The Trap
It’s inevitable that sometimes in life we feel like we’re trapped, halfway across the beach in deep soft sand and each step is extreme effort. We get stuck in a daily rut, and from that, the zest for life in general can fade. Unfortunately…That’s life. It’s the way of human nature and the way of the world. Don’t sit in despair there is life at the end of the 9 to 5 humdrum routine of work but it’s up to you to take action.
If you’re sitting there wondering to yourself why you have this feeling of longing for adventure like I often do, let me tell you why…
Adventure is about growth. And growth is apart of the fundamentals of our existence as human beings. Successful lives are born out of adventures. The adventure of your life is so important that it commands the best of your attention, and the most of your energy, on a daily basis, so that it can be lived to the best of your ability. However… It’s easier read than done.
A Decade of Ticket To Ride
I’ve been lucky to be involved in the Ticket To Ride group on and off for almost a decade now. Running trips basically across the globe, but for me there’s one trip that stands out the most, one trip that’s the metaphorical petrol station of adventure and that for me is Mozambique.
Growing up just a short 5 hours drive from the mozambican border the country became any second home. Shooting up to spots like Ponte Do Ouro for a hit and run swell chase became a regular occurrence. Although I was border hopping for endless tropical right-handers the sense of true Mozambique adventure was absent. That feeling of the unknown, those exciting butterflies having a wrestling match in my stomach was missing… basically I had hit the inevitable ‘routine’ of doing the same thing over and over. I wanted something more… ( Not taking anything away from Ponte Do Ouro it’s an incredible place)
Going Past The known
The Ponte box had been ticket multiple times. Yet, I wasn’t ready to let Mozam be a destination of the past. I mean, there was still thousands of miles worth of unexplored coastline and through a good friend, Ryan Ribbink A.K.A Mr Mozam I’ve done just that. I’d been sitting at home glued to my laptop working on a freelance digital marketing gig, staring at a screen for hours on end my eyes were bloodshot when I got a call to run a trip 1035km past Ponte Do Ouro. The timing couldn’t of been any better, I was one facebook post away from throwing my laptop in the bin.
I’d heard about the “ mission “ past Ponta. The crooked cops that want bribes at every roadblock, the soft beach sand that required letting the tyres down of the 4×4, the malaria mozzies and the tropical heat. However, I’d also heard about the consistent beach breaks, palm tree Forrests that provide those well needed coconuts after 6 hour long surfs in 27 degree, crystal clean water, and surf sessions with gentle giants that leisurely swimming through the backline. ( FYI: I’m talking about whale sharks and giant Manta rays)
Pros & Cons
Like everything in life, there are pros and cons. One can’t exist without the other. This trip seemed like the pros complete out weighed the cons. 10 fold! A few encounters with some surprising friendly crooked cops, was no where near as nerve racking as expect. Although there definitely was an element of fear it soon disappeared when all they really after is an ice cold Cola to take the edge off in the tropical heat. 4×4-ing on white sand beaches? That’s the furtherest from a con. The feeling of driving completely off-road over sand dunes in the middle of an African country is definitely a must, not to mention the sense of a Mozambique adventure. I don’t think there’s anything comparable.
I must admit the malaria aspect of the adventure wasn’t all that attractive. But that should never be a deterrent it should be part of the adventure. Needless to say, the precautionary meds have come so far with almost zero side effects. Never mind the fact every time I’ve been up there over the past 10 years I’ve yet to come across someone that’s had the virus recently. Better to be safe than sorry.
Don’t let your soul fizzle out
To end this off I would like to leave you with a quote I remind myself of on a daily basis:
“The danger doesn’t lie in employing routine, but in mistaking it for living.”
If you take away something from this I hope it’s to get out there, go see and fill up that fuel tank of a soul with some real adventure… An African Adventure!
Until next time… Chado
PS: what’s a great blog without images to back it? Just a ( bad) blog… I guess, so check out the photos I’ve accumulated over the years.