Moksha

Two major obstacles we faced when planning how to circumnavigate the world using only human power were the [Atlantic and Pacific] oceans. In order to stand even a remote chance of success we needed a very special craft that could carry enough provisions for two people to survive for up to six months at sea without resupply, but which was streamlined enough to travel quickly through the water.

I’ve been reading slightly obsessively about Expedition 360, a thirteen-year-long journey around the planet using only human power. This meant walking and cycling over the continents, and peddling across the seas in the specially-constructed boat described above.

The idea holds great appeal to me because of the walking element, the epic travel element, and fact of it being an entirely self-initiated folly. The thing that has most captured my imagination though, is their peddle boat Moksha.

Maybe this is because of my own transatlantic woes: constantly flying back and forth between Glasgow and Montreal, and navigating the infuriating immigration process. The idea of building a peddle boat capable of crossing the Atlantic without airlines or bureaucracy is extremely exciting. For me, it’s just a liberating fantasy, but these adventurers actually did it.

Perhaps most appealing to the Escapologist is the metaphor of the Moksha (which actually means ‘freedom’ in Sanskrit). You can have freedom and you can build it yourself. It won’t be easy, but that’s part of the point.

And you may have to eat a lot of porridge and chocolate bars along the way.

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