco is very popular for cyclists from all around the World. It is no secret that this large country offers various landscapes and people are friendly and hospitable. Wild camping is possible everywhere, local food is cheap and delicious. We loved the most northern part of the Rif Mountains and then the immense High Atlas mountains after Marrakech. The desert was interesting as well and is not as boring as we thought in the beginning.

After Morocco, you cycled for thousands of kilometres in the desert. How do you cope with several days without seeing anything or anyone? What distracts you?

We realized that people have a wrong perception of the desert or at least the part where we cycled. We were surprised about the amount of people living in the desert. Every five kilometres, there was a mobile phone antenna with someone taking care of it and many people living along the road.

Some anglers live next to the steep cliffs in simple huts. Of course, we did not see many people, but every day we had at least a settlement or fuel station where we could buy water or snacks. When we had strong winds or boring landscapes, we listened to music or audiobooks.

You seemed to have some memorable moments in Mauritania. Tell us more about this country that is a complete question mark to most people.

We did not know anything about this fascinating country as well. Mauritanians are extremely friendly and interested. Hospitality is extremely important culturally and we had very warm encounters with locals. The country is rich in resources like iron, gold, nickel and fish, but still ranks among the poorest countries in Africa. Political and ethnical problems make the development hard.

Mauritania offers various kinds of landscapes. On one side, there is the desert with huge and endless sand dunes. In the inland there are rock cliffs and green oasis filled with palm trees and dromedaries.

Somewhere along your journey, you have decided to take a train in the desert. Why did you do it and how epic was it?

At some point in Morocco, we decided to explore the inland of Mauritania without the bicycles. As we cycled a lot in the Sahara we didn’t want to cycle the same route twice in the desert of Mauritania.

Then we read about the iron ore train, which connects the coast to the inland. This was the perfect opportunity to explore the inland by public transportation and take the crazy ride on this train.

The ride was adventurous, since we had to climb the waggon ourselves. Of course, the waggons were full of powdered iron ore and we had to sleep on a huge pile of it. Completely covered in black powder, we looked like miners when we arrived after a long night on the shaky and windy train. Afterwards, we had to wash all our clothes and sleeping bags several times.

Up to now, what were the main difficulties you found in Africa? How did you overcome them?

The biggest problem was to find good food and water in the Sahara and Mauritania in general. In the shops, they only sell things like cookies or sweets, which are tasty, and we like it, but when you cycle you do not get a full stomach from that.

Now that you have reached Senegal, are there any outstanding differences between this country and the previous ones you travelled in (in Africa)?

We expected a big change when crossing the border from Mauritania to Senegal, but it was not as extreme as we imagined. The most prominent change was that all people had dark skin in comparison to only a minority in Mauritania. Additionally, there are more people living in Senegal and the vegetation is greener again.

In Mauritania, there were not many large villages or towns. In Senegal, there was a village every couple of kilometres and mostly full of people. People in Senegal, especially women wear colourful dresses every day. The dresses are more formfitting and a bit more revealing than in the previous countries.

Now, the part I really care about: how’s Cabo Verde?! What are your plans there besides not doing anything?

Cape Verde consists of ten mostly diverse islands and all of them offer different landscapes and things to do and see. We definitely relaxed quite a lot by our standards, but hiked a lot on Santo Antão and Santiago too. There are many different trails for hiking and the ones we did were beautiful.

Surprisingly, the islands we visited (Santiago, Santo Antão, Sao Vicente) are quite green even though there is almost no precipitation all year round. Local farmers are able to harvest bananas, coffee, avocados, papayas and mangos. In Santiago, we relaxed at the beach in the small village of Tarrafal and enjoyed the local cuisine.

When are you going to be back on the road and when are you planning to finish?

After two weeks travelling around Senegal and two weeks in Cape Verde we are really looking forward to cycle again. The plan is to go back to cycling after more two days in Dakar that means around the 21^st of February. We really need to clean our bikes and organize our gear again.

Our original plan was to arrive in Cape Town in the beginning of 2020. However, we realized that most Visas on the way there are quite expensive and we did not plan a lot of time in some of those countries. In addition, we want to travel around the countries too and really discover each country and use the Visas we get. We do not know exactly when we will reach Cape Town. Maybe spring 2020.

Can I meet you in South Africa? Just checked and there are very cheap return flights from London (direct!!)

Yes, this would be awesome!!

Follow these guys in:

Blog: www.cape2cape.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Cape2Cape.org/
Instagram: @cycling_cape2cape

The post [EN] Cycling Cape 2 Cape: The beginning of Africa and loads of desert appeared first on Mudanças Constantes.

Contudo, era certo que em 2018 o ritmo das viagens ia abrandar e tinha sobre a minha cabeça aquela pergunta típica “o que é que vou fazer da minha vida”. Mas não é que 2018 até conseguiu ser um ano jeitoso?!

Foi quando comecei a planear este post que percebi que afinal até viajei bastante este ano. Os destinos podem não ter sido tão exóticos como em 2017 (excepto o Irão), mas não ficaram nada atrás a nível de beleza ou interesse cultural.

Por isso, queria fazer aqui um pequeno resumo, mês a mês, dos meus destinos deste ano e, quiçá, inspirar alguns dos vossos passeios em 2019.

Janeiro

O ano começou bem! Foi logo no dia 2 de Janeiro que comecei a viajar. Estava empenhada em fazer a viagem Lisboa – Milão de autocarro, impulsionada pelos maravilhosos passes da Flixbus. No caminho parei em Madrid, Bilbao, Nîmes e Avignon. Especial destaque para as cidades francesas que são sempre um prazer de se visitar.

