Exciting meeting through global networking

(Photos of the diary entry can be found at the end of the text).

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When we set off on our Great Journey in 1991, we didn’t have a website, there was no internet and social media hadn’t been invented yet. If we wanted to contact our parents or friends from abroad, we had to phone, fax or write postcards and letters. I can still remember that we had to go to a post office in India to book a telephone line. The minimum call time at that time was three minutes and a minute cost US$ 3. When you consider that we often needed no more than US$25 per person per day back then, that was a lot of money. This meant that contact with the outside world was rare and valuable. Today, on the other hand, billions of people communicate with each other every day. As simple and convenient as it may seem, this type of fast-moving, sometimes superficial communication technology has disadvantages as well as advantages. For us as long-term travelers, it is definitely an advantage to be able to maintain a connection to the outside world. It also happens that we get to know other travelers who also report on their tours. For example, the photographers Patrick and his girlfriend Lisa, who are currently traveling in their van in Norway and keep posting beautiful pictures and texts on their accounts. Over the last few months we have come to appreciate them and as they are currently spending the winter in Trondheim and this city is on our route, we contacted them. “We would be delighted if you came to visit us,” they said and gave us the coordinates of their pitch.

“It’s very steep up there. Do you think we can manage it?” asks Tanja as we drive up an icy incline on the outskirts of Trondheim. “I hope so,” I reply, because despite the all-wheel drive and engaged differential locks, the off-road tires are starting to spin. “Just don’t stop,” it goes through my head, because on a slippery slope of over 10%, that would mean having to reverse until the tires get a good grip again, only to try again. “I don’t know if it’s worth it,” I say. For the first time on the trip, I have doubts. The narrow residential street winds past beautiful houses and villas. There are cars parked everywhere and it would be fatal if our Terra slipped into one of them. “I don’t understand why it wasn’t gritted in such a residential area?” wonders Tanja. “Me neither. I can only imagine that the current temperatures of around zero degrees have created a kind of black ice,” I reply, continuing to accelerate, even though the wheels are spinning in places. Because the road is so narrow, we have no chance of turning around. Suddenly the ice gives way to a thin blanket of snow. The tires grip again and carry us upwards without spinning. At the top, we find a small forest parking lot where there is only one car. “Phew, done,” I snort with relief, pulling out the ignition key. “Lisa and Patrick aren’t here,” I say. “They wrote that they’ll be a little late,” Tanja replies. “Hopefully they’ll make it up there in their van?” “Do they have a four-wheel drive?” asks Tanja. “As far as I could tell from the pictures, no. It’s an old van. It certainly doesn’t have four-wheel drive, but it’s much lighter than our Terra. If Patrick drives skillfully and gets a good track, he can make it. I also think they have snow chains. They can put them on in an emergency,” I think.

Just an hour later, there is a knock on the cabin door. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you in person,” Lisa and Patrick greet us. “Come in,” we invite them into our cozy home. “Should we take our shoes off?” “No, no. They’re not dirty. Come in and sit down,” I say. “It’s kind of crazy. We liked and commented on each other’s posts and now we can see the people behind them,” I say. We talk animatedly as if we’ve known each other forever. We drink a few cans of beer, enjoy Tanja’s delicious vegetable stew and listen to Patrick talk about his bike trip from Germany to Indonesia, how he was attacked by bees in Tajikistan and got into serious trouble due to food poisoning. “Because I didn’t want to delay my two traveling companions, I sent them ahead and told them I would follow. At that point, I didn’t know how bad the food poisoning would be. It was a dicey situation,” he recounts so authentically that we can really feel his threatening situation at the time. “We saw on your Instagram account that you have an aid project in Kenya?” I change the subject. “Yes, that’s right. We’ve been involved since 2011,” answers Patrick…