6.000 km of autostop..

Pawel is the answer to those who want an adventure to remember for ever. This interview is about his trip from Poland to Spain. It’s pretty normal to travel from one country to another but when this happens by “auto stop” then I think it’s worth to know more things about this.

When did this trip take place and how many people took part to it?

The trip lasted exactly 21 days. It started 1st of September until 21st.  At the beginning we were 4 people,  but 2 more joined to the group. When a group is too big then there are problems with synchronization. We travelled in 3 pairs, and finally our ways were totally different, we met each other maybe in 2 - 3 points.
 

Were you planning this trip for a long time or it was just a fast decision and you thought “ok, let’s do it”?

The best plan is no plan, because plans are changing very quickly. I was bored in my town and I had an idea to travel by hitch hiking (auto stop) and visit my friends in Spain, I didn’t care about how long it would take and which city would be first, so I started asking people that maybe wanted  to go on a  trip. After 2 days my friend Michal replied that he would go for sure  and he was my company until end of this trip.  The decision was taken so I started preparing  my backpack and all survival stuffs.

So, how did you manage to arrive from Poland to Spain? Where was your start and which were the stops?
The trip was a total improvisation because we had the map of Europe and big cards with the name of the cities. Sometimes we had problems to stop some the cars, because everything depends on the place. For example, petrol stations on highways are the best and the small villages are not so good, because people are travelling in short distances. 
My adventure started in Sandomierz, it’s my town. I started alone until  Wroclaw. The funny thing is that I arrived to Wroclaw faster than normal buses or trains. There I slept in a hostel and the next day I started travelling to Spain with my friend. At the end,  we arrived to Spain by 10 cars and it took about 3 days.  The longest distance by one car was about  1000 km. Luckily, around Europe there are a lot of Polish people and they are very kind and helpful with the travelers.

 

Did you travel all the way using autostop?

From Poland to Spain it is about 2500 km, but we made much more kilometers because we were travelling around Spain, so totally on 2 ways I made about 6000 km by auto stop.
We had 3 short episodes when we were travelling by trains or busses. We were in Guadalajara near to Madrid, and we went to the center of Madrid by train because it was too complicated to do auto stop and it was easier to meet with our friends Mario and Cristina.
The second time was when we were leaving Madrid, we went  from Madrid to Tarancon by bus, it was about 100 km. And the third time we were travelling from Albacete to Valencia by bus, we wanted to go by hitch hiking but thanks to the parents of my friend Rosana, we had tickets to Valencia.

Where have you been sleeping during the trip? Did you visit any friend in Spain?

Mainly we were sleeping in a tent, in places where there were not so many people.  We also slept in the houses of our friends Cristina, Rosana and Laura. It was a great feeling to sleep in a normal flat, totally different.  Sometimes we slept in cars during the way and we had shower in petrol stations. The strangest place where we slept was a truck trailer and the forest.

What about the dangers? You were men but for sure it was a little risky to enter cars of people you didn’t know.

Hitch hiking is always risky, but we didn’t meet any bad people. They were imprested that we are travelling by auto stop this long distance. Of course, life is life and bad situations happen but if there is not risk there is not fun, too.  For sure I can say that this kind of travelling is not so good for girls. If they travel in pair: girl and boy it is ok, but for 2 girls it is dangerous.  We met a guy who was in prison and now is working as a truck driver, but he was a really good person, he made for us breakfasts and dinners, and after 1 day of travel we were like friends.  Until now I have his number and sometimes we speak. Sometimes people look bad but judging by appearance is a big mistake.

Which was the most difficult time in your trip and which the happiest one?

I had 3 difficult times. First was in Poland when we were walking along a highway about 12 km in the forest. It was very tiring but it finished very well and the next day we were in Frankfurt, in Germany.  The second hard time was in Tarancon near  Madrid and again we were walking along highway about 15 km to the first petrol station, luckily it was night and it wasn’t that hot as during the day. The last hard time for me was going back alone to Poland, but at the end I had big luck and I came back to Poland by 4 cars. All the hard moments are necessary because if something is too easy it doesn’t have any value. I am happy that some difficult things happened to me because I could see how I react in difficult situations.

I am curious to know how much the trip cost?

The trip was very cheap, I didn’t want spend a lot of money. I wanted to show to lazy people that If you want to do something you can do it. My friends in Poland couldn’t believe that I spent only 130 Euro for everything. Of course, I had credit card just in case, but the main idea of the trip was that it should be cheap ! ?

Would you suggest to people to travel like this? Any advice for those who want to try it?

Generally I recommend to travell like that. Of course people should to be aware that is not that save like normal trips by car or bus with friends. From the other hand this uncertainty is a little magic because people need some adrenalin, some kind of fear. For example we met one polish guy in Frankfurt and he was going to Marocco.  Before he was in Iran, for me he is one of the bravest people I have ever met.
If someone plans a  trip by hitch hiking I can suggest that the  backpack should be very durable, and shouldn’t weight more than 15 kg. I had about 18-19 kg and it was little hard to walk on long distances. The most needed things are:  torch, sleeping bag, clothes for good weather and bad weather, tent, penknife, metal cup and a small cooker. Of course food for first days but not so much because if it is warm it’s going rot and it makes more weight in backpack. Other things are cosmetics etc.

Do you plan to do it again? Or one time was enough?

If you travel by hitch hiking one time for sure you will want more and more, it’s a great experience.
Of course I have plans to travel by hitch hiking, but in the future I will not have so much time because of work. My dreama for next the time are Balkans and main destination Georgia, Armenia and maybe Azerbaijan. We will see what future will bring?

Pawel, thank you very much, give an enormous kiss to Krakow! Take care my friend!

4.S.P