Monday, January 06, 2014

The First Travel Blog

Yes, he really did this first.

Here's writer Jeff Greenwald on the first travel blog. 

I wrote to him a few times right before undertaking MariesWorldTour.com in 2001. The fact that he'd already put out a book about going around the world without planes didn't stop me from trying to get one published, just as my trip didn't stop the guy who did it in the mid-nineties. Just as Peter Moore or Paul Theroux writing books about surface journeys from Africa's tip-to-tip in 2001 didn't stop me from making my own book.

I can't say that I was inspired to travel by Jeff Greenwald -- I was completely unaware of his existence when I planned my first massive journey. But I wasn't unaware by the time I left, because two different people had sent me his book. I wondered if there was a way to differentiate myself from him, but I ultimately decided that was silly. My trip was mine, his was his. Did it matter?

Not in the slightest.

I'm impressed. It's seldom someone can say "I did this first" and it's actually true. 

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