Dear friends!
We are Rahel and Ilina - two friends from Estonia and Bulgaria who met in Italy through our love for music. Rahel plays the violin, Ilina plays the piano and we both sing.
We also love nature and adventures. Our first adventure together was a trip to Finland and Estonia in the winter of 2013 (see the photo below) where we saw Santa Claus - the REAL one who comes down the chimney! Later on, after many other adventures in Italy, Ireland, Spain and England, we discovered that we share a dream of visiting Iceland. The dream stayed at the back of our minds and agendas, until one day we just decided to go for it and we booked the flights. We wanted to see lots of this magical island and we wanted to have an adventure alongside that, so we decided do it all on bikes!
We are going to circumnavigate the entire island of Iceland on our bikes in three weeks and we plan to do so camping, living in a tent and drinking water from the lakes and local farms!! We have never done such a large scale outdoor trip before and are very, very excited to be embarking on this one!
Our adventure begins on August 2 and ends on August 23, 2017. The distance is around 1450 km, which is quite a challenge for non-athlete (though quite experienced) bikers like us. With a few days to rest, we must bike around 80 km every day to meet our goal and also not to miss our flights to return home (in which case we plan to swim back… )! We decided to create a link between this huge personal challenge for our physical, mental and spiritual strength and the society we live in, instead of keeping it as a lone adventurous experience. So, we want to raise money for charity.
We wanted to cover different charities, so we agreed to split all the donations in two - half for a shelter for homeless pets in Tallinn, Estonia and the other half for a charity in the city of Hull in the UK supporting children from deprived background on their way to higher education and the professional world.
Rahel: “I love animals and I have always wanted to give my share for helping them. At home I have two cats and one of them I found outside in the winter when she was very little. Probably she wouldn't have made it out there on her own. There are many animals like that who need help. I would like to support an organisation that works with and for animals. In Tallinn there is such an organization called Loomade Hoiupaik - Shelter for Animals that helps homeless pets to find a new home and in some cases to find their way back home. They do a great work helping animals and they will be so grateful for the support! You can read more about them here: http://www.pets.ee/eng/ “
Ilina: “I feel very lucky and grateful for the education I have received throughout my life - in Bulgaria, England, Italy and Ireland. It has opened up the world to me and now I know there is nothing impossible to achieve if it is what I truly wish for. But not all children have the opportunity or aspiration to go into education, and many don’t believe that is even possible for them. I want to raise money for Children’s University in Hull - a charity which organises numerous fun and inclusive activities to support children from deprived family background to experience the world of education, jobs, and cultural life. http://www.hullchildrensuniversity.com/
Apart from giving the money we raise for charity, we would like to use a very small portion of the funds towards the most basic costs of our trip - campsite fees (we are planning to sleep away from campsites whenever possible) and food (pasta, porridge, cookies, coffee, and similar basics that we will be cooking ourselves on a gas cooker). We are aiming to keep these costs to the absolute minimum and will be completely transparent in how we spend them. If our project is fully funded, we commit to ensuring that over 80% of the donations will go towards the charities.
If there is a specific cause - the pets, the children, the personal expenses, or any combination of these - that you want to donate for, leave us a comment with your donation (you can keep this anonymous). We want you to be sure that your money will go where you want it to.
We will keep you updated with news of our preparation, as well as how we are getting on once in Iceland.
Thank you very much in advance for your support! We need you to keep us motivated to go on, even through wind and rain! We are thankful for donations of any size, it all helps. If you are not able to donate, please share our project with your friends and family!
We want to make your money worth it, aid the work of the charities, and make our future grandchildren proud :).
With love,
Rahel and Ilina