TIME CODED TRANSCRIPT
WHEN THE ROAD ENDS - DYLAN WICKRAMA
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
1
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This is really frustrating.
2
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As soon as I set sail, there is no wind.
3
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Ya. It is pretty bad.
4
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I am getting really angry, because …
5
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When I was reparing the boat …
6
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Or whenever I had to do something on it … ehm… there was wind.
7
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And I couldn’t work because there was so much wind.
8
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And at last, when I have every thing ready it’s just …
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Look at this.
10
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Shit!
O-Ton Airplane Warning System
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Altitude!
NARRATION - DYLAN WICKRAMA
12
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It all began with a motorcycle journey.
13
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But the most amazing experiences I had were …
14
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... while sitting on a bamboo deck of a raft on the Pacific Ocean.
15
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I never imagined this vast expansions of a water, which was unpredictable and unforgiving at times, would change my outlook on life forever.
16
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The vivid memories of that incredible journey now takes me back to Ardita, the small jungle village, in search of that raft that I left there 4 years ago.
O-Ton MAN IN RED SHIRT
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Buon viaje!
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
18
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I have mixed feelings.
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On one hand I am excited to see the people that I met there.
20
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On the other hand I am pretty anxious.
O-TON MARTINA ZUERCHER
21
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Do you think it’s still there?
O.TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
22
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I don’t know.
NARRATION - DYLAN WICKRAMA
23
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Four hours after leaving Panama border post, we officially enter Colombia, and then you have to backtrack a few more kilometres to reach Ardita.
O-TON MARTINA ZUERCHER
24
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How do you feel being here?
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
25
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Quite strange.
26
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Holà Joachim!
27
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Me requerdas?
O-TON OLD WOMAN
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Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (not understandable colmombian-spanish-slang)
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Si tua por a qui?
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
30
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Una moto!
O-TON OLD WOMAN
31
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Aaaahhh! (Starts laughing)
O-TON OLD MAN, WITH CAP
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A Putee!
O-TON DYLAN
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Si!
O-TON OLD WOMAN
34
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El senior ques aviantes! Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (not understandable colmombian-spanish-slang)
> SUBTITLES: The man who came from the ocean!
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Aiii Joachim! Me xxxxxxxx xxxx quantos años? (not understandable colmombian-spanish-slang)
> SUBTITLES: How many years ago is it?
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
36
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4 años !
O-TON OLD WOMAN
37
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A tienes 4 año!
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
38
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4 años ..
O-TON MAN IN WHITE SINGLET
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Ah! …xxxxxxxx (not understandable colmombian-spanish-slang)
>SUBTITLES: Oh my god!
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
40
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It feels a bit like coming home.
41
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Even Silvestre the dog recognizes me straight away.
42
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The village hasn’t changed much.
43
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The same old wooden houses stand on stilts, looking towards the Pacific Ocean while the villagers carry on with their lives unconcerned about anything.
44
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The one change I noticed straight away is, the raft that I left here 4 years ago, it’s no longer there.
45
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It would be so wonderful to see it once again.
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But my hopes were shattered by what I heard from the villagers.
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Apparently about 2 years ago my raft had broken into pieces and nobody knew where to find its remains.
48
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I am deeply saddened by the news about the raft.
49
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But disappointments are a part of life.
50
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It is also part of human nature not wanting to let go of things.
51
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With the ocean on one side and the Darien Jungle on the other Ardita is effectively an island.
52
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Not even a footpath connects it with the rest of the world.
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4 years ago there were 15 families living here.
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And it seems that number has remained the same.
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It is wonderful to see all these people once again, …
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... but I craved to find out more about what exactly happened to my raft.
57
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And then one of the young men of the village tells me that he might be able to help me.
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That is the best news I heard since my arrival here.
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So off we went looking for the raft the next morning.
60
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However, I am deeply puzzled as they lead me trough the undergrowth into the jungle.
61
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Probably you must be even more puzzled as to how a man who was on a motorcycle journey ended up in such a remote jungle village without roads.
62
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Well, I have to take you back in time to give you the answer.
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I was born and grew up on the beautiful island called Sri Lanka.
64
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By the year 2010 I had been living in Switzerland for more than a decade.
65
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The dream of traveling the world on a motorcycle had been in my mind since I was a small child.
66
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But what finally made me leave Switzerland with my motorcycle was, the idea of self discovery.
67
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I had been going through a rough patch in my life for a number of years.
68
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I did not know how to regain my happiness and what the purpose of life was.
69
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So off I went to discover the world and to rediscover myself.
70
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I didn’t travel with roadmaps, I didn’t read guide books, I sometimes decided the direction of travel with the toss a coin.
71
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In the beginning of 2011 my bike broke down in India, at Hampi.
72
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And I was stuck there for a few days.
O-TON MARTINA ZUERCHER
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Hampi ist eine kleine Ortschaft in Indien und vor allem bekannt für seine wunderschönen Tempelanlagen.
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Vor so einem Temple habe ich dann Dylan auch das erste Mal getroffen …
75
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… und er sagt heute noch zu mir, dass ich da sehr arrogant reagiert habe, weil ich nicht mit ihm sprechen wollte in dem Moment.
76
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Ehm ja, wir haben dann trotzdem an diesem ersten Tag zum Glück noch zusammen angefangen zu sprechen und umso mehr ich von diesem Mann erfuhr, umso faszinierter war ich und habe mich dann wirklich an diesem ersten Tag in ihn verliebt.
77
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Als wir uns nach ein paar Tagen trennten, dann war es für mich völlig klar ich will diesen Mensch wieder sehen, weil ich so in mir das Gefühl hatte, das ist der Mann mit dem ich mein Leben verbringen will.
78
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Und für Dylan war es ganz anders. Es war mehr so ja es ist schön wenn wir uns wieder sehen, aber wir wissen nicht was passiert.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
79
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Traveling around the world without plans, offered many opportunities and time to ponder about life.
80
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It took me little more than a year and a half to reach the other side of the world.
81
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I spent 5 months traveling around Australia and then shipped Bruce my motorcycle to Canada. There I met Greg.
82
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He told me about the Darien Gap and that I should look into finding a boat well in advance to go from Panama to Colombia.
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First I thought he was joking.
84
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Because I had never heard about the Darien Gap.
85
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All I knew was: The Pan-Amaerican Highway, the longest continuous road in the world, which starts in Alaska goes all the way down to Argentina.
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But the reality is: the Pan-American Highway ends in Panama in a small town called Yaviza.
87
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Any traveling further south of Yaviza can only be done on a river.
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But unfortunately even this boat ride ends somewhere in the middle of the Darien jungle.
89
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The road that for thousands of kilometres lead from Alaska ends in Yaviza because of an impenetrable jungle.
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There are no ferries operating between Panama and Colombia.
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If you wish to travel between the two countries with a motorcycle, like this traveler, you need to get to Colon and find a boat captain to take you on a 500 kilometre journey across the Caribbean Sea.
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When I heard all this in Canada my ever growing adventure spirit started fireworks in my head.
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As I rode south my mind never rested from thinking about how to cross the Darien Gap.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
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Well here we go again! Bruce is laying down. It’s like an old donkey.
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ooh! Hahahaha - I had a crash!
96
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Haha - everything is frozen.
97
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Broken down again, and this time I got a puncture.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
98
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Being on the road for nearly 3 years, facing challenges on daily basis, made me learn a lot about life.
99
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It was in those tough moments I learned how important it is to believe in yourself, to be optimistic and to smile.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
100
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I am very tired.
101
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I am really tired.
102
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I’ve been riding now … like 80 kilometres today.
103
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95% of the time in first gear. And the conditions are pretty much like this.
104
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Look at this!
