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YOU SHOULD NEVER GIVE UP – an interview with Jacek Pałkiewicz

One day a thought crossed my mind that I am interested in survival, I explore the secrets of survival in difficult conditions, so I should show it myself, in order to convince a potential survivor, that if he does not give up and break down, the lifeboat can save his life – says Jacek Pałkiewicz, a well-known Polish traveller, journalist and the member of the British Royal Geographical Society about his solitary expeditions in the lifeboat across the Atlantic.

Interviewed by IZABELLA JARSKA

Jacek Pałkiewicz A reporter, journalist and traveller. The creator of survival in Europe. Before becoming a journalist, he earned his living as an officer on ships under the Panamanian flag, he worked in a gold mine in Ghana, he looked for diamonds in Sierra Leone and sailed as a captain on large yachts. In 1975 he crossed the Atlantic alone on a five-meter lifeboat. His fortyday- cruise was the first of its kind in the history of navigation. The survival school founded by him in 1983 in Italy has become a model to follow for many countries. He collaborated with the Russian Cosmonaut Training Center during the survival programme and taught survival strategies in different climatic zones to elite special forces. He led many international expeditions in all latitudes of the world. In 1994 he became a regular member of the elite Royal Geographical Society in London. In 1996 his scientific expedition located the source of the Amazon River, thereby dispelling the controversy over the birthplace of the largest river of the world. The discovery was officially confirmed by the Geographical Society in Lima and awarded the Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. Jacek Pałkiewicz is the author of over twenty books and he publishes his travel journals in widely read periodicals in Europe. In Poland, he writes for the "Plus and Minus" and a supplement to "Rzeczpospolita". In 1998 he received the main prize "Amber Butterfly" for the best travel book of the year ("Terra incognita", published by Bellona).

Did you as a child become engrossed in reading travel books?

– I did not only become engrossed in reading travel books, but even before, when I was a small kind, my aunt was reading travel books to me and I really liked the stories of other cultures. Later I also had a liking for such books. It should be remembered that in the days of my childhood and youth, there were no „devourers” of attention which are popular now and which stop people from reading books anymore. Then one spent time in a different way. One read a book or did sport… or drank cheap wine…

Your life is very colorful. Before you became a traveller, you served among other things, as an officer under the Panamanian flag. How did you end up there?

– Traditionally, to end up on the ship as an officer, one had to graduate from the Maritime School and later have a few years of practice. I have not graduated from such a school in Poland, and only when I was in Italy it turned out that in the Liberian Consulate in Genoa it was possible to take an exam to get an officer licence of so-called cheap flags: Liberian, Panamanian, etc. Within two weeks, along with one of the officers of the fleet – a Pole, with whom we became friends – we covered the five-year program of the studies in my house. Later, I went to Genoa for this exam and I passed it.

Were you made to go on the ship by your passion for travelling or did this passion for travelling awaken during sea journeys?

– Passion for travelling was much, much earlier, as early as primary school. When, during family events, I was asked: „kid, who would you like to be when you grow up?” I always replied – not that I would like to be – but that I will definitelly be a traveller. When it comes to serving on ships, when I was in Italy, I did not know anyone there who I could rely on or count on for help. And when I left I had $10 in my pocket, because, back then, that was the official currency amount limit legally allowed to be exported from the country. Therefore, I was interested in any job, and this one was well paid, because it was illegal. And at the same time it gave me an opportunity to explore the world. I worked under the Panamanian flag for two years. Then, when I stood on my own feet and I felt more financially independent, I was able to quit this job.

You also went to the diamond mines in Sierra Leone…

– This is because I previously worked in the gold mine in Ghana and I travelled a lot through Africa. Thanks to it I got a few contacts, especially in the Italian communities. Once, someone I had just met, told me that he was working in Sierra Leone in the diamond mines security, and that two men had just handed in their notice, so maybe I would be interested in such a job. And since I had already been interested in the survival and safety issue, two days later I got to the mine and started working there.

Would you be able to assess the value of a diamond?

– Roughly rather yes, but when it comes to the nuances of such a valuation certainly no, because to do it a specialist’s eye is needed.

What event would you consider a critical moment, from which you could say that you became a traveller, not just someone travelling a lot?

– It was the year 1975 when I swam across the Atlantic alone in a lifeboat. When I set off on this trip, I was someone completely unknown to the public. Merely one of the emigrants from behind the Iron Curtain. After the trip, my name became known and I gained such a position that I could choose sponsors. This event led to further events. Almost simultaneously I landed a job in the Italian press as a journalist. In addition, I started from the big titles, I wrote, among others, for „Corriere della Sera”. Later, many fellow writers wondered how I managed to get there as quickly if it took them many years of arduous efforts and climbing the professional ladder waiting for a place in the newspaper. As for me, having an urge to travel, I sold the travel logs of my numerous trips to various newspapers as a freelancer. There was then a great demand for exotic, adventure and travelling. I felt comfortable with such topics so I was able to almost immediately enter the columns of „Corriere della Sera „, where I worked for several years. So it was all interconnected. And each of my journey ended later with a reportage, I even had to learn to take pictures to be able to illustrate these articles.

