This blog's for ME

Almost 25 years old, asking my parents if I can sleep in their bed with them. I had thought I was going to be the 25th Prime Minister of Canada. Things had changed. 10 years later, I was still a scared little boy. The time had come to slap myself awake. One Saturday morning, November 19th, 2009, I declared to the world I would be riding my 10 year-old motorcycle from Vancouver, BC Canada to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, and back.

The official departure was August 28th, 2010. A group of well-wishers saw me off at 8:03 am.

I arrived in Rio de Janeiro around 6 pm March 1st, 2011.



My return to Vancouver came on July 5th, 2011 about 2:00 pm.

Drug & alcohol abuse, ADD, social anxiety, health, chronic pain, night terrors.

So many concerns. But I am far more interested in this question: Do I have the capacity to make this trip despite all my shortcomings?

My mission: To inspire myself to face my fears, enlighten myself on how all living things can peacefully co-exist, enjoy every moment, and see the world as plentiful and generous.

Go ahead. Call me crazy. Call me anything you like.

I'm out to save my world.



I LOVE YOU ALL



Questions, comments, concerns, threats? Contact me: jason.chapman99@gmail.com


Bolivia By God

The first Bolivians I encountered were golden. Edgar, his new wife of 1 year and her two kids own a roadside stand that happens to be right beside immigration. It was about 8 o´clock at night and the immigration officer was fast asleep which was fine because I was so ready to do the same. 60 km of Bolivian road was gravel, yet much better than the sand (spanish arena sp.?)encountered earlier backtracking from northern Paraguay. Certainly the regular problems at customs but after I asked him about his president, he even let me unsuccessfully try to connect to internet. This morning, a bus arrived as expected for Paraguay, and glad I had my bike parked in front of my tent. Edgar, his brother, and uncle, kids and wife eventually all came over and we spoke at length about Bolivia and Canada. All my canadian stickers were ready to be thrown in the garbage from my leaking oil container in the cooler, but I used them up on Edgar´s shack. Then, another 60 km to the next town, but the map was again misleading, as I had to retrack 20 km once I hit the pavement to go the opposite direction. I saw the sun was on the wrong side, so I asked two cowboys which way to Villamontes and sure enough wrong way. The massive logs dropped on the highway were not a deterrent or a signal of something wrong, as I had just gone through the worst roads in 7 months. Luckily stopped to take a picture and noticed my side bag had fallen off and was being dragged behind me. Mattress ruined.

Feel genuinely proud of myself for the first time in the journey, as I feel the past 48 hours have tested me beyond my limits, and I got through it in one piece. Very satisfying feeling and again if the journey must end now I would be severely disappointed but happy in my accomplishment.

4 comments:

  1. It is only through adversity that we truly discover what we are capable of and how our "limits" can be broken through and expanded upon. Great job my friend!

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    1. Thank you for the support Dave. I appreciated it

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  2. J. OH MY GOD!!!! What you've been thro.. Your still sure there isn't someone i riding on your shoulder???? Skype when you get a chance.
    Of course you know the reason I didn''t tell you we were sprouting M O R E
    grey hair, losing sleep etc, etc while we didn't hear from you is because I always get the lecture
    about, DON"T WORRY, I'LL BE OK!!!! So I try to act like the cool, calm, collected MOM.
    I gotta tell you I'm doing a lousy job of that.
    Your sure you're not ready for that free ticket home????

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    1. Thank you for all the support Mom. I forgot sometimes that people do worry about me sometimes.

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