22:27
- You can probably tell by looking around me that I'm no longer in my cabin in the mountains. In fact, I'm no longer in Europe. I'm currently on a ferry taking me and Vilk and Odyssey my truck, to a different continent. Because we're about to embark on a new expedition. And I am so excited. I'm so excited. (speaker laughs) In case you're new here, here's a little context. Five years ago, I bought this Land Rover Defender, named her Odyssey, turned her into an expedition rig, drove across the Balkans into Turkey
and Ukraine, then shipped her to Mexico, drove around North America for a while all the way to the north of Alaska, shipped her back to Europe, did a couple of winter expeditions to the Arctic Circle, and now we're here. It's been three years since I did a proper long overland journey and that was in the United States. So I'm ready for a new expedition and I can't wait to tell you where I'm going. For the last few months, I've been thinking long and hard about my options for the winter. One part of me really, really wanted to stay in my cabin in the mountains to really enjoy the winter. (axe chopping) It just felt like such a beautiful, free life. But at the same time,
there was something inside me that was nudging me and urging me to pick up and leave and go to a place that I've been wanting to go to for a little while now. So I decided to listen to that little nomadic voice within and I packed up my stuff. (soft melodic music) I said goodbye to my grandparents, which is never easy, (people chattering) and I left. (speaker speaking in foreign language) This time setting off on an expedition feels different because this time I have a home that I'm leaving behind.
I don't think my horse shaman will miss me too much, but I know that I will miss him and my family and of course my land. But at the same time, I'm so ready for a new adventure. Stick around until the end of the episode for the full route reveal. First border crossing of the trip from Poland into Germany. (speaker squeals) (speaker laughs) Starting to feel more and more real. (melodic music) Started driving south through Germany, which was mostly a lot of highway driving and not many incidents aside from one.
Well, this was fun. (bag thuds) Just arrived in Dresden, which is a German city, and I couldn't find a public toilet anywhere. So I just went (playful music) and peed behind some shops. (speaker laughs) On the grass by the rail tracks. Not my most glamorous look, but we got it done. (speaker laughs) You do it all the time, buddy, don't you? No shame in it, right? Peeing on the grass. Yeah? Oh, and there was also the moment that I drove through a blizzard and could barely see anything and thought I would die. But obviously I didn't film that because I thought I was gonna die.
(speaker laughs) (melodic music) Eventually I drove through Switzerland and into Italy. And Italy is where my expedition truly begins. (ferry honks) Because Italy sits on the Mediterranean Sea and my plan is to (water stirring) take a ferry across the sea all the way from Europe to Africa. But things are about to get a little complicated, so bear with me. Just made it to Genova (ferry horn blares) and it is so windy. (wind blowing) My God. I really hope this doesn't mean that the sea is going to be really rough because I get so seasick. So this is what happened.
I reached the port city of Genova where I would be embarking on my ferry and I had so many errands to run there that I completely lost track of time. I had to get cash out, I had to get food, I had to get seasickness medication. Thankfully the Italians are really good about people bringing dogs into pharmacies. Okay, I'm safe. A few days on the ferry, I think I can do it. And eventually, of course, I got stuck in traffic while on my way to the port.
It was not good. I thought I was running really, really late. I'm arriving half an hour after the check-in starts. So see how that goes. (upbeat music) Oh, made it to the port. Oh, that was really stressful. Oh, Tangier. Yes, there's a sign. (playful music) We're about to go on the ferry. You're gonna be on the sea for two days. Isn't that so crazy? Yeah? Okay, I think they're starting to board. Which is worrying 'cause I haven't really thought about what I need to bring for the two days that we're gonna be at sea.
Obviously there's a lot, such as all my stuff. (trinkets rattling) Well, not all my stuff, but like a bunch of my stuff like, I guess most of it is here. So that's good. Vilk's stuff, which is just as much as my stuff. (speaker laughs) Some treats for Vilk, (bag thuds) and obviously we'll need his toys (bag thuds) 'cause he's gonna get so bored. (melodic music)
It's my first time taking the ferry from Europe to Africa. So I really didn't know what to expect and I had no idea what to do. Which became very clear very quickly when I noticed that all the cars around me that were parked here were empty. There was nobody in them. Where was everyone? I eventually ran over to a guard that was standing nearby and he told me that I really needed to hurry and go and check myself in and do immigration and customs before boarding the ferry. So that's what I did. Of course I brought Vilk along and he was such a good boy. (soft music) So I was one of the last people in line, of course.
I queued up for about two hours to get all the paperwork out of the way. And then it was time to board the ship with Odyssey. Yeah. (speaker exhales) Okay, we're checked in, we went through passport control, back in the truck, ready to embark. (drum beating) Oh. (drum beating) Made it. (speaker squeals) (melodic music) So this is the ship that's supposed to take us to Africa. Little did I know, it wouldn't.
