FOR BETTER OR WORSE

A simple action can steer your life in totally unexpected directions...

Mid December 1994, when I returned to the office, there was a note on my desk. It said "A certain Paul Godard called regarding Africa. Referred to you by AndrÈ. Please return call." I had no idea of who or what it was about, but I returned the call that would change my life forever. 
Paul had started planning his overland expedition and he was looking for a team mate and sponsors. Only much later, would I find out that my name was the very last on a long list of 420 friends of a friend of a friend.



Curiosity killed the cat, and I suggested we meet the next day.  Two weeks later, after several meetings and brutally honest discussions we decided to go for it : an overland IT expedition from Brussels to Cape Town.  I had hardly ever seen a laptop from nearby, didn't have the slightest clue about the internet, had never touched a 4x4, let alone, camped in the wilderness. Ignorance IS bliss.

And of course we didn't have the money to finance such a trip, who would ? It just shows that if you're totally focused on what you want to achieve, and you work your butts off like we did, you will succeed. We got the whole expedition sponsored even though everybody was convinced this would be quite impossible.



For me, the most difficult part was not getting a full IT training.  The real challenge was to recreate a comfort zone with basics, that we tend to take for granted. How can you invent a new lifestyle if you can only remotely imagine what it will be like ? And foresee the unforseeable with regards to breakdowns and medical emergencies.

But the greatest challenge of all was to establish the rules of a game with someone I didn't know.



One thing however was for sure : quitting was not an option.

After 3 farewell parties and 9 months of around-the-clock preparations we closed the door of our safe home in Brussels in exchange for 70 000 kms of untamed adventure.