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Francis and Denis reflect on the important lessons they learned on their epic journey around the world.
December 1st, 2008
From the Director’s Cut: Lessons Learned
4 Responses to “From the Director’s Cut: Lessons Learned”
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For a year and a half before our Expedition Denis and I prepared – reading everything we could get our hands on about Marco Polo – and the people , places along his route , it was a daunting task to say the least , we considered ourselves intelligent , educated men – but the disciplines involved in Polo,s story are incredibly vast – So besides the history of a large and diverse part of the planet , We had to immerse ourselves in the geopolitical reality of the day – we learned the basic’s in as many of the languages we would encounter, focusing on Turkish knowing it was spoken over a large portion of asia all the way from Turkey into western China – Religion, flora and fauna, geography – This is not to mention sponsorship and logistics ect…ect… Then for the next two years, we took his book and used it as our guide and called it our Bible! That’s when the real learning began – not only about Marco Polo and his world, but the greater world around us all, and most of all about ourselves !!! Since we,ve returned not one day has gone by that I have n’t learned something new ! The fact is that “Walking in the footsteps of Marco Polo” is a never ending journey of learning and self discovery !!!!!!!!!!
I’ve had the pleasure of traveling the world, exploring many differrent cultures, and experiencing mind blowing adventures. My exploration took place in 1999 -I still reminisce about the trip daily!
Watching the journey of Joseph and Denis gave me chills, as they tested many boundries, negotiated their freedom and pressed forward with determination! I came across this documentary by accident, and was glued to the screen wondering what was next, and how it would end. Kudos to Denis & Joseph on their amazing journey in Marco Polo’s footsteps!!
I’ve been to many remote places in the ” third world ” But only for a few weeks or months at a time .The idea of being away from home ,friends, and family for Two years as these to young men , in there quest to retrace Polo’s journey is Heroic to say the least ! It’s hard to imagine
that level of dedication , considering all the hardships they must have endured , Denis and Francis are truly leftovers from another age !
What dashing, romantic figures you cut! I think I fell a little in love with you. Such an adventure and what beautiful work you did with the documentary. Thank you for letting us live this vicariously with you.