Finally I'm watching it: the long way up!
I believe it's still running as they'd planned to get to be in LA for X-mas.
But you can already watch 10 episodes.

It's Ewan and his best mate Charlie going from the southern tip of Argentina up through South-America to LA.
On electric bikes! Harley Davidsons at that, especially made for them. Amazing.

Hearing how Ewan has 12 solar panels next to his home and does everything with that... wow! Now I'm interested in solar panels too, haha.

Love watching this, just as I loved the Long Way Round and the Long Way Down.
And let's be honest... getting to see Ewan and hearing his gorgeous accent... a healthy woman never tires of that, hihi.

Currently watching the last one that's available at the mo, and I have to say, it is totally unbelievable!
The things I'm learning and seeing, I'm so impressed and keep being deeply moved (to tears) to surprise and shocked.

I had not expected the more southern parts of Chili and Argentina to be so barren, cold and frozen. Logical considering it's really far south but who would thing that when you hear Chili and Argentina? I think warm exotic and green.

I was also surprised to see that even there they had solar panels and windfarms. In another sense totally logical as it is the only way to have electricity in these unbelievably remote places.
There was even a conservationist park where they had electricity from water, then stored it in a bunch of massive batteries, to then use it for the entire camp.

Slowly, as they got up higher, there were more people as during the first part there wasn't so much interaction as there were few people and as such little culture to see.

Bolivia was gorgeous to see! Ewan bought a small guitar in a shop in La Paz that didn't look like anything much, but the sound... wowza!! Stunning full warm sound. And he does use it here and there, and sings too.
Those funny (bowler) hats they wear and the bright colourful clothes!

Then there was Peru... similar clothes, but then they went to Machu Picchu. I was so excited!! Then they were up there, nothing to see as there was a massive cloud hanging over it still. Suddenly it moved away and there it was, Machu Picchu in all it's glory!! Damn, that moved me deeply!

The part after that was shorter, through Columbia and they went a bit by boat too to circumvent the bottleneck to Central America that's totally off limits (rebels etc).

Panama, the Panama canal, unreal to see how that works! Charlie swimming in it, hihi.
Guatamala, a beautiful volcano that's frigging active and has lava bubbling in it. I've never seen anything like that before!
Higher up in Guatamala it got unsafe, cartels and chit, and they had to be mindful of avoiding areas or towns.
The same when they entered Mexico.
I had NO idea Mexico was that unsafe? Clearly cartels just force cars of the road, fire upon them, and it's wait and see what happens. It can be money, kidnapping, disappearing, and anything unpleasant you can think of really... Since esp Ewan McGregor is famous...
Suddenly you feel the tension among everyone.
I seriously had NO idea. I guess best not put Mexico on your holiday bucket-list!

Amazing also... they always visit Unicef places on their trips, usually the ones to do with children. I didn't know Unicef also made sure kids learnt their own traditional language, but even more so, they also teach people to make their cultural things the traditional way. So kids learn to knit to make their traditional hats etc etc.

Ewan bought a Monte Cristo hat, and you get to see how they are made, completely woven by hand?!?! Some as fine as silk! These cost a lot too.

And then Ewan told that when they did their first trip in 2004 and went to a Unicef shelter in Mongolia, they met a little girl. She'd only been found on the street 2 days prior.
Ewan couldn't get her out of his head and later he and his wife went back to adopt this girl, who now is 19.
When I heard that I was crying over my spaghetti, hihi. It moved me deeply.

They visit a project to save the rainforest in Ecuador of which 95% has disappeared due to cattle farming... The project has been going for 12 yrs now and an amazing amount has been regrown and now has tall trees, shrubs etc. again like it used to. Except for the trees being young still. They are expanding, depending on the money they get / can raise.

It moves me deeply to see just how much is done to save the world, culture, language, children, keeping children from joining gangs etc. etc. And also that many people in these poor and not-so-developed countries are open to that, or doing it.

Anyways, just to give a bit of an idea, it is SO worth watching!!

Oooh thanks Crystal , I’m gonna try watch this . I loved the long way round , didn’t see the other one yet or this one .
Now you reminded me

Hihi, glad I did!
They're all worth watching. I've currently watching the long way down again, the 2nd one they did in 2007, going down to Cape Town from the tip of Scotland.

This new one is on Apple TV...

I managed to find the last episode of The Long Way Up tonight to stream.
I feel this one is epic. So much so that I watched the whole thing a 2nd time right after I'd seen 1-10 for the first time.
You just see and hear different things the 2nd time around and this time I also looked up thing on Google Maps and the internet, like certain projects on saving the rainforest.

Truly epic!
And always sad when it's over.
Very good to see Ewan's new partner waiting at the finish. The man and the poor woman have caught so much flak after his divorce, she even broke up with him because of the name-calling by fans on social media. Isn't that disgusting?!
So I was very pleased to see them together, very happy :)

But they did it on the electric bikes. Totally cool!
At some point in Ecuador Ewan says that they didn't do it to be environmentalist but because electric driving is the future and to see if this enormous trip could be done.
But that what they encountered during the trip did make him think more about how we live.
And I must say... watching this whole Long Way Up made me think too.
I disliked electric cars, didn't see the point as we need to pollute to make electricity.
But... in the whole of South-America people do everything with solar, wind, water electricity!
So it CAN be done in a nature-friendly way! I too am now enthusiastic about electric driving, haha.

Anywho, it is totally worth it, whether you;re in it for the landscapes, or people & cultures, the beautiful projects by Unicef and others, or whatever.
I loved it!!