Last Newsletter, end of Steppe FM, Thank you all ,
January 2023.
The end of the Expedition :
We left by bike on 21 March 2021 from Aix-en-Provence. We finished this expedition on these same bikes (repaired many times), after 14 months of travels or projects and more than 7000 km on the road.
If we had to summarise briefly, this is what it would look like:
"At the beginning of spring, we rode for ten days in France before stopping for almost a month at the Italian border to get involved in a permaco-social project in Briançon. Then, we crossed Italy following the Po river and Venice (deserted during the Covid) before joining a quick gardening project at the Slovenian border. We started the long and arduous descent from the Balkans to Greece in scorching conditions. Two months of intense cycling where the little break we had was imposed on us (vaccinations, border crossings, turista...). We arrived in Greece in the middle of July where we spent five weeks in a permaculture garden project by the sea. A few weeks of cycling along the sea and we were finally in Asia, in Istanbul, at the beginning of September. We put our bikes away at a friend's house and hitchhiked to central Turkey and the beginning of our life on horseback. We spent more than four months in Cappadocia surrounded by horses, dogs and friends. We had two wonderful projects on ranches, where we polished our equestrian skills in these fantastic places. It was only in February, now accompanied by two new friends and their two dogs, that we set off, with our three newly acquired horses, along the paths of the southern coast of Turkey. For more than two months we lived at a slow rhythm. Mostly on foot, on winding and complicated roads with harsh conditions, we slowly advanced towards the West of Turkey. We arrived near Akyaka, a few days after the beginning of the war in Ukraine where we sold the horses and gave up our last hopes to continue towards the East and Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. We hitchhiked again at the beginning of April to Istanbul, crossroads between Europe and Asia but also between our own routes.
Aymeric chose the northern route: first, a bus with his bike to Romania, to continue westwards through Europe by bike without a tent. He will travel through Romania, Hungary and Austria where he met his childhood friend Ana, before continuing through Germany and Switzerland to arrive in France at the beginning of June. He made the rounds of friends and family before landing in Brittany in a mushroom growing project where he stayed for two months.
On my side, I took the road to the South with the dog Jehol. After a complicated departure from Istanbul, I drove to the port of Cesme. From there we boarded a ferry to Chios and then to Athens where I spent a month before heading back to the Port of Patras where a ferry took us to Puglia. This time Jehol and I spent almost four months in an incredible agricultural and social project. And it was only in September, now a member of this new association, that we arrived in France.
Finally after a long and slow journey, we are both back in France. Aymeric, Jehol and I met briefly for a kayak trip on Lake Annecy before meeting again a few weeks later at the departure festival of one of the members of Vents de la Récolte. These last days of festivities mark the end of our incredible ecological expedition but also the beginning of many new projects!
Our new Projects :
Alexis
I have just joined a new expedition: the Tour of the 2 Americas by sailboat, which has Jehol on board! The general objective, which is similar to that of Steppe FM, is to raise awareness about climate change, ocean pollution and their consequences in the near future.
The expedition will visit 27 coastal countries. In each port, we will give a lecture on climate change, focusing on the problems of the ocean (pollution, marine biodiversity, fisheries resources), the consequences of global warming (rising sea levels, melting permafrost, fires and floods, desertification), their effects on human beings (physiologically, economically, socially and politically), and the current solutions or adaptations. In total, there are more than 400 free lectures in the language of the country concerned.
Last November, I passed my Level 1 & 2 diving exams to be able to descend to 20 metres underwater in autonomy and join the expedition's team of divers. And then, after a year and a half of travel, it is time to replenish the coffers for this next adventure. To do this, I am working again in Switzerland. At the same time, I'm trying to improve my Portuguese for my future trip to Brazil.
And then, after these five months on the boat, once on the American continent, I still have the idea to buy two horses. This time it will be in Argentina, a country that is more than suitable to travel independently on horseback, with a dog, surrounded by Gauchos in the heart of the Pampa!
Aymeric
And now, I am in a moment of great post-travel reflection. This adventure has done me a lot of good, it has made me realize that one can be content with what one has and I have got rid of my fear of missing out. Despite my future travel plans (Argentina on horseback, or Canada by kayak) I am looking for a more stable financial and professional situation. Today I am preparing to go to Togo for a profession as a geological engineer. On the other hand, in France, my father and I are going to invest in a house in the mountains, with the idea of organizing an agricultural project. In the meantime I live in Switzerland, with my girlfriend, where I try to find jobs to make money and trainings to improve my skills. It's good to be able to take full advantage of one's youth, to be able to take the liberty of losing oneself in order to make one's own way.
Thank you !
We would now like to express our deepest gratitude to you! To all of you, who have been part of this project with us... from the Portuguese seaside to the white peaks of the Swiss Alps during our year of preparation, or from the comfort of our homes in France to our new friendships, made around the stove during the Turkish winter. So let me tell you: the list is long! We will unfortunately not be exhaustive... however I hope that this little word, will sprinkle all along our journey, a proof of our tenderness for the stretched hands and the offered roofs...
So thank you! To all of you who supported us during our fundraising campaign! Our friends, our family and all those who have felt interest in our project! You have made our ecological dream come true, and with you we have created hundreds of square meters of cultivated land. With these funds, you have allowed us to consolidate our association "Les Vents de la Récolte" in its development and in the construction of new ecological projects!
Thanks to all of you! Those who trained and prepared us for our trip, those who allowed us to gather the necessary resources for this adventure! I am thinking in particular of the association "Cavaliers aux Longs Cours" and the riders Jaqueline and Paola, who taught us everything we know today about horses and who, more than that, welcomed us into their homes and offered us friendship! Thanks also to the owners of "L'Hôtel de la Poste" who allowed us to complete our financing!
Thanks again to those who welcomed us on the roads, when it was cold outside and our legs were tired. Despite our scruffy appearance, our dirty clothes and a wet dog, we always found the help we needed. There are many who will not be able to receive this recognition, but this message is also addressed to those people who offered us a cup of tea or a melon on the side of the road, a pair of socks or a fire, the comfort of a family and rest in their own homes.
Finally, thanks to Carine, Alexis' mother, for her precious administrative help, to Raphaël Molcard for his advice and for sending us the seeds! To all of you who followed us, called us, came to see us, gave us feedback on our letters and podcasts. You, our new and old friends who follow and support us! We are proud to have shared this adventure with you and hope that you will remember it forever, until the next one comes along.
So good bye, arrivadechie, αντιο σας and Güle güle. The Steppe FM team signs the end of their adventure. We wish you all the best for the year 2023, may it be rich in ambitious projects that allow us all to grow!
Thank you all for your presence! We hope to see you soon!
Steppe FM