July 14, 2025 • 55 mins
NomadOn2wheels and Rex talk about his travels north the last 10 months, life in Europe and getting to the race. 30:00 Food in Africa
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Welcome back to another edition of the Be Forever Cool podcast.
My name is Rex 45. We got Nomad in the building.
What's going on, man? Welcome back to the show.
Where are you in the world today?
Aw man, yes, I'm, I'm in the Netherlands now.
I made made my way to the Netherlands.
So I was, I was able to make it into across the across the water
(00:21):
from Morocco into Spain and mademy way to Portugal, France,
Belgium and now I'm here in the Netherlands.
Oh, man, I, I, so I guess we gotto get caught up because I think
the last time we spoke, I'm trying to think I, I think
you're in the either Republic ofCongo.
(00:42):
Yeah. That was like 1520 countries
ago. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.
I was actually, I was act last time we spoke.
I was in. I was actually in Nigeria.
OK. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.
I was, I was in, I was in, I wasin Congo.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I wasn't in Congo.
That's right. That's right.
I wasn't in Congo. Yeah, there's been a couple of
months. I know we talked on adventure
(01:03):
stuff I think back in April as well.
So, yeah, so it's been a little bit.
Yeah, yeah, it's been some time spent some.
Time. So yeah.
So let's let's get caught up, man.
I mean, I gotta imagine it has to be wild being in the
Netherlands now after being the,for lack of better word, so
(01:24):
rural. We spoke last.
So let's talk about your journey, how you got from there
to here and also kind of like what that experience is like,
because I saw some clips of you in Morocco and stuff like that.
And, and you know, it was more, more, a lot, a lot more things
were happening in one area than riding through some small towns
(01:47):
or villages and stuff like that.So I I got to imagine like your,
your spider senses must have been all over the place for a
few days. Yeah, yeah.
I mean, you know, coming out of the Congo, next country after
that was Cameroon. I think by that time I was
(02:07):
trying to figure out which border to cross to get into
Nigeria. So the so, so for those who
don't know, going from Cameroon to Nigeria, there's a section of
Cameroon that's really that's quite dangerous.
And you have three options when it comes to crossing the border.
You have to, you can take the ferry, you can take an escort or
(02:30):
you can take a route that's really off road.
Now, when I say really off road,I mean it's really off road.
The you want to only do it during dry season, during the
rain season, you'll see trucks go in and then just leave their
truck there over, you know, for the course of like a couple
months because it gets stuck in the, in the mud.
So, but yes, I mean, I think that was a decision that I had
(02:54):
to make to find out which borderI was going to cross.
Getting into Nigeria, I was a bit nervous heading into Nigeria
because I've obviously we've heard so many stories about
Nigeria, but the surprising thing about Nigeria was the fact
that it was absolutely a blast. Nigeria was amazing.
The people were amazing. Is probably one of the most
(03:15):
friendliest countries that I've been to in Africa, so.
So everyone is not trying to sell you something, trying to,
you know, take all your inheritance, none of that.
Well, that's a whole another topic.
I'd say, I'd say the end of the day, you know people, they're
(03:38):
opportunists, you know, like, and, and it's, it's when, when
things arrive, when the, when the opportunity arrives, they,
they, you know, they tend to kind of, you know, they will try
to get you. You know, if you're sleeping.
Yeah, yeah. So you do have to kind of watch
out a little bit, you know, especially if you're going to a
store and you want to buy something and then they see you
and they know you're American orwhatever and then everything
(04:01):
just double S and triples and quadruples.
So the thing and also like they will definitely, you know, if
they're trying to sell you a service, you know, they will
convince you that the their service is the best and you
can't get it anywhere else, you know, but yeah, I mean, the end
(04:24):
of the day, they, they're still very friendly group of people
and they always, they always want to take photos.
They're always like, oh, let's take a picture, let's take a
picture. You know, it was probably the
only country in Africa where people were very open to taking
pictures. You know, the whole kids would
(04:44):
come in and they'd bring everyone into the, into the
photo. And yeah, so it was.
They're they're, they're not shy.
OK, OK. And, and like, what towns or
cities did you get to visit and like, what was the, the
architect like and, and kind of like, you know, the hustle and
bustle of the, of the, of the town or city.
Yeah. So it depends on where you were.
(05:06):
You know, as you, as you're further away from the cities,
you see a lot more of these smaller villages and you kind of
get that feel of when you walk into a small village, you, you
just have that small village feel and you just, you know,
it's like everyone knows everyone.
There's a local store over thereand like everyone gets
(05:26):
everything over there. Also as you get further away
from say, Lagos, right, everyone, like you see a lot
more Muslim culture as well. There's a lot more Muslims
surrounding like outside of Lagos.
(05:47):
And also as you go further north, like if you go towards
like Abuja, you definitely will get more Muslim as you go, as
you go north in Nigeria. But I didn't go that far north.
I stayed a little bit, like actually very far South.
(06:09):
I stayed and just went, went across Nigeria.
So did you go? So you, you spent a little bit
of time in Lagos. Yeah.
So Lagos is amazing. Lagos.
And how does it compare to like a New York or like a Boston or
like a Chicago? Like, you know, what's the vibe
like? And did you did you get to enjoy
(06:30):
a nightlife? Yeah, so it's, it's actually,
it's funny you say that because it definitely has a New York.
It can have a New York feel, especially with the highways and
the byways is going across throughout the city and if you
take the wrong one, it'll bring you somewhere for 30 minutes and
then you have to turn around. It has.
That same, that same vibe, you do see a bit of poverty along
(06:53):
the road as you're, as you're driving, especially on the, on
the water, because there's a lotof like there's a, there's a
like a main is there's like a main city.
And then there's like another part that's like kind of like a
small island and that's where like things are really nice.
(07:13):
You know, you're in that smaller, smaller island and then
things are like buildings, tall skyscraper buildings, all that
stuff. And but then as you get closer
to the water, sometimes it's like you can see a lot of the,
the poverty along the edges of the water and, and it kind of,
it almost kind of reminded me ofIndia, like Mumbai.
(07:36):
Like you look over here and there's skyscraper buildings
over here and there's like $1,000,000 apartments and things
like that. And then you look over to the
right and then you just kind of see the, the slums in the right.
You know, it kind of gave that feel just a little bit at times.
Got you. And, and what was lodging like
for you? Were you in one of the nice high
(07:57):
rises for a day or two hour? Oh, you still like, you know.
Definitely not. Place to pitch a tent.
I'm I'm still in the budget mode.
I was still definitely in the budget mode.
But I mean, it's honestly, you can find something decent for
like $20.25 bucks a night that has, you know, a shower that
(08:20):
that's not a bucket shower. But yeah, I mean, I think, I
think the end of the day, you know, with Lagos, it's a, it's a
whole different vibe of Africa. It's, it's, it explodes.
It's like a like the nightlife is, is really cool.
Like you can go out and The thing is like, no, everyone is,
(08:40):
everyone is friendly. Like you're not going to go out
and get into a fight, you know, like it's not going to happen.
You know, you don't, you don't you don't even think about
things like that. It's, it's everyone is just
especially when they know that you're not from there and you
know, people want to show you around and they want to bring
you. So it's, it's a really, really,
really, really cool vibe. Really cool vibe.
(09:02):
So I liked, I like Nigeria a lot.
So no. It's not.
And then from Nigeria, where didyou move on to?
So Nigeria, I went to Togo, Benin and you know, it's, it's
crazy because the hospitality inAfrica is, is absolutely
astonishing. Like the people there, they will
(09:23):
do their best to take care of you, to get you what you need.
It's funny because I actually got the Togo and I needed a visa
for Benin. Sorry, I got the Benin and I, I
needed a visa for Togo. So when I got the Benin, I met
this guy at a hostel and he was on work on business and he lives
(09:44):
in Togo. And I told him, I said, look,
you know, I applied for a visa for for Togo and they haven't
gotten back to me. It's been like 2 weeks.
Yeah, yeah. Like he's like, that's weird.
And he's like, it's supposed to get back to you in four days.
So I was like, he was like, he'sa, he's like, let me just make a
phone call really quick. You've heard that before.
(10:06):
Makes a makes a phone call and he's like, he's like what's your
passport number or what's your your application number?
Within like an hour I had an e-mail saying that I got
accepted and the application gotaccepted.
Wow. Yeah.
So like you do end up meeting people that know no other people
(10:28):
in high places. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And he actually helped me go from Togo into Ghana because
Ghana I didn't have a carne at Pasas.
So because I didn't have a carne, I was having a lot of
trouble getting, I had a lot of trouble figuring out how to get
my bike into Ghana because they wouldn't have let they wouldn't
(10:49):
have let my bike into Ghana if he if he wasn't there at the
border, they wouldn't have let my bike into Ghana.
I would, I would have gotten stuck there.
I don't know how I would have gotten in, but he's like,
listen, because I told him I don't have a, a carne for Ghana.
So he was like he's like, let melet me figure this out.
Let me let me see what let me see what I can do.
(11:11):
So he makes a phone call and we get to the border.
He meets, we meet up with a guy at the border.
They bring me to customs and then customs.
The guy looks at one of the one of the other guys.
The guy behind the desk looks atone of the other guys and he's
like, he looked at him like like, you know, you shouldn't be
doing this. You know, like he he, he looked
at him with shame. He's bringing me to the border
(11:33):
and I don't have all the documents that, but he's just
looking at him like, why are youdoing this?
You know, like. Lots said with no words.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so and I and I, I picked,
I picked up on that and I'm like, oh, I was like, so we that
that even took us about an hour because we had to go back and
forth and convince the guy to let to let me in with the bike
(11:58):
eventually. And also I didn't have to pay
anything. So everything was kind of
already paid for because I did some documentation in the
country before that. But yeah, they didn't want to
let me in. So I I don't.
Yeah, they didn't want to. Let me down.
Yeah, exactly. So in in this.
So this guy, he actually has family and friends.
(12:22):
So I'm supposed to go and visit him in France when I get there
because he's back and forth between France and Togo.
So yeah, really cool, really nice.
And he actually, he took care ofeverything.
When I got to Togo, he's like, he's like, he paid for
everything. He brought me to all the local
places, paid for everything. Yeah, yeah.
Gave me a place to sleep. And he was just like, no, no,
(12:45):
when you're here, you don't, youdon't pay for anything.
So it was, it was actually really, really incredible.
I mean, it's kind of the same hospitality that I'm getting
here in Europe as well, so. It's like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
People are very friendly. So it's like, you know, you meet
people along the way and then they, they're, they're so happy
to, to, to meet up with you or they're happy to, to, to help
(13:08):
you out, you know? Right, right.
And, and, and what has he, what has he thought of your story so
far, your travel so far, 'cause he, I mean, pretty fascinating,
right? Yeah.
He was, yeah. And he was just happy to kind of
just bring me around and like, show me to his friends.
He's like, oh, look at his bike.And then he's been around his
New York plates and it's, it's, it's almost the same thing.
Then when I got to Ghana, when Igot to Ghana, it was like
(13:30):
completely this, like it was absolutely the same thing
because I got the Ghana and I went to this bike shop and they
called like 3 or 4 people and told them that I was in town.