Neste mês ainda apanhei um comboio até Lugano, na Suíça, e passei um fim-de-semana a explorar a região de Ticino, que é um pouco ofuscada por outros ex-libris do país.

Fevereiro

No mês do Carnaval e estando eu a viver em Itália, Veneza era o destino mais óbvio. Cumpri um dos meus sonhos de infância e vivi aquele mundo de fantasia que já inspirou dezenas de livros e filmes. Ainda tive tempo de dar um saltinho a Burano e Murano, duas das ilhas mais bonitas na zona de Veneza.

Março

Em Março voltei a Munique (já tinha ido no Oktoberfest), desta vez com o objectivo de ver uma capela de gelo no meio das montanhas. Essa demanda não foi particularmente bem-sucedida, porque a capela estava soterrada de neve, mas vimos o multi colorido lago de Konigssee e a já considerada “mais pitoresca vila da Europa”: Hallstatt, na Áustria.

Por algum motivo que não me lembro também fui a Portugal e durante esses dias aproveitei para ir ao Porto com um grupo de portugueses malucos <3

Já no fim do mês os meus pais fizeram-me uma visita e escolhemos a Puglia, “o tacão da bota de Itália”, como o nosso alvo. E como somos pessoas ambiciosas ainda subimos ao Vesúvio, percorremos Nápoles e passámos umas horas em Roma.

Abril

Este foi definitivamente o mês com a viagem mais marcante de 2018: 10 dias no Irão. Estes dias foram passados um pouco em segredo para que familiares não ficassem com os nervos em franja. Mesmo que não tivessem qualquer motivo para isso!

No Irão as pessoas são simpáticas, muito abertas, orgulhosas do seu país, cultura, gastronomia e claro, a sua hospitalidade é lendária. Foi uma autêntica maratona de 10 dias que passou por Teerão, Shiraz, Kaluts, Kerman, Yazd, Isfahan, Kashan e Qom.

No fim do mês de Abril/ início de Maio os meus tios foram a Turim para um torneio de Bridge e, como boa sobrinha que sou, fui fazer-lhes companhia

Maio

Com a primavera completamente instalada na Europa Central, o meu primeiro destino do mês foi  Lucerne para me despedir do Adi e do Fabian que iam começar a sua viagem de bicicleta desde o Cabo Norte da Noruega até à Cidade do Cabo na África do Sul. Sem sabermos, ainda nos conseguimos ver mais duas vezes desde aí!

E a partir daqui começou a minha grande demanda: ver tudo o que conseguisse em Itália até me ir embora.

Por isso fui às Cinque Terre, que foi uma das minhas viagens favoritas este ano e ao Lago di Garda e Sirmione.

Junho

Continuando neste registo, fui a Trieste e Sistiana, uma das zonas de Itália mais deserta de turistas.

Logo no fim-de-semana seguinte consegui reunir um grupinho e organizar um fim-de-semana na Toscânia e riscar da bucket list os itens “planícies verdes com ciprestes italianos” e “aldeias medievais fofinhas”. Também visitámos a belíssima cidade de Siena.

Mas a maior surpresa de 2018 foi mesmo a visita do Jimmy. Ele decidiu, muito espontaneamente, visitar-me em Itália e juntos fomos à descoberta de Génova e Portofino. Desta vez as coisas correram melhor do que em Verona e a verdade é que agora moramos juntos.

Julho

E começa a época balnear. Sim, porque em Portugal este ano o Verão só começou em Julho! E mais ou menos… Como era tradição desde que nasci, rumei ao Algarve com pais e tios para uma bela semana de praia. Cabanas, Cacela, Barril e Tavira nunca desapontam.

O voo de volta a Milão saia de Sevilha e foi uma desculpa para visitar esta cidade que ainda não conhecia.

Claro que no dia seguinte já tinha outra viagem a começar. A viagem mais caótica de 2018. Com muitas trocas e baldrocas, cancelamentos e multas, lá conseguimos ver uma das minhas zonas preferidas de Itália: os Dolomites.

Por fim chegámos à minha última viagem em Itália. Tinha que ser uma “revisita” a Florença. Como fiz Couchsurfing tive a sorte de ser convidada para um dia de praia com 5 engenheiros italianos!

Agosto

Depois de um mestrado terminado estava na hora de voltar à pátria antes de me atirar a mais uma aventura. Apesar da maioria do meu tempo ter sido passado a enviar currículos, ir ao médico e pensar “ai, ai, ai agora tenho que fazer alguma coisa da vida outra vez” fui pela primeira vez às Berlengas, enfardei pastéis de nata e revi amigos.

Este foi também um mês decisivo na minha vida porque me mudei para Inglaterra. Não estando muito certa de que ia arranjar trabalho, a verdade é que uma semana depois de ter chegado já tinha sido contratada e ia oficialmente viver em Milton Keynes com o meu namorado.

Antes de começar a trabalhar ainda fui aos Cotswolds e a Oxford, a região mais fofinha do país!

Setembro

Foi a altura de assentar. Entre encontrar casa e ajustarmo-nos à vida de trabalho, eu na doTERRA e o Jimmy como professor, só tivemos tempo de passar um dia em Cambridge, onde quero muito voltar para fazer “punting” e ver o interior de algumas faculdades.

O meu aniversário foi passado em Liverpool, uma cidade meia cinzentona, mas com um ambiente muito jovem e divertido. Ideal para sair à noite.

