Interview with Hotel Gavarni’s general manager Xavier Moraga, who tells us about the 50 day trip that will begin early February 2010. From Antarctica to the Inca trail, this trip takes place after few others from the past (Silk Road in 2006, South-East Asia in 2008 for example) is the trip of a lifetime for an actor of hospitality environment, sensitive to the preservation of cultures and unique landscapes that make up our ecosystem.
Hoosta – Tell us about your trip. What are your motivations?
Xavier Moraga: Discovery! Discovery of other cultures, other landscapes and other people, the desire to take as many pictures (and videos) as possible before these magnificent places disappear with the “progress”. I want to drink this diversity that is drowning very quickly and capture the moments that will be part of history very soon, I am afraid. I’m leaving early February 2010 for Latin America before taking a cruise to Antarctica. The end of my trip is planned for April 1st 2010 when I’ll return to Paris.
Hoosta – What destinations have you selected?
Xavier Moraga: I always choose remote locations, sometimes touristy but sometimes not at all, some interesting known or not sites and always related to culture, history and natural environment. I try to sleep at people’s place and speak the local language (hence my learning of Mandarin for my trip on the Silk Road in 2006). There I master Spanish so I do not worry, I’ll be better able to share life moment and immerse myself more deeply in their culture, before globalization uniforms everything and it all disappears. These indigenous people, minorities like the Miao, Dai and the Uighurs in China, the Guarani in South America because they are the most affected ones by the disappearance of their habitat, their customs, their lifestyle and their culture. Among others, my journey will let me discover much about Latin America: Ushuaïa, Peninsula of Valdes, Iguazu and El Calafate in Argentina, Santiago, Punta Arenas, Cap Horn, Arica and San Pedro de Atacama in Chile, Cuzco and Arequipa in Peru, Titicaca lake, Sucre, Potosi and Uyuni in Bolivia, Montevideo and Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay, Port Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands, Lemaire Channel, the Strait of Gerlach and Paradise Bay in Antarctica .
Hoosta – Will you be travelling by yourself? Do you have a partner or sponsor?
Xavier Moraga: I’m going with a friend (who accompanied me on the Silk Road). It is a personal journey, but I’m open to any partnerships, which would aim to inform as many people as possible about the beauty of these magical places likely to disappear from the earth’s surface so that each of us can become a key player of environment. We could also test the equipment in real conditions (we will have temperatures of +40°C and 95% humidity in the jungle but also +40°C in the Atacama desert, or even from -10 to -15°C during climbs to over 6000m above sea level), bring things, share, according to the demands of each person. We will try at least to make you live our journey through the Internet. One of our challenges will be to try to stay connected to post pictures and texts, so we will need portable solar chargers among various hardwares. We are open to any suggestions!
