Lorenzo Barone he is a young man traveler and Italian adventurer. He was born in 1997 in Rome and has already accomplished notable feats, especially by bike, such as a long winter crossing of Siberia. We interviewed him to have him tell us in particular about an adventure he experienced in 2020: Lorenzo left from Cape Agulhas in South Africathe southernmost point of the African continent, and has travelled in bicycle beyond 12 thousand km arriving at Port Saidin Egyptat the opposite extreme and north of Africa. It took a total of 106 dayssome of which (15 days) during which he did not cycle but had to wait to receive some seen to be able to pass from one border to another of some of the 10 African Countries that he crossed. During the journey he lived memorable experiencespositive and negative, from the human warmth and the joy especially of the children who he met along the way to a temporary arrest and without reason occurred in northern Ethiopia. In video above you find thefull interviewwhile below we briefly summarize some of the most interesting ideas that emerged during the chat.
Lorenzo always starts on the wave of curiosity and of the willingness to test oneself in different and often extreme environmental and social conditions. Try to be as independent as possible during your travels, always carrying a gas stove and one tentso he can eat and sleep as and when he wants. In Africa he ate mostly rice or street food local and slept almost always on the roadsidenot too visible but not too close to the area where any vehicles are stationed and moved wild animals. In this regard the large species he encountered most often was theelephant – entire families crossed his path – while the animal he feared the most was the mosquitoresponsible for causing many cases of malaria and other diseases in various parts of Africa.
The darkest moment and potentially dangerous part of the journey was a temporary arrest occurred in the north of theEthiopia and operated by local armed forces. Lorenzo was later released, but for a few hours he feared he could be killed or kidnapped. most beautiful moments instead they coincided with the passage through various villages and cities, within which the local population and especially the children they often welcomed Lorenzo with surprise and enthusiasm.
One last challenge we encountered during the trip was crossing the Sahara: hot winds and sandstorms were blowing south, making the ride north very tiring and difficult. Lorenzo decided to ride at night, which was cooler and less demanding.