Outubro

Mais ou menos na mesma onda de Setembro, em Outubro ficámos também por Inglaterra, mas num registo mais fino. Fomos até Hampstead Heath, onde moram “os famosos” e no fim-de-semana seguinte conduzimos até Dorset, onde mora a avó do Jimmy. Para além de termos ficado hospedados na casa mais fantástica onde já estive, vimos a Durddle Door um dos meus sítios na bucket list de Inglaterra.

Novembro

Novembro começou da melhor maneira, com uma viagem a Copenhaga. Era uma das principais capitais Europeias que me faltava e o que mais me surpreendeu foi a atmosfera descontraída e estilo de vida despreocupado. Definitivamente um lugar onde se vive muito bem!

Dezembro

E o último mês do ano trouxe-me a melhor prenda que me podiam dar. A minha empresa decidiu “mandar-me” para Lesvos, na Grécia para fazer voluntariado numa organização chamada Home for All. Como estamos a ajudar esta ONG a angariar fundos e voluntários, e eu estou responsável pela coordenação dos mesmos, tive a oportunidade de ir no mês piloto.

Foi uma experiência extremamente recompensadora e conheci pessoas admiráveis.

Agora estou num voo para Lisboa para ir celebrar o Natal! O ano vai acabar com uma viagem a York, patrocinada pelo meu namorado.

Já há muitos planos para 2019, mas para esses terão que aguardar!

Feliz Natal e um 2019 cheio de mudanças <3

The post 2018: O resumo appeared first on Mudanças Constantes.

Today I want to talk to you about a very unique and special project on the island, Home for All. While most organisations try to improve living conditions within the Moria refugee camp (which is very legitimate and noble), Home for All is the only organization that takes the refugees out of the camp. But why is this so important? Because for a few hours a day they are back in a human environment, dignified, safe, comfortable and happy. There is nothing more beautiful and important than that.

So let me tell you the story of this wonderful project <3

It all started, some time ago, on the island … of Lesvos

It was four years ago that Nikos and Katerina, owners of a restaurant by the sea, began to see people walking, all wet, on the beaches and roads of Lesvos. They didn’t know what phenomenon that was, but they wanted to help.

They began by driving these people to a place of registration for emigrants. At that time there were still no camps. They quickly realized that it was not a passing problem, but they hardly imagined what it would become.

The first step was to start distributing meals to refugees. But when they saw that people ate sitting on the floor, they decided to give them a space to enjoy their meals peacefully. Until the time came when they were forced to choose between maintaining their business and devoting themselves solely to feeding the refugees. They opted for the second option.

And Home for All was born

In four years the Home for All transformed. Suddenly it took on a lot more than just feeding the people who were coming. It was necessary to give them clothes, comfort and a friendly shelter. And the “homes” started multiplying.

Today the project is much bigger than Nikos and Katerina, although they are, without doubt, the heart that makes everything move. There are 4 “homes”, clothing warehouses, donations and hundreds of volunteers who help throughout the year and guarantee the continuation of Home for All. That’s where I made my contribution.

I went to Lesvos without really knowing what awaited me. All I knew about the project was that a significant amount of their work was directed towards connecting with refugees. However, being a rather insensitive person, I did not expect it to touch me so much.

A day in the life of a volunteer

Our day started at the volunteers’ house in the small village of Katos Tritos. After scoffing a Greek yogurt with 8% fat and a roll full of sesame seeds I was ready to work.

When we got to the restaurant we would clean everything up and make sure we were ready to greet the guests. The food was prepared by the chefs: Katerina’s daughter and her boyfriend.

Then Bill (the best English man ever after my boyfriend) drove our van to Moria. I only went there twice, but I quickly realised no one should live there. However, as soon as our groups entered through the doors of the restaurant, we only had one job: to make them happy.

Starting by serving them bread, pasta, rice, fish, chicken or lamb, going through intense sessions of Jenga, Mikado or colouring and ending in the delivery of packages of clothes, shoes and hygiene items, during those hours there were no volunteers and refugees. Just friendship and companionship.

And we would repeat everything at dinner. In total, about 50/60 people are fed per day. In summer there is room for more. It may look like a drop of water in an ocean of 8000 people. But it’s are at least 1300 meals a month and about 500,000 a year.

What this project gave me

I think volunteers are the ones who benefit most from volunteering. Yes, we contribute to improve the lives of these refugees for a few hours a day, but they change our perspective forever.

As cliché as it may sound, the truth is that we are indeed very lucky. We are born in a safe country and, with more or less difficulties, we can live our lives without thinking every day if this will be the last.

Home for All is about giving a face to the refugee crisis. Are we touched when we read and hear about it? Most will say yes. But we don’t know them, we don’t know their stories, we didn’t speak with them. They are easily forgotten when we turn off the television or close the computer.

It’s different now. Where are those Afghan girls, who I danced with for several hours on our Ladie’s Night, going to be in a year? What is it going to happen to Omir who came from Iran and who loves Ronaldo, Umar who makes videos with Pakistani songs or that 10-year-old girl from Afghanistan with smart eyes and bushy eyebrows? You can’t turn it off any more.

And we have reached the final point of what this project has brought me: contact with children. I can honestly say I’ve never felt so far outside of the comfort zone because I had to deal with kids! This may sound absurd coming from someone who has travelled half the world alone, but whoever knows me knows this is an incredible achievement :p

They are the kids who need the most attention and who need to forget what surrounds them. A refugee camp is not the school they deserve, so we’re there to give them back some of their stolen childhood. And this was strangely rewarding.

Disclaimer: No, I will not start playing with children regularly. This week was good but it served me for the rest of my life.

