One Year Later
IT WAS EXACTLY ONE YEAR AGO from today, on March 5, 2005, when I had completed a grand sixteen and a half month trip around the world, which took me to across 95,000 miles in thirty-seven countries in South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America. To make a long story short, in the past year I have slowly acclimatized back to normal society after being “traveled out” — working, partying, and playing video games — and one year later, I have to say, my life is “normal” again.
This of course means I should probably get back on the road.
One year later, I’ve decided to go on another trip, one perhaps not as long (I’m tied to a year-long lease in New York), but hopefully just as exciting: a trip to Timbuktu, the legendary city that actually exists on the fringe of the Sahara Desert in the African nation of Mali. As of now, two weeks before departure, I don’t have much of a game plan; as always I will pull an Indiana Jones and “make it up as I go.” All I do know is that before I leave I need a visa to get into Mali, which was convenient enough to get as there is a Malian consulate in New York City within lunch hour distance from my permalance design position at an interactive ad agency.
funyeah: did you guys eat yet?
The art director on my current project IM’d me last Tuesday as he often did to see if me and the guys were going out to lunch. I explained to him that I had just eaten a quick cup of ramen noodles to hold me over for I was headed uptown to the Malian Consulate.
funyeah: weird, i’m headed up there too
The jokes continued as I left my desk. “Unless I get kidnapped by African nationals, I’ll be back,” I told my co-worker buddy Bil.
I TRAVELED ON THE 6 TRAIN UP TO 68TH STREET and walked the one block up to the consulate. It was easy enough to find with the big green, gold, and red flag waving above in the brisk breeze of New York winter. The building wasn’t much, more of a residential brownstone labeled with a big plaque outside its front door (picture above) to differentiate it from other houses. Inside the public space was nothing more than a little living room area sectioned into two parts by a bulletproof booth window like at a bank. Inside were two women, one portly, dark and middle-aged; the other younger, more slender and with coffee-colored skin tones like myself. The two talked and talked like old gossiping friends in French with African accents — which wasn’t a surprise since I had done enough research enough to know that Mali was a former French colony during the European scramble of Africa in the 19th century that had been independent since 1960.
The two woman switched over to English with a Malian accent when they spoke to me. “This is you?” the older woman questioned me, holding up the two recent photos of myself clipped to my visa application.
“Yes. That’s me,” I replied. “Should I take my glasses off?” I took them off but she still wasn’t convinced.
“Let me see,” the other said, glancing at the picture. Why it wouldn’t be me, I don’t know; I looked the same, had the same haircut, and was wearing the same black jacket with The Global Trip pin on the lapel. “Yeah, that’s him.”
I sighed in relief; this wasn’t the first time I’d had a case of mistaken identity.
The two went at it in French again — too fast for me to comprehend it all with my high school French — but it was still exciting to hear. I felt like I had my feet back in the game of adventure travel, which was sort of true because I was technically on Malian soil. The older woman wrote me out a receipt for the $100 fee and took my newly renewed passport.
“You can come back Monday. Same time. Before three,” she instructed me.
“Merci,” I said, trying to get my tongue to get back in the game like my feet. I closed the door behind me and camped out for a couple of minutes in nearby Hunter College where I handwrote out this blog entry, just as I did before on “The Global Trip 2004” every day, obsessively for sixteen months.
I’m back, I thought. Travel and travel blogging, the void in my life since I’d been back home, was starting to be refueled, for the wanderlust never dies…
Next entry: The Scramble
Previous entry: The Global Trip LIVE!
Comments for "One Year Later"
Hi Erik, Can’Äôt wait to read more of your stories! Happy travels!
Posted by Michelle in Michigan on 03/16 at 07:37 PM
just great...i’Äôll have to be the guy behind another blog
again..hehe...s’Äôall good i live for it!Posted by markyt on 03/16 at 07:37 PM
kick ass i will have something to read for 3 weeks
Posted by scott on 03/16 at 07:37 PM
Yay! More blog!
Posted by Ali on 03/16 at 07:38 PM
It’Äôs baaaaaacckk! The blog of all blogs!!
