In Santiago, Rio Grande do Sul, my best friend Mark Maw, returned to Canada. The 29-year-old, who has been driving the support vehicle for Journey America since we left Barretos on April 10, 2016, had to return home for a month.
“Thank you so much for everything brother, I’ll see you soon,” I said from atop Life before saying a final goodbye.
Mark has been instrumental to our Long Ride to the end of the world. Without his help and friendship, this journey would be a million times harder! Everyday it is thanks to his patience that I am able to offer my mares water, feed and hay. After having to sleep countless nights on the last journey without having anything to offer my horses, I cant even begin to explain how much of a relief it is having the support vehicle with me.
Watching Mark drive away, with a light, cold drizzle falling, I was left with a lump in my throat.

Long Riding is a lonely experience. Even though I meet tons of amazing people, and have had Mark with me on this journey, I spend 8-10 hours alone everyday. Just the horses and I. Without saying a word or hearing one. Some days my voice hardly comes out in the afternoon. Being left alone, only with your thoughts for such long periods of time, away from your family and loved ones, is not easy. In fact I often worry about what it will do to me in the long run. In total, I have spent 2 years and 8 months living life as a saddle tramp. That’s 974 days. 23,376 hours. 1,402,560 minutes.
When you are travelling at 4 kilometres an hour, 30 kilometres a day, a minute can seem like a lifetime.
To see Mark leave and face the fact that for the next month I would be alone, was not easy. Not only was I losing my brother, I was losing my driver. Now I would have to find a way to send the support vehicle ahead everyday. Add that to taking care of two mares, filming, writing, riding, cooking and staying alive, and you have one stressed out cowboy.
Fortunately I know a secret that the universe has taught me well – in the end everything works out.