(upbeat music) So much stuff. (upbeat music) (speaker mutters) Well. (door shuts) This is us for the next two days. (speaker laughs) Ooh, we got a window. That's cool. What do you think? (speaker laughs) So weird, huh? I was kind of ready to settle in for the night, ready to get into my PJ's, when all of a sudden I started hearing this announcement go off on the PA system. (speaker speaking in foreign language)
So they just announced via the intercom that there is a fire on board. (speaker speaking in foreign language) They said in French, a little fire. They said not to worry. Don't panic. It's not dangerous. (speaker laughs) Well this is starting out really well. Don't panic. It's just a little fire. Just a little fire, don't panic. No stress. Apparently the firefighters are putting it out right now.
What is this. And then things got even more interesting. We have to leave? - [Speaker] Yeah, we have to leave now. - Oh, okay. Come here. (door shuts) Holy shit. There's a fire. Yeah. (fabric rustling) - [Speaker] Come out. - Yes. (chain rattling) (Vilk barks) All passengers were told to leave our cabins immediately (door shuts) and head towards safety. I definitely smell smoke. (people chattering) (chain rattling) (people chattering) I could see smoke in the corridors, I could smell smoke.
There were people running around like crazy. I had no idea what was happening. But we were all, all the passengers were escorted into this room, this cafeteria where we were supposed to just wait. So it's a little confusing because one guy was just telling me like oh, it's fine, it's nothing serious, it's all good. Like, one of the crew guys. Meanwhile, I hear another dude shouting in Italian, like, 911, 911, 911. I'm not sure what we were waiting for, but I'm guessing we were waiting for the firefighters to put out the fire that was on our boat.
So they just announced something in Italian and Arabic but I could barely hear it. So I don't really understand what's going on. But people are getting up and leaving. So I'm guessing we're going back to our rooms? Yeah? (people chattering) (suspenseful music) - [Announcer] Attention please, attention please. We inform all the passengers that all the problems, they are in control. And we inform you that tomorrow morning we'll give you news about our trip to Tangier.
- I guess that means that everything's under control, but we're not going anywhere tonight. I'm guessing we're staying in Genova tonight. This is an interesting start to the journey. We're back. (speaker laughs) This trip started with a lot of unknowns, but there is one thing that I know I can rely on and that's the partner of today's video, Saily. Saily is a simple e-sim app that helps you stay connected no matter where you are in over 200 places in the world. If you don't know what an e-sim is, it's a digital sim card that allows you to stay connected and access the internet and use your phone
without putting anything inside your phone physically. One of the super convenient things about Saily is that you can download the app and buy the mobile data plan ahead of your travel. So before you even get to the country that you're traveling to, in my instance, I've already bought and prepared my data plan from Morocco. I know exactly which plan I'm getting and I can activate it the second I cross the border in Morocco. When you use a trusted e-sim provider like Saily you are avoiding potential scams which are so common across the world. You're saving time because you don't have to rush around the city without internet trying to look for a place that you can buy a sim card, you can get 24/7 support from the Saily team
and you only have to download the app once. So if you're a frequent traveler, it saves you so much time in the long run. And as a little perk, you can now get an exclusive 15% off your next Saily e-sim data plan. Download the Saily app and use my code at checkout. Good morning. It is day two on the ferry and since last night's fire fiasco, we have made exactly zero progress. Let me show you. We are still right here, at the port. Meanwhile, the ship that was opposite our ship has long gone and we are still here.
We're supposed to be like halfway down the Mediterranean Sea at this point. How do you feel about all of this buddy? (dog sniffs) Yeah, I agree. Well, in all fairness, they did give us some updates. Apparently there's another ship coming for us at some point this afternoon. So we're gonna move from this ship, which is apparently unable to sail (speaker laughs) and we're gonna move to a different ship with all of our stuff and all of our cars and that ship is gonna take us to Africa All in all, I mean, I'm not unhappy about it all.
We are delayed by probably about 24 hours, but I am kind of relieved that the fire didn't happen out on the open sea. (speaker laughs) I feel like that would've been a lot worse. So yeah, (soft music) we've just been kind of chilling here. I've been reading, working a little bit since there's, you know, still cell phone signal from the city and have been playing outside with Vilk. (soft melodic music) But one of the downsides of the ship being down is that they switched off the heating. So it's been really cold in here.
Last night, I slept under all the blankets and in all of my clothes and my jumper because it was so cold. So yeah. (speaker exhales) Vilk hasn't been complaining. Really, he loves the cold. Hey buddy. Have you been enjoying it? You've been enjoying the cold? Oh, just scratching. Come here. Come warm my feet, get on. Yes. Good boy. They're just announcing what's gonna happen next. (announcer chattering)
I guess that means that we're being moved to a different ship at some point very soon. You wanna go to a different ship? You think it's gonna be nicer than this one? You think they're gonna have more treats? Gonna have more food? Yeah? Yeah, I think so too. I should probably start packing 'cause I have no idea how but in the last 12 hours I have made a massive mess. Very typical, very chaotic.
