So there it is – the first report from our adventure. All of us are having an absolute blast – we have met a lot of great people, traveled through gorgeous locations (seriously, nature, GOOD WORK!) and have been having an amazing time as a group.

Euroadtrip2012 has gained a good amount of attention over the short period since its start and we’re positive that it will only get better and we’ll recruit a lot more followers and supporters on the way.

It makes us extremely happy to see the enthusiasm in people’s eyes when we tell them about the project. No matter whether it was someone we specifically approached to talk about the project or a random person we met in a cafe, on the road (did we mention how lucky we’ve been with our hitch-hiking so far? We’ll get there…) or in the towns we visited, everybody is willing to spread the word and support our little mission in any way they can.

It will be difficult to mention everyone in a short post but BIG THANK YOU to the mayor of Kardjali who let Alex paint the wall of the theatre, to our hosts there Marian and Rado, to the children in Kardjali for being such an inspiration for the art, to all the drivers who picked us up, to Maria, Valentin and Despina in Chryssopoli who didn’t only give us another wall to paint but also introduced us to potential supporters and were extremely active in sharing and promoting the mission, to all the lovely people in Thessaloniki who have spent the evening with us and became part of the group, even only for a night, to the people in the Cinema museum in Thessaloniki for showing interest and to everybody who shared, mentioned, helped, or shared a moment with us.

Here’s a little about our adventure. We should start by saying that remaining a group and maintaining a team spirit while hitch-hiking in couples is a challenge. So is following a strict schedule. There were several unforeseen obstacles as well as opportunities, hitch-hiking wasn’t always smooth and fast but, ah well. After all, this is what the trip is about – challenge and adventure, right?

Also, we have been having so much fun that all the hard times seem insignificant. Plus, challenges make the best stories to tell when you meet up with the group! We share, we laugh and we learn from each other. For example Jorin will tell you that organizing a hitch-hiking trip is no less stressful than running a company, Yaelle and Ondra advice not to judge a person by his appearance and that you can be surprised by how nice people can be to you, Isabel and Alice on the other hand would warn you to be extra cautious when you get a hitch with a truck driver,

Illy and Alex will tell you that taking a little de-tour and allowing the circumstances to take the lead in your decisions can lead to a lot of new opportunities and great experiences as long as you keep the goal in mind.

And the goal is really starting to get into our heads now. Make Euroadtrip2012 happen, raise money, find more supporters for our two causes and all this while having unlimited amounts of fun! Off to the beach now… we’ll be in touch soon!

Thumbs up!