On his 100th day travelling, Ben Collins takes a moment to reflect on the journey so far100 days ago I completed the transaction on what was the biggest gamble I have ever made. With my job, my apartment and all of my possessions going in to the pot, I was as they say "all in" and stood at Gate 13 I bet all this on nothing more than a whim and a prayer that travelling would be everything I had hoped for. This though was in fact a real problem - having thought of little else twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, I had built up my expectations far beyond what I knew was realistic and prior to boarding did prepare myself for the mother or all anticlimaxes.
100 days later and every one of my expectations has been shattered and all of my wildest dreams have come true. I have very simply had the best 100 days of my life and I have never been happier.
I have travelled 9,498km (5,936 miles), during which I have been up the CN Tower, witnessed the Niagra Falls, visited the beautiful cities of Montreal and Quebec and in Ottawa I even shook hands with the Prime Minister.
Wherever I have gone I have been universally welcomed with open arms. I have CouchSurfed in many towns and cities and in doing so met many new people I now regard both highly and as friends.
Likewise, the Work Exchange projects I have been involved with have also been extraordinary. Practically they have been a constant education and I have learned more new skills in these past three months than I have back home in three years. Best of all, the nature of these placements in going from one family to another has provided me both a sense of stability and belonging. In each household I have been told "Your problems are our problems" and I have developed the sort of relationships I thought would be impossible whilst travelling.If I were to die tomorrow you should know that I would do so a happy manWhilst it is incredible to think all of this has taken place in just 100 Days it is just as incredible looking at what lies ahead. In the coming weeks alone I will hitchhike the remaining 3,000km out to the West coast, I will visit the great cities of Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria and most spectacularly I will see in their full glory the Rocky Mountains.
100 Days ago I gambled every thing I had on not much more than a whim and a prayer. Today, having written this, it is clear that this gamble has already paid off and returned more than I could have ever dreamed.
This is the Ginger Revolution. And this ladies and gentlemen is still only the beginning.
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