And then there was this one guy who was a motorcycle instructor
and he is, he has a Tenerife andhe was so happy to meet me and
(13:54):
he was so happy to see a bike inGhana that had New York license
plates. Like he was just, he was just
jaw dropped. And then him and his brother,
they own a bike shop. So they gave me free tire, they
gave me free service, oil change, all that stuff.
They put me in a hotel for like 3 days and they paid for
everything. No kidding.
Yeah, I'm that serious guy. I I, yeah, the, the hospitality
(14:17):
is wild. So I'm.
I'm so thankful, you know, to have these people, to have met
these people. You know.
And I always feel like the majority of people in the world
want to be kind. They wanted, they want to help
you, you know. So yeah, it was just, it was
like Ghana was a great experience, another great
(14:39):
experience because people, because we did, we went riding
together. We went, yeah, we went explore
in Ghana and to, you know, get some nice trails and it was, it
was really, really, really cool.So definitely, I'm definitely
gonna go back to Ghana because Iwas, I wasn't, I wasn't there
long. I wasn't there long enough.
I needed to be there a lot longer.
Like 5 months more to go. Yeah.
(15:01):
Yeah, exactly. It must have been nice to get
new tires because you had those other tires on for for a long.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because they looked at my tires
and they're like, dude, like where are you going with these
tires, man? It's not going to.
They're not going to, yeah, it'snot going to be good.
Just like I have tires here. You can just yeah, just put,
just put, just put these tires on.
(15:22):
You'd be all right. Wow.
Yeah. That's that's, that's pretty
wild. And and then so after Ghana,
what did you had to and what wasthat like?
Yeah. So the Ghana I think came.
What country was it? I want to say it was Liberia.
Liberia. I had a friend in Liberia.
OK, OK, I can't. I'm trying to think, I can't
(15:45):
remember if it was called to Wowor or Liberia or Liberia.
So is everyone pretty much have a American accent I mean.
Yeah, I mean, yeah, it's, it's it's funny how, you know,
obviously you know, the history of Liberia, it's it's freed
slaves from United States. So, you know, you look people,
they look at the flag and they're like, wow, the flag
looks like United States was like, well, it's like that
(16:05):
because of, you know, the peoplethat are from here are
descendants of slaves that, you know, And but this, this person
that I knew, she was my old roommate in New York.
And she's like, she's Liberian and she's like, oh, come hang
out, come meet my family. And, you know, and again, she
(16:26):
took me in and helped me out. And her husband helped me out
big time at the next border because, because I had issues at
the next border as well. He, he knew a guy at the border.
He's like, listen, I know somebody that can help you out,
get you through it. Yeah.
That's that's the way the universe work is wild, huh?
Yeah, exactly, exactly. So you know when you when you
(16:48):
put the energy out there as if Ialways feel the universe will
definitely respond. So yeah, unfortunately I didn't
get to stay in Liberia in long enough maybe like like 3 or 4
days. And at this point I was just
kind of hauling ass up the coastof, of Africa to get to Europe.
(17:09):
So I think there was a 1 border that I was going to.
It might have been the court of war border.
Man had such a bad time. That was the worst border.
It just, you know, I hadn't really experienced a ton of
corruption or hard corruption atthe border.
(17:29):
Just just like simple things like I'm at the desk and you
know, before the woman stamps mypassport.
Just like that's, you know, $15 and you're like, no, it's not,
it's not $15, no. And then she'll sit there for
like 5 minutes and look. At you and.
You just have to stare down and then she'll just stamp it very
angrily and very angry, and thenjust get to just give it back to
(17:52):
you, give your passport back to you.
That's kind of the extent of this.
The corruption that I've actually experienced hadn't been
that bad till I got to Cote d'Ivoire.
Is he the Cote d'Ivoire? I think it was Cote d'Ivoire.
The guy brings me to the office and he's like, he's like, he's
going through all my documents. He's filling everything out.
(18:14):
He's doing everything, everything he needs to do.
And I could see him going through it.
He's putting stamps on stamps. Boom, boom, boom.
OK, I'm like, alright, this is going, this is going very well.
Then he's like, then he's like, oh, you know, it's fifty U.S.
dollars or something. And I'm like, whoa, I'm like,
(18:34):
for what? It's just like for the
documents. And it's like, well, I already
paid for this stuff. Some of the stuff I already paid
for and I paid for at the embassy.
And it's always good to keep a receipt because then you can be
like, you know, you can hold thereceipt up and you just like,
listen, I paid for it. And he's like, no, but you
didn't pay me. And I was like, OK.
(18:54):
And I was like, well, I don't have that so.
And then he looks at me. He is he's just like, you're
American, right? I was like, yeah, he was just
like, you have U.S. dollars. I was just like, little do you
know, I've run out so. Can I show you my bike outside?
Yeah, I've, I've, I've been on the road for two years, man, and
(19:15):
I've literally run out of U.S. dollars.
I have no more U.S. dollars. He's like, he's just, he says to
me, he's like, yeah, but you can, you can get U.S. dollars.
You can go to the bank and get U.S. dollars like not that easy,
man. It's not that easy.
And then he and then he looks atme.
Then he says to me, he's like, you have to pay.
(19:35):
He's now his voice is getting nice, starting to demand.
I just had a calm voice. I just like I don't, I don't
have U.S. dollars, man. Then he gets pissed and just
throws my documents across the table.
And then I think, oh, I had someof the local currency.
I had like maybe 15 or $20.00 ofthe local currency, but he
(19:57):
wanted U.S. dollars. You didn't want the local
currency, you wanted U.S. dollars.
So he was telling me to go and exchange the money that I had to
go bring U.S. dollars. So I'm like, I'm not doing that.
Like, why would I do that? Right, Right.
So, and oh, actually, you know what?
I didn't show him that I had that currency.
(20:19):
I knew I had it in my pocket. I had about 10 to $15.00 worth
of the currency in my buck and Ididn't, I didn't tell him that I
had that, but he was like, I sold him.
I was like, oh, I don't have, I don't have it.
So he's like, he's like, yeah, you can go and exchange money
and you can go get it. And, and I was like, I don't
have it. Then.
Then he brings me outside and then goes and sits in the chair
(20:39):
because there's like 5-4 or fiveofficers that are just sitting
in the chair. He just goes out.
He goes outside, brings me out there and he just sits in the
chair and then pretty much. And then they start talking in
French, you know, obviously I don't know what they're saying.
So it was like, all right, well,I guess we're just going to sit
here. So I just kind of, I had a mango
and I just sat on the bike and Ijust, I faced, I faced all the
(21:03):
officers and I just, I just started peeling the mango and
eating in front of them. It's like, it's like, all right,
well, we, I got, I have all day.So I, I could be here overnight
if you want me to. I don't, I don't have this money
you're asking me for. So yeah.
And then eventually the one of the guy gets up, goes in the
(21:23):
office, gets my documents hands to me and just says go.
That was after about I was therefor about 3 hours.
Wow. Yeah, I was there for about 3
hours. I sat like everything happened
for in about an hour and a half.And then I sat and waited for
them, for them to make a decision for another hour and a
half. Right, because usually people
(21:45):
probably eventually gets annoyedor whatever and just kind of
give in. Right, right.
Exactly. You know, because, you know, if
you're not, if you're not used to this kind of stuff, you like,
you know, you you just you just give them the money.
Yeah, Yeah, fine. I have it here.
Here's the money. Let me go.
Like like dude, I've been to like 50 countries already.
Yeah, yeah, this is that my first rodeo man.
(22:06):
And also also like I was on a budget.
Yeah. So I, I didn't technically I had
the money, but I just like, I don't have it to just give to
you, right, Right. You know, like I, I actually
need this money. So like, you know, like it's, it
was actually, I think the situation was if I had given him
the cash that I had on me, I wouldn't have money for fuel for
(22:27):
the next country. Right, right, because there.
There were no ATMs between the, the the the border and the next
big city. Wow.
So I had no cash. So I would, if I'd given that to
him, I wouldn't have any, any fucking any money.
Yeah. So you'd be down the road that
trying to you figure out how yougoing to get some get someone
else out there money. Right.
Yeah. And I think after that went
(22:52):
with, oh, Guinea, that border was Guinea.
Sorry, that border was Guinea. OK, OK, well, it was Guinea.
It was Guinea, now that I think about it.
Guinea was cool. Once The thing is like once you
cross the borders, like everyone's nice, everyone's
cool. But the the borders itself are
just just, they're just a pain in the ass.
They're just a pain. The the I obviously I and I
(23:15):
probably. I probably know the answer, but
like, if you arrive into the situation a year ago, you might
have handled it different than where you are today after having
6 all the experience you've had in the last year and change,
right? Because also, again, like you,
you knew enough to keep calm because I might have been
cussing and, and, and might havegot myself locked up.
(23:35):
You know what I'm saying? Like.
That's the thing about the borders, man, you know, like you
have to stay calm, you know, like, because if you, if you get
riled up and, you know, that just delays things even more
longer. Yeah, just that just makes
(23:57):
things even worse because, you know, their reaction to you
freaking out is, is they're justgoing to be like, oh, OK, well,
yeah, now we're going to call the police, you know, like it's
just the last thing you want them to do is to feel like they
have to use some more authority because of something, you know,
(24:22):
I mean, a lot of times they whatthey'll do is did they might
give in and say, OK, fine here take take yourself and go.
You know, if you raise hell, I don't know, but I, I would, I
would stay as calm as possible and be like, yeah, you just, you
know, like this is this is this is what I have.
I'll sleep here and I'll pitch my tent right here.
You know, it's like it's, it's, you know, I'm not going to, I'm
(24:44):
not going to raise hell. I'm not going to.
I'm just going to, yeah, stay calm.
And yeah, it's, it's just The thing is when you travel, you
just don't want to, you don't want to lash out, lash out, you
know, especially in public, you know, as a tourist, as a
tourist, you just, you want to stay as calm as possible.
(25:05):
I mean, there has been times where I have lashed out.
The only country that's actuallyreally did that to me was India.
They were the India was the onlycountry that's ever managed to
get me boiling to a point where I had to scream and yell at
somebody, even hit somebody. So so it it just it just this
(25:28):
you want to talk about countriesthat attach this?
Is on a different trip. Yeah, this is on a different
trip. This is I went backpacking back
in 2017. Gotcha, Gotcha.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, I mean, the main thing
you want to do is stay as calm as possible because it's just,
you just don't want to lash out.You don't want to raise your
voice. You don't want to, you know, so
but I mean, you, you know, sometimes you get angry, you
(25:50):
know, you know, like it's very difficult to to to keep that
because people are going to people are going to try you.
Yeah. And then and The thing is like
when they try you, it's like, it's like, do you think I'm
like, you think I'm stupid? Like are you really doing this
right now? Is just so you know, you, you,
you, you, you do your best to just to stay as calm as possible
(26:13):
so. That's Yeah, you do.
You have to and as many as most situations as possible be.
It's hard to do it 100% of the time, but if you can get away
with 99. Yeah, exactly.
