Kindness One: Compassion launches an around-the-world trip

“To travel is to take a journey into yourself”
— Danny Kaye

My dream of circumnavigating the globe on a vintage motorcycle began after I watched “The Motorcycle Diaries.” The film followed Che Guevara and his trusted friend Granado, traveling across South America relying entirely on the kindness of strangers.

It touched my heart and lighted the fuse that still burns.

It changed me and spurred me to inspire others to believe that anything is possible. We can all change our circumstances. We can all live full and inspired lives. We can all embark on epic journeys: the internal kind and the external kind.

As I write this, I have completed my first day on Kindness One, a bike that will take me on a trip around the world relying on the kindness of strangers. I have taken with me no money. I have no place to stay and no food. I also have no way to cross two oceans. All I have is my trusty bike and a firm belief in the generosity of the human spirit.

I have already received free gas from a young Angeleno who felt the urge to begin the journey and start this wave of kindness.

Then two young Las Vegas natives fed me and shared a story of hardship and violence that would have brought a tear to anybody’s eyes.

There have been many people who have chosen not to help, but that is part of the experience. I don’t expect anything. If magic happens, it happens. It did.

I stayed at the home of a family I met on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas. They have brought me into their lives without knowing anything about me, who I am or what I am doing. They have opened their home. Their fridge. And their hearts.

The journey is just beginning, my friends. It is upward and onward wherever the winds may blow. I am hoping those winds will take me east toward New York City, where I will jump on a container ship to cross my first ocean … free of charge.

To be continued.

Click on a point to read more about Logothetis’ journey. View larger map on latimes.comTwitter: @LATimesTravel | Facebook