Around the World on a Motorcycle

Andrew Palmer: Motorcycle World Trip – with a Voyage Air Guitar

Andrew Palmer has spent years planning a great adventure: to ride his motorcycle around the world.  He recently departed his native home near London, UK, and headed south through Spain.  He’s currently making his rounds of the African continent.

Of all the things someone might take on a trip like this, Andrew knew he needed his music and his guitar along for the ride.  His pick?  A Voyage Air Guitar, strapped securely to the tail of his motorcycle!

We just got this note from Andy:
“I’m currently Morocco waiting for a visa for Mauritanian and I’m not that far from the UK really, but I’m already glad that I’ve brought the guitar with me. I’ve spent a few days relaxing in Morocco and have got to play it quite a bit. I’m likely to be in Morocco for another couple of weeks, partly due to the long distance to the border and the quality of the roads there, but mostly because of the fantastic Moroccan hospitality.

“I heard about Voyage-Air guitars from a post on the Horizons Unlimited website that was discussing traveling with musical instruments. I had tried a few other travel guitars, but just wasn’t happy with the compromised sound you get from smaller bodies. Not to say that they are bad, just not as good as full size (guitar). I couldn’t imagine being without a guitar for such a long time.”

Andy maintains a Blog of his world travels, and they’re fascinating: http://intotheride.wordpress.com/

So what’s involved with taking the ultimate travel guitar along with you… on an ultimate travel adventure?  On a motorcycle?  Andrew is going to keep us posted with pictures and comments along the way.

A part of Andrew’s journey is to help raise funds for a charity: the Heswall Disabled Children’s Holiday Fund.  There’s more info here: www.hdchf.org.uk

Update from Yaounde, Cameroon, Africa

Andrew Palmer is well on his way, traveling around the world solo on a motorcycle – with his Voyage Air guitar. That’s right: packing his guitar on a motorcycle. He’s found his guitar to be a great tool for introduction in far-away lands, and considers it an essential part of his journey. Periodically, he sends us updates about his travels, and here’s the latest:

Hello, Voyage Air Guitar!
Here are some of my latest pics for you. I really hope that you can use them because it wasn’t easy to take them. I’m using my smart phone to take photos and its a little too fiddly for the locals to use. That, and I dropped it in Burkina Faso damaging the screen making it near impossible to see anything on it in daylight!

I really should of taken some more pics in Nigeria as I had loads of opportunities then. Now, I’m on my own, and its not so easy, but I will bear it in mind when I next meet people who can help me take some more.

Yaounde is a fairly modern city, but during my stay here, I spent some time with African kids in a dirt school yard.

Its a real pain finding decent internet connection out here. I’m currently sat in the Hilton hotel using their expensive, but reasonably fast WIFI.

Please stress the durability of the guitar and case as I’ve now fallen off loads of times, damaging myself and the bike (I’m okay) but the guitar is fine. I’ve included one picture of me camping with bike and guitar in Western Sahara that a soldier kindly took for me.

Regards
Andy