There's always going to be that.There's always going to be that
one time man where you're like. You know, caught you, got you.
Yeah. And so you're, you're on a time
crunch and you're going through all these places and dealing
(26:34):
with, with the visas and stuff like that now.
So I, I, without looking at the map, how close are you to, to,
to leaving Africa at this point?Because you still like this.
This is before you got to Morocco.
Yeah. So this was after Guinea Had I
(26:57):
had what country? Senegal.
Senegal. Once I got to Senegal, I had to
wait for the visa for Mauritania.
So I only had about four, four countries at Senegal, Mauritania
and Morocco. Morocco was easy for Mauritania.
The visas could be a pain, but the guy from Togo knew someone
(27:21):
in Mauritania and he made a phone call and he's just like,
listen, just give him your documents, they give him all
your information and you'll havea visa in four days.
So that's exactly what happened.And then as a matter of fact,
there were some travelers that were behind me that had trouble
getting to Mauritania. They did the visas, you know,
they were waiting 2 weeks, 3 weeks.
(27:42):
Sometimes you wait a month, like, yeah, and it could be
something really stupid. And that these, the visa
application is very simple. It's a very simple application,
but it's just like. Are you, like, collecting the
dresses to send, I don't know, holiday cards or something,
Birthday cards to these people, Yeah.
Yeah, I should start. Doing that, aren't I, you might
(28:03):
have you might have to meet their their kids and grandkids.
So that could be you got about 30 years of travel.
Yeah, yeah, exactly. But yes, I mean, The thing is,
it was Senegal was really nice, was really cool.
Like I like Senegal a lot. Senegal's very touristy.
So people from people from Europe come down to Senegal.
(28:24):
I didn't realize how touristy itwas, but then when I got there,
I was like, oh wow, this is actually, well, there's some
very touristy section that you say that parts of it.
So then Mauritania. Mauritania was cool, but I just
again, I just kind of zip through it.
Morocco. Morocco was really nice.
I like Morocco. Yeah, Morocco, some of the
(28:46):
videos of where you arrived and that you posted and stuff like
that. And and like I said, so did did
you know, how were you reacting to the culture changes, you
know, as as you're progressing north?
Yeah, you can tell it started toget very European as you as you
start going north, especially asyou get into Morocco, the city
(29:07):
start getting a lot more modern.I was able to use my credit card
and tap the credit card with themachines.
You know, it was like the first time that I was able to use a
credit card at A at a gas station and since Namibia.
Wow. Yeah.
So it was it was just like, oh, I could give you a credit card.
Oh, nice. It just, it just wasn't
(29:29):
expecting that. But then, yeah, it was just it
just as you start going north, it just starts to get more
modern, more European. I don't know.
And then? How is the food?
And I don't think I really askedabout the food as much, but like
how, how is the food changing? And, and just, I mean, you know,
being Jamaican and you know, having a Jamaican background and
(29:49):
stuff and, and then all these other countries like, like how
similar, how not similar foods are and, and stuff like that.
Yeah. I mean, I, I would say the
staple around like around Nigeria and coming out of
Cameroon, Nigeria, you have likeFufu, which is, which is very
(30:12):
good. I fell in love with fufu and
Fufu. You have Nigeria, Togo, Benin.
I wouldn't say that is that similar to, to, to like West
Indian food. But I think you still have the
Curry and the spices and stuff. You still have some of that,
(30:33):
which is, which is interesting because I always felt that the
Curry came from India. So but I guess it depends on
what kind of Curry it is. So, but yeah, I mean, as you
start going up to the, the food stays similar.
Everyone has their own kind of way of making fufu.
And there was another one that was cool.
(30:55):
Is is that dough bases? I'm trying to think, is that
like a like almost like a like, not rice, but really?
Yeah, so it can be cassava. Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, it can be cassava, it can be can be rice, and it depends
on what country you're in. Yeah, yeah, there's and some
(31:16):
people eat it without the sauce.I think in in Togo and Benin, it
was like they just pile a ton oflike really good sauce on there
and it's oh, so good. Oh, it's so good.
Oh man, I, I, I definitely miss that.
I was. I could eat that every day for a
while. Yeah, yeah.
And. Then as you start going up, I'm
(31:42):
trying to think that I eat any Senegalese dishes.
I had to have been since Italy. Senegalese dishes.
I do remember a lot of the Moroccan dishes that I had.
Moroccan food is really good, a lot of like bread and you know,
and sauces and things like that.But yeah, I mean, the the food,
(32:06):
the food stays similar throughout and then slowly
starts to change as you start togo start to go north.
I think I would love to to go a little bit more into like Mali,
Burkina Faso and Niger and eat deep foods from over there as
(32:26):
well. See what that cuisine is like.
But I eat a lot of like like just a mom and pop local like
going into, I don't know, just did they have like 3 chairs and
a table and you know you're getting then you you, you find
yourself with the bowl in your hand.
(32:47):
And yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you.Know like, so like I eat, I've
eaten a lot of places like that.So, but then when you go into
like a restaurant, restaurant, you know, sit down and it's kind
of nice and you know, they will kind of make the food a little
bit different, but I. Feel like right, Right when?
You go into the smaller shops, it's like, Oh yeah, this is
(33:08):
good, this is good. Just don't look in the kitchen
because there's probably flies in there, so.
I'm sure. I'm pretty sure it must be.
It's just probably fun that thatwas one thing you that was one
thing you don't do is just don'tlook in the kitchen.
Right, right. Don't look in the kitchen.
So there we go. That's my number one rule when
(33:28):
it comes to when it comes to food.
Don't look in the kitchen. You might not like what you see.
So OK, so now any more countriesin in, in Africa before you
cross the border? And we're like, what was
crossing the border? Like, was it a ferry?
How? How did that happen?
Yeah. So I was just moving, moving
through Africa and then getting it to Morocco and then taking
(33:50):
the ferry. Yeah.
So it was a it was a probably a 1 1/2 hour ferry.
OK, that's not. Bad, not, not too bad.
Goes right into to Spain. And once you get to Spain, yeah,
that's, that's, that's it. You're in Europe, which is quite
wild. It was, it was kind of, it was
kind of crazy that, that, that like crossing.
(34:10):
Well, it was first of all, it was crazy leaving Africa,
leaving Africa. I I really, really enjoyed
Africa a lot. And you know, I talked to a lot
of people before I did the trap,did the trip and some people,
most people were like, you're going to love it or hate it,
depending on who you are. And depending on what kind of
(34:31):
luxuries you, you had you, you like or depending on how open
minded you are, like you either love it or you hate it.
People can piss you off or people can, you can love the
people. I think for me it was, it was
way it was definitely I, I lovedit to the point where I would
(34:55):
not mind living there in a specific country for like, you
know, three to four months out of the year and then relocating
somewhere else. And if I could do like living in
say states, Europe and Africa, you know, just kind of be those,
(35:16):
that little triangle there that would be.
Chasing the sunlight and not thesnow.
Exactly exactly that would be that would be amazing.
So, but, but yeah, I mean, I love, I loved it.
I loved Africa. So leaving Africa was was was
kind and a lot happened in Africa so.
How, how long were you there? You were there for.
(35:38):
Ten months. Ten months.
Yeah, so and so much happened, you know, the bike got messed
up, I crashed, you know, I've broken the shoulder.
It's just, it's just a lot just happened in Africa.
I have a lot of memories there now.
So, yeah, and then going into Europe, once I stepped into
Spain, I was like, wow, I'm on my 4th continent.
(36:01):
Wow. And I was like, I cannot believe
that I've ridden my motorcycle on four different continents.
And I was like, wow. And just getting there.
I had to really just kind of like take it all in and just
think about like everything thatI was doing.
And, you know, I had to like, take a deep breath, man.
And yeah, it was, it was just, it was incredible the fact that
(36:27):
I had gotten there. And yeah, yeah, and, and then
you heard a bunch of horns, probably, and people trying to
get out the way. You're not going fast enough.
Well, to be honest with you, I mean, I think the culture here
is very quiet. You know, it's not.
No one's going to like beat the horns like crazy.
Like that's that's the thing. No, you said.
The culture here, the culture where you're now or culture in
(36:48):
Spain? Yeah, yeah.
It's different, huh? Yeah.
Yeah. You don't really hear.
It's not like being in New York City or being, you know, in
Boston or people are not laying on the horn like they're not,
they're not impatient Americans,you know, it's.
(37:10):
But yeah. But getting into Spain was
really cool. And then the next was Portugal.
And I had met up with a friend in Portugal.
You got to and and it was it's, it's South, South of Spain or
South Spain, right? So like Valencia or?
It would be, what do you call it, Gibraltar.
(37:33):
OK. OK.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's kind of where the the
ferry dropped you off at. Yeah, yeah.
Yeah. And yes, then I just kind of
hauled, hauled ass to Portugal, OK, and stayed in Portugal for
about a week. Yeah, it was there.
How do you like Portugal? You're going back.
(37:59):
Is that what you know? You know, I, I think, I think if
I did it differently, if I was not in Lisbon during tourist
season, I think it would be a little bit different.
But because, because it was tourist season in Lisbon, I felt
like another tourist. It was, it was like, yeah.
(38:23):
And I felt like it was like United States.
Yeah, you're like, you know. No, no one speaking Portuguese,
all you hear is English. Yeah.
So yeah, you know, I think, I think if I were to if and when,
which I do plan on going back, I'd probably stay near the
(38:43):
coast, stay away. I'd stay away from Lisbon.
I've already have a not so greattaste.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. In my mouth for Lisbon.
That's kind of how I feel I feltabout Venice.
Venice is very touristy and you know, you're really, it's tough
because it's such a cool place. But at the same time, when you,
when you know, when you see all the tourists, there's also like
(39:05):
man. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It kind of, it almost feels likeit kind of ruins the the natural
vibe of the place. You know, yeah.
But I think, you know, if I werein like the north or near the
coast, you know, I think it would be a little bit different,
just a way outside of the touristy areas, so.
(39:28):
But, and what's riding a bike like in Spain and, and in
Portugal? Because I, you know, and I was
like, I, you know, more asphalt roads and highways, I suspect.
Yeah, I mean, if you just, if you're taking just the paved
roads, yeah, there's a lot of, you know, big highways, things
like that. Unfortunately, I was not able to
really explore and take some back roads and take, you know,
(39:51):
trails and things like that because it's definitely along
the the Trans Euro Trail is, is,is is along those countries.
So and it goes all the way north.
And you can take the trans euro trail and you know you would
you'd be on dirt like 9590% of the time.
So, but taking Oh, and the, the gas in, in Europe, Oh my gosh,
(40:16):
it's so expensive. I kept, I kept complaining about
the fuel, the prices of the fuel, because I filled my bike
up and it was like 30 euros. Oh, oh wow, it was.
Like it was like 2727 euros and that and my bike wasn't even on
east and I'm like, wow, that's expensive.
And then you know, the, you know, the, you know, the right
now the dollar is super weak. So, so in euro is like, you
(40:40):
know, it's, it's like, I don't know, like 14 or something like
that, I think. But it's a it's just, it was
just, I couldn't, I had never filled my bike up and paid that
much money as. I could live for a whole day.