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
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This journey around the world had never been about visiting tourist attractions.
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In fact: Most of the time I didn’t even know names of the places until I arrived there.
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I was enjoying discovering the world and myself my own way, at my own pace.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
108
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Hey boy, you have to go. That’s my bag!
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I am broken down in a godforsaken place.
NARRATION - DYLAN WICKRAMA
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I noticed that being outside my comfort zone made me feel alive as never before.
111
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So I saw the Darien Gap as an opportunity to experience something entirely new.
112
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Rather than being a passenger on a boat I wanted to bypass the Darien Jungle on a self built raft which is driven by my motorcycle.
113
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So I started planing, organising parts and working on the raft project as I continued my journey south.
O-TON MARTINA ZUERCHER
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Als ich in in San Francisco besuch habe, hat er mir das erste Mal von dieser Floss-Geschichte erzählt und hatte auch bereits Motorradteile gekauft um diese zu modifizieren für das Floss und dann habe ich schon so gedacht: Mein Gott, was ist das für eine verrückte Idee!
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Why you want to make a raft out our your bike?
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
116
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I am going to ride down the Amazon river with my bike.
O-TON MARTINA ZUERCHER
117
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Er hat mir tatsächlich zu Beginn erzählt, dass er mit diesem Motorradfloss den Amazonas runter fahren will.
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Und offenbar nicht nur mir sondern er hat dies allen so erzählt, weil er genau wusste dass die Menschen ganz anders reagieren werden, wenn er sagt er wird damit über das Meer fahren, weil der Ozean ist einfach noch einmal ein ganz anderes Risiko.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
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I met people randomly who helped modify motorcycle parts to propel the raft.
120
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Like these Mexican mechanics, who showed tremendous empathy for my adventure.
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Not only did they have fun working on my project …
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… they even refused to accept money from me for their labour.
O-TON MARTINA ZUERCHER
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Ich habe dann mit der Zeit gemerkt wie wichtig ihm diese Flossabenteuer war, ehm, es hatte wirklich nur noch das platz in seinem Kopf. Also ich glaub man kann sagen er war wie besessen von dieser Idee.
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Und, ehm, ja wir haben dann auch Zeit zusammen verbracht und da konzentrierte er sich immer nur auf dieses Floss und nicht auf uns. Und das hat mich dann auch genervt, so sehr dass ich ihn am letzten Abend, ich glaube es war um Mitternacht, aus dem Hotelzimmer geschmissen habe. Wirklich so hey: Wenn du dich jetzt, an diesem letzten Abend nicht auf uns konzentrieren kannst, dann geh doch einfach jetzt schon.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
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I understood the anger and the frustration of Martina because of my lazy approach to our friendship.
126
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But only when I was back on the road I realised how important she had become in my life.
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However I was happy about one thing, as she threw me out of the hotel room that night:
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At least it wasn’t raining.
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After arriving in Panama I met a few experienced sailors who helped me in various ways.
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Among many other things they found a workshop where I could begin with the construction of the raft.
131
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And Jacques not only became my mentor, he also offered me accommodation on his sailboat.
O-TON JACQUES LARSON
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I was born into sailing …
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.. and my parents started living on a boat when I was 2 years old.
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I have been on the ocean all my life.
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That’s more or less the only life I know and …
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I just can’t cope on land.
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Especially not in a city.
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On the ocean there is nobody to tell you what to do.
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And you don’t have to obey by so many social rules
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You do whatever you want but you are also 100% responsible for whatever you do.
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The consequences are all yours.
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I started to hear about the crazy story …
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I couldn’t really believe it was going to happen because technically it is quite difficult and specially when you see that the other person doesn’t know what the ocean is.
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Technically he knew what he was speaking about.
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The structure of the raft and the mechanics of it were sound.
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But it is much more difficult than most people think.
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Usually people they start and give up really fast when they meet the first difficulties.
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What’s really dangerous in a storm is the waves.
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They can be very violent, that’s also why we ..
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… advised him to make the trip on the Pacific side and not on the Caribbean side.
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Because on the Caribbean side you are doing the normal route between San Blas islands and Cartagena,
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most of the time you have very strong winds again you.
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And with a raft like that it wouldn’t have been possible to go against the strong winds and the strong waves.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
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But the route which he recommenced across the Pacific wasn’t without pitfalls.
O-TON JACQUES LARSON
155
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This place was dangerous because of the guerrillas and narcotic traffickers and all that.
156
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And because there is no road …
157
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there are no developed places so you can’t get supplies and nobody sails along that cost.
158
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We knew the general conditions of weather, currents in the Golf of Panama …
159
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...but we had no idea where he could stop and what kind of towns or villages or bays he would encounter.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
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So I had the choice between getting ship wrecked on the Caribbean Sea or to get into trouble with criminals on the Pacific.
161
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Unlike with the Mother Nature, having a dialogue with criminals isn’t impossible, I decided for the Pacific.
162
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So I transported the parts of the raft to the Pacific end of the Panama Canal …
163
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... where I could easily launch the raft after building it.
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Now and then Jacques came to lend me a hand.
O-TON VOICE OF PEOPLE CARRYING THE RAFT
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Un, dos, tres
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
166
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When the work was done we carried the raft to the dry canal bed at low tide.
167
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And waited for high tide to return.
168
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I was extremely nervous that day.
169
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Mathematically I knew that things should work out as planned.
170
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But I also knew: maths and life don’t always work the way you would like them too.
O-TON JACQUES LARSON
171
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For us a boat is not just an object. It has a life.
172
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And then you climb on board, start the engine and then it goes.
173
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It is very funny …
174
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... to go down the Panama Canal with all these big modern cargo ships and see the look of the faces of the people. What is that?
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
175
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We steered the raft along the Panama Canal to the open sea, …
176
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... tied it to Jacques boat and then did the rest of the work in the following days.
177
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One day Jacques took a pencil and a piece of paper and sketched something.
178
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He said he would build a sail for my raft so that I could save on fuel.
179
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When I told him that I couldn’t pay for a sail he replied with a mischievous smile that it would be a gift from him.
180
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On that same evening he disappeared into the darkness in his dingy.
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An hour later when he came back, he had a sail in his hands …
182
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… and immediately I knew that here must be a sailboat close by with its sail gone missing.
O-TON JACQUES LARSON
183
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It’s kind of Robin Hood piracy.
184
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I mostly take things from abandoned boats.
185
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There are so many boats that are sitting for years just getting rotten ….
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… that are full of parts that can be used by people that have more dreams than money.
187
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… and that’s a good way of recycling.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
188
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I wasn’t unhappy about the unexpected gift of a sail …
189
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even though rigging a mast wasn’t a straight forward business.
190
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I decided to dedicate my raft to a courageous woman.
191
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My father was killed by a robber when I was just 6 years old.
192
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From there on my mother had put up a lone fight to give the best possible future for 4 little boys growing up in Sri Lanka.
193
00:26:28:00 --> 00:26:32:11
I thought when I am about to do the most outrageous thing in my life …
194
00:26:33:03 --> 00:26:38:07
.. there is no better companion the have by my side than my mother Bridget.
O-TON JACQUES LARSON
195
00:26:44:00 --> 00:26:49:05
In my opinion his mistake was to be in such a hurry to go.
196
00:26:50:17 --> 00:26:59:10
And not take the time to really try the raft, learn how to handle it and correct some things.
197
00:27:01:13 --> 00:27:03:22
But if that is the choice you make, you have to live with the consequences.
NARRATION - DYLAN WICKRAMA
198
00:27:35:13 --> 00:27:38:03
My concern was the fast approaching rainy season.
199
00:27:39:07 --> 00:27:50:09
Only a couple of days prior to my departure I heard the news that 7 big ships had been blown ashore by a storm in Colon, which was only 80 kilometres away.
