I
can use this to call my clients. I’m talking to you on it right now! With
a little ingenuity many people could maintain their income stream, or create
a new one, anywhere in the world.
LYA: It amazes me how under
utilized this technology is. It makes many jobs TOTALLY portable.
JG: I’m living proof.
LYA: What were some of your
most adventurous trips?
JG: Well… what does adventure
mean? The most beautiful, the most…
LYA: That’s a good question,
one I should be asking you!
JG: No, I asked you first!
LYA: Well, to me adventure,
travel adventure, is where you have a point A and point B, but in between
you don’t know everything that’s going to happen… there may be some risk,
there may not be risk, but it’s not knowing what’s going to happen, just
enjoying the ride, enjoying the thrill.
JG: Right. Adventure is anything
you don’t have at home. Where I lived in San Francisco, there was
a Starbuck’s right downstairs. I like my coffee in the morning, so to me,
an adventure would be, how I can get my coffee when I don’t speak the language!
To answer the original question though, the coolest countries I’ve ever
traveled to are in South America. I really dig South America. I went to
Peru for the first time in 1997. I remember landing at the airport and
looking outside of customs and seeing thousands of people. People selling
taxis, rooms, people waiting for relatives, police officers with machine
guns… It’s a beautiful place, but it’s always a little out of control.
LYA: What about “out of control”
do you like?
JG: I like out of control
as long as my personal safety isn’t at risk. In Peru I never felt I was
in a situation that was life-threatening. In Columbia though, I have been
in situations where I thought I was going to die.
LYA: I know we’ve been in
a lot of situations, like in Rio. The night before I got there you got
hit in the head with a big rock. The night after I got there, you witnessed
a murder on the street. Do you consider that part of adventure, or is that
just crazy dangerous?
JG: That’s just crazy danger.
It’s funny, when I think of Rio I don’t think of it as being dangerous.
At certain times, I guess, like during Carnival, but the crimes then weren’t
against me. The rock wasn’t thrown at me, I was an innocent bystander.
The shooting, as the police explained to me in Portuguese [laughs], was
a drug hit. I don’t go to countries where there are kidnappings, like Iraq
or North Korea. But there are not a whole lot of other places I wouldn’t
go. And I don’t like going to places where I have to take malaria medication.
It makes me a little bit crazy.
LYA: Crazier, you mean! So
what do you see for the future?
JG: Well, I’m moving! Because
there’s been a big influx of foreigners, the real estate prices have drastically
increased. So I’m moving to a smaller place in a nice area near a dog park.
It’s kind of weird… I’m working on getting my residency, but right now
I’m still on a tourist visa and foreigners aren’t allowed to sign a contract
that’s for more than six months. So I have to pay the contract in advance.
I want to stay here another two years at least, but if it gets too expensive
I’ll move to another country in Latin America. Costa Rica, Nicaragua, maybe
Panama.
And there are five things I want
to do while I’m still able. Go to Rwanda – there’s an environmental group
there where you can hang out with the gorillas. I want to do that. I also
want to visit India, Cambodia, the Kruger National Park in South Africa,
and Egypt. Maybe I’ll do Egypt this Christmas. And of course checking out
more of South America.
LYA: Thanks, Joel.
JG: You’re welcome. You still
recording? I wanna talk about women… CLICK
Joel Graham
– C.P.A., oxymoron, and single guy – can be reached at Joelacpa@aol.com
The following
are Mark's previous articles for the magazine:
Go to Mark's web
site and check out his new book, DRIVING TO THE END OF THE WORLD,
due out at Christmas. Click Here
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