Backpacking in a blue chair
Posted at 12:09AM Mar 27, 2008 by CarolB
Canadian Walt Balenovich, known to Thorn Tree users as wbalenov, has spent parts of the last 15 years travelling the world, making notes about his experiences.
Walt had polio when he was 12 weeks old and spent his first five years in the hospital. The condition left him in a wheelchair, but it hasn't slowed him down. He's a serious athlete and coach, making his mark in wheelchair basketball, rugby and sledge hockey.
Walt's day job in I.T. has given him the freedom to travel between contracts for up to a year. He's made the most of the time, embarking on solo backpacking sojourns that have earned him the title 'North America's Disabled Adventurer'.
Now he's written a book, Travels in a Blue Chair: Alaska to Zambia, Ushuaia to Uluru, which chronicles his travel anecdotes and insights. We asked Walt a couple of questions about his trek on wheels.
What's in your 'on the road' kit? What do you carry with you everywhere?
I only have 2 bags. The knapsack hanging off my back of my chair and an old wheelchair rugby gym bag that I carry on my lap.
But I do have some interesting things...
...two extra tubes for my inflatable tires, for when I get a flat. On my first trip abroad to Kenya, I didn't have any, and when I got a flat, the guys in Nakuru had to cut 2" off a 26" tube, to get it down to 24" to fit my chair. They then glued it back together and stuck it in. It literally went flat the minute I got off the plane when I arrived home! I learned my lesson after that. And I always have a small plastic container to pee in, just in case I can't find a wheelchair friendly loo!
What’s the most annoying question you’ve been asked while spotted travelling around in your chair?
The question I get asked the most is, "Where is your friend?". Meaning my travel buddy or "handler" as one person asked. The weird looks I get, especially in Asia, when I say that I am travelling alone, is worth travelling half way around the world for! But having said that, after I have answered the question, a huge smile always comes onto their face and then they really want to get to know me and why I am visiting their country.
What’s the best travel advice you were ever given?
I would say that came early on from my brother, John. I was off to ride the trains in Europe for a month, on my own for the first time and I had a bit of a panic attack. He said, "Just be yourself, you're a friendly guy and if something comes up and you need some help, just ask for it."
So that's what I have done. I have invented "hitch wheeling" ...for hilly places like Sydney or Tasmania. If I am going uphill and can't make it up on my own, I ask someone walking in my direction, if they won't mind giving me a push to the top. They always do and we always have great conversations too.
Stairs are a big problem, as you can imagine, so I just ask a group of young people if they can help me up/down as needed. People all over the world trip all over themselves to help me out. It is so great and makes you feel that people all over the world are exactly the same... really friendly!
I have decided not to let being in a chair impact where or what I want to do... because if you try, you can do it all. If not, like climbing to the top of a volcano, I don't get bothered and just enjoy being there in the moment.
Which travel experience has been your favorite so far (if you can peg it down!)?
One of the first experiences I had before I went out on my own, was visiting Kenya for a month and my best friend Wayne, who was working there for three years. He had sent his wife and daughters home due to political problems and asked if I wanted to come out to visit.
I had always dreamed of visiting Africa, but never thought it possible! We went camping on the Masai Mara, had countless safaris, drove to Mombasa on the Indian Ocean and stayed up all night to watch animals in the Aberdare mountains.
What makes it special for me now is that it is one of the trips where I was not alone! Travelling can be a lonely time, even with all the friends made on the road, so that shared experience was really great. Along the same line, I visited the Croatian village that my mother was born in, while she was visiting. Meeting all the relatives, with her there to share it with me was a great time in my life.
Do you ever have those 'oh my, what the hell am I doing?' moments? If so, how do you move beyond these?
The biggest of those moments was after I fell out of my chair in Zambia at Victoria Falls and broke my leg. I went off the paved path, to see the rapids above the Falls, as that is always one of my favourite things to do at waterfalls.
The track was dirt, and a German girl from the hostel was giving me a push along the rustic route, when my front wheel stopped on a tree root or a rock, and my momentum carried me out of the chair and down to the ground.
When three Zambians helped me back into my chair, I could feel my knee throbbing (as I have sensation), and then I knew it was broken.
Boy, what do I do now?
I went to a clinic at a hotel nearby and they called an ambulance driver who was from S. Africa. She took me to a private clinic run by an Egyptian doctor who had an X-ray machine. The film was blurry and he took half an hour to read it. The doctor put an incomplete cast on my leg with holes in it for swelling.
Everyone there helped me so much and re-booked me to get back to Johannesburg and on flights back home! Such a bad time, was made special by the folks who helped me out. What really annoyed me was that next day, I had a safari booked for Botswana, that I missed! AAARRRRGGGHHH!
Also, not being allowed onto a flight in South Africa until I paid an extra $50 because I was in a wheelchair really upset me. I stuck my foot in the departure door and wouldn't let others board the flight until I got on, all the while shouting "Apartheid is not dead in South Africa" ...lol
Finally, some English blokes lifted me on assisted by the embarrassed staff of the airline, who couldn't take my shouting of the slogan any more.
Has technology influenced your travels at all – being able to blog while on the road, gadgets to make travel smoother, being able to connect with fellow travellers before, during and after your trips?
I haven't blogged on the road yet, but the Internet has really had a great impact, with being able to find hostels that have some measure of modification for wheelchairs, or at least asking if I could stay there.
Many hostel owners tell me there are a few steps, but they can help. Those places are often the friendliest because in asking or needing help, I meet lots of new friends.
Additionally, I used to write emails home to family, friends and work mates, they loved them so much they told me to put the experiences together and write a book... so I did, and that is how Travels in a Blue Chair: Alaska to Zambia, Ushuaia to Uluru got started.
The last chapter is titled "The Happy Ending" about a couple of backpackers, and English guy and a Dutch girl, who insist I got them together by emailing him that she liked him and urging him to keep in touch with her.
I went to their wedding and got to sit right next to the bride!
Also, a Swedish girl I met in Chile invited me up to her village in Central Sweden for the midsommar festival. I went and her family was so nice in accepting me and showing me a fantastic time.
Technology is a fantastic tool for backpackers these days!
So what’s next? Rumor has it you’re heading around the world?!
Yes, I am working on a film documentary proposal for a trip around the world in a wheelchair. The provisional title is Blue Chair, Blue World.
I would like people to experience the world on wheels with me in real time, and see the reactions I get for themselves. They will be amazed at the reactions and weird and wonderful circumstances that come up!People are getting older and slower, but the world is getting smaller, so the new buzz term is "inclusive tourism".
You'll find Walt and information on where you can get a copy of Travels in a Blue Chair: Alaska to Zambia, Ushuaia to Uluru at www.bluechairbook.com.
A portion of the sales of each book will be contributed to support Rotary International’s vaccination program to eradicate polio in the third world.
Related Thorn Tree Forum Branch: Travellers With Disabilities
Category: CommunityHighlight | Tags: adventure backpacking book community wheelchair
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