PS. (Don’Äôt forget to attach that ’Äúfake spreadsheet’Äù so i can pretend to
work while i read the blog.)Posted by Reese on 03/16 at 07:38 PM
Eric,
So I’Äôm sitting here at work in Japan and randomly select ’ÄúNara’Äù from the
mp3 list, which gets me to thinking on your photoshow set to the tune,
which then leads me to surf over to the old site, which in turn led me
here. Great to hear you’Äôre headed back on the road, if even for a short
time. Mali’Äôs on my life list, so until I get there myself, I’Äôll be
tagging along virtually with you.
Have a great time! And for all of us who were left with withdrawls when
you got home last year, thanks for getting back out there!Posted by Dave on 03/16 at 07:39 PM
Erik, good to have you back! And since I somehow managed to go to Mali
without making it to Timbuktu, I’Äôm looking forward to reading your
experiences. Once again, I’Äôll be living vicariouslyPosted by Amie on 03/16 at 07:39 PM
Hey wow! I was a lurker on the global trip website and like many people
became slightly addicted! Check back every now and then to see if there
is any more news’Ķand now there is! I can’Äôt believe it! Looking forward
to hearing more…Posted by Barney on 03/16 at 07:39 PM
I have to say I am amazed at the SBRs (Silent Blog Readers) coming out
of the wood work. Feels great to be back!Posted by Erik TGT
word.
let me know if you end up in Perth, Australia or Cairo, Egypt. ha. i can
be on the Trinidad Show again.Posted by Alyson on 03/16 at 07:40 PM
Go Erik!
Posted by Vivian on 03/16 at 07:40 PM
Hey Erik, another SBR here. I loved your last blog and it definitely
influenced me because I’Äôm now planning my own Global Trek set to start
in 9 months. I’Äôve always wanted to travel for a year or more around the
world but I think your blog was one of the things that got me to stop
dreaming about it and actually start making concrete plans. Your blog
has also helped me a lot to plan my route. So thanks for everything and
I can’Äôt wait to read about Mali.Posted by parasky on 03/16 at 07:41 PM
This blog hog is happy to be back!
I have never heard of anyone going to Timbuktu but it sounds great. You
are like our own E! (rik) Wild on Timbuktu.Posted by sara on 03/16 at 07:41 PM
Awesome! Can’Äôt wait to read all about it!
Posted by Yvette on 03/16 at 07:42 PM
Right on! I missed the original TGT live but caught it later in re-runs.
Looking forward to Mali…Posted by Jeff on 03/16 at 07:42 PM
Good to see you back. Your blog was greatly missed during the past year
of corporate toiling to save up for my own semi-global trip (scheduled
to begin April 4).Posted by Neil on 03/16 at 07:42 PM
I’Äôll be eagerly awaiting your new stories…
Posted by Joyce on 03/16 at 07:43 PM
Alright! I guess this means I get to be Sebastian again.
Posted by Sebastian on 03/16 at 07:43 PM
Yea!!! Something told me to check back at THE Blog! Has it been about
two years now since I found your blog?! Yea, I think it was somewhere
right after the now infamous poop pic, and right before the sign fell on
your head in S. America. Damn… Well, this old ’Äò68’ľer is still a fan
and can’Äôt wait to read about your further adventures!! And yea, don’Äôt
forget the spreadshit...I mean sheet!Posted by Harry on 03/16 at 07:43 PM
Just like the rest of the people, seems like I randomly happened upon
this new blog… spifferoonie!!I am off to Taiwan shortly, and will have my own craziness to chat about.
But, I’Äôm glad you’Äôre headed to Timbuktu - and not just the bags - good
times… enjoy!Posted by noelle on 03/16 at 07:44 PM
Oh sweet jesus, here we go again’Ķ
Posted by Office Samurai
and so it begins, the many identities of el trinidad.... i dunno why
people have such a hard time matching you to your photos. you look the
same as you did 5 years ago. =PPosted by Alice
Awesome! I can’t wait for your posts. How long is this trip for?
Posted by egwg
so you back?!?!?! great to know. will try to catch up.
Posted by ELI-NYC
I can’t believe I came in late on this one! And it’s weird because I was
re-reading the China entries in March as part of my trip plans, and
completely missed this!Posted by Td0t on 05/25 at 02:36 PM
Next entry:
The Scramble
Previous entry:
The Global Trip LIVE!
This blog entry was originally posted on March 05, 2006 on the blog, "The Global Trip: Trippin' To Timbuktu," hosted by Blogger.com. It is one of eighteen entries that chronicled a trip through the West African nation of Mali in March/April 2006.
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