What am I doing? Yeah, exactly.
You know, And then, you know, obviously the highways, you
(41:01):
know, you're hammering the throttle.
So the highways there, you're going, you know, 90 miles an
hour, 80 miles an hour and you're just, you're just on the
throttle. So that's just drinking my gas.
So now I'm just kind of like, well, damn, I, I have to stop
for gas every time and, and fillup 25 to $30 every time.
And just, it's just, yeah, it was a, it was definitely an eye,
(41:25):
eye opener being like welcome toEurope.
You know, yeah, yeah, I can imagine.
And then, OK, so you get from Portugal, where do you head
next? Portugal into back into Spain,
then France. But again, I was just moving
through. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
(41:46):
I was trying to get to the this festival in in the UK called the
ABR festival but my bike in France kind of shit the bed it
the chain. The chain just started.
The chain was stretched out. The sprocket was bad so I had to
make an emergency stop and and get that fixed so I didn't make
(42:10):
it to the festival. So I ended up just going all the
way straight from France, Belgium and then into
Netherlands. So and then I've been been here
since just getting the bike ready.
So which is kind of the next step.
But anything is, you know, like once I got into Europe, I had to
take a deep breath and be like, oh, I'm in Europe now.
(42:30):
But but then I also had to say to myself, like I have the race
to think about as well. So like, that's that I didn't
even have, I didn't even have much time to really embrace the
fact that I had gotten into Europe because getting the bike
ready for the race was like always in my mind.
And whether whether or not I wasgoing to be able to do it or
(42:50):
even make it to the race becauseI had, you know, finances were,
you know, unfortunately we're starting to get a little wonky.
And then there was like, how am I going to get to Romania?
You know, how am I going to get the bike fixed?
But then, you know, again, you know, the universe responds and
all. I've been chit chatting with a
(43:12):
friend from like, way before, like maybe like when I was in
Namibia and he said to me he owns a shop.
And he's like, listen, when you get to the Netherlands, man, let
me know. I got a place for you to sleep.
You can work on the bike here, you can send parts there, all
that stuff. So, yeah.
So you know, since then, when I got into Netherlands, it's a
place called Bob's Bike Shop, which is actually where I am
(43:33):
right now. Shout out to Bob.
Yeah, and, you know, he's been super cool, man.
He's been the hospitality once again, has been, you know, you
know, it's a been amazing. So and he's been helping me get
a lot of shit, lot of stuff doneon the bike and yeah, and I'm
completely rebuilding the bike here and and yeah, it's it's
(43:57):
been it's been a great experience.
So we were, we were riding the other day and saw saw a little
bit of the countryside and yeah,pretty cool, pretty cool stuff.
So. Another ones is pretty cool.
I I've been to Amsterdam, Asson and and Granigan and yeah, you
know, just just getting around is, is a little bit different.
(44:17):
So seeing all those bicycles, was that a shock for you?
Yeah. Yeah, see, getting into the city
and seeing all the bicycles, man, I was like, OK, bicycles
run this town. I see.
You know, it's just like that's but yeah, it's a good thing
though. I mean, I think, you know, it's
a, you know, the bicycles are, you know, obviously they lower
emissions and, you know, all that good stuff, so.
Keep everyone slim. Yeah.
(44:39):
Yeah, exactly. But but yeah, I mean, I, I was,
I was already warned that when you get to the Netherlands, it's
going to be a lot of cyclists. So yeah, it's just the way it is
there. Yeah, no, it's definitely pretty
cool to see. Let's talk about the race and
the preparation and stuff like that.
It sounds like you are going to make it and the bike is going to
(45:00):
get together and all that fun stuff.
So let's talk about when the race is, what it entail from the
paperwork side and also trainingas well.
Let's talk about that and then also like what what are you
doing to the bike to make it survive this this the race?
Although, you know, I suspect you probably survived so far
(45:21):
with it already. I think this race might be a
piece of cake. Yeah, I wish this race would be
a piece of cake, but it's it is definitely the rebel Romaniacs.
And you can't, it's just it's a tough race.
So it's always a tough race every year.
And you know, people train really hard for this race and I
think as far as training goes, that's kind of been out the
(45:43):
window. So I think as as far as training
is just going to be like once I get the bike together, there's
some things I need to work on, like a little bit of clutch
control and also getting used tothe bike.
So everything that I'm doing to the bike is pretty much just
(46:04):
surround weight reduction. So I'm just trying to make the
bike as light as possible. So I've removed so many things.
I've moved the auxiliary fuel tank, I removed the ABS box,
I've removed the the rally towerthat was in front.
I have dropped maybe 2527 lbs off the bike.
(46:29):
So it's, it's been and I did a little small test ride and it
feels so different. The bike feels it feels so
different, so also gave it a different look.
It's kind of just like a big dirt bike now.
But yeah, I mean, that's that's pretty much was the goal was to
(46:50):
just make the bike as light as possible.
As far as getting it ready for the race, getting to the race,
that's a whole another. I don't know, I'm trying to
figure out if I can ride there, get a ride there as as of right
now, it seems like I'm going to be riding there, which can make
things a little difficult because obviously, you know,
(47:13):
when I get there, I'm going to have to change the tires because
I can't ride there on the same tires that I'm going to be
racing with. So it's just, yeah.
So there's some things to think about when it comes to getting
there that logistics I'm still trying to figure out.
Right. Yeah, and also, you know,
(47:38):
getting getting the what I actually putting the bike
together, you know my oh, I alsoput a, a, a smaller front
sprocket on there. OK.
So you know to help with. More Top End.
More top end Yes, exactly. So, yeah, so I'm just trying to,
(48:00):
you know, slowly but surely get the bike piece by piece, but,
you know, ready to go. So and and when is the race?
When does it start? It's July 21st, so when you get
there. Two weeks from like today, yeah.
Man, yeah, it's, it's around thecorner.
(48:22):
It's definitely around the corner.
So and my bike is still on the on the on the on the operating
table so. But I mean, how cool is it
though to be, you know, in, in Holland and and you know, your
bike is apart. You still got two weeks, you
know, you know, I think if you ride some bicycles, you probably
(48:42):
just need the endurance training.
You may, you may think differently, but how cool is it
like to be, you know, and, and you, I know you said you haven't
had a moment to take any, all the, all that in, but you know,
every once in a while you're like, man, this is pretty dope
what I'm doing. And I'm not quite there yet.
I still got some things to figure out.
But at this point, you know, it's just, it's just kind of
like, am I taking path A or pathB?
(49:04):
It's not like you're not going. Right, right, right.
Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's, yeah.
I mean, it is, It is, You know, you, you have to step back and
think to yourself like, you know, I'm here, I made it, you
know, and I got some decisions to make, you know, how to get
there and what I'm going to do with my bike.
And I also have to think about what happens afterwards as well.
(49:29):
That's true. But yeah, so I mean, it's, it's,
it's definitely something that Iyou need to take, you have to
step stop and think about and just take in and say this, this
is this is a pretty cool journeythat I'm on.
And you know, I'm, I'm trying my, my best to, to, to get
there. I think at the end of the day,
(49:53):
you know, I really, I really have been, have enjoyed every
moment leading up to today a lot.
I had a lot of UPS, a lot of downs.
I had a lot of downs. A lot has happened and you know,
I'm thankful that I'm able to make it this far, you know, so.
(50:16):
Now are you, are you pitching a tent outside just to make sure
you, you stay, you know, humble because a little bit of creature
comfort for me, you know, I can't look at that tent anymore.
Well, I can tell you right now, man, it's like the fact that I I
have a hot shower every day I wake up in the morning right now
is quite is quite crazy. So it just, you know, having
(50:39):
that hot shower and it gets hot where it actually burns your
skin. Like I'm like, oh, I haven't had
hot water like that in in a longtime.
And I can get used to that. I can get used to this.
Yes, yes, yes, definitely. Nice, nice.
And you know, before we get out of here, you know, you mentioned
afterwards I didn't even think about that, but like, yeah, you
(51:00):
know, are you, you know, after the race is over, you just going
to put the bags on and keep going or are you going to hang
out in the Netherlands for a little bit?
Which country is the race in? Romania.
Romania, OK. Are you going to, are you going
to hang out Romania for a littlebit or?
Well, here's the thing. I mean, right now again, the the
funds are winding down and I'm not working.
(51:22):
So that is the problem. If I had a steady income, I
would throw the bags back on andjust, yeah, I would just tour
Europe, you know, for another, you know, two months or
whatever, forever. How many months I have for for
the visa, But unfortunately, youknow, because I'm not working, I
(51:44):
have to figure out something else.
So I might have to head back to Netherlands or even Portugal,
possibly leave the bike and go back to the States and just make
some money. Got you got.
You and, and then go back. So, you know, I could have done
(52:05):
this sooner, but I wouldn't havebeen able to make the race,
right. So, but after the race, I'm
like, OK, I, I feel a lot more comfortable and OK, I feel a lot
more OK with, with parking the bike heading back to the states
if they, if they let me in and, and you know, and, you know,
(52:32):
make make some money. And because I really want to get
a visa for Portugal, as I was when I was talking to my friend
who lives in Portugal, she's like, you're better off doing it
from the from the states becauseif you're already there, it
makes things a lot more difficult because then you end
up for staying your visa trying to get the process done.
(52:53):
So she's like, you're better offgoing to going to the States,
get some money into your account, figure out your life,
do some things, stay there for about a year and then apply for
the visa. Got you.
Got you. So she said that's the easiest
way to do it. Got you.
OK, well, hopefully something else will pop up and you might
not have to wait a whole year. You never know.
(53:13):
That's the beautiful thing aboutit.
Yeah, and The thing is, you know, I mean, the, the
hospitality here in Europe has been incredible.
Like I, I really, I really like the, the people in the motor,
the motor community here, the, the adventure motorcycle
community is just, I don't know,everywhere it's, it's different,
it's different than the states. The states it's a little bit
more difficult to tap into whereas.
(53:37):
It's like a pastime here in Europe.
Yeah, yeah, You know, and that whereas like Europe, it's like,
you know, I get I there's a lot more love, there's a lot more.
It's a lot more inviting to be honest with you.
It's like I'm really upset that I missed the ABR festival
because then I would have met somany people who, who I've been
(53:58):
in contact with on social media,you know, because they're all in
Europe. Everyone that I'm talking to and
being who's engaged with my account, most of them are in
Europe. So no, you never know.
I mean, and you know, you know, we'll talk more fear, but you
never know. It's that's it's pretty wild to
(54:20):
even have this the the opportunity.
But like you never know what's going to happen in the next few
weeks or in in the future. And you can still reach out to
these people and whatever, whatever connections that could
happen. Yeah, well, the biggest thing
that will help me is me doing well in a race.
I mean, if I if I did well in a race.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That alone, I think, would spark
(54:40):
something. It would open up doors.
Yeah, yeah, for sure. But, you know, we'll, we'll,
we'll figure that out when we get there, right?
Yes, we will and we'll find out.Man, I want to thank you for
coming on this to be forever cool podcast.