200
00:27:51:20 --> 00:27:54:04
So I made the decision to leave fast.
201
00:27:55:10 --> 00:27:57:12
I was a very special time in my life.
202
00:27:58:13 --> 00:28:02:20
The tough and hardened people I met in Panama where genuinly caring .. .
203
00:28:03:15 --> 00:28:06:18
… and they helped me beyond my expectations.
204
00:28:08:08 --> 00:28:14:04
And not only that: They had opened up their hearts and treated me as an old friend.
205
00:28:15:16 --> 00:28:20:21
No, it was more. The spirit of adventure bonded us into one family.
206
00:28:22:04 --> 00:28:31:02
As I enjoyed watching the city lights for the last time from the deck of Jacques boat I knew that would greatly miss these wonderful people.
207
00:28:32:23 --> 00:28:40:03
But once again, as I had done on so many occasions in this journey, it was my time to say goodbye.
208
00:28:50:03 --> 00:28:53:10
The Panamanian authorities considered it as an illegal journey ..
209
00:28:52:22 --> 00:28:56:16
... and refused to give an exit stamp on my passport.
210
00:28:57:20 --> 00:29:05:13
So the best thing I could do was to take a quick exit in the dark and make it out of Panama before anyone noticed.
211
00:29:07:09 --> 00:29:13:02
The worst thing was: I knew nothing about sailing and have never been on the Ocean before.
212
00:29:15:02 --> 00:29:24:05
Learning to sail is one thing. But learning to sail in the dark, all by yourself, was little challenging.
213
00:29:36:06 --> 00:29:40:14
After two whole days I was very relieved to see land again.
214
00:29:42:01 --> 00:29:48:15
I was also very nervous not knowing the dangers that could be lurking beneath the surface of this shallow water.
215
00:29:57:22 --> 00:30:03:21
Las Perlas, or the Pearl Island Archipelago, lies 70 kilometres south of Panama City.
216
00:30:05:10 --> 00:30:11:00
Apart from a handfull of small settlements, most of the island are unihabited.
217
00:30:13:12 --> 00:30:20:14
Since this is an illegal journey interacting with people could bring misfortune to my adventure I thought.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
218
00:30:25:14 --> 00:30:29:06
Maybe it’s time to drink some coconut water.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
219
00:30:34:23 --> 00:30:39:20
Although I felt lonely sometimes I enjoyed the life of Robinson Crusoe.
220
00:30:40:22 --> 00:30:44:09
But one day I discovered a companion on the raft.
221
00:30:45:05 --> 00:30:46:26
At last I wasn’t alone!
222
00:30:48:01 --> 00:30:50:04
I named the little gecko Wilson.
223
00:30:51:01 --> 00:30:55:11
Although he was shy, now and then he came out so say hello to me.
224
00:30:56:20 --> 00:31:01:10
It’s amazing what a great listening partner you can make out of a little creature.
225
00:31:02:24 --> 00:31:08:09
I spoke with Wilson for hours just about anything that came to my mind.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
226
00:31:29:23 --> 00:31:39:19
Oh Shit!
227
00:31:38:00 --> 00:31:41:17
Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on!
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
228
00:31:46:24 --> 00:31:49:20
For a few long minutes I suffered a black out.
229
00:31:50:22 --> 00:31:53:24
A breakdown on a rural road is bad enough …
230
00:31:55:02 --> 00:32:01:09
.. but the feeling of helplessness with a broken down motorcycle on the ocean is unimaginable.
231
00:32:09:20 --> 00:32:12:15
It took me 9 hours to find the fault.
232
00:32:14:02 --> 00:32:17:15
An electronic sensor that triggered the ignition was broken.
233
00:32:18:13 --> 00:32:23:10
That wasn’t a part you could repair and I didn’t have a spare either.
234
00:32:25:02 --> 00:32:30:18
I knew it would be a massiv challenge to get anywhere with the help of wind alone.
235
00:32:32:08 --> 00:32:39:11
So far I had tried to avoid people. But now I had to go looking for them to get help.
236
00:32:40:20 --> 00:32:47:16
For two whole days I sailed back north to reach San Miguel, which is the largest settlement on the archipelago.
237
00:32:49:04 --> 00:32:53:13
When I finally got there I was confronted by the police.
238
00:32:54:16 --> 00:33:02:11
But my luck was: Those police officers had never seen a motorcycle rider going towards Colombia on a self built raft.
239
00:33:03:23 --> 00:33:07:03
The policemen helped me as if I were one of their own.
240
00:33:08:01 --> 00:33:14:03
They let me use their internet connection and I left a message about my problem in Facebook.
241
00:33:15:08 --> 00:33:19:04
Within minutes an American whom I had never met, responded.
242
00:33:19:20 --> 00:33:25:07
When he told me that he could send me a spare-part to Panama City I was delighted.
243
00:33:26:08 --> 00:33:32:24
I then had time until the part arrived to look for someone to give me a lift back to Panama City.
344
00:34:14:08 --> 00:34:16:02
There was very little to do in San Miguel.
345
00:34:17:07 --> 00:34:22:05
Watching the masses of birds in a feeding frenzy became my favourite activity.
346
00:34:23:19 --> 00:34:30:06
All thought the birds celebrated the low-tide as they profited from it, I was living in fear.
347
00:34:31:10 --> 00:34:36:11
When the water receded the raft rested its full weight on the keel and the rudders.
348
00:34:27:02 --> 00:34:40:16
I feared the wood might break under the weight of the raft.
349
00:34:41:14 --> 00:34:47:10
Hence my frustration to be stranded in San Miguel grew day by day.
350
00:34:53:08 --> 00:34:57:17
But I found out I wasn’t the only one who was stranded in San Miguel.
351
00:35:00:23 --> 00:35:11:12
Alberto a 72 year old Colombian, who didn’t seem to be in a good shape told me that he feared for his life and had to flee Colombia 10 months ago.
352
00:35:12:20 --> 00:35:19:04
When he arrived in San Miguel he fell victim to a robbery and lost his boat that he came to Panama with.
353
00:35:20:22 --> 00:35:29:13
Since then he had been stuck in San Miguel and continuous to life there depending on the random kindness of the locals.
354
00:35:32:04 --> 00:3r:36:11
I was quite ashamed of myself for thinking I had a problem.
O-TON ADRIANE REEVE
455
00:35:47:05 --> 00:35:49:20
I was out fishing with my brother and we ran out of beer.
456
00:35:51:00 --> 00:35:57:17
And when you are a fisherman you can’t run out of beer, at least not when you fish with my brother, so we went up to this island and
457
00:35:58:00 --> 00:3607:22
… the policemen called out to me, because they know me on the island that I spoke English and they were like: hey, we want you to talk to this guy that’s here.
458
00:36:07:08 --> 00:36:19:11
So they went and got Dylan who was inside one of the police quarters. I asked Dylan what’s going on and if he needed anything and anyway, I offered to help him.
459
00:36:19:17 --> 00:36:24:22
I said I got an apparment on this island 12 miles north of here. Come with us! We’ll help you.
460
00:36:25:15 -->00:36:33:13
I helped him get an airplane back to Panama City and he was able to do his thing.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
461
00:36:31:22 --> 00:36:35:14
It’s incredible how quickly help arrived whenever I was in need.
462
00:36:38:02 --> 00:36:42:15
With heartfelt gratitude I picked up the much needed spare-part in Panama City.
463
00:36:42:14 --> 00:36:48:19
Now all that needed to be done was to repair the engine and continue my journey.
464
00:36:51:16 --> 00:36:56:21
But when I got back to San Miguel I had to do more repairs than expected.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
465
00:36:56:22 --> 00:37:03:16
The dagger board is broken and 2 rudders and now I have the fun of repairing it.
