Oldrover's Traveler Profile

Obviously, I love travel. This blog only partially covers my latest. Partially in that there are large gaps in the narrative, and many weeks totally unrecorded, especially toward the end as movement and social engagements precluded any recording. I am continuing to edit and add, however. This trip may be my last big hurrah due to finances and other priorities. We'll see.

In my late 20's I spent four years hitchhiking around the world. Starting in Mexico in 1968 at the Olympic Games, I continued down through Central and South America. From Santos, Brazil I worked my passage on a German freighter to Europe. Hamburg, Germany to be specific.

I fairly quickly headed down to Lebanon. Then, returning to Turkey, began reading Will and Ariel Durant's History of Western Civilization as I traveled up into southern, and northern Europe, trying to match my physical course more or less to that of the enfolding of western civilization.

At the end of that period I took the Trans-Siberian across to Japan, then spent a couple of months in Japan, contemplating an eastern civilization.

Those four years on $2500 in savings! No begging. But a lot of assistance by kind people. And a few measly jobs, especially two nasty jobs in German factories.

In 1980-something I went to New Zealand to see Hally's Comet, and hiked and hitched  around there  for about a month.

In 2005/6 I made one of those 1-year around-the-world plane trips: Australia, Hong Kong, India; Turkey for half the time; and a modified reverse course to a portion of my '68-'69 South American journey.