My name is Rex 45 Nomad on two wheels.
Peace.
Welcome back to another edition of the Be Forever Cool podcast.
My name is Rex 45. We got Nomad in the building.
What's going on, man? Welcome back to the show.
Where are you in the world today?
Aw man, yes, I'm, I'm in the Netherlands now.
I made made my way to the Netherlands.
So I was, I was able to make it into across the across the water
(00:21):
from Morocco into Spain and mademy way to Portugal, France,
Belgium and now I'm here in the Netherlands.
Oh, man, I, I, so I guess we gotto get caught up because I think
the last time we spoke, I'm trying to think I, I think
you're in the either Republic ofCongo.
(00:42):
Yeah. That was like 1520 countries
ago. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.
I was actually, I was act last time we spoke.
I was in. I was actually in Nigeria.
OK. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.
I was, I was in, I was in, I wasin Congo.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I wasn't in Congo.
That's right. That's right.
I wasn't in Congo. Yeah, there's been a couple of
months. I know we talked on adventure
(01:03):
stuff I think back in April as well.
So, yeah, so it's been a little bit.
Yeah, yeah, it's been some time spent some.
Time. So yeah.
So let's let's get caught up, man.
I mean, I gotta imagine it has to be wild being in the
Netherlands now after being the,for lack of better word, so
(01:24):
rural. We spoke last.
So let's talk about your journey, how you got from there
to here and also kind of like what that experience is like,
because I saw some clips of you in Morocco and stuff like that.
And, and you know, it was more, more, a lot, a lot more things
were happening in one area than riding through some small towns
(01:47):
or villages and stuff like that.So I I got to imagine like your,
your spider senses must have been all over the place for a
few days. Yeah, yeah.
I mean, you know, coming out of the Congo, next country after
that was Cameroon. I think by that time I was
(02:07):
trying to figure out which border to cross to get into
Nigeria. So the so, so for those who
don't know, going from Cameroon to Nigeria, there's a section of
Cameroon that's really that's quite dangerous.
And you have three options when it comes to crossing the border.
You have to, you can take the ferry, you can take an escort or
(02:30):
you can take a route that's really off road.
Now, when I say really off road,I mean it's really off road.
The you want to only do it during dry season, during the
rain season, you'll see trucks go in and then just leave their
truck there over, you know, for the course of like a couple
months because it gets stuck in the, in the mud.
So, but yes, I mean, I think that was a decision that I had
(02:54):
to make to find out which borderI was going to cross.
Getting into Nigeria, I was a bit nervous heading into Nigeria
because I've obviously we've heard so many stories about
Nigeria, but the surprising thing about Nigeria was the fact
that it was absolutely a blast. Nigeria was amazing.
The people were amazing. Is probably one of the most
(03:15):
friendliest countries that I've been to in Africa, so.
So everyone is not trying to sell you something, trying to,
you know, take all your inheritance, none of that.
Well, that's a whole another topic.
I'd say, I'd say the end of the day, you know people, they're
(03:38):
opportunists, you know, like, and, and it's, it's when, when
things arrive, when the, when the opportunity arrives, they,
they, you know, they tend to kind of, you know, they will try
to get you. You know, if you're sleeping.
Yeah, yeah. So you do have to kind of watch
out a little bit, you know, especially if you're going to a
store and you want to buy something and then they see you
and they know you're American orwhatever and then everything
(04:01):
just double S and triples and quadruples.
So the thing and also like they will definitely, you know, if
they're trying to sell you a service, you know, they will
convince you that the their service is the best and you
can't get it anywhere else, you know, but yeah, I mean, the end
(04:24):
of the day, they, they're still very friendly group of people
and they always, they always want to take photos.
They're always like, oh, let's take a picture, let's take a
picture. You know, it was probably the
only country in Africa where people were very open to taking
pictures. You know, the whole kids would
(04:44):
come in and they'd bring everyone into the, into the
photo. And yeah, so it was.
They're they're, they're not shy.
OK, OK. And, and like, what towns or
cities did you get to visit and like, what was the, the
architect like and, and kind of like, you know, the hustle and
bustle of the, of the, of the town or city.
Yeah. So it depends on where you were.
(05:06):
You know, as you, as you're further away from the cities,
you see a lot more of these smaller villages and you kind of
get that feel of when you walk into a small village, you, you
just have that small village feel and you just, you know,
it's like everyone knows everyone.
There's a local store over thereand like everyone gets
(05:26):
everything over there. Also as you get further away
from say, Lagos, right, everyone, like you see a lot
more Muslim culture as well. There's a lot more Muslims
surrounding like outside of Lagos.
(05:47):
And also as you go further north, like if you go towards
like Abuja, you definitely will get more Muslim as you go, as
you go north in Nigeria. But I didn't go that far north.
I stayed a little bit, like actually very far South.
(06:09):
I stayed and just went, went across Nigeria.
So did you go? So you, you spent a little bit
of time in Lagos. Yeah.
So Lagos is amazing. Lagos.
And how does it compare to like a New York or like a Boston or
like a Chicago? Like, you know, what's the vibe
like? And did you did you get to enjoy
(06:30):
a nightlife? Yeah, so it's, it's actually,
it's funny you say that because it definitely has a New York.
It can have a New York feel, especially with the highways and
the byways is going across throughout the city and if you
take the wrong one, it'll bring you somewhere for 30 minutes and
then you have to turn around. It has.
That same, that same vibe, you do see a bit of poverty along
(06:53):
the road as you're, as you're driving, especially on the, on
the water, because there's a lotof like there's a, there's a
like a main is there's like a main city.
And then there's like another part that's like kind of like a
small island and that's where like things are really nice.
(07:13):
You know, you're in that smaller, smaller island and then
things are like buildings, tall skyscraper buildings, all that
stuff. And but then as you get closer
to the water, sometimes it's like you can see a lot of the,
the poverty along the edges of the water and, and it kind of,
it almost kind of reminded me ofIndia, like Mumbai.
(07:36):
Like you look over here and there's skyscraper buildings
over here and there's like $1,000,000 apartments and things
like that. And then you look over to the
right and then you just kind of see the, the slums in the right.
You know, it kind of gave that feel just a little bit at times.
Got you. And, and what was lodging like
for you? Were you in one of the nice high
(07:57):
rises for a day or two hour? Oh, you still like, you know.
Definitely not. Place to pitch a tent.
I'm I'm still in the budget mode.
I was still definitely in the budget mode.
But I mean, it's honestly, you can find something decent for
like $20.25 bucks a night that has, you know, a shower that
(08:20):
that's not a bucket shower. But yeah, I mean, I think, I
think the end of the day, you know, with Lagos, it's a, it's a
whole different vibe of Africa. It's, it's, it explodes.
It's like a like the nightlife is, is really cool.
Like you can go out and The thing is like, no, everyone is,
(08:40):
everyone is friendly. Like you're not going to go out
and get into a fight, you know, like it's not going to happen.
You know, you don't, you don't you don't even think about
things like that. It's, it's everyone is just
especially when they know that you're not from there and you
know, people want to show you around and they want to bring
you. So it's, it's a really, really,
really, really cool vibe. Really cool vibe.
(09:02):
So I liked, I like Nigeria a lot.
So no. It's not.
And then from Nigeria, where didyou move on to?
So Nigeria, I went to Togo, Benin and you know, it's, it's
crazy because the hospitality inAfrica is, is absolutely
astonishing. Like the people there, they will
(09:23):
do their best to take care of you, to get you what you need.
It's funny because I actually got the Togo and I needed a visa
for Benin. Sorry, I got the Benin and I, I
needed a visa for Togo. So when I got the Benin, I met
this guy at a hostel and he was on work on business and he lives
(09:44):
in Togo. And I told him, I said, look,
you know, I applied for a visa for for Togo and they haven't
gotten back to me. It's been like 2 weeks.
Yeah, yeah. Like he's like, that's weird.
And he's like, it's supposed to get back to you in four days.
So I was like, he was like, he'sa, he's like, let me just make a
phone call really quick. You've heard that before.
(10:06):
Makes a makes a phone call and he's like, he's like what's your
passport number or what's your your application number?
Within like an hour I had an e-mail saying that I got
accepted and the application gotaccepted.
Wow. Yeah.
So like you do end up meeting people that know no other people
(10:28):
in high places. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And he actually helped me go from Togo into Ghana because
Ghana I didn't have a carne at Pasas.
So because I didn't have a carne, I was having a lot of
trouble getting, I had a lot of trouble figuring out how to get
my bike into Ghana because they wouldn't have let they wouldn't
(10:49):
have let my bike into Ghana if he if he wasn't there at the
border, they wouldn't have let my bike into Ghana.
I would, I would have gotten stuck there.
I don't know how I would have gotten in, but he's like,
listen, because I told him I don't have a, a carne for Ghana.
So he was like he's like, let melet me figure this out.
Let me let me see what let me see what I can do.
(11:11):
So he makes a phone call and we get to the border.
He meets, we meet up with a guy at the border.
They bring me to customs and then customs.
The guy looks at one of the one of the other guys.
The guy behind the desk looks atone of the other guys and he's
like, he looked at him like like, you know, you shouldn't be
doing this. You know, like he he, he looked
at him with shame. He's bringing me to the border
(11:33):
and I don't have all the documents that, but he's just
looking at him like, why are youdoing this?
You know, like. Lots said with no words.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so and I and I, I picked,
I picked up on that and I'm like, oh, I was like, so we that
that even took us about an hour because we had to go back and
forth and convince the guy to let to let me in with the bike
(11:58):
eventually. And also I didn't have to pay
anything. So everything was kind of
already paid for because I did some documentation in the
country before that. But yeah, they didn't want to
let me in. So I I don't.
Yeah, they didn't want to. Let me down.
Yeah, exactly. So in in this.
So this guy, he actually has family and friends.
(12:22):
So I'm supposed to go and visit him in France when I get there
because he's back and forth between France and Togo.
So yeah, really cool, really nice.
And he actually, he took care ofeverything.
When I got to Togo, he's like, he's like, he paid for
everything. He brought me to all the local
places, paid for everything. Yeah, yeah.
Gave me a place to sleep. And he was just like, no, no,
(12:45):
when you're here, you don't, youdon't pay for anything.
So it was, it was actually really, really incredible.
I mean, it's kind of the same hospitality that I'm getting
here in Europe as well, so. It's like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
People are very friendly. So it's like, you know, you meet
people along the way and then they, they're, they're so happy
to, to, to meet up with you or they're happy to, to, to help
(13:08):
you out, you know? Right, right.
And, and, and what has he, what has he thought of your story so
far, your travel so far, 'cause he, I mean, pretty fascinating,
right? Yeah.
He was, yeah. And he was just happy to kind of
just bring me around and like, show me to his friends.
He's like, oh, look at his bike.And then he's been around his
New York plates and it's, it's, it's almost the same thing.
Then when I got to Ghana, when Igot to Ghana, it was like
(13:30):
completely this, like it was absolutely the same thing
because I got the Ghana and I went to this bike shop and they
called like 3 or 4 people and told them that I was in town.
