All with the soul of a Vagabond continually think about travel, even when circumstances dictate staying put. But the Vagabond does not think of travel in the way it is portrayed in travel magazines and brochures, which use stilted words like "discover" or "experience," and offer "adventure" tours following set routes along well-beaten tracks. No, the true Vagabond shies away from such mass-produced, prepackaged experiences, and from the commercial enterprises which offer them. The true Vagabond is inspired by the great travel narratives of the past: by Henry Bates on the Amazon, Thomas Belt in Nicaragua, John Muir's Walk to the Gulf, Alfred Wallace in the Malay Archpelago, Isabella Bird in Japan, and of course, Darwin sailing round the world aboard the Beagle. These are the Vagabond's heroes. But of course, no more of those epic journeys remain; all have long since been made. Today, there are numerous travel guides in the libraries and booksellers, telling the reader everything s/he needs to know about any region of the world. Since the advent of the World Wide Web, terra incognita has vanished, except, perhaps, for a few rapidly-disappearing vestiges here and there, far from the accessible roads. The intrepid few who find such places, by the very act of writing and publishing about them, help to destroy the adventure -- for once the world knows of the place, other travellers will follow behind the first. If this Vagabond is ever blessed to find terra incognita, I will fastidiously keep it off the World Wide Web, and will think twice before putting it in a book.
A Vagabond often travels in solitude, but need not be a hermit. The expeditions here, still in the research phase unless otherwise noted, are those for which I may seek fellow-travelers. Also, I find that ordinary tourism and sightseeing has lost its interest. I am now far more interested in purposeful travel -- perhaps you are a missionary, humanitarian, linguist, ethnographer, ethnobotanist, ethnomusicologist, agronomist, biologist of one sort or another, artist, photographer, cinematographer, or writer -- someone who can give a sense of higher purpose to the expedition; if so, I am interested in hearing from you. Even so, you must keep in mind that I cannot afford to subsidize you. It would be helpful if you know a few things about grantwriting and/or fundraising. Oh, and one more thing: although we will need local help to find our way around, let us not parasitize the people; let us bring our own camping gear, and purchase our food in the shops existing for that purpose.
Taiwan and Formosa
Look at a world globe, or a map of east Asia, and usually the names Taiwan and Formosa are applied to the same island, one generally in boldface, the other in parentheses. But when I use these words, they do not mean precisely the same thing. "Formosa," I use to refer to the island's geology, flora and fauna, and indiginous cultures and languages; "Taiwan" refers to the Han Chinese inhabitants, their civilization and culture, and its associated geography. Thus, Taiwan and Formosa are in essence two different places, superimposed one upon the other.
I must admit, I would love to stand at the summit of Yushan, 3952 meters, so that I could look down, literally as well as figuratively, on the people atop Japan's celebrated Fujisan, 176 meters below me. But Yushan is much-climbed. Far more intriguing, to me, is a rather different expedition, to a lesser-known area. After arrival in Taipei (actually the airport is in Taoyuan, but the ticket will say Taipei), we would proceed at once to the city of Hsinchu, where we can purchase supplies, and hopefully obtain a mountain permit for our intended destination. From Hsinchu, we set out for the interior: the inland spur railway runs from Hsinchu to its terminus at Neiwan, while the county bus route extends a few miles further, to Bawushan (Hill 85). From either of these termini, we will attempt to make our way, on foot and/or by accepting rides, eastward into the remote districts. We need a class B mountain permit to get beyond Hsiuluan. I hope to go at least as far as the Formosan settlement of Smangus; Smangus does have a website, but only in Chinese, suggesting that few Westerners venture there. On the other hand, Taiwanese tourists visit, and, according to the Taipei Times, in 2004, the community was organized into a kibbutz. Like so many indiginous peoples, the Atayal are pursuing ecotourism as a way to augment their heretofore meager income. If possible, I would like to attempt to reach Mawangshan (Horse Lookout Mountain), a 2605 meter peak in the Snow Mountains. More research is needed to find out how far a class B mountain permit can go in this area; to get the next higher class (class A), one must be part of a recognized climbing club, and have at least three people.
On this expedition, it is helpful to have some knowledge of spoken Chinese; however, in the rural villages, it is possible we may encounter speakers of the Taiwanese/Amoy form of Chinese, a different language from the Mandarin normally taught in Chinese language classes. I have been working slowly through Nicholas Bodman's Spoken Taiwanese learning materials from Spoken Language Services, but it has been slow going. If you are aware of any other Taiwanese language learning resources, please tell me how to get them.
