In the middle of a road trip, François DOUDOUX-RIO (Environment, 2014) confines himself to the British Virgin Islands (BVI)

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We found them on Facebooklive: François DOUDOUX-RIO (Environment, 2014) and Maïwenn are Les Sacs à Pattes, "Tourdumondistes" (as they are called) and you can follow their adventures on their YouTube channel. Both of them have decided to leave their Brittany home in September 2019 for a two-year adventure around the world with cheap alternatives to travel the world (hitchhiking, couchsurfing, Woofing...) and three main objectives, which they describe below :

Objective "minimize the carbon footprint": get out the plane!
Objective "to meet the world" : we bet on hitchhiking, couchsurfing, meetings...
Objective "take your time" : we don't plan anything. No hotel reservation, no transport reservation, a draft itinerary and two years ahead of us.

OF LOCMARIAQUER AUX BVI

François gives us a brief summary of their adventures so far but will detail all this in a future Trait d'Union :

We started from Locmariaquer (56), we crossed France by hitchhiking in a Ukrainian semi-trailer to Belgium.
We crossed the Atlantic on a cargo ship from Antwerp to Halifax.
We travelled across Canada from east to west; from Halifax to Vancouver, via Quebec City, Montreal, the Rockies... by hitchhiking!
We discovered the American West, its dreams and disappointments, its huge cities and breathtaking national parks.
We played in Las Vegas and danced in New Orleans...
We hitch-hiked in the Caribbean, letting ourselves be carried away by the winds, currents and boats that welcomed us!

THE ARRIVAL AT THE BVI

François tells us: "We arrive at the BVI as the Coronavirus begins to impact life. So we have to find accommodation and plan the rest of the journey. As usual, we rely on the encounters and kindness of the people. What are our options? Couchsurfing difficult (few hosts on the island), AirBnb is very expensive, we have no knowledge of the island...

On the other hand we have two pairs of arms and motivation. We go to the first cafe for breakfast, and take advantage of the internet connection to look for Woofing and WorkAway, or some local announcements of people looking for people for gardening, DIY or any other activity.

While I'm searching the internet, Maïwenn opts for a faster method: chatting with the neighbours at the table. After all, you never know?

In a few minutes, she makes friends with Sophie and Lanky, two Londoners who have been living on the island for a few months with their two little blond heads aged 6 and 4. And guess what? They need help to clear their plot, drive in nails and paint a room. Besides, they have a guesthouse right next to their house. They immediately offer us a place to stay, seduced by our adventure and Maïwenn's communicative cheerfulness. They seem delighted to welcome travellers into their home."

NEW HOUSE, NEW ENCOUNTERS, NEW PROJECTS

François and Maïwenn have been at Sophie and Lanky's for a week now. To their initial projects they have added other missions: taking care of the children from time to time, as the school has just closed (French lessons, all kinds of games), assembling a kit, repairing cupboards...
They take the opportunity to share some of their skills as environmental engineers: construction of a compost bin on pallets, training on composting, experimentation on permaculture and trials of ecological weeding with white vinegar...
"We are not bored! We really enjoy feeling useful for this family. A real roommate, a win-win relationship, just the way we like them," adds François.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The impact of the coronavirus is being felt more and more. Although no cases are reported to the BVI, the governor has closed the borders, grounded the planes. Europe is also being confined. François and Maïwen have therefore chosen to stay there because "first of all, our hosts are offering to accommodate us for as long as we want, and we are happy to help them. Then because it seems more judicious to isolate ourselves where we are, rather than continuing our journey or even returning to France. And we are certainly more useful here than in our apartment in France...
We are therefore confined here. Not to be pitied, and well occupied."

THE FINAL WORD FROM FRANCOIS

"You must always believe in the kindness of people! We strive to give the best of ourselves to the people we meet, by hitchhiking, hitchhiking, boat hitchhiking, on the street, and our journey is filled with great anecdotes and adventures in return. Giving ourselves time to seize these beautiful opportunities to meet and discover is important!
If you feel like it, then start by watching an episode of Nus et Culottés (available for free on Youtube), and you'll see that the world is beautiful and dreams are possible!"

USEFUL LINKS

Our email address: sacsapattes@gmail.com

Our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/sacsapattes/
Our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeWnbzVoO6furosCjc-MOrg

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)