Greenland to Sudan 1987
- Start date: March 1987
- End date: September 1987
- Start / end point: Aasiaat (Greenland) – Egypt/Sudan frontier
- Total km: 13,000
- Duration: : Seven months
- Challenges achieved: Traveling from the Arctic to the Sahara
GREENLAND BEGINNING
In March 1987, Ramón Larramendi and José Bellido returned to Greenland, Aasiaat, to get to know the country better and learn how to handle kayaking in polar lands. It was during that stay in western Greenland that Larramendi began to design his great circumpolar expedition, which would begin three years later. For several months, they toured the territory on skis, walking, kayaking, until their three-month permit expired, truncating their plans to spend the summer in the Arctic.
Once in Copenhagen, Larramendi decided not to return home, but to continue his adventure. For several weeks he toured Norway, until he reached the North Cape, from where he went down to Finland, Sweden and Germany. In East Berlin, he tried to cross the Wall as a tourist, but the police prevented him from doing so. This entire route was done hitchhiking.
IN GERMANY HEADING TO TURKEY
From Germany, he tried to cross in to Yugoslavia and did not succeed, but crossed the continent through Italy, reaching Greece and Turkey, where he had no problems thanks to the hospitality of the population.
Once there, he went to Syria, the only country in which he did not hitchhike because of the risk posed by the prevailing political regime. He crossed the country by bus, with a stop in Damascus, close to the border with Jordan, where he resumed his hitchhiking adventure, always looking for contact with people of different cultures whom he met on the road.
IN THE SAHARA
From Jordan he arrived in Egypt, already fully immersed in the desert world, where he took advantage of the opportunity to learn about the remains of the ancient Pharaonic civilization. He reached the Red Sea with the aim of crossing Sudan, Chad and returning through North Africa. However, by then he had very little money left, so on the border between Egypt and Sudan he decided to turn around and return, following the course of the Nile, and stopping occasionally in the desert. Sometimes, he slept in military posts, camping with them for several days. Finally, he arrived to Alexandria. From there, he went to Italy and returned to Spain.
In his journey from the cold polar ice to the African desert, Larramendi says that the most important memory is the one left by all those people with whom he lived.
