Around the world in seven years (and still counting…)
One tourist couple in Cyprus recently stood out from the rest. They both rode specially-adapted bikes and are on a world tour
While he was travelling through Italy, he noticed her one night at a restaurant. She was looking over her shoulder, clearly drawn to this attractive stranger. Although they never spoke that night, Clara bumped into the mystery guy a few days later. Two years down the line, they married but that isn’t really the point of the story. Pablo Garcia was the mysterious man sitting in the restaurant, a man who decided, in 1999, to travel the world by bicycle. He met Clara during his trip, in Italy six years later. They married in 2006 and have been travelling on their bicycles ever since. They have just passed through Cyprus, Pablo’s 51st country.
Most people dream about travelling the world, being introduced to new cultures and satisfying their thirst to discover more about the earth and its inhabitants. As exciting as it may sound though, packing up and setting out on a journey can be a terrifying prospect. Pablo chose to hop onto his bicycle with nothing but a sleeping bag and a few other necessities to travel the world. “It was one of those ideas I’ve had since I was old enough to wonder about the world and all its mysteries,” the Argentinean says. “It was a crazy idea but I decided to do it.” It was June 1999 when Pablo began researching his plan. Without a strong budget, sponsors were needed before he could begin his journey, in addition to a bit of cycling experience as he had none. He is now sponsored by different companies in each country, allowing him to move around the world (Nova and Lanitis sponsored him here in Cyprus). “I decided to test myself, so for one year I travelled through Brazil to Argentina. I cycled 12,000km and realised how much I wanted to do this.” He contacted the media, received a free bicycle and a ticket to embark on his journey to Africa.
Pablo, 33, worked in Brazil as a tourist agent when he announced his plans to his family. “Around the world on a bicycle, which is my project, has the main objective to cross the five continents and visit over 50 countries including most of Europe and Africa,” he explains. On the back of his bike is a mast with a flag on from each of the countries he has been to. The bicycle, a specially-adapted Halley, weighs around 70kg, which also includes a sleeping bag, a laptop, clothes and a seat of gel. Clara’s is slightly lighter at 40kg, including a lot of clothes and, until recently, a heater. “It was so cold in Syria, I wanted a heater,” she says. “But we couldn’t carry it, so I left it behind.”
Travelling through deserts, along coasts and under extreme circumstances has made his journey all the more interesting, Pablo insists. “I could’ve died a couple of times,” he bluntly says. “I was in Djibouti, which was an unforgettable experience, sleeping in a room with no air and full of mosquitoes, being harassed by policemen and eventually getting lost in the Danakil desert but I was also lucky enough to be saved when I had no water and the heat was killing me. They were French military, who didn’t really understand my purpose but wanted to take a picture with me.”
The couple were in Cyprus for almost three weeks. Having started from Limassol, they travelled to Larnaca, Ayia Napa and Nicosia, before heading off to Paphos and back to Limassol for a ferry to Greece and Turkey.
But what does the future hold? “We are nowhere near finishing,” Pablo says. “I think Australia will be our last tour but we definitely need another four to five years before that happens.” He also confesses that at the end of this big chapter in his life, he will put together a documentary of all the countries he has visited. As I get up to wave them goodbye, I notice a white flag on the mast. “It’s a sign of peace,” he says, as they both ride away.
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