Begging

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:58:00 -0500

This will be my second post now, I lost my first one I was going to do here, anyway it might be better?- just roll with it.

I will start with the basics; Im Andrew W. Bugelli, 23, an electrician from Gold Coast, Australia. This is how it all started. I was in a 2 year realtinship with my girlfriend at the time, we lived in a house, had a dog and a cat- pretty heavy. I have alaways had itchy feet to travel but never took the first steps. I was always lost and confused, I didnt know what I wanted to do or be , but just travel. One day I walked into a travel agent , get infomation about tickets to London and then it all changed from there. I broke up with my girlfriend, which was hard for both of us beacuse she was a beautful girl who loved me and just wanted to be with me, that was all ( what more can you ask for?). But unforuntly that didnt saitsfy me and I needed to go! So I bought a one way ticket to London and it was done.

I had no idea what I wanted to do when I travelled. I knew I didnt want to go on Contiki, or cruises or do a lonley planet guide or any other “spend $200 a day’ guide. I wanted to travel and get off the beaten path and meet peaople and see amazing things. So I had my ticket with little to no concern of what im doing. Then I snapped my collar bone in half and went to hostpital. 1 month later with a metal plate and 9 screws attached I was home bound. This wasnt a major injury, but enough of a sign to make me sort shit out. Some people said it was the begging of the end, but I said it was the start, it was serdipity , it was the best thing that has ever happened to me ( my mother is still puzzeled by this). So what do I do now? I researched. I had nothing else to do and plus it was getting me excited. So for hours Im on the internet trying to figure out a plan, or what I was goin to do. I continued day and night going deeper and deeper, till I came out and found it ‘Hitchhiking’. At that moment i said to my self “what the fuck?”
I have never hitched nor hiked, and never even thought about putting them together! although I do love nature and exploring, I thought this would be fun. I wanted to travel, I wanted to go off the path, I didnt want to spend money, I wanted an adventure. All these ingredients were right for my answer.

I have never really listened to anyone more to the fact the media, so I didnt care about the pros or cons, I know this is what I wanted to do. Now with my new established hobby. I researched more! I research because I want to feel confident on the the task I am giving to my self, I dont want to have 15 mins of fun, I want to have it to last me a lifetime! I researched bags, gear, equipment countires and visas. that is when I applied for my UK working visa- which I got. And I applied for my maltese citzenship- still gettin that. The UK working visa will ensure me a one way ticket which will save me money, because I dont intend on comming back (that could all change).

So now the research still continues and we move to the next phase, that was trying out the bag. I went to a hostel in Byron Bay, NSW and meet alot of europeans, two of which I still keep in contact today. that is where I learnt rookie tip#3 bring a cup. My bag was good, and I was happy that i made a good choice. I researched camping, food, survival, packing the more I delved deeper the more i got out of it. I choose my shelter, it was to be a Hennesy Hammock which was the next phase of trialing which was Bush Craft. All I can say is that I can only do so much research until you have to do it, then that is when the real research will happen. I can not wait till I choose a spot stick out my thumb and whoosh im gone.

Obviously there was alot of tying up lose ends to be as free and unchained as I can, but this will bore you, hence its not here.

This can be used as a guide if you like for first time travellers or nomads, if there is anyone else reading this apart from me. But for me this is my memory, my adventure, my journey and how it happened. Enjoy.

Bush Craft

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 09:19:00 -0500

Went out to trial my gear, and it was pissing down with rain, which made perfect test conditions. I packed my bag, hauled it over my shoulder and began my walk to the nearest forrest. At about 30 mins in to my walk I felt my shoulder and legs starting to hurt, and so they should they have an extra 15kg on my body, at this time I was saying to my self:
” Dude, it’s been 30 mins, you have another 3-9 months of this- you are going to get ripped, stop bitching.”
So I continued walking until I reached my destination. Rookie tip # 1 - Invest in some good long length underwear because when your walking you chafe up. I arrived into the forrest and spun 360 Deg to see where I will camp, looked down at my compass to see what direction the path is on and headed off the track, and that is when Rookie tip # 2, came into play. BUY MOSQUITO REPELLENT! I stopped for Two seconds and there were at least 30 mosquitos harpooning into my skin, I swatted and swatted, killed 20, and 20 more came back, so I walked then a slight gallop to a 3 min run to try and outrun them, this worked for 30 seconds. I didn’t let the swarm deter me, it was a way of saying the nature didn’t want me? so I found another camp and put my bag down an again another kamikaze attack. Thats when I legged it out of the forrest, into the nearest convenience store and purchased repellent. I sat down drank some water, ate some nuts and headed back out into the forrest with my new potion for my friends.

I arrived at the footsteps of the forrest and with a few quick sprays, I was impenetrable- It felt amazing! I walked briskly on the path for 15 to 30 mins until I reached the end of the path and pondered what was next?

“Do not go where the path may lead;
go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

That was a no brainer- to set up camp! I went of into forest looking for the best spot to camp that had two trees at a good distance apart and that was elevated so it didn’t flood. I found my camp, put down my bag and got out my hammock. within in minutes i had my hammock set up and ready. ” now what?”
I told my self. So I slept. Waking up a few hours later I decided it was time to think about dinner. I pulled my cous cous out- I choose cous cous because it requires a one to one ratio, meaning one part water to one part cous cous, and for any hiker water is a precious commodity so you ideally do not want to throw water away. Rather use it for food and let it re-hydrate you. I got out my camping stove, flicked a match and away I went, after 5 mins water boiled and i added the cous cous and dinner was served, easy. Since it was pouring down with rain there wasn’t really much I could do, I played my harmonica, wrote in my journal, talked to mosquitos and slept.

I woke up every now and then during the night from trippy dreams and nightmares to adding extra warmth with my sleeping bag, but my overall sleep was good. The next morning I woke up, tired as shit from my previous days walk ( I did no exercise prior for months) and make breakfast. I emptied ‘just add water’ pancake mix into a snap lock bag earlier at home and brought it with me. I added water into the bag with the mix, shook it around a bit, added more water then added banana and poured into my fry pan. Man this was heartwarming and it gave me the energy to plan my next move, I packed up and moved out.

All in all, I learned two invaluable rookie mistakes which are now under my belt and I am more prepared for what lies ahead. I had a good time cooking, running away from mosquitos, hiking and sleeping. lets see where my adventures take me next. I only have 4 more days till I board my rocket ship and embark on my journey.

BLAZEDLION

Begging

Bush Craft