Ripcord Adventure Journal 1.4
After only four issues we appear to have been exiled voluntarily to beautiful Siberia, a region as vast as it is geographically diverse; from the pen of the first woman to cycle across the "new" Russia we travel the old stock route across Australia, from well to well and from story to story broadening our understanding of this island continent. The drive to explore, the reason to adventure is discussed before taking us underground to the vaulted caverns and flooded passages of the deepest cave system in the Americas to emerge suddenly back in to the full light of an Andean stratovolcano summit, the nearest point to space on earth that two companions can reach, until finally, the long road that this issue takes, brings us to the last place in Yemen. We aim to be the home of authentic, adventurous travel, which serves as a starting point for personal reflection, study and new journeys.
After only four issues we appear to have been exiled voluntarily to beautiful Siberia, a region as vast as it is geographically diverse; from the pen of the first woman to cycle across the "new" Russia we travel the old stock route across Australia, from well to well and from story to story broadening our understanding of this island continent. The drive to explore, the reason to adventure is discussed before taking us underground to the vaulted caverns and flooded passages of the deepest cave system in the Americas to emerge suddenly back in to the full light of an Andean stratovolcano summit, the nearest point to space on earth that two companions can reach, until finally, the long road that this issue takes, brings us to the last place in Yemen.
We aim to be the home of authentic, adventurous travel, which serves as a starting point for personal reflection, study and new journeys.
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filled by a thick fog. I decided I would spend the weekend<br />
composing myself before beginning my trek. One, to let everything<br />
sink in, and two, to spend some time exploring the strangely<br />
familiar but somewhat different city that I was in. So when I arrived<br />
at the hotel I decided that instead of recuperating in my room I<br />
would throw my bags down and head out. To which I discovered<br />
that the main social hub nearest me was the train station. Over time<br />
it dawned on me that having a shopping and restaurant district<br />
intertwined with the railway system was a common occurrence and<br />
it surprises me that they have not quite picked up on that logical<br />
enterprise back home. I walked around the restaurant district for<br />
somewhere to eat and came upon an Irish pub. Mainly out of a<br />
traveler’s curiosity to see how they portrayed it, I went in and<br />
ordered a pint and sat at the bar. The smell of tobacco infused with<br />
cooked meat and stale beer consumed the air. It was dark and had<br />
the feel of an old establishment even though it was inside a shopping<br />
mall and could not have been older than ten years. I heard many<br />
English speaking westerners in the bar. As I had just arrived I had<br />
no desire to socialize with them. I was also content with being alone<br />
with my thoughts.<br />
A little while later the barman approached to inform me that I was<br />
invited to sit with a group at the nearby table. I turned to see they<br />
were all women, around my age, enjoying after work refreshments<br />
and snacks. They waived me over so I kindly obliged.<br />
“Hello.” I said trying to enunciate as clearly as possible.<br />
“Hello.” They replied gleefully and as cautiously as possible to not<br />
embarrass themselves with the foreign tongue.<br />
I pulled up a chair and sat down. I can only recall one name of the<br />
women. Seiko, she was strongest at English so she was most curious<br />
to know my intentions about why I was in her homeland. To which<br />
I began explaining that I had just arrived this evening and about to<br />
embark on a three month journey walking south. Once Seiko<br />
relayed what I said back to her friends they seemed confused, they<br />
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