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Stopover 01/3

Eulogy to slowness

7 July 2020

As the Pandemic has limited our prospects of long-distance travel, exploring with green means of transport (trains, bikes, by foot) opens-up endless opportunities for local, clean and eco-friendly adventure.  

Up to 80% of international air travel has been cancelled following lockdown measures adopted by governments worldwide. For most of us, the summer holidays will be about rediscovering our country and regions.

For us, slowness and contact with nature during our discovery have been essential values since the start of the expedition. In a previous life, Erwan was catapulted from one place to the other as manager and event organiser for Petzl. It was precisely this period of his life that made him go the extra mile in connecting with the places he visited, to better understand the local communities he visited. So, the idea of a world circumnavigation was born following the rhythm of waves, wind, and seasons.

In today’s context, slowness in travel and exploration could become a new way of guiding how we move. According to a study of the journal “nature climate change”, global tourism is responsible for 8% of total CO2 emissions, which makes slow travel with green means of transport a more conscious way of discovering new places and cultures.

Numerous people have already embraced this vision and could inspire our next local and eco-friendly adventures. Whether it is Lionel Daudet –who has been with us since the start of the adventure- and who followed the French border for 10.000 km walking, biking and kayaking (it took him 14 months!), or Geoffrey, engineer of 29, who traversed the Mercantour – Ubaye – Queyras parks by foot (less than 200km from his home), local adventure is at everyone’s reach. As outdoor lovers know very well, adventure often starts in our backyard.

Since five years, Maewan allows us to meet people in remote parts of the world, often only accessible by sea, an opportunity to also explore Man’s impact on the environment from the Arctic’s ice caps to the islands of the Pacific. By committing to slowness, we become aware that exploring in a different way is possible. We connect again with wild nature in all her forms.

By using slow means of travel, we give ourselves the time to reconsider our relationship with the local environment surrounding us. We take advantage of the travel restrictions and make the most out of the travel opportunities that allow us to respect and see the world according to nature’s rhythms.

Discover or re-discover the birth of Maewan’s adventure through the book “Maewan the Arctic Adventure” published by Paulsen edition, immerging yourselves slowly in the read, hearing the wind and the waves. Written by Erwan and the skipper and mountaineer Eric Loizeau, the book tells the first years of the expedition, the first stopover in Iceland in 2015 (where Lionet “Dod” Daudet was with the team), Big Wall climbing in Southern Greenland, to finish with the North West passage and Kamchatka in Russia.

To know more: https://bit.ly/3dT8x1R

 

 

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