The Final Word
I first came across the Morocco Hitch sometime in Trinity Term of my first year. The concept was alluring – an amalgam of charity work and adventure – and I was keen to participate, managing to convince one of my good friends, Rachel, to come along with me. At that time, however, I was busy preparing for my summer volunteer work in Kenya and attempting to pass my prelims. The application deadline for the Hitch was also long over. As attracted as I was to the idea, further plans had to wait until after the summer. They were also predicated upon my not destroying my health in the course of my Kenyan village experience.
Summer came and went. Despite a couple of malaria scares and a yeast infection, I was in decently good health after returning from climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. On my return to England, the Hitch seemed more and more like a very real part of my Easter vacation.
Filling out the paperwork necessary to register for the Hitch, I discovered that one of Link’s terms for signing up for the Hitch was that each group of hitchers had to have at least one member who was male. I could not hitch-hike to Morocco with Rachel after all. Attempts to convince male friends to embark on this adventure with me were abortive – the prospect of spending a week sleeping rough and being at the mercy of the trucker world did not appeal.
Thankfully, P.J. solved my problem for me. On hearing about the Hitch and the possibility of my wandering the Continent with some other fellow, he offered to accompany me. To be exact, he forbade me to go on the Hitch with anyone other than himself. I accepted.
The rest, as they say, is what you have just read in this book/blog. I think I made the right choice.
Thank you so much for your support, for helping us raise a grand total of £2055 and for being there with us all the way in spirit.