466
00:37:04:16 --> 00:37:13:05
I have very limited amount of nuts and bolts. I hope I will be able to repair it quickly and get going towards Colombia tomorrow.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
467
00:37:19:11 --> 00:37:28:06
But on the positive side, the police who could have arrested me and confiscated my illegal raft, helped me repair it.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
468
00:37:35:14 --> 00:37:38:06
I’m trying to catch some fish, I got my fishing line here …
469
00:37:38:24 --> 00:37:44:16
But ehh … they don’t want to bite.
470
00:37:53:05 --> 00:38:02:09
It’s a nice sail. Actually I mostly used it as a sunshade, not as a sail, because there wasn’t much wind.
471
00:38:03:15 --> 00:38:09:08
So most of the time I was drifting, using that as my umbrella.
472
00:38:09:21 --> 00:38:11:04
Let’s check our speed.
473
00:38:11:23 --> 00:38:16:06
We are doing neck breaking 2.6 kilometres per hour ..
474
00:38:16:06 --> 00:38:19:08
And our next destination is 109 kilometres
475
00:38:20:01 --> 00:38:22:17
And it’s 5.14 in the afternoon.
476
00:38:24:22 --> 00:38:30:19
And the elevation is 23 meters above sea level … not bad.
477
00:38:32:06 --> 00:38:36:13
Hm.. I did’t think my raft was that tall.
478
00:38:37:13 --> 00:38:43:18
And I got this thing here, that’s my cruise control or auto pilot,… this here.
479
00:38:44:19 --> 00:38:47:04
Because of the current it doesn’t always work perfectly.
480
00:38:52:11 --> 00:38:56:12
I have to steer it manually like that, with the leg.
481
00:38:59:00 --> 00:39:04:11
And now I can just relax and hopefully wake up when I am in Colombia.
O-TON MARTINA ZUERCHER
482
00:39:06:23 --> 00:39:13:23
Wir haben einmal, als er noch Empfang hatte, zusammen telefoniert und das war irgendwo in der Nähe von diesen Las Perlas Inseln …
483
00:39:14:08 --> 00:39:21:00
Und dann mitten im Gespräch sagt er so: Oh, jetzt überholt gerade eine Qualle mein Floss.
484
00:39:21:15 --> 00:39:26:01
Also man muss sich das mal vorstellen. So langsam war dieses Floss unterwegs!
485
00:39:27:16 --> 00:39:34:00
Und er hatte ja auch zu Beginn gedacht er wird Kolumbien in 14 Tagen höchstens erreichen.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
486
00:39:48:10 --> 00:39:51:09
So, there is potatoes for dinner.
487
00:39:56:09 - 00:39:57:06
Yammi, yammi!
488
00:39:57:24 --> 00:39:59:24
Tomorrow I’m going to order a pizza.
489
00:40:02:20 --> 00:40:07:02
Hang on a minute, I have to quickly go and set the course …
490
00:40:08:24 --> 00:40:11:04
… so that we are going the right way.
491
00:40:24:16 --> 00:40:29:21
I had a small Swiss army knife. But I don’t know where it is.
492
00:40:32:05 --> 00:40:38:19
I hope eh … nobody stole it.
493
00:40:40:23 --> 00:40:45:18
The last time I saw it was in the police station in San Miguel.
494
00:40:49:04 --> 00:40: 55:10
Noo, but I don’t think eh … the police guys are quite nice.
495
00:41:19:05 --> 00:41:22:21
Lot of oil… oooh…
496
00:41:34:24 --> 00:41:41:17
Sailing with something like this is not very easy, you always have to keep an eye on everything.
497
00:41:49:02 --> 00:41:50:15
I have to put some water.
498
00:42:00:02 --> 00:42:01:19
I put some fresh water.
499
00:42:06:16 --> 00:42:12:09
And you can add one third of sea water, so you don’t need salt.
500
00:42:44:11 --> 00:42:46:23
Doing something like this gives you a lot of time to think.
501
00:42:53:02 --> 00:42:54:13
Think about what? I don’t know.
502
00:42:56:08 --> 00:42:57:16
You can think about all sorts of things.
503
00:42:58:16 --> 00:43:01:00
These are the Pearl Island of Panama.
504
00:43:03:11 --> 00:43:07:12
Amazing amount of current you’ll find around these small island.
505
00:43:08:05 --> 00:43:11.13
Sometimes you cannot go forward.
506
00:43:12:22 --> 00:43:22:06
You are just stuck. Even with the motor, and the wind, you just stand still. Or sometimes you go backwards.
507
00:43:23:09 --> 00:43:24:09
It’s that bad.
508
00:43:26:02 --> 00:43:28:04
I am learning still how to sail.
509
00:43:30:10 --> 00:43:33:12
Oh you know what? We can boil an egg.
510
00:43:34:10 --> 00:43:36:08
Because the eggs are going to go bad soon.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
511
00:43:39:20 --> 00:43:40:11
Wait a minute.
512
00:43:41:11 --> 00:43:47:05
You may be wondering where I got the balls from to run around almost naked in front of a camera like this.
513
00:43:48:11 --> 00:43:53:18
Well … this is what happens if you get your journey sponsored by an underwear company.
514
00:43:54:18 --> 00:44:02:05
No, frankly: I never ever thought one day this video material would become a film for everyone to see.
515
00:44:03:03 --> 00:44:05:20
But I do apologise for my taste of fashion.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
516
00:44:05:23 --> 00:44:06:15
Two eggs.
517
00:44:47:06 --> 00:44:50:00
Last night I thought I just can continue.
518
00:44:51:03 --> 00:44:54:22
Because the wind was good, since the afternoon …
519
00:44:55:08 --> 00:44:57:04
… and I was able to make good ground.
520
00:44:57:20 --> 00:45:12:05
But ehh, the problem was, when I reached about five kilometres north of these islands, the current was so strong and then the wind was kind of playing havoc.
521
00:45:12:21 --> 00:45:22:14
So I decided that I better head towards the island and find a refuge, a place to stay the night.
522
00:45:22:23 --> 00:45:31:00
And when I got here, it was so strong. The current was really .. stronger than what I am capable of doing.
O-TON ADRIANE REEVE
523
00:45:34:00 --> 00:45:43:00
When you get outside of the Bay of Panama and you are more, getting into the open Pacific Ocean going towards Colombia, it gets very rough.
524
00:45:43:01 --> 00:45:46:05
There is a current that comes up from the Arctic here, called the Humboldt current ..
525
00:45:46:22 --> 00:45:54:22
..and it converges with the current that comes down from the north here in Panama and it starts right about here. And it can create some chaos.
526
00:45:55:09 --> 00:45:59:20
And the waves are strong and furious. And there have been deaths.
527
00:46:00:06 --> 00:46:02:13
There was a whole soccer team.
528
00:46:03:17 --> 00:46:11:03
They where coming from one village to play soccer in Jaqué and the boat tipped over and the whole soccer team was lost.
529
00:46:11:12 --> 00:46:16:01
The bodies were not even found, because the currents and waves were so strong.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
530
00:46:45:16 --> 00:46:50:02
The first sight of these gigantic swells made my hair stand on end.
531
00:46:51:08 --> 00:46:58:16
And I asked myself what on earth was I thinking, getting on a small raft to challenge the forces of nature.
532
00:47:01:20 --> 00:47:10:24
But these were only momentary anxieties as the size of the Pacific made me realise how insignificant I was compared to the Universe.
533
00:47:12:15 --> 00:47:18:02
Moments later all my anxieties were blown away as I scanned the island.
534
00:47:19:19 --> 00:47:23:08
I could see plenty of bananas and coconut trees.