And then there was this one guy who was a motorcycle instructor
and he is, he has a Tenerife andhe was so happy to meet me and
(13:54):
he was so happy to see a bike inGhana that had New York license
plates. Like he was just, he was just
jaw dropped. And then him and his brother,
they own a bike shop. So they gave me free tire, they
gave me free service, oil change, all that stuff.
They put me in a hotel for like 3 days and they paid for
everything. No kidding.
Yeah, I'm that serious guy. I I, yeah, the, the hospitality
(14:17):
is wild. So I'm.
I'm so thankful, you know, to have these people, to have met
these people. You know.
And I always feel like the majority of people in the world
want to be kind. They wanted, they want to help
you, you know. So yeah, it was just, it was
like Ghana was a great experience, another great
(14:39):
experience because people, because we did, we went riding
together. We went, yeah, we went explore
in Ghana and to, you know, get some nice trails and it was, it
was really, really, really cool.So definitely, I'm definitely
gonna go back to Ghana because Iwas, I wasn't, I wasn't there
long. I wasn't there long enough.
I needed to be there a lot longer.
Like 5 months more to go. Yeah.
(15:01):
Yeah, exactly. It must have been nice to get
new tires because you had those other tires on for for a long.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because they looked at my tires
and they're like, dude, like where are you going with these
tires, man? It's not going to.
They're not going to, yeah, it'snot going to be good.
Just like I have tires here. You can just yeah, just put,
just put, just put these tires on.
(15:22):
You'd be all right. Wow.
Yeah. That's that's, that's pretty
wild. And and then so after Ghana,
what did you had to and what wasthat like?
Yeah. So the Ghana I think came.
What country was it? I want to say it was Liberia.
Liberia. I had a friend in Liberia.
OK, OK, I can't. I'm trying to think, I can't
(15:45):
remember if it was called to Wowor or Liberia or Liberia.
So is everyone pretty much have a American accent I mean.
Yeah, I mean, yeah, it's, it's it's funny how, you know,
obviously you know, the history of Liberia, it's it's freed
slaves from United States. So, you know, you look people,
they look at the flag and they're like, wow, the flag
looks like United States was like, well, it's like that
(16:05):
because of, you know, the peoplethat are from here are
descendants of slaves that, you know, And but this, this person
that I knew, she was my old roommate in New York.
And she's like, she's Liberian and she's like, oh, come hang
out, come meet my family. And, you know, and again, she
(16:26):
took me in and helped me out. And her husband helped me out
big time at the next border because, because I had issues at
the next border as well. He, he knew a guy at the border.
He's like, listen, I know somebody that can help you out,
get you through it. Yeah.
That's that's the way the universe work is wild, huh?
Yeah, exactly, exactly. So you know when you when you
(16:48):
put the energy out there as if Ialways feel the universe will
definitely respond. So yeah, unfortunately I didn't
get to stay in Liberia in long enough maybe like like 3 or 4
days. And at this point I was just
kind of hauling ass up the coastof, of Africa to get to Europe.
(17:09):
So I think there was a 1 border that I was going to.
It might have been the court of war border.
Man had such a bad time. That was the worst border.
It just, you know, I hadn't really experienced a ton of
corruption or hard corruption atthe border.
(17:29):
Just just like simple things like I'm at the desk and you
know, before the woman stamps mypassport.
Just like that's, you know, $15 and you're like, no, it's not,
it's not $15, no. And then she'll sit there for
like 5 minutes and look. At you and.
You just have to stare down and then she'll just stamp it very
angrily and very angry, and thenjust get to just give it back to
(17:52):
you, give your passport back to you.
That's kind of the extent of this.
The corruption that I've actually experienced hadn't been
that bad till I got to Cote d'Ivoire.
Is he the Cote d'Ivoire? I think it was Cote d'Ivoire.
The guy brings me to the office and he's like, he's like, he's
going through all my documents. He's filling everything out.
(18:14):
He's doing everything, everything he needs to do.
And I could see him going through it.
He's putting stamps on stamps. Boom, boom, boom.
OK, I'm like, alright, this is going, this is going very well.
Then he's like, then he's like, oh, you know, it's fifty U.S.
dollars or something. And I'm like, whoa, I'm like,
(18:34):
for what? It's just like for the
documents. And it's like, well, I already
paid for this stuff. Some of the stuff I already paid
for and I paid for at the embassy.
And it's always good to keep a receipt because then you can be
like, you know, you can hold thereceipt up and you just like,
listen, I paid for it. And he's like, no, but you
didn't pay me. And I was like, OK.
(18:54):
And I was like, well, I don't have that so.
And then he looks at me. He is he's just like, you're
American, right? I was like, yeah, he was just
like, you have U.S. dollars. I was just like, little do you
know, I've run out so. Can I show you my bike outside?
Yeah, I've, I've, I've been on the road for two years, man, and
(19:15):
I've literally run out of U.S. dollars.
I have no more U.S. dollars. He's like, he's just, he says to
me, he's like, yeah, but you can, you can get U.S. dollars.
You can go to the bank and get U.S. dollars like not that easy,
man. It's not that easy.
And then he and then he looks atme.
Then he says to me, he's like, you have to pay.
(19:35):
He's now his voice is getting nice, starting to demand.
I just had a calm voice. I just like I don't, I don't
have U.S. dollars, man. Then he gets pissed and just
throws my documents across the table.
And then I think, oh, I had someof the local currency.
I had like maybe 15 or $20.00 ofthe local currency, but he
(19:57):
wanted U.S. dollars. You didn't want the local
currency, you wanted U.S. dollars.
So he was telling me to go and exchange the money that I had to
go bring U.S. dollars. So I'm like, I'm not doing that.
Like, why would I do that? Right, Right.
So, and oh, actually, you know what?
I didn't show him that I had that currency.
(20:19):
I knew I had it in my pocket. I had about 10 to $15.00 worth
of the currency in my buck and Ididn't, I didn't tell him that I
had that, but he was like, I sold him.
I was like, oh, I don't have, I don't have it.
So he's like, he's like, yeah, you can go and exchange money
and you can go get it. And, and I was like, I don't
have it. Then.
Then he brings me outside and then goes and sits in the chair
(20:39):
because there's like 5-4 or fiveofficers that are just sitting
in the chair. He just goes out.
He goes outside, brings me out there and he just sits in the
chair and then pretty much. And then they start talking in
French, you know, obviously I don't know what they're saying.
So it was like, all right, well,I guess we're just going to sit
here. So I just kind of, I had a mango
and I just sat on the bike and Ijust, I faced, I faced all the
(21:03):
officers and I just, I just started peeling the mango and
eating in front of them. It's like, it's like, all right,
well, we, I got, I have all day.So I, I could be here overnight
if you want me to. I don't, I don't have this money
you're asking me for. So yeah.
And then eventually the one of the guy gets up, goes in the
(21:23):
office, gets my documents hands to me and just says go.
That was after about I was therefor about 3 hours.
Wow. Yeah, I was there for about 3
hours. I sat like everything happened
for in about an hour and a half.And then I sat and waited for
them, for them to make a decision for another hour and a
half. Right, because usually people
(21:45):
probably eventually gets annoyedor whatever and just kind of
give in. Right, right.
Exactly. You know, because, you know, if
you're not, if you're not used to this kind of stuff, you like,
you know, you you just you just give them the money.
Yeah, Yeah, fine. I have it here.
Here's the money. Let me go.
Like like dude, I've been to like 50 countries already.
Yeah, yeah, this is that my first rodeo man.
(22:06):
And also also like I was on a budget.
Yeah. So I, I didn't technically I had
the money, but I just like, I don't have it to just give to
you, right, Right. You know, like I, I actually
need this money. So like, you know, like it's, it
was actually, I think the situation was if I had given him
the cash that I had on me, I wouldn't have money for fuel for
(22:27):
the next country. Right, right, because there.
There were no ATMs between the, the the the border and the next
big city. Wow.
So I had no cash. So I would, if I'd given that to
him, I wouldn't have any, any fucking any money.
Yeah. So you'd be down the road that
trying to you figure out how yougoing to get some get someone
else out there money. Right.
Yeah. And I think after that went
(22:52):
with, oh, Guinea, that border was Guinea.
Sorry, that border was Guinea. OK, OK, well, it was Guinea.
It was Guinea, now that I think about it.
Guinea was cool. Once The thing is like once you
cross the borders, like everyone's nice, everyone's
cool. But the the borders itself are
just just, they're just a pain in the ass.
They're just a pain. The the I obviously I and I
(23:15):
probably. I probably know the answer, but
like, if you arrive into the situation a year ago, you might
have handled it different than where you are today after having
6 all the experience you've had in the last year and change,
right? Because also, again, like you,
you knew enough to keep calm because I might have been
cussing and, and, and might havegot myself locked up.
(23:35):
You know what I'm saying? Like.
That's the thing about the borders, man, you know, like you
have to stay calm, you know, like, because if you, if you get
riled up and, you know, that just delays things even more
longer. Yeah, just that just makes
(23:57):
things even worse because, you know, their reaction to you
freaking out is, is they're justgoing to be like, oh, OK, well,
yeah, now we're going to call the police, you know, like it's
just the last thing you want them to do is to feel like they
have to use some more authority because of something, you know,
(24:22):
I mean, a lot of times they whatthey'll do is did they might
give in and say, OK, fine here take take yourself and go.
You know, if you raise hell, I don't know, but I, I would, I
would stay as calm as possible and be like, yeah, you just, you
know, like this is this is this is what I have.
I'll sleep here and I'll pitch my tent right here.
You know, it's like it's, it's, you know, I'm not going to, I'm
(24:44):
not going to raise hell. I'm not going to.
I'm just going to, yeah, stay calm.
And yeah, it's, it's just The thing is when you travel, you
just don't want to, you don't want to lash out, lash out, you
know, especially in public, you know, as a tourist, as a
tourist, you just, you want to stay as calm as possible.
(25:05):
I mean, there has been times where I have lashed out.
The only country that's actuallyreally did that to me was India.
They were the India was the onlycountry that's ever managed to
get me boiling to a point where I had to scream and yell at
somebody, even hit somebody. So so it it just it just this
(25:28):
you want to talk about countriesthat attach this?
Is on a different trip. Yeah, this is on a different
trip. This is I went backpacking back
in 2017. Gotcha, Gotcha.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, I mean, the main thing
you want to do is stay as calm as possible because it's just,
you just don't want to lash out.You don't want to raise your
voice. You don't want to, you know, so
but I mean, you, you know, sometimes you get angry, you
(25:50):
know, you know, like it's very difficult to to to keep that
because people are going to people are going to try you.
Yeah. And then and The thing is like
when they try you, it's like, it's like, do you think I'm
like, you think I'm stupid? Like are you really doing this
right now? Is just so you know, you, you,
you, you, you do your best to just to stay as calm as possible
(26:13):
so. That's Yeah, you do.
You have to and as many as most situations as possible be.
It's hard to do it 100% of the time, but if you can get away
with 99. Yeah, exactly.
There's always going to be that.There's always going to be that
one time man where you're like. You know, caught you, got you.