How can you help?

Maybe I shouldn’t have left the most important part of the post to the end, but here it goes.

First, as Katerina says, the ideal would be if everyone could volunteer even for at least a week. It is the best way to perceive the dimension of the problem and the reality in the camp.

Second, it would be to make a donation. The project lives only on donations and volunteers. So, if this Christmas you are feeling a particularly strong holiday spirit, here is the link to be able to offer a meal to a refugee.

In addition to meals, donations help:

– To keep all “houses” open and working. The restaurant, the internet cafe, and new centre for women and children;

– Repair the vans used to pick up and take refugees to the camp. The vans are old and give trouble too often;

– Financing new initiatives. The next project / objective is to give financial independence to some refugees. The idea is to give them the machines and materials they need to practice their crafts (there are cobblers, tailors, electricians, etc.) and sell what they do. This project can effectively change the lives of refugees.

One thing I can guarantee: your donation will surely help someone.

Third and final point: you can share the project. The more people know that Home for All exists, the more people can donate and more lives can be changed.

I hope that I have been able to portray, even if only a little, the importance of this amazing project!

The post [EN] Home for All: here, there’s a burning hope for a fresh start appeared first on Mudanças Constantes.

In this post I want to go through the best and worst moments of the European Tour and try to grasp what is the next year of cycling going to be all about.

Since we last spoke, you crossed France and Spain. As usual, I would like to ask you about your most remarkable days in these two countries.

We crossed Andorra as well

In France and Spain, we liked the hospitality and the simplicity of the daily life and therefore enjoyed staying with locals a lot. In France, one of our favorite days was visiting the Dune of Pilat, which was just amazing. While visiting the Dunes we met a German couple travelling by car and ended up spending a nice evening together.

As we love mountains, we went hiking in Andorra and we had a blast. The mountain landscapes are just remarkable. Landscapes in Spain were hilly as well and we liked the strenuous climbs. Many times, we had problems to communicate with people and wished to speak some Spanish. I guess we have to get used to this for the next few months anyway.

How was it to cycle through the Pyrenees? Can you share with us your favourite landscapes and moments? And the hardest parts of it. I think you do now qualify to do the Vuelta a España!

It was nice to actually cycle a real mountain pass for a change. We had lots of climbing in previous countries, but it was always up and down and never long ascents. When you climb a mountain pass, to cycle uphill is hard and demands mental strength as well.

However, the downhill is the best part and we really enjoy doing nothing and cycling down with high velocity. The mountains surrounding the roads in the Pyrenees are beautiful and we recommend it to any cyclists. On the other hand, we did not like cycling through the busy roads and towns of Andorra.

During these last 8 months what were the hardest moments to overcome. Is there any decision you regret making? Any lesson which resulted from it?

The hardest moments were the days were we had constant rain and it did not even stop when pitching the tent. Sometimes, we only felt comfortable again, when we got in the sleeping bag inside the dry tent with some good food. There are many small decisions we would make differently and we learnt a lot along the way, but major regrets we don’t have so far.

It’s official: You won’t be in Europe for at least one year. What do you think you’ll miss the most and least about our continent?

Familiar languages, friends and family, good roads and of course chocolate for sure. Daily work stress and concerns about saving enough money for retirement, annoying tourists and fast food we won’t miss that much I guess.

Now, crossing into Africa, and after talking to people who are also cycling there, what are your biggest concerns?

The biggest concerns are regarding visas of Nigeria, Angola and other countries. Additionally, we are not used to some of the climates. Especially, the rainy season around the Equator is going to be challenging for sure. There are diseases we have to be aware of and even take medications for a long time (Malaria). In addition, it will be hard to be surrounded by the poverty and environmental pollution in some areas.

And about my concerns: are you going to be doing wild camping in Africa?! With WILD animals?

Yes, as long as we feel safe and nobody is warning us, we are going to do it.

How much of your budget have you dedicated to bribes in Africa?

Nothing, we have time to wait and hopefully patience

Of course, it is possible that we cannot get around it, but we will try to limit the amounts of bribes.

In two months, where are you expecting to be?

Senegal

To finish, I’d like you to give us some quick answers. A bit of a throwback to the last 8 months. You can have different answers

Choose:

One landscape: Scotland (F&A)

One city: Copenhagen (F), Edinburgh (A)

One road: Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park (F), Road between Pozo Alcon and Guadix (A)

One host: Toulouse (A), Nantes (F)

One camping dish: Lasagna with fajita bread instead of pasta slices (F), Pasta with Cheese and Salami pieces (A)

One proper restaurant dish: Seafood in La Rochelle (F, A)

One TV show: We watch movies from time to time: The 12^th man (A), Ace Ventura (F)

One thing you are proud of: I still have the reindeer antler from Norway with me (F), To not carry anything useless form Norway to Spain (A)

One thing you still have on your bucket list: North of Scotland (F), Cycle the Norwegian coast (A)

Last moment thought and Bonus Question: where are you going to spend Christmas and New Year’s?

We do not know yet, but chances are quite high that it will be somewhere in the Sahara.

Follow this guys in:

Website: www.cape2cape.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Cape2Cape.org/
Instagram: @cycling_cape2cape

The post [EN] Cycling Cape2Cape: The End of the European Tour appeared first on Mudanças Constantes.

Hoje quero falar-vos de um projecto muito especial e único na ilha, a Home for All. Enquanto a maioria das organizações tenta melhorar as condições de vida dentro do campo de refugiados de Moria (que é muito legítimo e nobre), a Home for All é a única organização que tira os refugiados do campo. E porque é que isso é tão importante? Porque durante algumas horas estão de volta a um ambiente humano, digno, seguro, confortável e feliz. E não há nada mais bonito e importante que isso.

