The Love of Adventure By Lynn Martel Jan 21, 2008

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Colin Angus and Julie Wafaei

The adventurer and the molecular biologist

Colin and Julie met at a bus stop in 2003, both en route to compete in the Vancouver Sun Run. She mentioned she was going trekking in Nepal. He said he’d like to see her pictures— wink, wink .

On their first adventure together, a two-day canoeing trip, Colin almost set the tent on fire.

Julie eventually left her job as a market research analyst for a pharmaceutical company and began helping Colin—whose previous adventures included rafting the Amazon and Mongolia’s Yenisey rivers and sailing across the Pacific solo—organize and complete his dream of circumnavigating the globe by human power.

In May 2006, they cycled into Vancouver more in love than ever, even after pedalling through Europe, crossing the Atlantic for five months in a 24-foot rowboat and pedalling 8,300 km from Costa Rica to Kitsilano. Next month, they’ll begin rowing and cycling from the northern tip of Scotland to the Middle East.

His best travel trait “He’s able to fix anything—my very own MacGyver.”

Her best travel trait “She smells a whole lot better than all my other expedition partners.”

Most embarrassing thing he ever did on the road “In a pharmacy in Spain,
Colin used charades to convey ‘suppository laxatives’ in the crowded room.”

Most embarrassing thing she ever did on the road “In Ukraine, a friendly policeman asked Julie if we had any kids. She thought he asked how many days we’d been on the road, and answered 18. The policeman looked at me with a wink and said, ‘Well done.’”


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