Reikko Hori survived for 19 days on an uninhabited island
According to Reikko, she does not get along well with others and often feels constrained and uncomfortable around people. After thinking it over and deciding not to look for company for her vacation, the young woman began choosing a holiday option that excluded close interaction with other vacationers or locals.
And she found the company Docastaway, which offers tours to uninhabited islands. For those who love comfort, there are private villas on some secluded patch of land. The list includes eco-resorts and luxurious mini-hotels.
But Reikko refused to compromise with herself and chose the most difficult tour for an unprepared traveler – the so-called "adventure" tour. That is, a Robinson Crusoe-style life, alone with the wild nature.
At Docastaway, they say that Hori became the first woman to volunteer for a hermit experience. Everyone was very surprised – after all, she had no extreme experience outside civilization. She had no idea where she would live or what she would eat.
By her own admission, Reikko packed for the trip in less than an hour. She only took a pair of jeans with her.
The trip organizer Alvaro Cerezo insisted that she buy some things for herself right at the airport. For the first 24 hours, several team members stayed on the island to ensure the young woman's successful adaptation to a primitive life. In addition, according to safety rules, guards were on duty around the clock a 40-minute walk from Reikko's camp to come to the tourist's aid if needed.
In the wild
According to Cerezo, he was also worried because he noticed the young woman had no pain threshold – she reacts strangely to pain and does not think about safety at all. For example, in the first days, Reikko slept right on the ground in the jungle, without any roof over her head, not thinking that wild animals might attack her. In addition, she walked barefoot on sharp corals as if strolling on a parquet floor.
And she flatly refused to listen to the advice of survival experts. She wanted to learn everything on her own. She refused to take a machete and did not take the bottled water that the organizers delivered to the island specifically for her.
"I felt terrible, suffered from hunger, constantly dizzy. I had no shelter, it was raining, insects overwhelmed me, the sea was noisy. On the fifth day I was in despair, because I had to stay on the island for another 13 days," the traveler admits.
Nevertheless, she adapted. She learned to make a fire using a magnifying glass, catch fish with a spear gun, climb trees for coconuts and break them with stones.
The young woman explains that she wanted to know what it's like to live in unusual conditions. She wanted to do something she had never done before. And this trip made her see the world in a new way.
"I realized that a world without people is not the place I would want to live. I learned that from communicating with others you can not only suffer but also be happy. Certainly, now I want to be in society," Reikko said. By her own admission, she learned to appreciate the small joys in life – the ability to sleep in a bed, cook food, take a shower, drink clean water, and use electricity.