This website illuminates my life and adventures. My longing for freedom has led me to over 2600 of the world’s 3978 provinces, to every country on earth and to the summit of the highest peak on each continent (thank heaven for good weather!). In my travels, I learned to respect the intelligence and ingenuity of people of all races and callings both past and present. Come see the world as I see it: as a peaceful place, full of nature and beauty. With the right spirit and intent, we can make our world a virtual Garden of Eden.
DISTINCTIONS: BBC 2017 Travel Pioneer • Journal Articles • Explorer’s Club Flag Expeditions
World Parks Project • Walk Across South America • Jeff Shea Travel Map
Laos, Phongsaly Prov, Young Woman
Vietnam, Kien Giang Prov, Girl Bike -
Cambodia, Phnom Penh Prov, Bust
Saint Helena, Landscape, 2002 -
Kenya, Train to Tororo, 1984 - My girlfriend Gabrielle and I took a train to Uganda. Even though Idi Amin was out of power, the situation was anything but stable. In our stopover in Kampala, gun shots were heard in the streets below during the night. Men in red berets drove by with a bazooka hanging out the window.
Slovenia, Ivancna Gorica Prov, Planting Poles
Azerbaijan, Lankaran (AZ-LAN) Prov, Landscape
Turkey, Antalya Prov, Spices
India, Jeff Shea At Taj Mahal After Pilgrimage, 1984 - I walked approximately 200 miles to get to the Taj Mahal, a sort of personal pilgrimage. On the way, I contracted hepititus. It made walking especially difficult, not to mention the blistering sun. Here, I arrive, wasted, after walking the last 50 kilometers through the night, arriving the next day in the late afternoon.
Congo Zaire, Fight on Riverboat, 1984 - The Congo River steamboat was a lively place. Here a group of soldiers get into a drunken brawl. One raises a bottle to strike another. Diary, October 24, 1984
Bolombo, En route to Kinshasa, Zaire
Even though we were still docked against the island in early morning, we awoke in the morning to find our ship in Bolombo. I bought ten mangoes for Z8 (20 cents) and some fresh peanut butter from a pot full. In the morning we went over Spunky. The refrain had to be done over. We went to take showers and stood in line. I used a technique: to write down anything and everything that came to mind until something good come up:
Minnie T shirt Bounce in place,
Beauty marks Smiling Face,
What’s Behind It?
Loosely fastened cloth sarong
No need to say what’s going on
Resign to It.
I shot clandestine of a women with hair in one foot spike. A fight broke out on the side barge. Bottles being broken as weapons. I had my camera handy and I snapped photos of a soldier with a knife in had, another man with a bottle, ten men holding them back and half the people on the boat jammed against the rails on looking. We bought a dried fish for Z120 and could eat only one quarter of the delicious meat. We took photos of soldiers eagerly posing on top of the barge. We traded for an “Operation Manta: Tchad” medallion from a Zairois soldier for Tanzanian Shillings (worth Z200) and a lighter on top of the side barge under the stars. We smoke with the electrician downstairs. We go drinking Malafu with the soldier and John. The bars are closed down (since the afternoon fight). Out of beer. At the end of the night, the manager and wife ask us to breakfast.