Michal Szkudlarek wrote:Jeroen, I could join you from the begining.
I have to admit that over the years I have been become (very) selective about who I travel with. For more than a bit, this is because I am not easy myself. Ask those who traveled with me, so I don't have to make any confessions around here
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Also, never change a winning team. If you know that it will go smoothly with someone who is just as focused to go for it and who is just as OK as you to consider sleeping, eating and other basic needs as of limited importance, there is little gain in trying out new travel companions. There is virtually no one who fits that perfect description better for me personally than Wouter, so that's the obvious reason why we went together. You need to be really crazy to knowingly skip any decent chance of finding reptiles in favour of getting as many salamander subspecies as possible
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A lot of people (by which I am not saying this goes for you too, Michal) see reports and think "I gotta get me some of that" without realising that it can be very hard work to get that kind of result. It may take days or weeks of preparation to get an idea of where and when to search (in this case, about 8 years). During the trip itself, it takes more than average stamina to deconstruct mountains in order to find yet another subspecies. Because of this "lot of people", I am hesitant to try out new company.
I can understand that this can be tough for those who do not have any regular travel companions, but it is was it is, I'm afraid. I have noticed that others on this forum are more open in this perspective and may seek company through the forum, which is great. I would suggest you try to hook up with them.