Por isso, deixem que vos conte a história deste maravilhoso projecto <3

Tudo começou, há um tempo atrás, na ilha… de Lesvos

Foi há mais ou menos quatro anos atrás que o Nikos e Katerina, donos de um restaurante à beira mar, começaram a ver pessoas a caminhar, todas molhadas, pelas praias e estradas de Lesvos. Não sabiam o que era aquele fenómeno, mas queriam ajudar.

Começaram por dar boleia a estas pessoas até a um local de registo de emigrantes. Nessa altura ainda não havia campos. Rapidamente perceberam que não era um problema passageiro, mas mal imaginavam no que se iria tornar.

O primeiro passo foi começar a distribuir refeições pelos refugiados. Mas quando viram que as pessoas comiam sentadas no chão, decidiram ceder-lhes um espaço para usufruírem tranquilamente das suas refeições. Até que chegou o momento em que foram obrigados a escolher entre manter o seu negócio e dedicarem-se somente a alimentar os refugiados. Optaram pela segunda opção.

E nasceu a Home for All

Em quatro anos a Home for All transformou-se. De repente era preciso muito mais do que apenas alimentar as pessoas que iam chegando. Era preciso dar-lhes roupas, conforto e um porto de abrigo. E as “casas” foram-se multiplicando.

Hoje o projecto é muito maior do que o Nikos e a Katerina, apesar de serem eles, sem dúvida, o coração que põe tudo a mexer. São 4 “casas”, armazéns de roupas, doações e centenas de voluntários que se disponibilizam a ajudar durante o ano e, que garantem a continuação da Home for All. Foi aí que dei a minha contribuição.

Fui para Lesvos sem saber bem o que me esperava. Sabia que o projecto tinha uma grande componente de lidar com os refugiados e que era isso que o tornava tão emotivo. Mas, sendo eu uma pessoa algo insensível, não estava à espera que me tocasse tanto.

Um dia na vida de um voluntário

O nosso dia começava na casa dos voluntários na pequena aldeia de Katos Tritos. Depois de enfardar um iogurte grego com 8% de gordura e um pãozinho cheio de sementes de sésamo tipo turco estava pronta para trabalhar.

Quando chegávamos ao restaurante limpávamos tudo e certificávamos-nos que estávamos prontos a receber os convidados. A comida era preparada pelos chefes de serviço: a filha da Katerina e o namorado.

Depois, o Bill (o melhor inglês de sempre depois do meu namorado) guiava a nossa van até Mória. Só lá fui duas vezes, mas chegou-me para perceber que ali não devia viver ninguém. Mas assim que os nossos grupos entravam pelas portas tanto da carrinha como do restaurante o nosso trabalho era só um: fazê-los felizes.

Começando por servir-lhes pão, massa, arroz, peixe, frango ou carneiro, passando por intensas sessões de Jenga, Mikado ou colorir e acabando na entrega de embrulhos de roupas, sapatos e higienes, durante aquelas horas não havia voluntários e refugiados. Só amizade e companheirismo.

E repetíamos tudo ao jantar. No total, cerca de 50/60 pessoas por dia são alimentadas. No verão há espaço para mais. Pode parecer uma gota de água num oceano de 8000 pessoas. Mas são, no mínimo, 1300 refeições por mês e cerca de 500 000 por ano.

O que este projecto me deu

Acho que os voluntários são quem mais beneficia do voluntariado. Sim, contribuímos para melhorar a vida destes refugiados durante algumas horas por dia, mas eles mudam a nossa perspectiva sempre.

Por muito cliché que pareça, a verdade é que somos mesmo muito sortudos. Por termos nascido num país seguro e, com mais ou menos dificuldades, conseguirmos viver a nossa vida sem pensar a cada dia se este será o último.

A Home for All é sobre dar um rosto à crise. Ficamos emocionados quando lemos e ouvimos sobre a crise dos refugiados? A maioria dirá que sim. Mas não os conhecemos, não sabemos as suas histórias, não falámos com eles. São facilmente esquecidos quando desligamos a televisão ou fechamos o computador.

Agora é diferente. Onde é que aquelas raparigas afegãs, com quem dancei durante horas na nossa Ladie’s Night, vão estar daqui a um ano? O que é que vai ser do Omir que veio do Irão e que adora o Ronaldo, do Umar que faz vídeos com músicas paquistanesas ou daquela miúda de 10 anos do Afeganistão de olhar espevitado e sobrancelhas fartas? Já não dá para desligar.

E chegamos ao ponto final do que este projecto me trouxe: o contacto com as crianças. Posso dizer que foi a semana mais fora da zona de conforto da minha vida porque tive que lidar com crianças! Isto pode parecer absurdo vindo de alguém que já viajou meio mundo sozinha, mas quem me conhece sabe que este é um feito incrível :p

Mas se há crianças que precisam de atenção e de esquecer o que as rodeia são estas. Um campo de refugiados não é a escola que merecem e por isso estamos lá nós para lhes devolver um pouco da infância roubada. E isso é estranhamente compensador.

Disclaimer: não, não vou começar a brincar com crianças regularmente. Esta semana foi boa mas serviu-me para o resto da vidinha.

Como podes ajudar

Se calhar não devia ter deixado a parte mais importante desde post para o fim, mas cá vai.

Primeiro, é como a Katerina diz, o ideal seria que toda a gente pudesse ser voluntária nem que seja durante uma semana só. É a melhor forma de perceber a dimensão do problema e a realidade no campo.

