A conversation with
Constant Pelhate
My name is Constant Pelhate, I am 27 years old and I am an adventurer and speaker.
DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN THREE WORDS.
If I had to describe myself in three words, I think I am solitary, sociable and cheerful.
HOW DID YOUR EN ROUTE WITH ETAHLEP PROJECT COME ABOUT? WHAT INSPIRED YOU?
It was above all my dreams, and in particular reading Ludovic Hubler's book, Le Monde en hitchhike, and the desire to travel and discover the world, that made me want to set up my project, En route avec Etahlep.
WHICH COUNTRY HAS MADE THE MOST IMPRESSION ON YOU?
Mexico had a huge impact on me, with all the landscapes and the different cultures I discovered. It was also a time in my life when my projects accelerated.
Can you tell us more about what inspired you?
The inspiration for this project is: Rio, a wonderful city.
The gold-colored opus floor and asphalt of the Ipanema promenade… The colorful architecture of Santa Teresa and its painted facades… The city truly has a unique, vibrant, and warm atmosphere. The other very strong bias for the decoration of the place is having selected entirely vintage furniture, from floor to ceiling, and even the light fixtures. For example, in the dining room, I really let myself go and had fun with the furniture. Everything is vintage without exception.
« “Reading Ludovic Hubler’s book, The World by Hitchhiking, and the desire to travel, made me want to set up my project, On the Road with Etahlep.” »
YOU HAVE LIVED A NOMADIC LIFE FOR THE PAST 2 YEARS. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE PHILOSOPHY?
My credo is to let myself be carried away by encounters, desires, and let the magic of uncertainty and wandering work its magic. I love to throw myself into the unknown, to see how my body reacts, how people react to my different wanderings. I want to try many more new adventures. I plan to travel by canoe in France, to try new things, and always embark on unknown projects.
WHAT FEELINGS DID YOU FEEL ALONE ON YOUR BIKE AT THE END OF THE WORLD?
Alone on my bike, I feel a pretty crazy sense of freedom, a sense of tranquility, a sense that anything is possible, a pretty crazy sense of well-being. I think that roaming is really vital to me today, I can say that, after three years of roaming all over the world.
WHICH ENCOUNTER HAS MADE THE MOST IMPRESSION ON YOU?
Mama Carmen in Guatemala had a big impact on me. She is a woman who has run an orphanage for 40 years in Guatemala City.
I organized a bicycle day, where I gave bicycles to orphans. I spent five hours talking to her all evening. In 40 years, she has saved more than 2,500 street children by selling tabalaises and beans to feed these children. This woman is remarkably humble; she has done so much good for the world and for these children in Guatemala.
WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE DURING THIS TRIP?
After a trip like that, I feel like there's no challenge and it's just pure fun. In Mexico, I had four flat tires in the same day, and I was pretty nervous at that point. After missing my family, I don't want to say I didn't miss them. But I was living the adventure so fully that today, thanks to social media, to Instagram, you can stay in touch with your family.
So I don't think the lack was really there in the end. All obstacles allow us to move forward.
YOU ARE PLANNING TO WRITE A BOOK, CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT IT?
I'm in the middle of writing. Writing is a real journey in itself, I love it and I'm going over all my notes. It's also a lot of research. I realized this while writing, I spend my time doing research on the cities I've traveled through. It's a travel story where I try to incorporate a reflection of these two and a half years on a bike. It's a bit of an ode to the itinerant sedentary lifestyle. The art I'm trying to give to my life today is to live between periods of sedentary life and itinerancy. So I'm trying to transcribe all of this into my book and tell all the beautiful stories that have happened to me in the four corners of the world.
YOU MAKE US THINK OF THE MARVELOUS, OF THE NOMADIC. WHAT DOES THAT EVOK FOR YOU?
The Marvelous, evokes human beings to me, almost everywhere people are marvelous.
Recently, I crossed France on foot. I was welcomed by many different people. The Marvelous also evokes the marvelous in our world. Whatever the place, whatever the landscape, whatever the country.
The Nomad reminds me of wandering and of exploring other realities. What I love about my wanderings in this nomadic life is constantly confronting new realities, and ultimately, our own reality expands.
HOW DID YOU EXPERIENCE CHRISTMAS DURING THIS WORLD TOUR?
The first Christmas, I worked as a waiter in a hotel in the middle of Auckland and I was Santa Claus. The second Christmas, I spent in Mexico in a hostel where the atmosphere was more festive, with young people from all over the world. These two Christmases were quite different. One of the things I missed from my family was at this somewhat pivotal time because Christmas, as a French person, is quite celebrated in our country, so it was the time when I would have really liked to be with my family.
Thank you to By Charlot, thank you for welcoming me for this new experience, this new adventure that I am undertaking as a resident of Paris.
« What I love about my wanderings in this nomadic life is constantly confronting new realities and ultimately, our own reality expands. »
