World-Walk Peace Tour

Ferenc and István Ivanics in Costa Rica

Ferenc and István Ivanics walk the Earth like Cain from Kung Fu (but without the violence), and three years into their epic 6 year 9000 mile journey they drifted into Costa Rica. I spotted them while I was driving in Villareal and almost wrecked my car rubbernecking, trying to figure out if they were missionaries from a strange cult that tracked UFO’s into the jungle or perhaps something more sinister and bizarre. These are a couple of guys that really stand out, tall, with matching clothes, ZZ- Top beards and homemade digeradoos – and even in an odd place like Tamarindo they definately do not look like our run of the mill tourists or dropout freaks. The next day I approached them on the street and asked them what they were up to. It turns out that they are really warm and funny guys from Hungary that feel compelled to walk, and learn about humanity, life,  and cultures from the road on a mission of peace.  They told me about camping in a desert in Africa that consisted entirely of snail shells as far as the eyes can see, and asked if I knew a local Hungarian woman named Kata. Their blog is a blast, and should definitely be checked out for the humor and open candor about such diverse topics as diarrhea from a three meal a day diet of tacos, random drunken Mexican gunplay, sleeping in a vegetarian insane asylum with the patients, and banking Catch 22′s in Europe. They were booted from Honduras for public begging, and thought to be terrorists by some local Mexicans, although it turns out that looking like a terrorist is better than being a Gringo in parts of rural Mexico. They manage to do this journey with no money (an impressive accomplishment), and they always seem to need new shoes.  I talked them into letting me photograph them in the streets of Tamarindo, and sitting on a broken Jeep next to the beach (irony). When a photographer like me encounters subjects as compelling as these guys, the camera must get involved no matter what, it is just how I interface with the world.

Check out their blog here: http://www.worldwalk-peacetour.blogspot.com/

If any publication wants to do a story on them and needs some decent photos, I will be more than happy to provide high resolution copies for free, whatever helps them on their mission.

When the Ivanics brothers come to your town, give them a place to stay, some food, money, whatever they need and whatever you can spare. Sometimes it seems that with the conquering of space and the climbing of the highest mountains being commonplace these days that there is nothing left to explore, no adventure untapped. Think again. Strip away the transportation of the modern world, regular money, jobs, food, and walk for a few thousand miles with only your wit, balls, and a belief in the decency of humanity, and you will find real adventure. I am happy to have met the brothers Ivanic, thrilled to have photographed them, and envious that I can’t do the same thing. I just can’t imagine what life would be like after such a trip. What can possibly follow that?  Accounting?  Factory work? An office? I think not.  I hope that they become teachers or write a bestselling book.

Good luck Ferenc and István. See you on the other side.

-Sean

Camera: D3 shot RAW

Lens: Zeiss 100mm Zf.2 and Sigma 15-30

Lighting: Broncolor Mobil, Pulso Head & P45 Reflector

On the street in Tamarindo

Relaxing on an abandoned Jeep on the beach

Backpacks in 2 languages

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 26th, 2010 at 5:56 pm and is filed under Costa Rica and tagged with backpacks, costa rica, cultures, extreme travel, Ferenc and István Ivanics, insane travel, jeep, peace tour, Photography, tamarindo, world walk peace tour. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.