Travelers tour in London bus
They are a mode of transportation synonymous with life in the historic capital of Great Britain. But what’s a London bus doing in the historic old capital of Belize? This morning Ann-Marie Williams went to find out.
Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting
“Six young people: three men and three women age twenty-three to twenty-nine, are on a whirlwind bus tour of the world to raise money for a British charity “War Child”. However, what’s special about this bus is that it’s a double decker straight out of London, England. Paul Davidson, director of the production, says part of the tour’s missions is to make a documentary television series of their travels.
Paul Davidson, Tour Director
“By soliciting funds enroute, plus this bus is for sale at the end of the project, so it will be donated to “War Child”. We’re donating a support vehicle, that sort of thing. Plus the crew have all been doing fundraising things in their homes towns and home cities prior to and after the journey.”
And to make the journey these six young people were among two thousand applicants who responded to an ad on the bigbusride.com website.
Paul Davidson
“We then narrowed that down to a hundred and twenty people who we invited for screen tests, to see how they acted in front of the camera. From there we took twenty-four away for team boating weekend where they had to work in little groups and see how people interacted with each other, then we had the very difficult decision of choosing six people. We were looking for a young crew cause the idea that it’s young people for a fresh experience. We basically always knew we would have three girls and three guys because sometimes the guys react better to a situation and sometimes the girls act better in a situation. So from a documentary point of view, it’s nice to see how they react differently under different situations.”
And although they’re from very different situations, there’s strength in their diversity.
Paul Davidson
“Pablo, the American, he speaks fluent Spanish and studied anthropology and he majored in Mayan civilisation, so he is good for this part of the world. Ashley is an environmental forester, so he’s a great character to have on the bus and he’s very practical. Then we have Catherine, one of the British girls, who’s a journalist for the Express Newspaper over there. Sara just has a great personality and whenever there’s problems on the bus she’s the one… She’s always bubbly and happy and she keeps the moral of the crew high.”
As the crew continues on its odyssey there will be great moments along the way, some greater than others.
Catherine Aird
“We put down on Guatemala to visit a potential “War Child” project, one of the main aims of the trip is to raise money and awareness for the charity, and just on the Rio Dulce there’s a centre called Casa Guatemala, which is for abandoned, abused and orphaned children. I spent three days working there and it was just wonderful to see a potential project. The children were brilliant, though their conditions were basic. They were happy and healthy and just to see they are the lucky ones; they’re still many more street children in Guatemala.
Pablo Strobl
“We’ve had some breakdowns, we’ve had some dramas, some romances. Things have gone on.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Does this have to do being young and not having a care in the world?”
Pablo Strobl
“That’s right. I’m gonna do this traveling thing for a while, it’s time to be selfish while you’re young and maybe someday I’ll do something silly like get married.”
Sara Coombs
“I’ve learned a lot from this trip. I’ve learned a lot about people, and obviously just the way different people live, also about the people I’m living with and how people react with each other, and I’ve learned a lot about myself. It’s been a good experience so far.”
Ashley Goldstraw
“The journey’s been very exciting since we left, all kinds of dramas, great things, disappointments, breakdowns of the bus, loads of breakdowns including this one here in Belize. The best part I think would have to be Tikal in Guatemala, it was actually fantastic. I must say that I went caving here at Caves Branch here in Belize and I really enjoyed it, it was great fun.”
Paul Davidson
“I did a similar trip, London to Hong Kong a few years ago and we actually didn’t stop once. So the fact that this bus has broken down a few times was a bit of a surprise.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Will that cut your deadline you think?”
Paul Davidson
“It just means we’ll sort of have to use our time in Belize. We have to cross to Guatemala a few times to filming projects so that when the bus is back on the road, as you know we’ve done the filming, and we can literally drive pass and continue on our way.”
The next stop for the magic bus is Guatemala.