Segundo, seria fazer uma doação. O projecto vive apenas de doações e voluntários. Por isso, se este natal tiveres com um espírito natalícia especialmente forte, aqui fica o link para poderes oferecer uma refeição a um refugiado.

Para além das refeições, as doações ajudam a:

– Manter todas as “casas” abertas e a funcionar. O restaurante, o Internet café, e novo centro para mulheres e crianças;

– Reparar as carrinhas utilizadas para ir buscar e levar refugiados ao campo. São carrinhas velhas que dão problemas demasiadas vezes;

– Financiar novas iniciativas. O próximo projecto / objectivo é dar independência financeira a alguns refugiados. A ideia é dar-lhes máquinas e materiais necessários para praticarem os seus ofícios (há sapateiros, alfaiates, electricistas, etc…) e vender o que eles fizerem. Este projecto é o que poderá mudar efectivamente as vidas dos refugiados.

Uma coisa posso garantir: a tua doação ajudará alguém certamente.

Terceiro e último ponto: podes passar a palavra. Quando mais pessoas souberem que a Home for All existe, mais gente poderá doar e mais vidas poderão ser mudadas.

Espero que vos tenha conseguido transmitir, nem que seja só um bocadinho, a importância deste projecto apaixonante!

The post Home for All: aqui fervilha a esperança de um recomeço appeared first on Mudanças Constantes.

No verão de 2015 não havia telejornal que não abrisse com a crise de refugiados no mediterrâneo. Nesse ano 1 milhão de pessoas à procura de asilo entrou na Europa, tornando esta crise na maior alguma vez registada no nosso continente.

Mas, enquanto no início as pessoas que iam chegando conseguiam tratar das burocracias necessárias em poucos dias, com o número crescente de barcos e pessoas a aparecer, os tempos de espera aumentaram. Para anos.

O que significa que o campo de Moria, inicialmente concebido para alojar até 2000 refugiados, é hoje a “casa” de 8000 a 10 000 refugiados. Três anos depois, barcos continuam a chegar à ilha de Lesvos todos os dias, mesmo no inverno. Nestas condições, não se prevê uma solução num futuro breve (nem a longo prazo).

Decidi escrever este post em particular, não para partilhar a minha experiência em Lesvos, mas para partilhar o que aprendi sobre o dia-a-dia no campo de Moria e as razões pelas quais é urgente mais financiamento para o campo e intervenção política para pelo menos melhorar as condições de vida dos refugiados. Apesar de ser um tema esquecido pelos media, é um problema que está longe de ser resolvido.

A viagem até Lesvos

A grande maioria dos refugiados que conheci vinham de países longínquos. Afeganistão, Paquistão, Camarões ou Congo são alguns dos exemplos. Só para chegar à Europa, sabe-se lá o que passaram. Trazidos por contrabandistas, é-lhes vendida uma mentira. Vêm em busca do sonho: morar num país seguro, onde possam trabalhar, viver e talvez sustentar as suas famílias.

Viajam ilegalmente, enganados por aqueles que lhes garantem uma passagem segura para a Europa. Não sabem que vão ser postos num barco inseguro, com coletes salva-vidas falsos, para um destino incerto. Os que não aceitam embarcar são ameaçados ou mesmo mortos nas praias turcas. Afinal não são ninguém. Sem documentos, não existem.

Depois vem a parte mais perigosa de todo o percurso: a viagem de barco até à ilha. Os barcos levam o dobro da sua capacidades e para a grande maioria dos refugiados, esta é a primeira vez que estão a ver o mar. Existem histórias horripilantes sobre estas travessias.

E, para aqueles que efectivamente conseguem alcançar terra firme de novo, o sentimento é de celebração e felicidade. Claramente não sabem o que ainda está para vir.

O ambiente e condições no campo de Moria

Molhados, confusos e assoberbados está agora na altura de andar até Moria. Dependendo do lugar onde atracaram na ilha o percurso poderá demorar até dois dias. Algumas organizações e voluntários dedicam-se a ajudar neste trajecto, mas durante algum tempo as autoridades proibiram qualquer tipo de ajuda no transporte de refugiados. Felizmente isso já mudou.

Chegou finalmente a hora de pedir asilo. Moria é um campo de registo, e é por isso que todas as pessoas são para lá encaminhadas. A cada pessoa é dada uma data para uma entrevista de pedido de asilo. Para quando? Dali a um ou dois anos. E é aí que a esperança começa a esmorecer.

Durante esse tempo terão que viver no campo de refugiados de Moria, sem a possibilidade de se deslocarem para fora da ilha ou de trabalhar. Só lhes resta esperar.

E essa espera torna-se ainda mais desesperante pelas condições do campo. O ambiente é opressivo. Há uma enorme segregação entre as diversas nacionalidades no campo. Os Afegãos não se dão com os Árabes, nacionais do Congo e Camarões não simpatizam com Somalis ou Eritreus e ninguém gosta dos Curdos.

As condições são inumanas. O campo oficial parece uma prisão, anteriormente era um campo militar. É aí que mora a grande maioria dos refugiados. Ao chegar, ficam numa tenda para 200 pessoas. Depois serão, ou não, distribuídos pelos contentores do campo, as ISO Boxes, o único lugar onde ficarão mais abrigados do frio e chuva, mas que têm que partilhar, muitas vezes, com mais 25 pessoas.

