On many occasions, I’ve have been carried forward by people as if riding on a wave. I have experienced different reactions toward travelers—especially those with no money—from various cultures. In North America, my individual approach was very forward in most of the encounters. People seem to appreciate creativity, innovative ideas, and goals, even if it may seem unattainable at the moment. Most likely the history of North America has contributed to this attitude: European settlers who tried their luck in the New World were entirely on their own. For this reason, going from rags to riches is the American dream. Although I haven’t made any actual riches, traveling to the end of the world certainly comes very close.
Destination reached!
Everything was a little different in Latin America. I wasn’t able to explain the goal of my trip to the people as well as I had in North America. Then again, my bad Spanish didn’t help either. However, despite being a blatant foreigner, people helped me just the same. They consider giving a natural part of their lives because many of them know how it feels not to have anything . . . just like the family in Cartagena who had taken me in for five days, and the lady working for the bus company in Panama who gave me a free ticket.
The warmth and support I have received in all of these countries has been simply overwhelming.
Destination reached: Where to next??
To find out more about the trip, visit: www.howtotraveltheworldforfree.com
And to find out more about Michael Wigge, visit: www.michaelwigge.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Author and journalist Michael Wigge began his career as an anchor for the German VIVA program London Calling in 2002. Since then, the world has been his newsroom and playground, whether he is living with the native Yanomami Indian tribe in the Amazon rain forest, taking the longest recorded donkey ride in the history of music television, or fighting Sumo wrestlers in Japan.
Whether reporting from prison for MTV or entering Buckingham Palace solemnly attired as King Henry VIII, Wigge has always thrown himself into the most unusual of situations.
Michael Wigge’s most recent adventure involved traveling through fourteen different countries with the goal of turning a half-eaten apple into a dream home in Hawaii, using only the bartering system. Prior to this, Wigge’s other globe-trotting escapade found him traveling from Europe to the Americas to, finally, Antarctica (literally the end of the world), without a penny to his name.
Wigge currently lives in Berlin, Germany, but far prefers to be on the move.
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