Back in the olden times when I first discovered newsgroups and web forums, I sometimes tried to join journeys with other backpackers or overland riders. It never worked--basically, any advance efforts were wasted when one or another person's plans changed.
Once I promoted an evening out in Vancouver with other riders, and that eventually led to a couple of encounters in Central and South America plus one in Cuba, but nothing that lasted. Another time I connected with a fellow backpacker in West Africa, but that, too, had limited appeal in the end. And I've visited and been visited by folks I originally met on the road, although not for long periods--a good thing, generally speaking.
Interestingly, I made lots of connections over the internet--some enduring, some not--in other realms, like backcountry skiing. There is something about world travel which supports transient connections and individual choices, not commitment and negotiated compromises. Skiing--or at least the more rarified world of backcountry skiing--works differently.
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