Walking and swimming: Triathlete explores the Brazilian coast with US$1.89 a day

If money didn’t exist, would you still get up every morning to do what you do today? And if your time was all yours and you could use it the way you wanted, what would you do?

Thinking about these phrases, the physical educator Tarso Gonçalves Soares, 39, came up with the idea of crossing the Brazilian coast from north to south by foot.

“I have always been very happy with my profession, but I stopped to think if I would keep doing all that, even if the money didn’t exist… and the answer was no,” he said.

LIVES ON THE ROAD

These phrases were on a social network when Tarsus saw them in 2016.

He says that, although he answered in the post that yes, he would continue to do what he loves, he woke up the next few days thinking about what he would do if there was such an opportunity.

And the answer was: live freely with as little as possible.

At the time, Tarso owned a physical training company in Balneário Camboriú, in Santa Catarina, where he worked with what he liked and his academic background.

However, when he finished college, he lived in Australia, where he discovered the custom of young people to take a sabbatical year after their studies.

“All my friends there used to do it, and I wondered why we don’t have this custom here in Brazil.

“I decided to put on paper how much it would cost me financially and as a life experience,” he recalls.

IS US$1.89 ENOUGH?

Tarso says the estimated cost for a sabbatical period in Australia is US$100 per day.

“I decided to sell everything I had and plan as much vacation time as possible with R$100 (US$18.88) daily.

“But since I am super economical, almost stingy, I lowered it to R$50 and then R30.

“I soon realized that if I walked, cycled, and swam most of the time and carried a tent, I could easily use only R$10 a day to feed myself with fruits and vegetables for ten years,” he planned.

Since he had already participated and trained extensively for triathlon races (a sport that combines running, cycling, and swimming), the idea was quite attractive to the physical educator.

The first project began in 2017 and was named #10YearsFromHoliday. He went four years without working a single day as planned.

He walked, cycled, and even swam around the south of the country where he lived, extending to neighboring countries.

He says that he was having treatment on his teeth at the time, so he couldn’t go very far because every 30 days, he had to return for an orthodontic follow-up.

This project’s first period was always done following a script that he planned beforehand to last the allotted time.

But soon, he missed a routine, a goal to be covered.

“I was four years into my vacation, as I planned. But I was passing through many places, meeting many people, and not meeting anyone again.

“I was tired of talking about the project, tired of not having a routine, so I decided to pause the trip and apply for a job during the summer season in Florianópolis, and I got it,” he says.

When the temporary job ended, Tarso was ready to travel again. This time, the idea had to do with his childhood.

He says he loved seeing the “Guia 4 Rodas” magazine with his father and thinking: I have already stepped in this place, and most of them were the beaches.

“So now I decided to walk all the Brazilian beaches.”

Since March 20, Tarso has walked more than 1,000 beaches, from Chuí, in Rio Grande do Sul, to Ilha Grande, in Rio de Janeiro, adding up to about 2,400 kilometers of the 8,198-kilometer long Brazilian coastline.

“Where there is no way to walk, I swim. But this time, I don’t use the bicycle,” he reveals.

He separates his trips by sections. He hitchhikes to where he finished last time, and from there, he starts his new walk with no deadline, no hurry, just walking and contemplating nature.

“The only places I couldn’t walk or swim are in ecological reserves, but I am studying to see if there is any excursion or visitation program so I can cross these places off my list, too,” he said.

Currently, Tarso is in Florianópolis because he is again going to work temporarily.

“And now I’m dating, she also really likes to play sports, but the plan continues.

“I think what’s worth it all is that we ask ourselves about what we do every day, how much happiness that brings us, even if we have to work.

“We can’t forget that our life is unique, and what we accomplish in it is what counts.

“I decided I would live an extraordinary, unique life, with minor and very different than most… or how I was leading my life.

“And I am enjoying it very much. I don’t see myself going back to work for long periods, just for pleasure and to “rest”, he jokes.

For those who want to follow Tarsus’ trip, he keeps a travel journal on his Instagram profile @10anosdeferias.

“If anyone wants to walk with me on any stretch, just let me know. From time to time, I check my cell phone, and I would love to meet people who like to walk on the beaches.”

With information from UOL