The Al Hajar Traverse
Eleven days, 1650 kms of trails, for an amazing off-road adventure in Eastern Arabia! We have recently posted a guide dedicated …
Notes from the field
letters from Iberia – Growing pains
First days are often complicated. You’re not yet acclimated, not yet used to the process. Growing pains I guess. First, what I thought would be a faster way to …
Letters from Iberia
It’s time to leave again. After many delays, I am embarking on a new overland adventure, taking me across the Northern Iberian Peninsula during the fall season. 5.000 kms and …
Letters from the GR 11 – Fontainebleau
The last night in the wood, was very similar to the first night 10 days ago. Full of sounds. Only this time all my fears were gone. I was now …
Letters from the GR 11 – Moret sur Loing
I feel like a horse smelling the stable as I reach near the end of this journey. Provins, Moret sur Loing and then Fontainebleau are the last stops for me …
Letters from the GR 11 – Left behind
If I refer myself to the four cardinal points, I shall say that the North looks a lot like the south, and the East, a lot like the West. The …
Letters from the GR 11 – Free as a butterfly
Repairing my wheel turned out a bit more complicated than anticipated. It had been a while and it showed. Because it is a tubeless tire, the trick is to get …
Letters from the GR 11 – Flat tire
I have just spent a very pleasant night camping in the woods near the town of Chantilly, where I’ll stop later for a visit of its extraordinary castle. But while …
Letters from the GR 11 – Halfway
I made it halfway through. To my surprise nothing broke. Neither myself, nor the bike. It could be said the dust has been brushed off, and the pain of the …
Letters from the GR 11 – Chevreuse
After a few days on the GR 11 it becomes obviously clear this journey is an introspection. It is not full of wow moments and Instagram ready landscapes to photograph. …
Letters from the GR 11 – Life by the rivers
As expected the night was short and my body this morning is stiff as wood. Just getting up seems like an unachievable goal. But the early morning air is too …
Letters from the GR 11 – A night in the woods
I wouldn’t feel worse if I had been through a full washing machine cycle. I feel every part of my body aching. What I need is a hot bath followed …
Letters from the GR 11 – Pain
The first pain comes with leaving behind the person you love. Heartbreaking, as the expression goes. Instead of looking forward to the thrills of what is to come, I am …
Letters from the GR 11 – Time to go
In 2012 I bought a Jeep and moved to Dubai. From then on everything having to do with the outdoors involved the Jeep. You could say I became an off-roader, …
2018 off-road fair in Valloire – France
France is NOT an off-road country. The government taxes heavily polluting vehicles and local authorities ban all off-road vehicles on their communal trails. Wild camping, understand setting up camp outside …
How Instagram is killing travel
Disclaimer. I have an Instagram account, @paulrobida. As you will see, if you’re kind enough to check it out, not many posts are to be found, and even less are …