Taking a dream and turning it into an adventure
We are all guilty of it, we all love doing it but strangely very few of us actually decide to go through with it. I am of course talking about dreaming of adventure. I spent twelve years sitting at a desk staring at a computer dreaming of the big wide world that was on the other side of the window pane some twenty metres behind me. In my spare time I would read about adventurers such as Ed Stafford and Ben Fogle who were actually out there doing what they loved and were passionate about, and I wondered about all the amazing things they must experience and the fulfilment they must get. The more I dreamed, the more distant it all felt, until one day when I made a conscious decision to change my situation. The realization was that I was the only person that was telling myself to get up every morning and follow the same old routine. There was no-one telling me I couldn’t get out there and do what I want in the way I wanted. So I made the decision to turn daydreaming into logistical planning. No longer was I staring into the distance wondering what if but was actually putting together all the aspects of an adventure that would take me from the 9-5 routine to a world of constant change, challenge and reward.
My adventure was going to incorporate everything I was passionate about – food, culture, people, travel, running and adventure. I was going to run 17,000km, solo and unsupported, over two continents and through 14 countries.
Many people would assume that an adventure like this would take a prohibitive amount of logistical organization, but that really is not the case. For me an adventure should be just that – an adventure. If you plan everything to the smallest detail, then you are merely going on a trip. When I started out on my solo running expedition in August 2014, I had very little set in stone. I had the starting point and the finish line set, I had the necessary equipment and I had a positive attitude that I was confident would overcome any hurdles set in my way. In the words of Forrest Gump “’when I got tired I stopped; when I got hungry, I ate; when I had to you know, I did.’
My run took me from Canada to Argentina passing through the US, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile. I ran through rainforests, over mountains and spent months in deserts. Previously daunting obstacles such as crossing the Andes and the Atacama Desert became highlights of a 17-month action packed adventure.
During the expedition I encountered the most amazing kindness and generosity from people from all backgrounds and circumstances. In the whole 17 months the only hostility I experienced was from dogs chasing me or racoons trying to steal my food. I was given shelter, food, motivation and support. I surfed down active volcanoes, dived with hammerhead sharks, shared bath time with indigenous communities in Panama and ventured into the Darien Gap.
What I learnt on this expedition is that we are the only ones that are capable of assessing what we are capable of and most of the time we hugely underestimate ourselves. When people heard what it was that I was trying to achieve I had a mixture of responses. Those who knew me immediately got behind me and gave me the support I needed. Those who didn’t were more prone to say that it was not achievable. You very quickly learn that an opinion is just that an opinion and in most cases those with opinions have never actually tried to undertake something that pushes the bounds of normality.
The greatest thing about an adventure is how it changes you as a person. I went from the person who dreamed about the assumed impossible and became someone whose boundaries had stretched to new limits. What was previously unattainable was now a future ambition and my priorities have shifted from material to personal. When you realize that a pair of running shoes and an open mind is all you need to achieve happiness, then the world of adventure becomes your home.
– Jamie Ramsay
Source: The Adventure Craze
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