535
00:47:24:08 --> 00:47:27:20
Forget the Universe - I want bananas.
536
00:47:28:09 --> 00:47:32:06
So I turned around and headed straight back towards Gallera.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
537
00:47:39:24 --> 00:47:47:24
So I’m trying to get onto the island, because eh, I see coconuts and bananas.
538
00:47:49:20 --> 00:47:51:18
How about that! Hahaha .
539
00:47:52:22 --> 00:47:58:21
If I can get some bananas to take along the way. That would be brilliant!
540
00:48:43:16 --> 00:48:45:11
There are a lot of sharks!
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
541
00:49:02:15 --> 00:49:10:23
It may look harmless, but the waves and currents around Galler were too strong for a safe landing with my dinghy.
542
00:49:16:04 --> 00:49:22:07
But my idea of leaving the island behind didn’t quite work out the way I had hoped.
543
00:49:23:18 --> 00:49:30:07
Once I had gained a few hundert meters distance from the island, I saw Galler suddenly overtaking me.
544
00:49:31:03 --> 00:49:36:12
I was caught up in a strong current and it took me towards the open Pacific Ocean.
545
00:49:37:20 --> 00:49:40:19
For a few hours I fought hard against the current.
546
00:49:41:14 --> 00:49:45:10
Just to realise that I was only burning up valuable fuel.
547
00:49:46:12 --> 49:50:13
So I turned off the engine and comforted myself with pep talks.
548
00:49:51:11 --> 00:49:58:09
Later even the mountains of the mainland, that were visible on the horizon, disappeared completely.
549
00:50:17:01 --> 00:50:19:20
My GPS Device had become unreliable.
550
00:50:21:00 --> 00:50:26:16
Instead of guiding me in one direction, it had decided to take me in circles.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
551
00:50:30:14 --> 00:50:31:24
So I got bad news here.
552
00:50:32:29 --> 00:50:37:02
Because … I thought I saw land…
553
00:50:39:00 --> 00:50:41:09
… where I’m supposed to be heading …
554
00:50:42:09 --> 00:50:47:24
And the compass confirmed it and the GPS says no.
555
00:50:51:05 --> 00:50:55:19
Now I have been trying to test which one is lying to me.
556
00:50:58:09 --> 00:51:02:21
I would have said the compass is the most reliable …
557
00:51:03:15 --> 00:51:07:12
In this case it’s not.
558
00:51:15:09 --> 00:51:17:20
Oh, this is a very bad situation.
559
00:51:21:04 --> 00:51:22:18
This is the compass that I have.
560
00:51:23:15 --> 00:51:30:21
It shows me Nord with the red pointer, but the GPS shows me in the opposite direction.
561
00:51:33:00 --> 00:51:35:05
I don’t know what the hell is wrong with this thing.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
562
00:51:40:24 --> 00:51:53:11
Since the raft was made of metal barrels and the fact that the motorcycle had strong magnetic components, the compass also gave erratic readings depending on where I stood on the raft
563
00:51:54:18 --> 00:52:01:14
By the time I learned of all the technical flaws, the raft had drifted far too far into the ocean.
564
00:52:02:14 --> 00:52:07:18
Not only that, the cloudy sky made it impossible to navigate by the sun.
565
00:52:09:00 --> 00:52:13:01
I was now floating blind lost in a liquid desert.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
566
00:52:29:19 --> 00:52:30:19
No wind.
567
00:52:37:00 --> 00:52:39:10
I’have been drifting like this now for 2 days.
568
00:52:42:13 --> 00:52:44:02
It’s quite frustrating really.
569
00:52:45:03 --> 00:52:49:14
And I … I don’t know if I gonna make it to Colombia.
570
00:52:52:20 --> 00:52:54:14
Probably I am going to go to Ecuador …
571
00:52:55:18 --> 00:52:56:14
… Galapagos.
572
00:52:57:21 --> 00:53:00:04
That’s where this current is taking me.
573
00:53:04:04 --> 00:53:07:05
I’m a little bit worried.
574
00:53:07:04 --> 00:53:14:00
The chances of me drifting towards Galapagos is very high right now.
575
00:53:15:06 --> 00:53:18:13
Eh … I am not really worried, but eh …
576
00:53:21:03 --> 00:53:22:20
… but that’s not my destination.
577
00:53:30:18 - 00:53:35:22
I’ve been trying to fish but eh… haven’t been very lucky so far.
578
00:53:37:10 --> 00:53:38:15
Nothing at all.
579
00:53:39:24 --> 00:53:42:15
And this is the last bait that I have.
580
00:53:43:11 --> 00:53:47:04
I’m gonna try this. I’m in the real deep water now.
581
00:53:47:23 --> 00:53:48:06
…ehm ... (laughing)
582
00:53:52:00 --> 00:53:53:02
(laughing)
583
00:53:55:24 --> 00:53:58:06
It’s a plastic thing, made in China.
584
00:53:59:13 --> 00:54:01:04
I don’t know if that is the problem.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
585
00:54:06:14 --> 00:54:10:21
I am not only a bad sailor, I am also a hopeless fisherman.
586
00:54:13:03 --> 00:54:15:19
But you have to see the positive side of things.
587
00:54:16:20 --> 00:54:21:11
I was very happy about how calm the Pacific Ocean was.
588
00:54:32:06 --> 00:54:35:11
So it’s raining, as I expected.
589
00:54:36:09 --> 00:54:40:05
Well … it’s part of the adventure.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
590
00:55:18:19 --> 00:55:23:01
The ocean current continued to carry me further into the deep Pacific.
591
00:55:25:02 --> 00:55:29:14
I restraint myself from attempting to drive in the direction where I thought land was.
592
00:55:30:04 --> 00:55:36:03
Because I knew that another navigational error would only leave me standing without fuel.
O-TON MARTINA ZUERCHER
593
00:55:43:10 --> 00:55:49:08
Irgendwann denkst du dann schon so: hey was mache ich, wenn ich nie mehr etwas von ihm höre. Weil
594
00:55:50:04 --> 00:55:54:06
… ich mein dieser Pazifik ist riesig und wenn er da einfach verloren geht…
595
00:55:54:18 --> 00:55:57:19
Ja … er hatte ja auch kein Satelliten Telefon dabei.
596
00:55:58:06 --> 00:56:05:15
Also absichtlich nicht, weil er gesagt hat ich will nicht dass sich andere Menschen in Gefahr bringen müssen wenn mir etwas passiert.
597
00:56:06:18 --> 00:56:14:02
Was ich einerseits verstand und andererseits überhaupt nicht, weil ich hatte ja mich mit all diesen Gefühlen und mit der Angst …
598
00:56:15:03 --> 00:56:22:00
... diesen Menschen den du liebst einfach nie mehr zu sehen, wenn er da verschollen ist auf diesem Ozean.
599
00:56:22:20 --> 00:56:25:10
Und .. das war schon, das war schon sehr schwierig.
600
00:56:26:04 --> 00:56:34:08
Und ich weiss noch, ich hatte so einen Kugelschreiber von ihm, der war irgendwie beim letzten Besuch bei mir im Gepäck gelandet, …
601
00:56:35:15 --> 00:56:45:02
Und ich hielt mich so an dem fest und wollte den ja nicht verlieren, weil ich wirklich so dachte das ist vielleicht das Letze was mir von diesem Menschen bleibt.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
602
00:56:54:03 --> 00:56:58:24
In the middle of the ocean we have a bird floating.
603
00:57:00:09 --> 00:57:03:03
Hey buddy! You’re also lost on your raft?
604
00:57:05:21--> 00:57:06:21
There he goes.
