The Idiot had many more social encounters traveling throughout the South Pacific Ocean than he does walking around the Mediterranean Sea. That could be because he didn’t feel obligated in Fiji, New Zealand and Vanuatu to MedTrek between 25-50 kilometers a day.
Though he frequently runs, or walks, into people on the Mediterranean, the get-togethers tend to be brief to avoid breaking the walking pace and getting out of the MedTrek zone. In the South Pacific — when he never walked more than five kilometers at a stretch and travelled in planes, boats, buses, SUVs and trains — The Idiot tended to spend hours each day interacting with other sentient beings.
This much more meditative approach to travel often led to extreme behavior, like the time he patiently sat and watched partner Liz Chapin get her hair braided in Fiji. That’s something The Idiot has never done on the MedTrek.
The Idiot knew he was moving at a slower pace in the South Pacific than on the Mediterranean when he watched Liz Chapin have her hair braided in Fiji.
Many of The Idiot’s encounters were educational and informative. In New Zealand, he spent a great deal of time getting acquainted with Māori history, culture, traditions and people.
An historic treaty between Māori tribes and the British Empire was signed in Waitangi on New Zealand’s Bay of Islands in 1840. The site, where The Idiot is learning key words of the Māori language from his guide, is considered the nation’s birthplace.
(Photo: Magda Wesslund)
The Idiot learned at the Auckland Museum that motion, symbolized by vibrating hands and fingers, is an essential element for a successful Māori war dance.
(Photo: Sonia Stratte-McClure)
The Idiot finished fourth in a tight contest in Franz Josef for the fiercest-looking Māori warrior look, which is intended to frighten the enemy. His daughter Sonia, and two Māori warriors, all beat him in the tongue-stretching event.
(Photo: Maribeth Rohman)
The Idiot also traveled with a group of Stanford University alumni, an outrageously social endeavor for someone used to walking solo or with one or two people.
The Idiot has coffee and an ice cream with Steve Vermut from San Francisco on New Zealand’s South Island.
(Photo: Barbara Vermut)
The Idiot and his daughter Sonia have dinner with fellow travelers at Grasmere Lodge on New Zealand’s South Island.
The Idiot takes a boat called the Seafood Odyssea on Marlborough Sounds with members of his Stanford alumni group.
The Idiot with other tourists on a boat exploring New Zealand’s Milford Sound.
Equally enjoyable were reunions with friends from The Idiot’s past.
The Idiot saw Keri Molloy for the first time since Capetown, South Africa, in 1976. She recalled that he had introduced her to her husband-to-be during dinner on a Chinese cruise ship in Table Bay — and was thus vaguely responsible for her two daughters.
(Photo: Eric Schwartz)
Reflecting on life in Auckland, New Zealand, with his daughter Sonia and Gabi Knipe, who he’s known since she was a baby in London.
Visiting a gallery in Little River, New Zealand, with Antonia Scott-Clark, a friend he met in the South of France in the 1980s.
Having a colorful dinner with his daughter Sonia, Antonia Scott-Clark and Anne McGregor near Queenstown, New Zealand.
Reuniting with John Keeney, who worked with him on a magazine in Paris in the 1970s, at the Mele Cascades on the island of Efate, Vanuatu.
Naturally The Idiot met a number of people in New Zealand and Vanuatu who may become life-long friends.
The Idiot immediately took a liking to Mangu at the expansive 30-acre Connells Bay Sculpture Park on wine-producing Waiheke Island off Auckland, New Zealand.
(Photo: Jay Duluk)
The Idiot met this young couple during their marriage rehearsal at a sheep farm near Queenstown, New Zealand.
Leiwia and Jocyline prepared their massage table for The Idiot on the South Pacific Ocean archipelago of Vanuatu.
And The Idiot was thrilled to be traveling with his daughter Sonia, who he’s known since (or maybe even before) she was born in Paris in 1982.
A selfie of The Idiot and his daughter Sonia at the botanic gardens in Christchurch, New Zealand.
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