Are you tempted to cross Iceland from north to south on foot?
Mathis Behaegel did, as his little inner voice whispered to him. He did it his way,away from tourists by forging his own path, trusting his destiny and his chance to believe in his freedom.Despite his young age, Mathis is already one of those great travelers who are not afraid of anything and for whom nothing is impossible.
Better known on social networks under the nickname "la Tortuga" (in Spanish), the turtle (in French), he has already visited 25 countries, 4 continents and traveled more than 10,000 kilometers.
Passionate about video editing, he talentedly shares his road trips on the internet with a real desire to pass on his experience to those who would like to follow in his footsteps.
During his expeditions, he leaves camera in hand to make his films / documentaries, inorder to transmit his passion for travel, but also to disseminate a message or a teaching on what he has lived. A great lover of nature and the great outdoors, he is a fervent defender of the environment.
In his travel blog Tortuga Videos , he presents a detailed account of all his adventures so that, in turn, his subscribers can become, as he puts it so well, "explorers who will travel while respecting Humans and Nature".
The tortuga explores, experiments, seeks the unknown, takes the time to travel but never stops. La Tortuga learns by walking at its own pace. La Tortuga is not afraid to fail, to fall, to roll, to roll over. She succeeds by trying, pushing forward and always pushing forward.
But who is really the Tortuga or rather who is Mathis?
During our interview, he confided in me that he started his career much like everyone else and began to describe his career to me: “after my studies in communication, I worked between four walls, in an office. was pretty well paid, but this is not the life I aspired to. So, overnight, I decided to take my destiny back in hand. After traveling the world alone, I decided to cross Iceland on foot alone , from North to South and make a film of it . So I have radically changed my life. Today, I want to share my story to inspire, I hope, others people."
Mathis adds: "in 2016, I created my YouTube channel Tortuga Videos , in which I publish the videos of my adventures around the world: Bolivia, Peru, Mexico, Vietnam, Thailand, Scotland, Turkey ... short period of retreat in a Buddhist monastery, I even slipped into the shoes of a monk in Southeast Asia. What was only to be a sabbatical year at the end of my studies, finally ended. transformed into a real way of life.
In 2020, I will officially become a Travel Influencer. "
When he's not traveling the world, Mathis is already thinking about the next trip, but he is always looking for a meaning to give to each of his departures. His trip to Iceland was not just a personal challenge, he wanted to make a documentary to educate the general public on a cause important to him: global warming.
Photo credit: Mathis Behaegel
Photo credit: La Tortuga
As he explains to me: “Iceland is an island known for its large glaciers which support several hydroelectric power stations, but they could unfortunately be brought to disappear one day. According to scientists, one of the largest glaciers in Europe, called Vatnajökull, will no longer exist in 200 years due to rising temperatures. It would be a real disaster for the environment. This disappearance would herald profound changes in weather conditions, rivers, flora and fauna, volcanic activity and land mass of the island. Home to several active volcanoes, the melting of the largest glacier in Europe, like other glaciers elsewhere, will release the pressure previously exerted on the rock. The volcanoes will then erupt more often, causing Jökulhlaup, ie brutal emptying of glacial lakes devastating everything in their path. This will also have definite repercussions on the ecosystem and all world activity with in particular the blocking of air traffic, as we could see in 2010, with the eruption of the now very famous volcano Eyjafjallajokull. To alert public opinion, I therefore crossed Iceland on foot from the far north to the far south and traveled more than 350 km alone.The problem with Iceland is the mass tourism which is congregating in the tourist spots located all around the island. The best way for me to fully experience this adventure was to walk where no one passed: that is to say through the center of the island where no one lives because of the extreme conditions.Almost nothing grows there and nothing lives except the swarms of flies that followed me throughout the day, drawn to my body heat. Treading the "highlands" Iceland is be on the Earth millions of years ago. The trail, not marked, I took was through the really wild heart of the island where the weather can be very chaotic, despite my departure in the middle of July. The climate of Iceland is unpredictable, summer and winter. I had to face strong winds, cross fords with freezing water and strong current In this adventure, I wanted to show, far from the beaten track, nature in its purest form, beauty, strength but also the fragility of this "land of ice and fire". For obvious security reasons, I was monitored remotely by my production and assistance team in the 4x4 car. This is why I decided to offset the carbon footprint of all our trips with the My climate association, thanks to which we were able to calculate our impact on the climate during our transport and offer a sum of money. equivalent to limit this, which could be used, for example, to invest in solar panels. "
Photo credit: Mathis Behaegel
But don't get me wrong. Being an adventurer is not easy, nor within everyone's reach.
Mathis makes a point of clarifying: " I am passionate about travel and adventure ... but I am still an amateur! Going on an adventure is not done on a whim, it can present many risks. This is why, I prepare myself well in advance. First of all, it was necessary to surround yourself well: I looked for and contacted people who had already made this trip, so that they could bring me their help. then bought maps of Iceland and downloaded a route which had been drawn by an adventurer who had already done this route, which I adapted according to recent maps and which I entered on my GPS. I also warned the rescue services on site, by sharing my detailed itinerary on the safetravel.is website. So you not only have to gain experience to be ready on the big day, physically and mentally, but you also have to carry out some administrative and above all, buy suitable equipment that holds up road. The Icelandic climate requires equipment resistant to severe weather: a good down that protects against the cold, an airtight groundsheet, a tent that withstands extreme winds. To be able to acquire all this equipment, I therefore registered on the Globe Dreamers crowdfunding platform. "
All this, Mathis will explain it to you in his travel blog Tortuga Videos to make you true explorers. So, let's go my turtles :-)
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
More info on :
youtube , instagram , facebook, tiktok, t witter
Become a partner - Tortuga (tortugavideos.fr)
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
His past adventures :
2,020 :
- crossing on foot the high crossing of Belledonne,
- tour of Mont-Blanc,
- Stevenson path with a donkey,
- road-trip in Israel, Palestine, Jordan,
2,019 :
- hiking in the Datça mountains in Turkey,
- crossing on foot from North to South Iceland,
- road trip in Scotland,
2,018 :
- road-trip in Turkey (South-West), Thailand (North),
- immersion in the Buddhist monastery Wat Pa Tam Wua,
- road trip in Peru, Bolivia
To conclude, the quote from Paul-Émile Victor is a good illustration of Mathis Behaegel's approach:
"To live is to wake up at night impatient for the day to come, to marvel that the daily miracle will happen to us once again, to have sleepless nights of joy."
Paul-Émile Victor (June 28, 1907 - March 7, 1995) is a French polar explorer, scientist, ethnologist and writer. "
Buen camino :-)
Lionel of Compostela
( instagram , facebook , twitter , youtube , pinterest )
Photo credit: Mathis Behaegel
You will find on the following pages, all my long distance hikes with descriptions of the stages and photos. Coming soon... so, subscribe to the site here or on my Youtube channel. Buen camino!!! Lionel of Compostela
