Discoverer, Friend, Dickhead
Benji's Journey on Untrodden Paths
"Paths are made by walking them."
- Franz Kafka
Hello everybody!
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My name is Benjamin but since you found this page you probably know that.
At the beginning of June this year (2022) I left my beautiful home in Austria on a journey in which I want to realize some of my ideas:
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I want to see the world and be on the road for at least a few months (+/- a few less months).
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It's supposed to go south, with a lot of west along with it, maybe a little bit of east as well, and yes, north if necessary. But far away, definitely far away. So, overseas must be.
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The whole thing has to work without the involvement of an airplane.
Does this all sound a bit vague? Exactly! The whole world is open, one step at a time, everything is possible! Well, it's not quite that simple, but where there are problems, there are also solutions.
If you like, join me here on my quest for solutions.
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Problem #1: The flying thing
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Of course, point 3 in particular causes difficulties – another continent without an airplane? "Well go by ship, duh," some are probably thinking. That's true, but the idea of doing without airplanes originates from the idea of protecting the climate. If I took cruise ship instead, it would be like trying to cool the hell with lava.
So cruise is out.
"Of course you could join a sailing crew”, the next thought. In principle a good one, but since I want to cross the Atantik in the first step, the hurricane season in the summer gives me a bad time. So sailing is put on hold for the time being.
"Hitchhiking by car works just fine, there's certainly enough space for a traveler in one of those huge freighters," so the next idea. In fact, some freighters also take guests with them. But since we live in times of Corona, I can forget about that. Even if not, I'd have to butcher more piggy banks than I own before that's a realistic option.
But I don't want to let hard-working people drive me across the sea for three weeks, twiddling my thumbs and staring holes into the ship's board wall. If I am sailing, I want to make my contribution on board and earn the crossing! "Not allowed by international conventions", say the philistines on the Internet. Well okay, some clever minds have probably thought that one through. But how would it be allowed? "You need basic safety and security awareness training in accordance with STCW VI/1-4 and STCW VI/6/1 to become enlisted as seafarer" "Phew - sounds long, expensive and time-consuming", first thought, while "become enlisted as seafarer” slowly makes my mouth water. "Phew - short, affordable and exciting", thought after some research on the 10-day course. Some price comparison, aaaaaaand it's booked - mid-June in Sassnitz on Rügen, north-north-north Germany. The first milestone is set and the journey can begin!
If you've actually read this far, you seem to have at least a little interest in my plans. This page serves to share my impressions, adventures and experiences. So if your interest isn't feigned, I'm happy about anyone who wants to be a part of my journey and would be happy to add their two cents. (:
