11 במאי 2009 English
Hello!
My name is Yoni and I invite you to join me on the voyage of a lifetime.
On the first of June, 2009, I plan on departing from Prudhoe Bay, the northernmost tip of Alaska, for a 23,000 kilometer journey across the three Americas, from north to south, until I reach Ushuaia, the world's southernmost town. At the very tip of South America. I'll be traveling alone on my motorcycle, via a challenging and unconventional route, over the course of six months.
I've been planning this trip intensively since January 2008 and now, after having convinced both my wife and my business partners, I'm off!
Who Am I?
As I said, I am Yoni (Yonatan) Ben Shalom (which in Hebrew means "Son of Peace"), 59, born in Israel, married to Gali, a management consultant, and father to three amazing girls.
By training, I'm a designer, an illustrator, a painter, a poet and an ad-man. I'm still in the ad business, where the work never stops. My first book of poems is in the proofreading stage. As a painter, I've had several exhibitions. As an illustrator, I've won some prizes. For the last 25 years, I have taught creative design, first at the Betsalel Academy of Art in Jerusalem Israel and today at the Sapir College Communication School, located in Sderot Israel. I concluded my military service in the IDF with the rank of major. I enjoy physical challenges and have been active in sports for over 30 years, with dozens of endurance races and 18 marathons, the last of which was in January 2009. I peddel in my sea kayak and was among the first Israelis to become active in paragliding.
During my fourteen years responsible for branding and advertising Land Rover in Israel, I was one of the central players in the development of the off-road culture in Israel. I ride sport and off-road motorbikes for decades, quit active in the off-road riding scene in Israel (non-competitively). I've initiated and executed motorcycle journeys in Israel and around the world, both in large groups and solo. I ride a large and powerful bike that can survive difficult driving conditions over long distances.
Why?
Those watching from the sidelines may say that I've gone crazy. Perhaps. Or maybe this is my way to stay sane. I discovered during my travels that people greet a biker differently. People welcome you as they might someone in need, someone living a simpler life. I am greeted as a fellow man of conservation and modesty. This has happened to me both in the third world and in the most developed countries. The unconventional ride opens people's hearts. A bike lets you enter the most intimate corners of the world.
During this trip, I will realize a dream. I will tell a story. I'll keep promises that I made to myself. I'll look at my life and know that even if I fail, it's preferably to looking back and knowing that I never tried. Perhaps this is the drive. To realize at least one dream that isn't commonplace, something which is a first, a statement. But to do it wisely. To bring to the project my accumulated, talents and abilities.To apply to the task all the tools I have at my disposal.
In truth, I'm more traveling a road within myself than going to a different place. I need to discover the farthest reaches hidden inside. I'm not a wealthy man, to say the least, I don't have a budget, a salary or someone to take my place at the office. I've just stopped everything, opened up a few long-term deposits, extended my bank overdraft and started my journey. Maybe I'll return to scorched earth, maybe I won't. It's almost impossible to resist. And I have a life partner who understands the extent of this need.
I intend to document and describe the entire journey via a blog that has been published online since April 2009. I'll do this differently as well. Aside from the usual photos and stories, I'll intersperse drawings, paintings and poetry. And I'll develop new tools through which to present subjects that say who I am and show an intimate side of a man willing to pay the price for his insatiable curiosity.
On the Road
On the 12th of January, 2008, when I told my close friends and family about the decision I'd taken, I saw on their shocked faces an expression that slowly melted, with furrowed brows turning to sunrise. They want to tell me that I'm crazy, but for some reason, the same honest phrases are repeated … "I'm so jealous!" closely followed by "Take me too!" and then "You crazy dreamer, I love you!". Those that didn't respond immediately waited until I was out of earshot, rolled their eyes and said "Man, what a psycho!" What's for sure is that no one remained indifferent.
I'm sure the many readers are asking how one can drop everything and leave. One thing is clear. Without my spouse, the love of my life, the best friend a man could ask for – nothing would have happened. In our relationship, there are a few fundamental sentences and one of the most central is "there's no way we won't have a dream to fulfill." We always will investigate, verify, attempt. We have many disagreements on how we interpret the reality around us, but no veto on dreams.
Please follow this website. You probably won't understand my language, as I write in Hebrew from the road. Sometimes I'll ask my friends who've translated this text into several languages to provide some summaries in your tongue. In the meantime, you can enjoy the visual tools. Pictures, videos and illustrations – worth, of course, more than a thousand words. And, of course, my trip map, updated as often as I can. Any feedback from you would be most appreciated, preferably in English, but other languages will be gladly accepted and translated accordingly.
Thanks for coming onto this website and helping me to prove to myself (and my sponsors J) that I'm not the only one who imagines outside the box. Like it or not, you're already on your way to realizing your own dreams…
Ho, and if you're curious about the name of this blog: The meaning of "harpatka" in Hebrew is "Adventure".
Translation: Werner Bausenhart and Ron Petranu
מאת: יוני