605
00:57:08:00 --> 00:57:08:16
At least he got wings.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
606
00:57:11:05 --> 00:57:14:09
It felt like months since I had seen a human face.
607
00:57:15:04 --> 00:57:16:10
I felt lonely.
608
00:57:17:06 --> 00:57:21:12
Wilson my companion had been missing since I had left San Miguel.
609
00:57:22:12 --> 00:57:24:18
At night I looked out for lights.
610
00:57:25:21 --> 00:57:28:10
And I spent the day watching for other boats.
611
00:57:29:00 --> 00:57:35:12
I saw nothing .. nothing but water that far away converged with the sky.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
612
00:57:38:08 --> 00:57:46:07
So .. it’s been another kind of a scary and frustrating day.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
613
00:57:46:14 --> 00:57:52:07
Of the many ships and boats that travers the Panama Canal I did not see a single one.
614
00:57:53:18 --> 00:57:59:06
According to my GPS coordinates I was now 120 kilometres off the coastline.
615
00:58:00:08 --> 00:58:01:19
Not that far really.
616
00:58:02:17 --> 00:58:11:04
Judging by the path that I was drifting, I was heading straight towards the Galapagos Islands, which were 1600 kilometres away.
617
00:58:13:03 --> 00:58:20:20
The police commander in San Miguel had told me about a fishing boat with an engine failure that had driftet to Galapagos 5 month earlier.
618
00:58:22:05 --> 00:58:25:19
Out of 5 fisherman only one had survived.
619
00:58:27:05 --> 00:58:33:09
I still had around 100 litres of fresh water and enough food to get by for at least a month.
620
00:58:34:07 --> 00:58:41:10
But it only needed a deviations of 11 degrees to drift past the Galapagos Island all together.
621
00:58:43:05 --> 00:58:50:07
I need help, I need it very fast. But who would come to my rescue?
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
622
00:59:18:18 --> 00:59:20:00
Hello Boys!
623
00:59:21:15 --> 00:59:22:17
Hello!
624
00:59:33:09 --> 00:59:36:11
I think this is fantastic. Don’t you?
625
00:59:42:20 --> 00:59:48:01
Somewhere else you have to pay for this. And I got a free show.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
626
00:59:48:14 --> 01:00:00:15
It took a while to sink in what I was actually experiencing. But it was exactly that a man who was lost at sea needed. A visit by pod of dolphins.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
627
01:00:03:22 --> 01:00:04:24
Thank you!
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
628
01:00:07:20 --> 01:00:10:01
It looked like they were happy to find me.
629
01:00:11:06 --> 01:00:15:03
If only they knew how happy I was to see them.
630
01:00:19:17 --> 01:00:22:20
It was an evening that I will never forget.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
631
01:00:33:05 --> 01:00:35:23
I have no idea if that is a shark or a dolphin.
632
01:00:45:13 --> 01:00:47:16
I was thinking of taking a swim.
633
01:00:49:19 --> 01:00:51:02
Hm.. I am not so sure now.
634
01:00:51:21 --> 01:00:53:00
They are dolphins here.
635
01:01:00:08 --> 01:01:01:12
Hoo hoo ..
636
01:01:07:04 --> 01:01:09:06
That definitely is a shark.
637
01:01:14:09 --> 01:01:15:07
Hooo hoo!
638
01:01:17:13 --> 01:01:19:19
Hey guys! Hello!
639
01:01:21:11 --> 01:01:22:09
Hello!
640
01:01:24:18 --> 01:01:27:13
How are you doing? heh!
641
01:01:32:01 --> 01:01:33:05
(Laughing)
642
01:01:34:10 --> 01:01:35:10
Ahh…
643
01:01:38:12 --> 01:01:40:03
This is lovely.
644
01:01:43:20 --> 01:01:44:20
These are dolphins.
645
01:01:45:21 --> 01:01:47:07
And that’s a shark there.
646
01:01:49:00 --> 01:01:50:16
I don’t know what kind of a shark it is.
647
01:01:51:12 --> 01:01:52:02
But ..
648
01:01:53:00 --> 01:01:54:05
... It’s a big one
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
649
01:01:55:10 --> 01:02:00:07
Out of nowhere came the dolphins and they swam between the shark and the raft.
650
01:02:00:23 --> 01:02:05:00
But that wasn’t the last time I saw the beautiful creatures.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
651
01:02:08:07 --> 01:02:09:05
Hey guys …
652
01:02:10:21 --> 01:02:11:24
…look at this dolphins!
653
01:02:14:04 --> 01:02:15:16
I think they are checking out my boat.
654
01:02:19:04 --> 01:02:20:02
woo hoo!
655
01:02:21:18 --> 01:02:22:18
Woo hoo!
656
01:02:26:02 --> 01:02:28:23
Hahahahah… great isn’t it!
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
657
01:02:30:06 --> 01:02:34:10
The next day I was over the moon when they revisited me.
658
01:02:36:08 --> 01:02:39:23
Not just once, they came to my raft again and again.
659
01:02:41:24 --> 01:02:51:03
Did they sense that I did not belong there? So far away from land? Could it be that they were trying to tell me something?
660
01:02:54:23 --> 01:03:15:16
The root cause of my problem was my inability to sail in one direction. I found out that my GPS needed a minimum speed of 8km/h for it to work reliably. But sailing against the strong ocean currents, with my slow raft made my GPS unusable.
661
01:03:16:08 --> 01:03:24:14
I simply needed someone to guide me. So when the Dolphins came back the next time I took my chance and started the engine.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
662
01:03:26:21 --> 01:03:28:04
Yee-haw!
O-TON STEPHEN MARSH
663
01:03:51:10 --> 01:04:01:14
I studied dolphins for many years. And I know that they have a special cell in their brain, that is only found in creatures that have a highly developed social structure to their lives
664
01:04:01:19 --> 01:04:05:16
So Wales and dolphins, ourselves and elephants.
665
01:04:5:20 --> 01:04:14:09
And that cell gives them the feeling of empathy and compassion so they will actually go out and they will help other species that are in distress.
666
01:04:43:12 --> 01:04:57:22
I think that the dolphins were probably attracted to the raft, thinking that there was food underneath it, when they got closer they would have seen Dylan, this very strange creature, way out at sea where he shouldn’t be and they would have picked up on his distress and his anxiety.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
667
01:05:19:05 --> 01:05:24:05
To this day I cannot tell whether the dolphins understood the outcome of their action.
668
01:05:25:04 --> 01:05:31:05
But the fact is: Thanks to those wonderful creatures I am still alive today.
669
01:05:33:04 --> 01:05:35.02
They escorted me for 2 whole days.
670
01:05:36:06 --> 01:05:39:24
On the third morning when I woke up, they were no longer there.
671
01:05:42:14 --> 01:05:49:16
But in the far distance I saw the coastline of Panama for the first time after 10 days.
672
01:05:51:05 --> 01:05:57:04
How can I possibly discribe the feeling of seeing land again? After all what had happened.
673
01:05:58:24 --> 01:06:06:20
Judging by our movement I gathered that the Courage of Bridget was now on another current that went straight back towards land.
674
01:06:09:08 --> 01:06:13:09
But that excitement of reaching land didn’t last long.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
675
01:06:25:23 --> 01:06:28:21
Petrol pump dosen’t work, or the fuel pump.
676
01:06:37:09 --> 01:06:39:06
And I am quite close to this cliffs.
677
01:06:39:23 --> 01:06:43:18
I hope I am not gonna get dragged into those cliffs and get smashed.
678
01:06:44:09 --> 01:06:46:24
And I can’t manoeuvre the raft without wind.
679
01:06:47:12 --> 01:06:49:16
And there seems to be nobody around.
680
01:07:05:04 --> 01:07:08:01
And these waves are pushing the raft towards the cliffs.
