Inspiring Miscellanea

Below you have a list of inspiring sources that nourished my travel-thirsty mind. It does not claim to be a very detailed list, but simply a free recollection of relevant memories.

• MOVIES AND DOCUMENTARIES

Here you may find a good selection from IMDB of epic travel movies.

Into the wild and Motorcycle diaries were my initial baptism. Later on I was captivated by movies like Wild and Tracks.

Other noteworthy movies for travellers could be:

1. – The beach, quite a mainstream, but still an inspiring movie for young travellers headed for Southeasthern Asia.
2. – Y tu mama también, an amusing Mexican production and setting in which two young students embark into a “revealing” on-the-road experience.
3. – El ultimo tren, an Uruguayan light-hearted comedy about a group of unyielding old men trying to save a state patrimony, the last train. The movie is inspiring due to the idealistic perseverance of the protagonists.

Recently, then, I came across with other “docu-movies” of touching interest:

1. – Jungle, true story about three excursionists in Bolivia’s Amazonian forest.
2. – Everest, about daring companies organizing extreme ascents to the world’s highest peak.
3. – Meru, another epic, dramatic climb in the Himalayan region.
4. – Losing sight of shores, extraordinary ocean crossing from San Francisco to Australia, carried out by four fearless women in a rowing boat.
5. – Sunshine superman, based on the amazing life of Carl Boenish, inventor of base jump.
6. – 180° south, where Jeff Johnson retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
7. – Kon-Tiki, a docu-film where the legendary explorer Thor Heyerdal’s crosses the Pacific Ocean (4,300 nautical miles) by raft.
8. – Free Solo 360, a moving bare-handed, ropeless climb in Yosemite National Park, US.
9. – Touching the void, another thrilling adventure in the Peruvian Andes.
10. – El Che, motivating narration of the legendary Che’s eventful life by the notorious writer Paco Ignacio Taibo II.
11. – Several Werner Herzog‘s stunning documentaries, such as Grizzly Man, Into the Inferno, Cave of forgotten dreams, Encounters at the end of the world, Nomad: in the footsteps of Bruce Chatwin, Julianes Sturz in den Dschungel, The white diamond, Pilgrimage and so on.
12. – Wim Wenders’ Salt of the Earth, vividly describing the remote, primitive communities.

Documentaries like Bye bye Barcelona or El Gran Hotel Barcelona show how the famous catalan city is being jeopardized by mass tourism.

Other related docus about mass tourism may be found on this blog.

• SERIES

I relished the Marco Polo’s series by Netflix, showing the Venetian’s admirable adventures at Kublai Khan‘s court.

• BOOKS

A selection of modern books concerning epic travels or territories crossed in my trips:

1. On the road (Jack Kerouac), epic beat-generation, coast-to-coast adventure.
2. In Patagonia (Bruce Chatwin), Chatwin’s tale of the region he visited in 1974.
3. The Emperor (Ryszard Kapuscinski), where the unforgettable polish traveller and journalist narrates the decline and fall of Haile Selassie’s regime in Ethiopia.
4. The Border trilogy (Cormac McCarthy), great cowboys’ tales.
5. René Leys (Victor Segalen), set in dinasty Qing’s China.
6. Tamerlan (Christopher Marlowe) telling the story of the legendary Silk Road hero.
7. Motorcycle Diaries (Che Guevara), inspiring manifesto of free, low-cost travel.
8. The Kyte Runner (Khaled Hosseini), quite a blockbuster, but still a moving tale framed in fascinating lands nowadays very problematic.
9. De Niro’s Game (Rawi Hage), about troubled, personal stories in a Lebanon ravaged by war and crime.
10. Les jardins de lumière (Amin Maalouf), written by the Libanese national writer Amin Maalouf about philosopher Mani’s life.

Going back to the medieval times, we cannot certainly omit the notorious The Travels of Marco Polo, describing Polo´s travels through Asia between 1276 and 1291, and his experiences at the court of Kublai Khan.

Other books I would recommend are business and travel related, in line with my other post on the 30 tips to support your travel:

1. Travel Writing 2.0, about how to make money by exploiting your writing skills.
2. Passive income freedom, about getting the right mental attitude to become a successful freelancer.
3. The Lean Start-up, to grow your start-up business, applicable to travel topics as well.
4. Zero to One, a bit similar to the previous one.

• BLOGS

My perception of living and working was changing when I started to read blogs and articles about the new business models and entrepreneurs’ ideas. I started more and more to discover posts related with new models of travelling and fulfilling “job duties”, for instance texts and tutorials about passive incomes or digital nomads. Please see here a partial outcome of these fresh ideas.

• WRITING CHALLENGES

I participated in the Next Challenge Expedition Grant program organised by Tim Moss, where he was looking for an original idea about accomplishing the coveted trip. I applied for that, but unfortunately without any luck.  This was however the first step to realize that I had to plan something awesome and start travelling to great places and connecting with deep atmospheres.

Last year I tried with another writing contest housed by I Must Be Off. Regrettably, no luck either : ) Nevertheless, I believe it is useful to endevor to adapt your stories to different audiences and purposes. This way you keep improving your style and creativity.

• TRAVEL GUIDE(S)

Unfortunately (because it is probably a bit too mainstream), since 2013 I am attached to the clear and user-friendly Lonely Planet series, which may now be downloaded in pdf format and easily stored in your mobile. Should you have room in your backpack, it could turn out to be useful keeping  a “physical copy” too, in case technological issues arise. If I come across with further hints, I won’t hesitate to mention them !

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