E depois existem as tendas. Devido à incapacidade do campo original de receber todas as pessoas que chegam, criou-se um novo campo adequadamente apelidado de “A Selva”. São centenas de tendas ou bocados de lona que alojam milhares de pessoas sem acesso a saneamento básico ou electricidade. Quando chove não há forma de escapar, o chão transforma-se em lama e e água entra por todos os lados.

Segurança? Não existe. Histórias de violações, agressões ou suicídios são o pão nosso de cada dia.

Comida? Duas a três horas de espera para o pequeno-almoço, o mesmo para o almoço e jantar. Recebem talvez um prato de arroz ou papas fora do prazo. Todos os membros da família têm que estar presentes para pedir comida. Resultado? Cerca de 9 horas por dia passadas à espera numa fila.

Medicamentos? “Não temos, bebe água”

Saneamento? Uma casa de banho para 70 pessoas e um duche para 80.

90€ por mês. É quanto cada refugiado recebe por mês quando vive no campo de refugiados de Moria.

Como é que é possível sobreviver nestas condições? Honestamente não sei. A verdade é que cada refugiado que conheci tinha um sorriso para oferecer e assim que são postos num ambiente de conforto e segurança transformam-se. E é sobre essa transformação que vou falar no próximo post.

“Metam pessoas num ambiente de animais e transformar-se-ão em animais” foi uma das frases que mais me marcou durante a minha semana em Lesvos. Há uma urgência em devolver a dignidade a estas pessoas e dar-lhes, pelo menos, a possibilidade de fazerem algo com o seu tempo.

Existem outros campos na ilha de Lesvos, mas felizmente têm melhores condições. O de Kara Tepe, por exemplo, onde toda a gente vive em ISO Boxes e onde se limitam a alojar 1000 pessoas. Dezenas ou centenas de ONG’s trabalham arduamente para aliviar o sofrimento dos refugiados.

Por outro lado existe ainda a ilha de Samos, onde também chegam milhares de refugiados todos os anos. Aqui vivem em condições tão más ou piores que em Lesvos. Um dos principais problemas: ninguém sabe disto. Se existe uma luz ao fundo deste túnel eu não a consigo ver.

Contudo, e para aliviar um pouco a depressão que é este post, existe um “farol” sobrevive no meio da escuridão. E esse farol, senhores e senhoras, chama-se Home for All.

The post Moria: Um inferno onde as chamas não param de arder appeared first on Mudanças Constantes.

Just to place our readers in time (and space) how many kilometres have you cycled until now and how many countries have you crossed so far?

We already cycled more than 9’400km and crossed 11 countries on our way. The distance we covered is a bit more than 30% of our total distance until Cape Town.

Besides green hills and grey skies, what are your impressions of the UK & Ireland? And what were your highlights of this leg of your trip?

The UK and Ireland have much more to offer than hills and bad weather. During our time in this part of the world, we saw forests, stunning coasts, amazing cliffs and steep mountains surrounded by lots of lakes.
Our highlights were the Cliffs of Moher, Lake District National Park, Edinburgh as a city, the Highlands and the coast of Southern Ireland.

Did you find many differences between each region of the UK (England, Wales Scotland, Northern Ireland)?

Yes, especially between England and Wales. Wales was extremely hilly and we had to climb some crazy steep roads. England was more densely populated and had fewer forests than Wales or Scotland. In Scotland, there were less villages and roads, but some roads were busy because of the tourists going north to Loch Ness. The landscapes are more sparse and hilly as well compared to the other regions.

In Northern Ireland, we were not sure if we already crossed the border or not. Since there is no real border and the landscapes look similar.

Cycling is now a huge part of your life. How is your daily routine?

Wake up, eating breakfast, pack all our equipment including the tent, cycling (sightseeing), cycling, cycling, eating lunch, shopping for dinner and breakfast, pitch tent, unpack all our equipment, eat dinner, write diary and sort out pictures/videos, eat dessert, read books, eat another dessert, brush teeth, sleep.

Nowadays technology is a great part of traveling. What are the apps you can’t live without? How do you entertain yourselves at night when camping?

Instagram, Facebook, maps.me, untappd, couchsurfing, whatsapp, Warmshowers, park4night, strava, audible. In the evening we sometimes watch movies we have on our external hard disk, read books on our eReader, listen to audiobooks, chat with friends and family or just talk.

Compared to when you left Switzerland, do you feel any physical changes in your body? Have you changed your diet in order to balance your body’s high demand for calories?

Fabian lost some weight since the start because he didn’t do much sport before we left. We both have more muscles on our legs for sure. Our diet contains more carbs and we add some salts and minerals to our water while cycling. We eat many sweets as well, because we can (that’s the dreaaaaam!!!). We definitely should do more stretching, since we feel very stiff sometimes. More or less regularly, we try to do push ups to train our upper body muscles as well.

These first months have been full of visits and company of friends and family. Has it been good or you can’t wait to be on your own, wild and free?

We have mixed feelings about this topic. On one side, it is nice to see friends and family, on the other side we enjoy being alone in the nature and completely free or any meeting point or time.

Up to now, what was (or were) the times you were impressed the most with the kindness of people?

We were quite surprises about the kindness and openness of German and French people. Many people approached us while buying food and asked what we do and where do we intend to go.

How are you finding the behaviour of drivers regarding cyclists? Do you usually feel safe? Any message you want to leave here to the drivers of the world?

So far, the drivers had a considerate behaviour towards us and left enough space between themselves and our bicycles. We generally felt safe all the way. Of course, there are times where the road is narrow and we feel a bit tense. The most dangerous situations are when drivers cut us off after overtaking us and try to park their car immediately after.