Yeah. And so you're, you're on a time
crunch and you're going through all these places and dealing
(26:34):
with, with the visas and stuff like that now.
So I, I, without looking at the map, how close are you to, to,
to leaving Africa at this point?Because you still like this.
This is before you got to Morocco.
Yeah. So this was after Guinea Had I
(26:57):
had what country? Senegal.
Senegal. Once I got to Senegal, I had to
wait for the visa for Mauritania.
So I only had about four, four countries at Senegal, Mauritania
and Morocco. Morocco was easy for Mauritania.
The visas could be a pain, but the guy from Togo knew someone
(27:21):
in Mauritania and he made a phone call and he's just like,
listen, just give him your documents, they give him all
your information and you'll havea visa in four days.
So that's exactly what happened.And then as a matter of fact,
there were some travelers that were behind me that had trouble
getting to Mauritania. They did the visas, you know,
they were waiting 2 weeks, 3 weeks.
(27:42):
Sometimes you wait a month, like, yeah, and it could be
something really stupid. And that these, the visa
application is very simple. It's a very simple application,
but it's just like. Are you, like, collecting the
dresses to send, I don't know, holiday cards or something,
Birthday cards to these people, Yeah.
Yeah, I should start. Doing that, aren't I, you might
(28:03):
have you might have to meet their their kids and grandkids.
So that could be you got about 30 years of travel.
Yeah, yeah, exactly. But yes, I mean, The thing is,
it was Senegal was really nice, was really cool.
Like I like Senegal a lot. Senegal's very touristy.
So people from people from Europe come down to Senegal.
(28:24):
I didn't realize how touristy itwas, but then when I got there,
I was like, oh wow, this is actually, well, there's some
very touristy section that you say that parts of it.
So then Mauritania. Mauritania was cool, but I just
again, I just kind of zip through it.
Morocco. Morocco was really nice.
I like Morocco. Yeah, Morocco, some of the
(28:46):
videos of where you arrived and that you posted and stuff like
that. And and like I said, so did did
you know, how were you reacting to the culture changes, you
know, as as you're progressing north?
Yeah, you can tell it started toget very European as you as you
start going north, especially asyou get into Morocco, the city
(29:07):
start getting a lot more modern.I was able to use my credit card
and tap the credit card with themachines.
You know, it was like the first time that I was able to use a
credit card at A at a gas station and since Namibia.
Wow. Yeah.
So it was it was just like, oh, I could give you a credit card.
Oh, nice. It just, it just wasn't
(29:29):
expecting that. But then, yeah, it was just it
just as you start going north, it just starts to get more
modern, more European. I don't know.
And then? How is the food?
And I don't think I really askedabout the food as much, but like
how, how is the food changing? And, and just, I mean, you know,
being Jamaican and you know, having a Jamaican background and
(29:49):
stuff and, and then all these other countries like, like how
similar, how not similar foods are and, and stuff like that.
Yeah. I mean, I, I would say the
staple around like around Nigeria and coming out of
Cameroon, Nigeria, you have likeFufu, which is, which is very
(30:12):
good. I fell in love with fufu and
Fufu. You have Nigeria, Togo, Benin.
I wouldn't say that is that similar to, to, to like West
Indian food. But I think you still have the
Curry and the spices and stuff. You still have some of that,
(30:33):
which is, which is interesting because I always felt that the
Curry came from India. So but I guess it depends on
what kind of Curry it is. So, but yeah, I mean, as you
start going up to the, the food stays similar.
Everyone has their own kind of way of making fufu.
And there was another one that was cool.
(30:55):
Is is that dough bases? I'm trying to think, is that
like a like almost like a like, not rice, but really?
Yeah, so it can be cassava. Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, it can be cassava, it can be can be rice, and it depends
on what country you're in. Yeah, yeah, there's and some
(31:16):
people eat it without the sauce.I think in in Togo and Benin, it
was like they just pile a ton oflike really good sauce on there
and it's oh, so good. Oh, it's so good.
Oh man, I, I, I definitely miss that.
I was. I could eat that every day for a
while. Yeah, yeah.
And. Then as you start going up, I'm
(31:42):
trying to think that I eat any Senegalese dishes.
I had to have been since Italy. Senegalese dishes.
I do remember a lot of the Moroccan dishes that I had.
Moroccan food is really good, a lot of like bread and you know,
and sauces and things like that.But yeah, I mean, the the food,
(32:06):
the food stays similar throughout and then slowly
starts to change as you start togo start to go north.
I think I would love to to go a little bit more into like Mali,
Burkina Faso and Niger and eat deep foods from over there as
(32:26):
well. See what that cuisine is like.
But I eat a lot of like like just a mom and pop local like
going into, I don't know, just did they have like 3 chairs and
a table and you know you're getting then you you, you find
yourself with the bowl in your hand.
(32:47):
And yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you.Know like, so like I eat, I've
eaten a lot of places like that.So, but then when you go into
like a restaurant, restaurant, you know, sit down and it's kind
of nice and you know, they will kind of make the food a little
bit different, but I. Feel like right, Right when?
You go into the smaller shops, it's like, Oh yeah, this is
(33:08):
good, this is good. Just don't look in the kitchen
because there's probably flies in there, so.
I'm sure. I'm pretty sure it must be.
It's just probably fun that thatwas one thing you that was one
thing you don't do is just don'tlook in the kitchen.
Right, right. Don't look in the kitchen.
So there we go. That's my number one rule when
(33:28):
it comes to when it comes to food.
Don't look in the kitchen. You might not like what you see.
So OK, so now any more countriesin in, in Africa before you
cross the border? And we're like, what was
crossing the border? Like, was it a ferry?
How? How did that happen?
Yeah. So I was just moving, moving
through Africa and then getting it to Morocco and then taking
(33:50):
the ferry. Yeah.
So it was a it was a probably a 1 1/2 hour ferry.
OK, that's not. Bad, not, not too bad.
Goes right into to Spain. And once you get to Spain, yeah,
that's, that's, that's it. You're in Europe, which is quite
wild. It was, it was kind of, it was
kind of crazy that, that, that like crossing.
(34:10):
Well, it was first of all, it was crazy leaving Africa,
leaving Africa. I I really, really enjoyed
Africa a lot. And you know, I talked to a lot
of people before I did the trap,did the trip and some people,
most people were like, you're going to love it or hate it,
depending on who you are. And depending on what kind of
(34:31):
luxuries you, you had you, you like or depending on how open
minded you are, like you either love it or you hate it.
People can piss you off or people can, you can love the
people. I think for me it was, it was
way it was definitely I, I lovedit to the point where I would
(34:55):
not mind living there in a specific country for like, you
know, three to four months out of the year and then relocating
somewhere else. And if I could do like living in
say states, Europe and Africa, you know, just kind of be those,
(35:16):
that little triangle there that would be.
Chasing the sunlight and not thesnow.
Exactly exactly that would be that would be amazing.
So, but, but yeah, I mean, I love, I loved it.
I loved Africa. So leaving Africa was was was
kind and a lot happened in Africa so.
How, how long were you there? You were there for.
(35:38):
Ten months. Ten months.
Yeah, so and so much happened, you know, the bike got messed
up, I crashed, you know, I've broken the shoulder.
It's just, it's just a lot just happened in Africa.
I have a lot of memories there now.
So, yeah, and then going into Europe, once I stepped into
Spain, I was like, wow, I'm on my 4th continent.
(36:01):
Wow. And I was like, I cannot believe
that I've ridden my motorcycle on four different continents.
And I was like, wow. And just getting there.
I had to really just kind of like take it all in and just
think about like everything thatI was doing.
And, you know, I had to like, take a deep breath, man.
And yeah, it was, it was just, it was incredible the fact that
(36:27):
I had gotten there. And yeah, yeah, and, and then
you heard a bunch of horns, probably, and people trying to
get out the way. You're not going fast enough.
Well, to be honest with you, I mean, I think the culture here
is very quiet. You know, it's not.
No one's going to like beat the horns like crazy.
Like that's that's the thing. No, you said.
The culture here, the culture where you're now or culture in
(36:48):
Spain? Yeah, yeah.
It's different, huh? Yeah.
Yeah. You don't really hear.
It's not like being in New York City or being, you know, in
Boston or people are not laying on the horn like they're not,
they're not impatient Americans,you know, it's.
(37:10):
But yeah. But getting into Spain was
really cool. And then the next was Portugal.
And I had met up with a friend in Portugal.
You got to and and it was it's, it's South, South of Spain or
South Spain, right? So like Valencia or?
It would be, what do you call it, Gibraltar.
(37:33):
OK. OK.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's kind of where the the
ferry dropped you off at. Yeah, yeah.
Yeah. And yes, then I just kind of
hauled, hauled ass to Portugal, OK, and stayed in Portugal for
about a week. Yeah, it was there.
How do you like Portugal? You're going back.
(37:59):
Is that what you know? You know, I, I think, I think if
I did it differently, if I was not in Lisbon during tourist
season, I think it would be a little bit different.
But because, because it was tourist season in Lisbon, I felt
like another tourist. It was, it was like, yeah.
(38:23):
And I felt like it was like United States.
Yeah, you're like, you know. No, no one speaking Portuguese,
all you hear is English. Yeah.
So yeah, you know, I think, I think if I were to if and when,
which I do plan on going back, I'd probably stay near the
(38:43):
coast, stay away. I'd stay away from Lisbon.
I've already have a not so greattaste.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. In my mouth for Lisbon.
That's kind of how I feel I feltabout Venice.
Venice is very touristy and you know, you're really, it's tough
because it's such a cool place. But at the same time, when you,
when you know, when you see all the tourists, there's also like
(39:05):
man. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It kind of, it almost feels likeit kind of ruins the the natural
vibe of the place. You know, yeah.
But I think, you know, if I werein like the north or near the
coast, you know, I think it would be a little bit different,
just a way outside of the touristy areas, so.
(39:28):
But, and what's riding a bike like in Spain and, and in
Portugal? Because I, you know, and I was
like, I, you know, more asphalt roads and highways, I suspect.
Yeah, I mean, if you just, if you're taking just the paved
roads, yeah, there's a lot of, you know, big highways, things
like that. Unfortunately, I was not able to
really explore and take some back roads and take, you know,
(39:51):
trails and things like that because it's definitely along
the the Trans Euro Trail is, is,is is along those countries.
So and it goes all the way north.
And you can take the trans euro trail and you know you would
you'd be on dirt like 9590% of the time.
So, but taking Oh, and the, the gas in, in Europe, Oh my gosh,
(40:16):
it's so expensive. I kept, I kept complaining about
the fuel, the prices of the fuel, because I filled my bike
up and it was like 30 euros. Oh, oh wow, it was.
Like it was like 2727 euros and that and my bike wasn't even on
east and I'm like, wow, that's expensive.
And then you know, the, you know, the, you know, the right
now the dollar is super weak. So, so in euro is like, you
(40:40):
know, it's, it's like, I don't know, like 14 or something like
that, I think. But it's a it's just, it was
just, I couldn't, I had never filled my bike up and paid that
much money as. I could live for a whole day.
