Alone Across Gola: Riding through the Rainforest with Adventurer Jude Kriwald

“At home, mindfulness is an app, a tool to fight the noise. In the wild, peace and calm rule by default … Out in the open, my mind is released from the noise. It sways with the trees and flows with the rivers. It blows over snow tipped mountaintops and down into wide sunlit valleys expanding to fill its surroundings. The vistas are bigger, but there is less to know.” -        Jude Kriwald   Today, we are taking a journey to one of the most remote and underexplored places on the African continent. The Gola Rainforest straddles the border of Liberia and Sierra Leone, and is home to the Kissi, Mende and Gola tribes. To walk through it would be difficult. To try and a ride a bike, would be insane. Nonetheless that is exactly what adventurer Jude Kriwald decided to do.   At 20 years old Jude knew exactly what he wanted to do. He’d just returned from a 13-month trip cycling from England to India, and he wanted more. He wanted to be an adventurer and dedicate his life to pure joy of exploring the world. But slowly, inevitably, that dream faded as life, and career, took over. Ten years passed. His mental health deteriorated. He would lie awake at night wondering how he let is all slip away.  Until one day, he’d had enough. He flew to Senegal, got on his bike with the plan to spend three-months riding from there to Liberia. But things did not go to plan.    “Alone and in the wild, I am beautifully weird and joyously free. It's not that my rituals and quirks fit in better, they simply exist, unobserved. The road cares not and the sun shines equally on all. In nature I find reprieve. Alone I find myself.”   FIND OUT MORE Jude made a short documentary film about this journey, called Alone Across Gola. Find out more and connect with Jude on Instagram @judekriwald, You Tube @judekriwald,   FOLLOW US: Instagram: @armchairexplorerpodcast Facebook: @armchairexplorerpodcast Newsletter: armchair-explorer.com   CONNECT WITH US: If you enjoy the show, please subscribe on whatever podcast player you’re reading this on right now. Go on, do it! It helps us grow the show and continue to bring this content to you.   Armchair Explorer is produced by Armchair Productions. Aaron Millar wrote and presented the show, Charles Tyrie did the audio editing and sound design. Jason Paton is our lead producer and our theme music is by the artist Sweet Chap.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Mentioned in this episode:Check out the Smart Travel PodcastThis week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel at the Link below:Smart Travel PodcastCheck out all of our other travel podcasts from around the worldThis podcast is part of the Voyascape Network, a collection of some of the world’s best travel podcasts. Explore more at Voyascape.com. For advertising or sponsorship opportunities across the network, see the link below.Voyascape Podcast Network