The Romanian who travelled around the world on a motorcycle: he arrived in the city at the end of the world and saw the ‘mirror of the Earth’

Titus Banc is the Romanian who set off late last year on a journey around the world on two wheels. Just him and his motorcycle. He says he was inspired by Radu Tudoran’s novel All sails up.

Titus Banc was born in Bistrita and is a well-known businessman. He has travelled over 14,000 kilometres so far and is living his journey to the end of the world on a motorcycle to the fullest. Recently, in January this year, he also reached the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt desert on the planet, also known as the “mirror of the Earth”.

“I was 7-8 years old, when TVR was showing a film of the novel “All sails up” by Radu Tudoran. When I was 7, I had already heard about Tierra del Fuego, I had heard about Ushuaia, about “The End of the Earth”. They were also imprinted in my memory because, at that time, an episode ran three times and all the details were etched in my mind. I was fascinated by it all! When I became a motorcyclist, looking at roads to ride on Youtube, I discovered South America again. I have to go, I told myself then!” he told Digi24.

Titus Banc, the man from Bistrita who reached the end of the world on his motorcycle

The man from Bistrita made it all the way to Latin America, and the big challenge was the 430 kilometres between PuyuhuApi and Puerto Rio Tranquilo, which he spent without a break on his motorcycle. In total, Titus Banc will travel around Latin America for three months on his motorcycle.

Titus spent a few days in Ushuaia, known as the city at the end of the world. He has been preparing for this trip for at least two years and says that at first, he was scared of setting off alone and tried to convince his friends to join him.

“I’ve been trying to get people to come with me. I finally decided to go alone. I had one last attempt with a friend of mine, who being a beginner on a motorcycle said it was too much for him. I didn’t know what South America was all about except from Youtube videos. I didn’t know what safety meant there except from what I read on the internet. What’s the point of sitting around reading on the internet about what one place is like or another? Let’s go and see”, said Titus Banc, for Bistriteanul.ro

Titus is passionate about the adrenaline rush that the places he visits on his motorbike offer him and has a list of various trips he has made on two wheels: Lisbon, Sal, Andalucia, Sibenik and many others.

Challenges, of course, have been and will continue to be present throughout his journey. In Peru, he encountered street fights between police and supporters of ousted President Pedro Castillo, in Argentina he was stopped by police for speeding, and in South America, in Chile, he was refused a xerox copy at the Romanian Embassy in Chile.

“I caught incredible glimpses in Peru, incredible in their strangeness, I experienced moments and situations I hope never to experience again, and eventually I reached civilization. I got a haircut, ate a chocolate cake, wandered the streets in the evening after a quiet beer… Ecuador. It’s incredible how much you appreciate civilisation after 3486 km in the desert,” Titus Banc wrote on his Facebook page two days ago.

He also sprained his ankle at an altitude of over 4,500 metres, was stranded for a night in the customs between Bolivia and Chile and was met with stones in Peru. Despite this, he says, he was received kindly and helped at the Romanian Embassy in Peru.

Titus Banc documents his impressive journey, and the photos and videos he has taken in every corner of the world he has visited so far bear witness. You can see where else he’s been on his Facebook page. Impressive photos can also be found on his Facebook profile.

He confessed that he misses his friends in Romania and the traditional food of our country.