Perko - 1000 days of spring : travelogue of a hitchhiker

Tomislav Perko
1000 Days of Spring

Author
Tomislav Perko

Title
1000 Days of Spring

Subtitle
Travelogue of a hitchhiker

Translation
Anamarija Brzica

Editor
Daniel Edward Allen

Assistant editors
Julia Schmidt, Alexandra Zetes

Graphic design
Ivan Osman

Cover design
Miroslav Vujovi

Photography
Tomislav Perko

Photography editor
Caroline Perrier

Publisher
Self published

Printing studio
Printera Grupa

Time and place of publishing
Zagreb, 2014.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available in the Online Catalogue of the National and University Library in Zagreb as 881869

ISBN 978-953-58060-1-1

1000 DAYS
OF SPRING

(TRAVELOGUE OF A HITCHHIKER)

Self-published,
Zagreb, 2014.

For you.

PROLOGUE

Tomislav Perko refreshes the Croatian travel-writing scene, which, in the past ten years, has developed to the point where we could actually call it a movement. Perko has imposed himself as a leader of a new wave of travellers, but the huge success he has enjoyed did not come overnight. He entered the scene quite humbly, practically out of nowhere, as a young advocate of CouchSurfing. Thanks to his amazing adventurous spirit, which took him to the places on the globe most people couldnt imagine in their wildest dreams, and also to his human qualities, he has gathered an army of respected followers. Over the past few years, many generations of travel writers have fought their way through narrow media and literary passages, each of them offering their own, personal and original, story. Some of them climbed high on hardly accessible mountains, some of them walked for thousand kilometres, some of them travelled searching for beaches, others searching for fun, some of them cycled and some of them simply presented their great erudite capacities in the form of travel journals. However, while doing it, each and every one of them had a certain budget in order to realize their travelling projects. Perko offered the world his own version of travelling, with his thumb stuck out, a funfair in his head, a bomb in his lungs and, most importantly, with only a few coins in his pocket. He spent years wandering across the planet, met the most incredible people, experienced so many things that they would suffice for ten lifetimes, let alone the one he has.

You are holding in your hands Perkos literary debut, in which he completely opens up. He managed to transfer in writing, with his skilful writing techniques, and in a uniquely honest manner, his journey from a boy growing up in a traditional Croatian family, to a great traveller who feels at home wherever he goes. This travelogue is not only a warm and honest personal confession of man yearning for the Road, but is also an excellent guide for every young traveller who wants to discover the world. Having read this book, you will come to the conclusion that it only has one flaw you will not be able to escape the wish to read the sequel to this warm and interesting story.

Hrvoje alkovi - Shale

Day 794.

Our next guest is going to tell us how it is possible to travel with almost no money, Daniela announced. Ladies and gentlemen, Tomislav Perko.

The audience got their cue for the applause, and the doors with the 8 th floor sign on them open in front of me. I enter the studio, climb the stage, shake hands with Daniela and sit in the red sofa in front of her.

I am nervous. After all, I am on one of the most popular Croatian TV shows, invited to talk about travelling with some other Croatian travel writers - people who began travelling long before I was allowed to put my foot out of the park without my mothers permission.

Ive come to tell my story - the story about the last two years of my life, in ten minutes I was supposed to be on air.

Tomislav, you are my youngest guest, Daniela began. How old are you?

Twenty-five, I replied, exhaling deeply.

You are in your final year of university, she continued.

Thats right. I have one more exam to pass before I graduate.

You also have some working experience. Even though today you look quite casual in your hoodie, only recently you could easily be seen wearing a suit and a tie.

Recently. The notion of time is such a relative concept. I would bet my head that a lifetime has passed since that period of my life. Or a couple of them, as a matter of fact.

Yes, I worked as a stockbroker and my lifestyle was completely different ; I would dress nicely, save money and buy myself pretty things. Luckily, the financial crisis came...

Day 1.

Im sitting on a worn old couch still wearing my expensive suit, rolling a joint. That was my favourite action of a day: a few minutes of peace, tranquillity and silence. I considered it a reward after a hard day at work, especially after a day like this in which Ive become aware of the hopeless situation in which Ive found myself.

Only a couple of weeks ago everything seemed to be perfect. I was considered one of the most talented young stockbrokers on the market, with great intuition as far as the stock dealing market was concerned. The speed with which I dealt with the transactions earned me my nickname the fastest finger.

I started with few thousand dollars, and only two years later I had a portfolio of almost a hundred grand. As I kept on increasing the initial amount of money , I had managed to convince my family and friends to invest, and when they invested money I would only take out more loans on their investments. I used to make promises to them saying that you couldnt lose on the stock market and that it would be a pity not to make use of such an opportunity to make easy money.

And they bought it.

It was all just a big game for me, another way to have fun, an adrenaline rush. The truth was that I didnt know anything about the stock market, financial reports or indicators. I was an economics student without any qualification to be a stockbroker, but I was excellent at hiding my own lack of knowledge. I would listen carefully to my older colleagues talk about the current events on the stock market: which are the most overrated stocks, which are the most underestimated ones; I would listen to them talk about the conditions on the foreign stock market and the expected movements. In that way, I would kill three birds with one stone: I earned their respect since they liked the feeling of being listened to and appreciated by someone; I avoided all the questions directed to me; and I would also use all their predictions about the stock market when a client asked me for a piece of advice.

I was a day trader; I was interested exclusively in short-term speculations, preferably completing transactions within a day. Many times I would walk out of work with a few hundred, or even a few thousand dollars more in my bank account. My personal record was three thousand bucks, which I earned in less than two hours. My moves, and they were often crazy moves, earned me respect among my colleagues.

In fact, I was a mere gambler who in high school started going around betting houses and later even visited roulette tables in casinos. I was addicted to the excitement and the unpredictability of those situations.

And then, as a freshman in college, I found a perfect replacement, not only approved by society, but even encouraged.

Im a stockbroker, you know, I used to say to the guys at university in order to excuse myself for being absent for most of my lectures and to justify my lifestyle. I wasnt a regular student like the others, I wasnt so keen on passing the exams, and I wasnt looking forward to getting a degree that would guarantee me a well-paid job and a good reputation. I already had all of those things.

The market kept on growing. Everyone was making serious money, new brokerage firms were opening almost on a daily basis, and there were so many investment funds and opportunities to make money.