Mayan Empire
Of all the extinct civilizations of the world, the one I find most interesting is that of the Maya, southernmost and most ornate of the Americas' pyramid builders (the Peruvians had monumental architecture, but it was not pyramidal). I have often thought that, were I an archaeologist, I would be a mayanist. One reason they are of such interest, is that they sustained a large, urban and agricultural population in a tropical rain forest environment for hundreds of years -- something modern civilization has so far been unable to do. Also of interest is their system of writing: the only written language in the Americas before Columbus.
Some years ago, I read a brochure from Green Tortoise adventure travel company, in which they offered a "Maya Trail" trip beginning and ending at Antigua, Guatemala. However, in their current information, the Maya trip is now limited only to southern Mexico -- but a fraction of the Maya world. But, with the right planning, I believe we can, as independent travelers, visit Maya sites throughout their former sphere, from Chichén Itzá in northern Yucatan, to Copán in Honduras, and of course others in Guatemala and Belize. According to Vivian Lougheed, author of Central America by Chickenbus, local bus routes can take us to within reasonable distances of most major ruins, if we do not mind doing our share of walking. I have now found a book that catalogues every known Maya site, and assesses whether any given one is worth further exploration. Once I finish it, I will post a more definite itinerary.
If you do not speak Spanish, that is okay, for I have translated for fellow-travelers before; but keep in mind that, although the Mayan civilization is extinct, the Mayan people are not, and may speak only their own Mayan languages.
Guinea-Bissau
Most television wildlife documentaries about Africa, focus on East Africa, usually either Kenya or Tanzania, with their wide open savannahs. However, Africa is also home to one of the world's great rain forests (though it gets far less press than the Amazon), extending throughout the heart of Equatorial Africa, and along the coast of West Africa. Also, of the world's living civilizations, that of Africa is the one about which I know the least. The problem is, most of West and Central Africa speaks French. I do not speak French, nor have I any desire to learn. There are a few English-speaking countries in the region; hoverver, I am more interested in two tiny countries at opposite ends of the region: Equatorial Guinea (Spanish-speaking), and Guinea-Bissau (Portuguese-speaking). I speak both those languages, and have in mind to visit both these countries, but my plans for Equatorial Guinea are separate from this web page.
As Enya fans will have noticed, Bissau is mentioned in her song, "Orinoco Flow," verse 2: "From Bissau to Palau, in the shade of Avalon..." From Bissau, the capital city, there is supposed to be a weekly ferry along the coast to Catió, whence one can go east into the interior to Cantanhez Natural Park. There is much debate as to whether chimpanzees are present in Guinea-Bissau; just in case they are, Cantanhez was established to protect them. (If you are a primatologist, the search for the alleged chimps can be the purpose of the expedition.) This southern part of the country is also home to the Balanta and Papel peoples.
Depending on time and resources, we may wish to continue inland from Cantanhez, perhaps even as far as Ché-ché. Remember, though, that transport systems are primitive; according to Lonely Planet, there are no bridges in the country, so all rivers must be crossed by ferry. Also, though Portuguese is the official language, the available information suggests that most people actually speak a Poruguese-based creole, as well as numerous African languages.
A couple of years ago, there were news stories of landmines left over from insurgent activity in the country; but the same stories also said that clearance operations were proceeding apace, and that the capital had been cleared. This country did not make Robert Young Pelton's list of dangerous places, and there is no article about it on his website, so it may be that this landmine danger is a thing of the past.
Ahaggar Mountains
The Sahara is not just one expanse of sand dunes. It has gravelly, stony, and rocky sections, too, and even mountain ranges. The Ahaggar Mountains (on some maps called Hoggar) are in the central Sahara, and should present ample challenge for combining mountain and desert travel. According to the National Geographic Society map, "Africa's Natural Realms," there are three zones of West Saharan Montane Xeric Woodlands: the Ahaggar is one, and the others are the Aïr Mountains in Niger, and the Adrar des Ifoghas in Mali. The problem is, the Ahaggar are within the borders of Algeria. In The World's Most Dangerous Places (Third Edition, 1998), Robert Pelton stated that Algeria was the most dangerous place in the world for travellers, and on his "Come Back Alive" website, he now says that, although it is calming down, it is still the second most dangerous place, after Chechnya. Still, we hope the "calming down" trend will continue, so that eventually this expedition will become possible. Some Europeans simply skirt around the troubled north by flying into Tunisia or Morocco, then setting out into the desert in one of those countries before crossing into Algeria. Watch this space.
Email me if you are interested in one of these expeditions.
