Constant Trek is the name of the site. Trek towards where? The stars? Towards finding the meaning of life? There’s not much time for doubts, though, as there’s an introduction explaining the basics of the site’s purpose. So forget about space, Enterprise and Spock, forget philosophy, think of two adventurers in their way from London to Morocco. 10,500 miles through 16 countries and all of that on foot. (*exclamation marks all over*) They aim at nothing less.
Design wise, the blog, as well as the whole site, does not deserve an award, but the least we can say it is user friendly. All links work perfectly. The colors chosen remind of sand, which is meaningful considering the ultimate destination of the author, Paula, and her husband Gary. I’m not a frames fan, but it can hardly be considered a flaw. The column where the posts are published is quite narrow which gives the impression that the text goes on forever and you’ll never get to the end of it, which can be tiring if you’re looking for quick reading.
As a child, I read a journal written by Hans Staden, a German soldier. In his diary, he tells about his trip to Brazil way back in the 1500’s. As you can imagine, his impressions on the people and the land were very detailed and illustrated with beautiful sketches. Paula, the author, succeeds in providing as many information she can about the places she passes by. No sketches, but lots of beautiful pictures throughout the text that can be enlarged. If you don’t have a broad band connection, my guess is it would take forever to load the pictures. I only missed Paula’s personal considerations about the people and the places. It was all very informative, but I’d like to know more about what she thought and felt in those places. Of course that can be a cultural thing, since I’m Brazilian and she’s Australian.
What impressed me the most as I entered the site was the number of sections it contains. You can find anything from recipes — although there aren’t so many — to a book marker. Seems a little random? It’s not, believe me. All content is well linked and makes perfect sense. Reading about the preparation for the journey, the contents of their bags (they only carry 2 changes of clothes!, wow!) sets the context you need to get even more involved while reading the weblog.
If you are up to an adventurer’s description of the world and you’d like to know what kind of things to expect while walking all the way down to Africa, this is your blog. It brought me back these memories of a child reading a sailor’s journal and it is sure a weblog I’ll keep visiting.
Constant Trek