It’s hard to imagine I’ve spent nearly two weeks here, but the time really did fly by island hopping and digital detoxing in the Chiloé Archipelago. It’s a group of islands in the south of Chile that many drivers had spoken of before about how special this place is. Not a single driver was like “So you’re going to Chiloé? It’s pretty average there… better skip it”. South of the Ruta 5 The main road in Chile, the “Ruta 5” just continues on the island like there wasn’t some water to cross. My truck driver named Walter drove from theContinue reading
boathitching
Experiences of 2015, #2: The Airplane Hitch over Malta
This is part of a series on my travel experiences of 2015, read #1 about Albania too! #2: The Airplane Hitch over Malta In 2015 I hitchhiked my first airplane over the Maltese islands, which was really cool in terms of getting things off my bucket list and having seen Malta from the sea, the land, and the sky. All from people’s hospitality and generosity! What’s really awesome is to go through security, not at the main entrance, but the back, at the private jet parking. I loved hanging out in the hangars with other plane-aficionados who are painting or otherwiseContinue reading
Cruise-camping on the Equator
Witnessing a beautiful sunrise on the Mid Atlantic Ocean, just a little south of the equator! Instead of sleeping in the cabin without windows, some fellow hippies on the cruise ship opted for the silty, ocean air on the top deck. As we traveled southward by repositioning cruise, the temperature rose and this became a comfortable option. The night I went ‘cruise-camping’ was by far the best night of sleep I’ve had. And sweet baby Jesus, LOOK AT THAT SUNRISE! Being on a cruise ship for 12 days means being dictated by the breakfast, lunch, and dinner times. On topContinue reading
Hitchhiking Failure of the Year: No Malta to Sicily
Philosopher Jagger once said “you can’t always get what you want” and that’s what happened last night. I couldn’t find a boat willing to take me to Sicily from Malta. It’s a hitchhiking failure! Therefore I was forced to use the extortionately priced ferry! After more than three weeks in Malta and almost one week at the marina, enough was enough. And I’m very sad about it. Mick Jagger also said, “but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need!” Though it was frustrating, the people from La Marina Trattoria were so kind to feed meContinue reading
A Modern Odyssey: Sailing Theatre Company in Valetta, Malta
At the marina in Valetta, I met this Italian lady who is an actor with a theatre company. That wouldn’t be remarkable without the tidbit that they’re traveling by a huge sailing boat. They’re sailing all over Europe to perform and they even carry their own stage stuff around. Fittingly, they’re doing part of Homer’s Odyssey, right here at the marina. It’s giving me some flashbacks to Greek class in high school, which was basically all Illiad and Odyssey. They let me sleep in the dressing room, which they call a ‘loft’. The cooks of the ship are Dutch andContinue reading
Malta to Sicily: Another Boat to Hitch
Uh-oh, it’s the same old tale from a couple of weeks ago! But this time, I’m dockwalking to hitchhike a yacht from Malta to Sicily, mainland Italy, or France. I want to attend the HitchGathering in Saint-Laurent-du-Pape (yes, it’s a mouthful) in France this year. I’m using this cardboard hitchhiking sign to start conversations with people in the marina of Valetta where I arrived. To be honest, I’m not sure if I’m at the correct marina. Malta has a gazillion marinas and it’s impossible to visit all of them in person and walk around. Not all employees of marinas areContinue reading
Ultimate Hitchselfie on Gozo! (Malta)
I’ve always wanted to take a hashtag hitchselfie like this! This happened on the outskirts of Victoria on the island of Gozo in Malta. Yep, that red car stopped right when I was taking this picture. That’s why I look so distracted. I was also torn between talking to the driver first and picking up my camera first. I chose my camera and then made a run for the car. The guy made a nice drive around Marsalforn and invited me for some guitar playing at his house before dropping me at Ramla Bay to go swimming. I hope IContinue reading
Yacht Hitchhiking Finale: Arriving in Valletta, Malta from Corfu, Greece
Two and a half days on a yacht gives you plenty of time to contemplate your next moves. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing on the boat. The first day on a boat is always a little awkward because you don’t have the sea legs yet. But one can become accustomed to it quite rapidly. We had a prediction of zero wind, but in the end, we sailed most of the journey. My captains/drivers had three days to arrive in Malta because they had a meetup with their child. That’s why they had stocked up on enough fuel. We couldContinue reading
Valetta: An Epic Hitch-Sailing Arrival in Malta
WE ARRIVED IN VALETTA!! It was an exciting 2,5 days hitchhiking the yacht of these two lovely people from Lebanon and the USA. They picked me up from the marina in Corfu and we sailed all the way to the capital of this small island nation: Malta. I’m very happy to have found them before I might have given up on the whole boat hitchhiking thing. And it was a great way to start learning more about sea sailing and a good test on whether I like being on boats for a long time. The verdict is that I freakingContinue reading