The Randomest Sam embarks on a journey

 I met Sam in a hostel in the middle of downtown Mexico City in 2007. We were thrown together in the same 6-bed dormitory. He was there with a friend, I was there on my own. I was just on my way back to Victoria and was so excited to see Ryan again after being away for almost half a year. But I was also sick. REALLY sick. In an awful fevery delerious can-barely-make-it-to-the bathroom type of way.

I practically lay in bed the entire time I was there alone, (two full days, I think) other than one trip to the nearby pharmacy, where all you need to do is ask for whatever you want, no prescriptions neccessary, apparently.So I was also very high some of the time.

Sam and his friend were really nice to me. They'd invite me to go see the pyramids or to a lucha libre match or whatever, but I'd just be all like "Oh no thanks, I'd rather be the weirdo who stays in bed all day and gets up at night crying." (Don't worry, I had been there before and seen the ruins, or I'd be super bummed about this now.)

I went back to Canada, they went to the UK, and we always kind of stayed in touch, thanks to the magic of the internet. He has traveled the world, he worked in TV for years, and is a brilliant photographer, so his twitter, facebook page and blog have always been entertaining.

Sam recently announced that he was planning a new, greener type of trip, maybe all the way around the world. Via bicycle. Him and a friend (I think?) have the first leg of their route planned out, from New York to Seattle to California to Mexico. Then perhaps all the way to the bottom of the continent. And he's doing it for charity.

Here he is on youtube, outlining his itinerary:

I know I'm going to be following their journey closely, I think he might even be stopping over in Victoria to say hello once they reach Seattle! Exciting!