What am I doing? Yeah, exactly.
You know, And then, you know, obviously the highways, you
(41:01):
know, you're hammering the throttle.
So the highways there, you're going, you know, 90 miles an
hour, 80 miles an hour and you're just, you're just on the
throttle. So that's just drinking my gas.
So now I'm just kind of like, well, damn, I, I have to stop
for gas every time and, and fillup 25 to $30 every time.
And just, it's just, yeah, it was a, it was definitely an eye,
(41:25):
eye opener being like welcome toEurope.
You know, yeah, yeah, I can imagine.
And then, OK, so you get from Portugal, where do you head
next? Portugal into back into Spain,
then France. But again, I was just moving
through. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
(41:46):
I was trying to get to the this festival in in the UK called the
ABR festival but my bike in France kind of shit the bed it
the chain. The chain just started.
The chain was stretched out. The sprocket was bad so I had to
make an emergency stop and and get that fixed so I didn't make
(42:10):
it to the festival. So I ended up just going all the
way straight from France, Belgium and then into
Netherlands. So and then I've been been here
since just getting the bike ready.
So which is kind of the next step.
But anything is, you know, like once I got into Europe, I had to
take a deep breath and be like, oh, I'm in Europe now.
(42:30):
But but then I also had to say to myself, like I have the race
to think about as well. So like, that's that I didn't
even have, I didn't even have much time to really embrace the
fact that I had gotten into Europe because getting the bike
ready for the race was like always in my mind.
And whether whether or not I wasgoing to be able to do it or
(42:50):
even make it to the race becauseI had, you know, finances were,
you know, unfortunately we're starting to get a little wonky.
And then there was like, how am I going to get to Romania?
You know, how am I going to get the bike fixed?
But then, you know, again, you know, the universe responds and
all. I've been chit chatting with a
(43:12):
friend from like, way before, like maybe like when I was in
Namibia and he said to me he owns a shop.
And he's like, listen, when you get to the Netherlands, man, let
me know. I got a place for you to sleep.
You can work on the bike here, you can send parts there, all
that stuff. So, yeah.
So you know, since then, when I got into Netherlands, it's a
place called Bob's Bike Shop, which is actually where I am
(43:33):
right now. Shout out to Bob.
Yeah, and, you know, he's been super cool, man.
He's been the hospitality once again, has been, you know, you
know, it's a been amazing. So and he's been helping me get
a lot of shit, lot of stuff doneon the bike and yeah, and I'm
completely rebuilding the bike here and and yeah, it's it's
(43:57):
been it's been a great experience.
So we were, we were riding the other day and saw saw a little
bit of the countryside and yeah,pretty cool, pretty cool stuff.
So. Another ones is pretty cool.
I I've been to Amsterdam, Asson and and Granigan and yeah, you
know, just just getting around is, is a little bit different.
(44:17):
So seeing all those bicycles, was that a shock for you?
Yeah. Yeah, see, getting into the city
and seeing all the bicycles, man, I was like, OK, bicycles
run this town. I see.
You know, it's just like that's but yeah, it's a good thing
though. I mean, I think, you know, it's
a, you know, the bicycles are, you know, obviously they lower
emissions and, you know, all that good stuff, so.
Keep everyone slim. Yeah.
(44:39):
Yeah, exactly. But but yeah, I mean, I, I was,
I was already warned that when you get to the Netherlands, it's
going to be a lot of cyclists. So yeah, it's just the way it is
there. Yeah, no, it's definitely pretty
cool to see. Let's talk about the race and
the preparation and stuff like that.
It sounds like you are going to make it and the bike is going to
(45:00):
get together and all that fun stuff.
So let's talk about when the race is, what it entail from the
paperwork side and also trainingas well.
Let's talk about that and then also like what what are you
doing to the bike to make it survive this this the race?
Although, you know, I suspect you probably survived so far
(45:21):
with it already. I think this race might be a
piece of cake. Yeah, I wish this race would be
a piece of cake, but it's it is definitely the rebel Romaniacs.
And you can't, it's just it's a tough race.
So it's always a tough race every year.
And you know, people train really hard for this race and I
think as far as training goes, that's kind of been out the
(45:43):
window. So I think as as far as training
is just going to be like once I get the bike together, there's
some things I need to work on, like a little bit of clutch
control and also getting used tothe bike.
So everything that I'm doing to the bike is pretty much just
(46:04):
surround weight reduction. So I'm just trying to make the
bike as light as possible. So I've removed so many things.
I've moved the auxiliary fuel tank, I removed the ABS box,
I've removed the the rally towerthat was in front.
I have dropped maybe 2527 lbs off the bike.
(46:29):
So it's, it's been and I did a little small test ride and it
feels so different. The bike feels it feels so
different, so also gave it a different look.
It's kind of just like a big dirt bike now.
But yeah, I mean, that's that's pretty much was the goal was to
(46:50):
just make the bike as light as possible.
As far as getting it ready for the race, getting to the race,
that's a whole another. I don't know, I'm trying to
figure out if I can ride there, get a ride there as as of right
now, it seems like I'm going to be riding there, which can make
things a little difficult because obviously, you know,
(47:13):
when I get there, I'm going to have to change the tires because
I can't ride there on the same tires that I'm going to be
racing with. So it's just, yeah.
So there's some things to think about when it comes to getting
there that logistics I'm still trying to figure out.
Right. Yeah, and also, you know,
(47:38):
getting getting the what I actually putting the bike
together, you know my oh, I alsoput a, a, a smaller front
sprocket on there. OK.
So you know to help with. More Top End.
More top end Yes, exactly. So, yeah, so I'm just trying to,
(48:00):
you know, slowly but surely get the bike piece by piece, but,
you know, ready to go. So and and when is the race?
When does it start? It's July 21st, so when you get
there. Two weeks from like today, yeah.
Man, yeah, it's, it's around thecorner.
(48:22):
It's definitely around the corner.
So and my bike is still on the on the on the on the operating
table so. But I mean, how cool is it
though to be, you know, in, in Holland and and you know, your
bike is apart. You still got two weeks, you
know, you know, I think if you ride some bicycles, you probably
(48:42):
just need the endurance training.
You may, you may think differently, but how cool is it
like to be, you know, and, and you, I know you said you haven't
had a moment to take any, all the, all that in, but you know,
every once in a while you're like, man, this is pretty dope
what I'm doing. And I'm not quite there yet.
I still got some things to figure out.
But at this point, you know, it's just, it's just kind of
like, am I taking path A or pathB?
(49:04):
It's not like you're not going. Right, right, right.
Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's, yeah.
I mean, it is, It is, You know, you, you have to step back and
think to yourself like, you know, I'm here, I made it, you
know, and I got some decisions to make, you know, how to get
there and what I'm going to do with my bike.
And I also have to think about what happens afterwards as well.
(49:29):
That's true. But yeah, so I mean, it's, it's,
it's definitely something that Iyou need to take, you have to
step stop and think about and just take in and say this, this
is this is a pretty cool journeythat I'm on.
And you know, I'm, I'm trying my, my best to, to, to get
there. I think at the end of the day,
(49:53):
you know, I really, I really have been, have enjoyed every
moment leading up to today a lot.
I had a lot of UPS, a lot of downs.
I had a lot of downs. A lot has happened and you know,
I'm thankful that I'm able to make it this far, you know, so.
(50:16):
Now are you, are you pitching a tent outside just to make sure
you, you stay, you know, humble because a little bit of creature
comfort for me, you know, I can't look at that tent anymore.
Well, I can tell you right now, man, it's like the fact that I I
have a hot shower every day I wake up in the morning right now
is quite is quite crazy. So it just, you know, having
(50:39):
that hot shower and it gets hot where it actually burns your
skin. Like I'm like, oh, I haven't had
hot water like that in in a longtime.
And I can get used to that. I can get used to this.
Yes, yes, yes, definitely. Nice, nice.
And you know, before we get out of here, you know, you mentioned
afterwards I didn't even think about that, but like, yeah, you
(51:00):
know, are you, you know, after the race is over, you just going
to put the bags on and keep going or are you going to hang
out in the Netherlands for a little bit?
Which country is the race in? Romania.
Romania, OK. Are you going to, are you going
to hang out Romania for a littlebit or?
Well, here's the thing. I mean, right now again, the the
funds are winding down and I'm not working.
(51:22):
So that is the problem. If I had a steady income, I
would throw the bags back on andjust, yeah, I would just tour
Europe, you know, for another, you know, two months or
whatever, forever. How many months I have for for
the visa, But unfortunately, youknow, because I'm not working, I
(51:44):
have to figure out something else.
So I might have to head back to Netherlands or even Portugal,
possibly leave the bike and go back to the States and just make
some money. Got you got.
You and, and then go back. So, you know, I could have done
(52:05):
this sooner, but I wouldn't havebeen able to make the race,
right. So, but after the race, I'm
like, OK, I, I feel a lot more comfortable and OK, I feel a lot
more OK with, with parking the bike heading back to the states
if they, if they let me in and, and you know, and, you know,
(52:32):
make make some money. And because I really want to get
a visa for Portugal, as I was when I was talking to my friend
who lives in Portugal, she's like, you're better off doing it
from the from the states becauseif you're already there, it
makes things a lot more difficult because then you end
up for staying your visa trying to get the process done.
(52:53):
So she's like, you're better offgoing to going to the States,
get some money into your account, figure out your life,
do some things, stay there for about a year and then apply for
the visa. Got you.
Got you. So she said that's the easiest
way to do it. Got you.
OK, well, hopefully something else will pop up and you might
not have to wait a whole year. You never know.
(53:13):
That's the beautiful thing aboutit.
Yeah, and The thing is, you know, I mean, the, the
hospitality here in Europe has been incredible.
Like I, I really, I really like the, the people in the motor,
the motor community here, the, the adventure motorcycle
community is just, I don't know,everywhere it's, it's different,
it's different than the states. The states it's a little bit
more difficult to tap into whereas.
(53:37):
It's like a pastime here in Europe.
Yeah, yeah, You know, and that whereas like Europe, it's like,
you know, I get I there's a lot more love, there's a lot more.
It's a lot more inviting to be honest with you.
It's like I'm really upset that I missed the ABR festival
because then I would have met somany people who, who I've been
(53:58):
in contact with on social media,you know, because they're all in
Europe. Everyone that I'm talking to and
being who's engaged with my account, most of them are in
Europe. So no, you never know.
I mean, and you know, you know, we'll talk more fear, but you
never know. It's that's it's pretty wild to
(54:20):
even have this the the opportunity.
But like you never know what's going to happen in the next few
weeks or in in the future. And you can still reach out to
these people and whatever, whatever connections that could
happen. Yeah, well, the biggest thing
that will help me is me doing well in a race.
I mean, if I if I did well in a race.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That alone, I think, would spark
(54:40):
something. It would open up doors.
Yeah, yeah, for sure. But, you know, we'll, we'll,
we'll figure that out when we get there, right?
Yes, we will and we'll find out.Man, I want to thank you for
coming on this to be forever cool podcast.
My name is Rex 45 Nomad on two wheels.
Peace.
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