an amazing encounter

i left the 2 kiwis in port macquarie because i had to get up to brisbane to do a million things before heading to asia, and they planned on hanging around port mac for an extra day.. on the third day alone i was riding along a very normal forested stretch of the pacific highway near ballina when i saw a guy walking in the distance towards me on the same side of the road.. he began waving hello when i was still about 30 metres away.. as i rode up i saw a slender, smiling man, probably in his mid 40s, pushing a stroller-like contraption loaded up with gear and covered with a tarp.. i was very curious as to what he was doing but he first began asking me things like where was i going, where from, etc in his semi broken english accent.. i told him that i was heading to brisbane to catch a flight to indonesia and that i had left nyc 9 months ago
'wow what a trip!' he said with a surprised look on his face and a genuine interest 'and for how long you going to go?' he asked

i shrugged 'i dont know, 10 years maybe..'
he got very excited and slapped my hand while laughing as if he had found something he had been looking for..

'where are you going?' i asked curiously

he began explaining that he had left his home in montreal nearly 10 years earlier to walk around the world.. i noticed my jaw hanging down and my chest tightening up as he showed me a map of the journey which took him the entire length of north and south america where he flew from brazil to south africa and proceeded to WALK the whole of africa, europe, through the middle east via turkey and iran, india, western china, japan, korean and south east asia before getting to the northern tip of australia last year...

i couldnt believe it, it was almost the exact route i had pictured taking but backwards, AND ON FOOT!! we sat and talked on the side of the highway for a short while and i just asked question after question as we went through photos he had taken in south america and africa.. his name was jean beliveau and i found out that he has a wife and 2 kids, as well as grandchildren that he hasnt yet met.. he explained that he stops for 1 month every year and his wife comes to wherever he is and they spend time together... he said he was doing it 'for peace and for the children of the world'.. he also explained that the current world record for longest distance walked was held by an american at around 65,000 km and he had already walked nearly 70,000 but was not at all interested in any sort of recognition for this..

he had a demeanor unlike anyone that i had ever met.. an eerie contentment with the world around him as well as a sharp intelligence.. i could tell from our short conversations that he would go out of his way not to pass any form of judgement on anything in any way.. it was as if he had seen too much to succumb to those impulses all humans seem to have to be opinionated and scrutinize things.. he seemed much more concerned with observing things impartially and he was so at one with the world.. he told me stories of being taken to the leaders of remote african tribes and waiting nervously for a translater to arrive, and showed me cartoons dipicting him that had been printed in a korean newspaper..he told me that he went through 45 pairs of shoes and has survived only through the kindness and generosity of others..

by the end of our conversation i wanted to walk with him, for days even, but i didnt say anything as i wasnt sure whether or not he would prefer to be alone, but too nice to say it.. i expressed how amazing it was to cross paths with such a legend and began to pick up my bike and head off.. i genuinely felt bad for the thousands of motorists that passed us just in that short time who would not have the opportunity to meet such a person, or the desire probably..

as i was mounting my bike he began telling me a story in his french-canadian accent about something that happened to him 9 yrs previous while walking through north carolina.. he said a very old man who could barely walk or see made his way out to the rural road as he saw jean approaching.. they talked about things to do with life and hapiness and the old man said that he often hears people talking about and caught up in politics, religions, differences, arguments, ect.. but that the key to truly being happy in life lye in one word, _____..

the sun was very bright and he looked me right in the eye and smiled and said, 'and so i give to you my friend, _____..' he repeated the english word then grinned as if he knew that the gift was not wasted on me..

i mustve said thank you 3 times and the whole experience was so surreal that i thought about his gift to me constantly for days.. as i was riding away we both turned around and waved at the same time, and i began repeating the word to myself, such a simple beautiful word.. i was thinking about all of the people and places that this man had seen.. it brought tears to my eye, it was the best gift that anyone has ever given me.. ill never forget it..

i didnt take any photos as my camera had been dropped into a river the day before (which no longer bothered me), and im kind of glad i didnt take pictures anyway.. although jean doesnt use technology often, his wife and kids maintain a website for him which is www.wwwalk.org .. and although im sure i was just a small memory towards the end of his long journey, he will be an important part of mine for years to come...

here is a map of jean's journey from his website: