Travels around the Arctic Circle - Research & Book
Donation protected
Hi, I am David Buiks and I'd like to welcome you to Travels around the Arctic Circle.
This ongoing travel & exploration project, which has started in 2021, originates from the time of the Covid pandemic. During lockdown, I decided to start a series of explorations in the lands and regions surrounding the Arctic Circle. I want to tell the story of their traditions, histories, myths and interconnections. And I am going to do the whole thing by motorcycle.
Travelling the Arctic Circle on two wheels unlocks the possibility to visit places and meet people beyond regular boundaries. All the while I will be researching the cultural-historic background and current developments in this unique part of the world. The final goal is to write and publish a book about it all. It will include both my research and my travel experiences.
Update October 2024:
I'm currently working on the itinerary for the third tour, which will take us to north-west Canada in 2026. This tour will include a visit to Tuktoyaktuk, the northernmost point reachable by road in Yukon territory. Further ventures will include Labrador and, hopefully, Greenland.
More about the project
These travels and the final book will be as much a study of the history and culture of these lands, as a research into ways of travelling there. It’s been inspired by the work of writers such as Bruce Chatwin, Geoffrey Blainey and Fernand Braudel. I mean to capture a place and time which, as a result of climate change, may be lost to us in a few decades. And I mean to do tell the story in a thorough and involving way.
Late September 2022 I returned from my first tour in the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia, travelling solo with my motorcycle through Sapmi (the northern regions of Norway, Sweden and Finland, also known as Lapland). 10.000 km's! Read all about in the travel report:
In the summer of 2024 I completed the second tour, in and around Iceland. It didn't go smoothly this time, though I was able to make it home in one piece:
From a practical viewpoint, these journeys are quite difficult at times and certainly not without risk. I do believe firmly though that these stories need to be told.
As I've experienced many times on these tours, it’s the support of others that make travels like these possible. So I kindly ask for your donation, however great or small. Your contribution will go toward making both these travels and the resulting book possible logistically and financially. The book will be sure to have a dedication to your name, as well as being provided to you for free, if you wish so.
Thank you for your support!
Organizer
David Buiks
Organizer
Utrecht