You spent alone 44 days in the Atlantic. What led you to the decision about this expedition?

– I had dealt with sailing almost since I was a child, as a thirteen-year-old I got a sailor patent. But I could not afford a yacht to go on a longer cruise. One day it came to my mind that I am interested in survival, I explore the secrets of survival in difficult conditions, so I should show it myself – in order to convince a potential survivor – that if he does not give up and break down, the lifeboat where he could find himself can save his life. I remembered that the statistics from the period of World War II spoke about the fact that ninety- five percent of people among those who died at sea as shipwrecked persons, lost their lives in the moment after they surrendered, or stopped believing in their rescue. And I wanted to prove that you cannot give up and lose faith until you’re safe.

You were a pioneer of survival…

– In Europe, certainly yes. In the United States survival had been known earlier for many years, but from a different angle. For example: „how to survive when a neighbour starts shooting”, or „how to build a bomb shelter,” because it was a time of „cold war”. So it was about defending against the threat posed by another person. I went in the other direction, towards building own strength, and it was then pioneering.

You trained among other astronauts

– Yes, but only when I had gathered some experience. I received an invitation from the Russian cosmonauts, because they learned about my survival school and I conducted for them a two-year training to survive in harsh environments, for example, in the taiga, in the polar zone, at sea, in the desert and the like.

Another event that brought you fame was to locate the source of the Amazon. There were around this controversies…

– I will not talk about the subject of controversy because I neither have time not the intention to engage in polemics with swindlers. I feel entitled to name the „controversy” a swindle, because the authorities of Peru recognized and certified my discovery and put in this place an obelisk with a commemorative plaque.

You are a member of the elite British Royal Geographical Society. It is probably not easy for a foreigner to get in its ranks. What kind of the merits do you need to have to be a member of this Society?

– You have to know two ‘insiders’ who will introduce you. In my case, the story was bizarre because I had only one guarantor who was Thor Heyerdahl (Norwegian discoverer and explorer). The Royal Geographical Society initially thought who should be the second person to introduce me, but in the end it was decided that he alone was enough for two.

Does being a regular member ( which is a high status) of the Society is only an honorary function or does it also involve some duties?

– First and foremost, it gives a lot of satisfaction and prestige. When sometimes while organizing the expedition one has to „open a door” or facilitate or accelerate something, the Society membership card usually makes a big impression on people.

Which of your numerous expeditions is the most significant to you?

– It was difficult for me to create a fixed ranking, although probably the Atlantic definitely always takes the lead. The leaders will also probably be the island of Borneo, which I went from bank to bank, which even Indonesian commandos failed to do. I don’t mean to say we were better than those commandos, but we had just more favorable weather conditions. This will certainly be a trip on the reindeer to the pole of cold in Siberia, where we spent a month at the temperatures minus 40–50 Celsius degrees. Also a number of expeditions to the deserts, during which we tested the resistance of the organism to the lack of water, were very important.

During your travels, has anything really dangerous ever happened to you, when you felt seriously threatened?

– In the travel books one can often read about various dangers, for example, in contact with the primitive tribes and wild animals. In reality, however, it is so that I do not actually remember any really dangerous situation for me. At the upper Orinoco, for example, I was the first white man ever seen by the inhabitants of one of the local tribes. You would think that the risk was high. As it turned out there was no danger. Just in case, I always take with me a sack of presents, when I go to some distant places. Even not in order to dismiss a threat, but rather to make friends and have better relations with the natives.

You have had environmental issues for many years at heart. Is it because during many travels you often had the opportunity to observe from close up that any plant or animal could become extinct? Does it give greater environmental awareness?

– Definitely watching something closely, and not on the TV screen, increases the awareness of what climate changes mean and what endangered species are. Also, the observation of a primitive Indian who will not chop down a single tree or even a branch more than he needs to build a hut or will not kill even one more animal than he needs – makes you think and opens your eyes. There is a lot of wisdom, about which we who live in the world of raging consumption and the continuous pursuit of news, usually forget. And all this leads to the destruction of the environment.

Is there a trip that you would love to organize? Such an unfulfilled dream travel?

– I do not use the word dream because I am trying to put my ideas into action. However, about 10 years ago I was looking for El Dorado in the Amazon. Usually, while organizing the expeditions I am not driven by legends, as I have both feet on the ground. But I got into my hands the sixteenth-century Jesuit document confirming the existence of El Dorado. It was a request to the Vatican for the permission to christianize the people of this city. It made me curious and I started looking for this place. As one knows, El Dorado has been sought for 400 years, and this seeking claimed many lives. In my quest we came to a place, which I think was very close to the destination. We found traces of the presence of a man there, some structures and buildings… But we had to give up to continue the trip for various reasons, including malaria and using up food stocks. Since then I’ve never come back to this case, as Europe fell into crisis, and it was difficult to find a sponsor for this project. However, now technological development and an instrument called lidar, which when attached to the helicopter allows one to take a picture of the land even through the layer of soil or dense vegetation, could help me. I think that thanks to this device we will be able to get to our destination this time. Hence the idea to look for a sponsor and organize the next trip to El Dorado reappeared. The likelihood of achieving the objective of the expedition this time is really big.

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