To wrap this up, when are you planning to reach Africa and how are you going to have internet there so we can keep in touch?

We should reach Africa in the end of November. We plan to buy local SIM-cards to update the blog regularly and of course to stay in touch with you. We are in touch with other cyclists who are currently in West Africa and exchange information concerning different topics.

Hope you enjoyed this new interview and for the next one, these guys will be in Africa already <3 . Follow them in: cape2cape.org and @cycling_cape2cape

The post [EN] Cycling Cape 2 Cape: The UK and Ireland Tour appeared first on Mudanças Constantes.

And I’m dying to know how it has been going! So I’m using this second interview to get all the news and gossip first hand before our reunion in London next week. Yes, that’s happening!

Adi, what’s going on with that beard? Is it a bet, laziness or you won’t cut it until you finish the trip?

It is definitely not a bet I thought it is a good chance to grow a beard. At home, I probably would never do it, as there would be too many people telling me to cut it. The idea is to grow it as long as it’s practical and not too annoying. Let’s see how long…

Until now you’ve passed by Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Netherlands. Can you tell us how these countries corresponded or not to your expectations and do you have some highlights from each one of them that you want to share with us?

Norway: A lot of wind and the weather changes every 5 minutes, daylight 24/7. Regarding our expectations, it was what we already had in mind: lots of nothing at the beginning and then beautiful fiords and snow covered mountains. These were our highlights as well.

Finland: Too short to judge really.

Sweden: As expected, we witnessed breathtaking nature with thousands of lakes and forests. We were disappointed that we did not see any mooses along the way. About the myth that all Swedish women are pretty… it’s not true if you ask us!

Denmark: Copenhagen and beautiful beaches were the surprises in Denmark. We were a bit disappointed about the nature in Denmark as we were expecting more than agriculture and wind parks.

Germany: We expected people in Germany to be more extrovert than in the Northern countries. What we witnessed was even more than that. People approached us a lot and we had nice conversations everywhere. Highlights were the cities Hamburg, Bremen and the Mudflats. We also had many visitors from home, which was good to catch up.

Netherlands: The cycling paths were perfect in most of the country and this surprised us. We expected the Dutch people to be bike-freaks, but they just have better infrastructure and this helps a lot to promote the cycling lifestyle. The 30km dam we crossed and Amsterdam as a city with the Pride Parade, were definitely the standouts.

In general, the weather in the North was much warmer and drier than usual. This was surprising for us and we enjoyed it a lot, even though it was sometimes hard with to cycle with the high temperatures.

Seems like most of your accommodation up to now has been wild camping. Can you do it everywhere in the countries you are going to travel in and have you encountered any problems doing it?

Until Denmark, we could do wild camping everywhere and it was not a problem. In Denmark and Germany, it is not allowed to camp in the wild, but we never had a problem doing it.

The first night in the Netherlands, we camped next to railway tracks and had to move. The driver of the train warned us about the police and we changed the location. In general, in the Netherlands, there were not many places to put the tents, so we started to ask farmers if we could camp on their fields.

I know your bikes were stolen in a hostel in Sweden! What happened and how did you overcome this situation? 

We locked the bikes outside our hostel with our two locks and thought it would be safe, since the owner of the hostel told us it was not a problem. 2 days later, we realized that the locks were opened and the bikes were stolen. The only thing which was left, were the locks.

We then called our insurances and went to the police to get a report. After that we searched for 3 days for ideal bikes to continue the trip. Luckily, we have good insurance cover and we were in a big European city, so it was not such a big problem to replace them.

Besides that have you had any other setbacks? Like weather, winds, accidents…

So far we were really lucky with the weather. We had one minor accident in the beginning of our journey through Sweden. We were all cycling next to each other and Joel then fell sideways, because he got tangled in Fabian’s bicycle.

Up to now, how do you compare the planned route with the cycled route? Any major changes or everything has been quite close to the plan?

More or less we stayed on the planned route and only did small changes, adapting to the tips we got from local people. The only bigger adjustment was that we entered Denmark through Helsingör instead of Copenhagen.

Equipment wise, the things you had prepared were enough or you’ve made some adjustments since then?

In Copenhagen, we sent some warm clothes back home as the temperatures were already high enough.
The water filter was helpful in the beginning, because we didn’t have places to get running water from. No villages or cities aorund. Later on, as we started cycling on more populated places, we didn’t need it anymore.

We expected more mosquitos in Scandinavia, because usually it’s a big problem. But due to the dry summer, we did not encounter many of them overall.

How are the Northern European countries for cycling? Road conditions, camping grounds, many climbs… Would you say it’s a safe choice for beginners?

For starters we would recommend Sweden, because it’s relatively flat and camping spots are easy to find. In Norway, it is though, since there’s more wind and many steep climbs. In addition, the landscapes are rougher and it is harder to find camping spots. The road conditions were good in all countries so far.

What are your favourite meals to eat while camping? Any secret recipes?

We have been having a surprisingly well balanced diet for three carnivore guys. We cooked different versions of pasta, couscous, rice, soups, salads and mashed potatoes with meat. We do not have a favourite, but discovered many new recipes and ways to combine all sorts of ingredients.

And finally, do you still all love each other?

Love is relative (ahahaah, such a swiss answer!), but we enjoy our time together a lot. We are all surprised how well it’s going so far. All the cycling in between helps to cool down and to reflect on ourselves. Sometimes we have heated discussions, but we have also learned how to compromise. Anyway, it’s an important part of our journey and it has helped us to grow as a team.

Keep it going guys!
Follow them in: cape2cape.org and @cycling_cape2cape

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