The Idiot has been training for his August 30 swim across the Hellespont, the Turkish strait that separates Europe from Asia, for three months. His rigorous workout regimen has included open water swims in Greece, Turkey, France, Ecuador’s Galpagos Islands and lakes and rivers in Northern California.

A successful 4.5-kilometer aquatic crossing of the jellyfish-filled strait, which is also known as the Dardanelles, will enable The Idiot to MedTrek into Troy, site of the decade-long Trojan War in 1194 BC. It’s there that he will conclude his next book “The Idiot and the Odyssey II: Myth, Madness and Magic on the Mediterranean.”

In addition to following in the wake of Leander and Lord Byron (http://bit.ly/plRhaV), The Idiot is swimming on behalf of the Spondylitis Association of America and encouraging donations to the non-profit organization (http://www.spondylitis.org/swim.html). 100% of donations will go to the SAA.

The Idiot swam by this chapel in northern Crete…..

…and near Bodrum, Turkey, in May.

Typically, The Idiot is using his training program as another example of Lao Tsu’s adage that “the goal is the path, the path is the goal.” He chose an exciting array of Mediterranean and Pacific Ocean workout sites to make the path to the Hellespont as intriguing and palatable as possible. Although it was a tough assignment, he swam amid topless sunbathers on the French Riviera and with turtles, seals and sharks near the Galapagos Islands on the Equator.

The Idiot successfully took on topless swimmers on the French Riviera….

…but was soundly out swum by sea lions in the Galapagos.

His most frequent August workouts are taking place in fresh water lakes and rivers in Northern California. These include swimming against the rapids in the Trinity River in Humboldt County and regular hour-long open water swims in Whiskeytown Lake near Redding, CA.

His Idiotic theory is that working out in freshwater will enable him to swim faster in the more buoyant saltwater in the Mediterranean.

Make any sense?

Watch this space!

The Idiot in Whiskeytown Lake.

Text: Joel Stratte-McClure

Photos: Joel Stratte-McClure and Darla Hightower Hoeft (Whiskeytown Lake).

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About Joel

Joel Stratte-McClure has been a global trekker since the 1970s. He lived in France for over 30 years, working as a journalist, before he turned his attention to a unique life-time-project of walking the shores of the Mediterranean. The first 4,401 kilometers are explored in his inspirational and entertaining first book "The Idiot and the Odyssey: Walking the Mediterranean." The next 4,401 kilometers are covered in the gods-filled sequel, "The Idiot and the Odyssey II: Myth, Madness and Magic on the Mediterranean,” published on Valentine's Day 2013. The last 4,401 kilometers will be discussed in the last book of the trilogy currently entitled "The Idiot and the Odyssey III: Alexander the Great Walks the Mediterranean."