681
01:07:12:18 --> 01:07:15:22
And I can’t anchor because it is so deep here.
682
01:07:18:17 --> 01:07:20:00
I’m beging tested here.
683
01:07:35:13 --> 01:07:37:03
Ya, I got a problem!
684
01:07:41:13 --> 01:07:42:11
I have a problem.
685
01:07:44:14 --> 01:07:46:00
My motor doesn’t work.
686
01:07:55:02 --> 01:07:55:16
Eh?
O-TON FISHERMEN
687
01:07:56:07 --> 01:07:57:10
¿Dónde está tu compañero?
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
688
01:07:57:14 --> 01:07:59:05
No compañero, solo.
O-TON FISHERMEN
689
01:07:59:08 --> 01:07:59:24
Solo?
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
690
01:08:00:08 --> 01:08:01:04
Si, solo.
691
01:08:07:15 --> 01:08:10:10
Are you going to Garachine?
O-TON FISHERMEN
692
01:08:10:19 --> 01:08:13:16
La bahía de Garachine está por allí.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
693
01:08:13:19 --> 01:08:15:14
Can you take me to Garachine?
694
01:08:31:16 --> 01:08:34:09
And now the latest trouble.
695
01:08:35:23 --> 01:08:36:22
The starter motor …
696
01:08:38:22 --> 01:08:46:02
I had a problem yesterday with the fuel pump and after repairing that I have this problem now.
697
01:08:47:01 --> 01:08:50:02
And the starter motor doesn’t respond at all.
698
01:08:52:11 --> 01:09:02:13
The danger in working like this is, that I have to be very careful that I am not going to drop anything into the water here.
699
01:09:11:16 --> 01:09:12:19
Hola amigos!
O-TON FISHERMEN
700
01:09:13:03 --> 01:09:14:15
(Question in Spanish - acoustically incomprehensible)
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
701
01:09:14:14 --> 01:09:15:05
He?
O-TON FISHERMEN
702
01:09:15:01 --> 01:09:16:00
¿Tu Cocina aquí?
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
703
01:09:16:13 --> 01:09:17:10
Cocina?
704
01:09:18:17 --> 01:09:19:16
What does it mean?
705
01:09:24:16 --> 01:09:25:24
No español.
O-TON FISHERMEN
706
01:09:26:05 --> 01:09:27:19
No español, aha.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
707
01:09:27:15 --> 01:09:28:18
Oh you have fish!
O-TON FISHERMEN
708
01:09:28:18 --> 01:09:29:22
Para comer!
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
709
01:09:30:00 --> 01:09:30:21
Ooh!
710
01:09:33:00 --> 01:09:34:20
What is it? Is it a tuna?
711
01:09:36:20 --> 01:09:39:08
You really want to give me this?
712
01:09:39:21 --> 01:09:42:15
Really? Hahahaha (laughing)
713
01:09:43:02 --> 01:09:47:11
Okey. Gracias! Muchas Gracias!
714
01:09:50:06 --> 01:09:53:12
I got a tuna for lunch. Not bad aye?
715
01:09:54:09 --> 01:09:56:00
Un problema con moto …
716
01:09:56:21 --> 01:09:57:24
No functionar.
717
01:09:59:15 --> 01:10:00:17
Gracias, gracias amigos!
718
01:10:01:10 --> 01:10:02:10
Tschüss!
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
719
01:10:05:21 --> 01:10:09:08
I spent 2 full days in the Bay of Garachine.
720
01:10:10:08 --> 01:10:13:09
There were more things broken than I initially thought.
721
01:10:15:10 --> 01:10:20:17
But I also took time to think and find an answer to an important question.
722
01:10:22:15 --> 01:10:25:00
Should I give up or should I continue?
721
01:10:27:10 --> 01:10:32:09
The next road connection in Colombia was still 400km away.
722
01:10:33:13 --> 01:10:39:15
Ever since I started this journey across the Pacific I had no more than 2 hours of sleep at a stretch.
723
01:10:40:15 --> 01:10:44:10
The continuous wrestling with the elements made me extremely tired.
724
01:10:48:00 --> 01:10:51:03
And there were no answers to more pragmatic questions either.
725
01:10:52:07 --> 01:10:56:00
Where would I find food, fresh water and fuel?
O-TOn DYLAN WICKRAMA
726
01:10:56:05 --> 01:10:57:10
I need more bread.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
727
01:10:58:22 --> 01:11:08:05
Since there was no favourable wind for sailing I would have to rely solely on the motorcycle engine. That meant finding hundreds of litres of fuel.
728
01:11:09:13 --> 01:11:16:19
All I knew was that the Darien Jungle would continue for another three or four-hundred kilometres.
O-TON MARTINA ZUERCHER
729
01:11:19:23 --> 01:11:30:22
Ich habe nach zwei einhalb Wochen als er in Garachine angekommen ist, zum ersten Mal wieder von ihm gehört und war natürlich extrem froh zu wissen, dass er noch am Leben ist.
730
01:11:31:21 --> 01:11:42:24
Und habe da natürlich auch von den ganzen Problemen erfahren und dass das Motorrad immer wieder kaputt war, dass er nicht wusste wo er Benzin herbekommen sollte für den Rest der Reise.
731
01:11:43:15 --> 01:11:46:17
Und das er sich überlegt ob er das Ganze abbrechen soll.
732
01:11:47:14 --> 01:11:55:06
Ich hatte da natürlich schon die Hoffnung das er es aufgibt, ehm ja, weil ich natürlich Angst hatte wenn er noch weiter macht.
733
01:11:56:01 --> 01:12:13:10
Und damals kannte ich ihn noch nicht so gut, heute weiss ich das es bei Dylan kein letztes Mal gibt. Also das heisst wenn etwas nicht repariert werden kann, dann gibt es einfach noch ein letztes Mal und noch ein letztes Mal bis das Ding wieder funktioniert.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
734
01:12:18:14 --> 01:12:22:04
To sail back to Panama City would be a much easier task.
735
01:12:23:16 --> 01:12:30:17
But from the experiences that I have made so far, I learned that I would find solutions to my problems when they arose.
736
01:12:31:18 --> 01:12:34:15
This journey had been about seeing and learning new things, …
737
01:12:35:15 --> 01:12:40:22
... making experiences and getting to know a world that was utterly foreign to me.
738
01:12:41:20 --> 01:12:45:24
And most of all: I was immensely enjoying the ocean.
739
01:12:47:04 --> 01:12:54:14
So I refused to listen to the rational man in me, who created fear in my mind and decided to press on towards Colombia.
740
01:13:01:20 --> 01:13:04:10
I came across a couple of indigenous villages.
741
01:13:05:06 --> 01:13:12:18
But as much as I wanted to visit them, they were not accessible because of large breaking waves.
742
01:13:13:24 --> 01:13:21:16
Loneliness is the hardest not when you are alone, but when you see people and can’t reach them.
743
01:13:33:20 --> 01:13:36:20
And then I arrived at a place called Piña Bay.
744
01:13:38:00 --> 01:13:44:24
I was told by a local that there is a fishing resort and according to him they had everything.
745
01:13:46:01 --> 01:13:49:16
He also told me that the resort did not welcome spontaneous visitors.
746
01:13:51:05 --> 01:13:53:08
I urgently needed fuel.
747
01:13:54:02 -->01:13:58:22
So I anchored the raft in the bay and pondered about what to do next.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
748
01:14:05:14 --> 01:14:06:07
Holà!
749
01:14:11:01 --> 01:14:18:07
I think he is faster than me. I don’t think I can go that fast on my super raft.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
750
01:14:18:21 --> 01:14:21:13
The hope of finding fuel overcame my doubts …
751
01:14:22:02 --> 01:14:23:16
… and I visited the fishing resort.