Let's pack so we don't have to rush. (soft melodic music) (plastic thuds) (zipper zips) (fabric rustling) Okay. (announcer chattering) I think we're ready to go. At this point, we're about 20 hours behind our original schedule and we're being moved to a different ship. That means all passengers, all cargo, all vehicles need to be moved from this ship to another. (melodic music) So we get to do all of this all over again. (speaker laughs) Excellent. (playful music) It's always interesting to see who takes these long distance ferries as opposed to a plane. In this instance, there were some snowbirds
traveling south for the winter in their camper vans, but the vast majority of passengers were Moroccan families traveling with a lot of stuff. Turns out one person and one big dog also involves traveling with a lot of stuff. (chain rattling) Got so much stuff with me, got the dog with me. He's definitely getting impatient and I totally get him 'cause I'm getting impatient too. (melodic music) If it was just me traveling solo, this would all be a non-issue and a stress-free journey pretty much. Of course, traveling with a dog changes everything.
And aside from having to plan ahead, you also need to navigate spaces with him where a lot of people are scared of big dogs. Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way, but I was keen to finally get us inside a quiet cabin. (door opens) Aha. (door thuds) I think it's slightly bigger than the previous cabin we had. Does it have a view? (metal track slides) Yes. Perfect. Holy shit. What a day. (speaker laughs) Not bad, hey? We have officially started moving again and I'm also really hoping that there's no more emergencies on board, no more fires. Because from now on, for the next 50 hours,
we're gonna be in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, not near a port. So, may everything go well from now on. (speaker inhales) I'm so excited to be moving. Yes. (soft melodic music) (speaker exhales) But the whole fire thing wasn't really the end of the drama. On that first night, on the second ferry, once we actually got out of the port, things got really rough. It is 4am and I've been up for the last two hours because the sea is so rough and the boat just keeps going like this up and down.
I get terribly seasick. So I had to like stuff myself full of pills. Ugh, this does not feel good. A windstorm swept over the Mediterranean sea and rocked our ship so hard that everyone was puking, including this girl who gets terribly, terribly seasick. And no amount of medication works on me in cases like this. (melodic music) So that was a great first night on the sea. It's getting light outside, but the boat is still rocking like crazy. I just puked.
I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna give you any more details on that. And I think Vilk needs to go. So I'm not excited to go outside in this weather, in these conditions, but I really think that he needs to go. So that means I need to go with him. (door unlocks) (melodic music) (feet stepping) There's wet floors everywhere, which means that the staff or them have been busy cleaning up people's puke. And I've been hearing people throwing up in, you know, the neighboring cabins. Fun. This is pretty, pretty horrific. (melodic music) (gate shuts) (melodic music)
Vilk, go potty. So obviously you can have your dog in your cabin on this ship, but there's also these kennels here. You see? (door shuts) Right there and then right here. And honestly, I'm just wondering like how could anyone let their dogs stay in one of these kennels? Especially when there's a storm happening like this? They'd be freaking terrified. There aren't any dogs in the kennels now. A good thing, but terrifying. Aw buddy, are you scared? I know this is not fun. Okay, let's go back. I think I need to leave.
(melodic music) Eventually, gradually, things got a little bit better and I was able to get out of bed, go for walks with Vilk, go do stuff with Vilk and even eat a little bit. (upbeat music) A dog is a big responsibility. But a working breed is a responsibility on steroids. So aside from walks, I had to find new ways to keep Vilk busy. So, of course we played, we learned some new tricks and at least one of us wasn't feeling seasick.
(upbeat music) Right now, it's my fourth day on the ferry. I was supposed to be in Morocco last night, but I'm only arriving tomorrow morning. Mm. So I should probably tell you a little bit about the expedition that I have planned. So here's the plan. Once I reach Morocco, which should hopefully be tomorrow morning, the plan is to spend a couple of months driving through the Sahara Desert.
I don't know, I've just had this image stuck in my mind for a while of like me and Vilk and Odyssey, all three of us camping under a beautiful starry sky in a place where there's no one and nothing. Just sand and silence. (speaker chuckles) And in order to do that, we have quite a bit of driving to do. So once we hit Morocco, we're gonna drive about 3000 kilometers, that's about 2000 miles, down some really crazy off road tracks and back roads. Once we're out of Morocco, we're gonna hit Western Sahara and drive all the way south there. After that, we're gonna enter the country of Mauritania, which is 90% desert. So crazy.
It's one of the least densely populated countries on earth. I've been there before, but now, I'll actually have a vehicle to really make use of all that desert. So we've got some pretty wild off-road adventurous plan there. I am so excited about this one. I have called it 'Expedition Sahara'. Let's keep it nice and simple. And honestly, I'm kind of going in without much of a plan, but in a way, that's kind of what I need right now. Just wake up and go. So I hope you stick around because the next couple of months are going to be dusty, wild, and full of adventure.
Just the girl, her dog, and her truck on a big journey to the Sahara. (upbeat music)