752
01:14:24:18 --> 01:14:26:06
I had been worrying for nothing.
753
01:14:28:16 --> 01:14:30:20
Everyone at the resort gave me a warm welcome.
754
01:14:31:08 --> 01:14:39:01
They told me that I could stay there as long as I want. During my stay I did all the necessary repairs on the raft.
755
01:14:39:21 --> 01:14:45:17
And I also manage to help them with some electrical problems which they had been having for a few months.
756
01:14:46:16 --> 01:14:50:06
Out of gratitude they filled up all my fuel canisters.
O-TON BACKGROUND PEOPLE
757
01:14:53:15 --> 01:14:54:05
Have a nice trip!
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
758
01:14:54:05 --> 01:14:56:03
Muchas gracias amigos!
O-TON BACKGROUND PEOPLE
759
01:14:57:19 --> 01:15:00:06
Hasta luego! All the best my friend!
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
760
01:15:01:10 --> 01:15:03:13
Thank you so much for everything!
761
01:15:18:02 --> 01:15:19:10
Oh no!
662
01:15:21:05 --> 01:15:23:13
(Laughing)
663
01:15:24:02 --> 01:15:25:05
I don’t believe this!
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
664
01:15:28:00 --> 01:15:30:21
This must be the most important delivery that I have ever received.
665
01:15:53:07 --> 01:15:58:05
I admit I have been extremely lucky in many occasions in this journey.
666
01:15:59:06 --> 01:16:02:15
But it wasn’t just luck that brought me so far.
667
01:16:03:20 --> 01:16:07:08
I worked hard to find creative solutions to my problems.
668
01:16:08:11 --> 01:16:16:00
And the undying optimism, obstinate determination and the newly learnt patience kept me going.
667
01:16:22:22 --> 01:16:29:10
Being close to this nature, that was completely new to me, overwhelmed me again and again.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
668
01:16:35:03 --> 01:16:36:13
These are pilot whales.
669
01:17:17:08 --> 01:17:19:00
I got a passenger.
670
01:17:25:11 --> 01:17:30:05
I guess he is looking for a place to spend the night! (Laughing)
671
01:18:52:23 --> 01:18:53:16
Shit!
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
672
01:19:16:05 --> 01:19:23:19
It didn’t take long for the ocean to turn rough. And I held on to the „Courage of Bridget“ with all my might.
673
01:19:24:23 --> 01:19:30:08
We were tossed up and down by the waves which seemed to hit us from all sides.
674
01:19:32:09 --> 01:19:40:12
I tried to drive away my fears by forcing myself to sleep. Or better said: I tried to numb my mind somehow.
675
01:19:46:01 --> 01:19:54:15
When nothing seemed to work I drew pictures of the loved ones in my head and I told them how much I loved them.
676
01:19:56:01 --> 01:20:05:21
Memories from the distant past were flashing before my eyes. And eventually the power of imagination drowned out the thunders
677
01:20:26:15 --> 01:20:33:00
And when the light of the new day woke me up, I saw the beauty of this world with new eyes.
678
01:20:34:17 --> 01:20:39:23
There is nothing else in this world that is as great as life!
679
01:20:54:12 --> 01:21:00:10
After going through a storm on the ocean, things could only get better I thought.
680
01:21:01:07 --> 01:21:04:10
But then I saw the engine spitting oil onto the deck.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
681
01:21:12:22 --> 01:21:19:09
I guess I have to get that repaired very quickly otherwise the engine is going to break down.
682
01:21:22:11 --> 01:21:27:03
This is unbelievable, the problem is: I don’t have anything to repair it with.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
683
01:21:32:08 --> 01:21:37:12
The oli leak from the broken sight glass was serious enough to cause a total engine failure.
684
01:21:38:22 --> 01:21:45:19
Still more than 300 kilometres to reach my destination I knew that there is only one more thing to be done:
685
01:21:46:21 --> 01:21:50:12
To Find a place to land the raft before disaster strikes.
686
01:21:53:10 --> 01:21:58:15
But all I saw was the rugged land that was covered by the never ending jungle.
687
01:22:00:21 --> 01:22:04:24
I constantly scanned the coastline, searching for a landing possibility.
688
01:22:06:08 --> 01:22:11:02
And every time I spotted a place, I was disappointed after getting there.
689
01:22:13:13 --> 01:22:22:10
In my desperation I even started envying the pelicans for they glided so effortlessly to wherever it pleased them.
O-TON DYLAN WICKRAMA
690
01:22:45:24 --> 01:22:50:13
I finally found a place to anchor my raft yesterday.
691
01:22:52:00 --> 01:23:03:06
So here I am in this pretty picturesque village of Ardita, in Colombia.
692
01:23:04:12 --> 01:23:07:00
So I managed to cross over to Colombia.
693
01:23:10:03 --> 01:23:17:09
I’m spending my last .. ya .. my last night I would say.
694
01:23:18:05 --> 01:23:21:06
Tomorrow I want to take the boat out.
695
01:23:32:16 --> 01:23:33:21
And …
696
01:23:42:10 --> 01:23:44:13
I finding it difficult to talk.
697
01:23:52:19 --> 01:23:54:08
Because …
698
01:23:59:20 --> 01:24:01:24
Although it was tough I had a …fan..
699
01:24:06:09 --> 01:24:08:04
… I had a fantastic time.
700
01:24:21:09 --> 01:24:24:21
It must have been the toughest few weeks of my life
701
01:24:26:00 --> 01:24:26:12
.. but…
702
01:24:27:12 --> 01:24:32:03
... but also the most beautiful time of my life.
703
01:24:34:12 --> 01:24:37:03
Now this amazing journey is over.
704
01:24:38:05 --> 01:24:38:24
I am sad.
705
01:24:44:04 --> 01:24:45:08
I am very sad.
NARRATION DYLAN WICKRAMA
706
01:26:08:07 --> 01:26:14:23
Until Ardita Bruce the „Courage of Bridget“ and I were inseparable.
707
01:26:16:04 --> 01:26:26:19
There were tears, there were pains and fears but the happiness, the joy and wonders we encountered on this journey were much greater.
708
01:26:30:17 --> 01:26:35:16
It broke my heart to leave „the Courage of Bridget“ on the sandy beach at Ardita.
709
01:26:37:05 --> 01:26:45:01
If I had to name one thing that has influenced my life in a profound way then it is this journey on the raft.
710
01:26:46:04 --> 01:26:49:21
That’s why I had to return to Ardita after 4 years.
711
01:26:50:09 --> 01:26:53:08
Just to see my raft for one last time.
712
01:26:56:10 --> 01:27:00:00
I went around the world looking for answers for the meaning of life.
713
01:27:01:07 --> 01:27:03:14
It took me well beyond my comfort zone.
714
01:27:04:21 --> 01:27:07:12
And there was something to learn from each encounter.
715
01:27:09:01 --> 01:27:14:00
The biggest lessons I learned were: To not let your self be dictated by fears, ..
716
01:27:14:24 --> 01:27:17:22
and not to shy away from living your passion,
717
01:27:19:22 --> 01:27:23:21
I learned how important it is to appreciate the little things in life.
718
01:27:24:19 --> 01:27:30:14
And how having a positive attitude can change the most hopeless situations.
719
01:27:33:16 --> 01:27:36:22
Most importantly I learned about wonders.
720
01:27:38:05 --> 01:27:42:06
You can only experience wonders if you try the impossible
721
01:27:45:03 --> 01:27:49:04
When the road ends you can build your own raft.
722
01:27:58:00 --> 01:28:05:08
You simply need to have the courage and the universe will see to it, that you will reach your destination.