Adventures with Cam

An oral history of the first Gift of Go Journey

“The first thing I always tell people is that it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

The second thing I tell them is I would do it again tomorrow.”

— Cam Cullen

Let go. Day 16

Note from Eddie

Back in 2018, when Gift of Go was still just a name and an idea, I guided fellow photographer and longtime friend Cam Cullen on a 29-day crossing across southeastern Brazil.

It was my first real attempt at what would later become GOGO’s Journey model: no fixed itinerary, shaped in the field around a single traveler, and guided by terrain, timing, and conversation.

Cam and I covered a lot of ground during that trip. More than we would today.

It was an important experience for both of us, and one we still talk about. I don’t think either of us would change a thing.

What follows are scenes and reflections from that journey, shared in Cam’s own words.

Cross Quickly. Near Guindé

I’m from Texas. I’ve been working with photography my whole life, and I’m also a woodworker and an inventor.

I wouldn’t describe myself as a world traveler, but I’ve traveled quite a bit, especially for work—and especially after that Gift of Go trip.

A man with a beard and glasses sitting at a wooden table in a dimly lit outdoor restaurant at night, wearing a black puffy jacket and a cap, with a laptop and camera on the table.

Editing. Itajubá

dawn. São Gonçalo do Rio das Pedras

I’d been wanting to take a big trip for a long time. I was in a strange place professionally, and I wanted to reconnect with photography in a real, personal way. To be inspired again.

I grew up reading National Geographic, and I’d always wanted to go to Brazil.

Of course, I ended up getting married about two weeks before my flight to São Paulo, so the timing could have been better. (laughs)

Caraça. Serra do Espinhaço

We traveled north from São Paulo, through the mountains of Minas and Bahia, then east toward the coast, and eventually back south.

It was… a lot of mileage. (laughs)

And it was very, very beautiful.

Honestly, I had no idea Brazil looked like that.

Near Curvelo, Minas Gerais

A truck driving on a rural road with open fields, trees, and mountains under a partly cloudy sky.

Near Guanambí, Bahia

A pickup truck driving on a rural highway with a surfboard and other items in its bed, with mountains, cloudy sky, and power lines in the background.

Near Rio de Contas, Bahia

Near Diamantina, Minas Gerais

Vesperata. Diamantina

I think one of the hardest parts about traveling the way we did is that you’re covering real geography while also being completely immersed in a foreign culture.

It’s like “buckle up!” (laughs)

You have to accept that you don’t have control. You’re along for the ride. So you hold on, and try to take in as much as you can.

And there’s a lot to take in.

A man wearing cowboy hat and sunglasses sitting in a black Jeep with a beige cover, smiling and waving inside a building with blue walls and shelves in the background.

Captain Luzimar. Near Itajubá

A painted portrait of a woman on the mud flap of an old, rusty vehicle surrounded by muddy ground and greenery.

Mud Flap. Igatú

A smiling man holding a phone, standing outdoors at night with a wall decorated with colorful festive lights in the background. Several people are standing along the wall, some with arms crossed, in a festive or social gathering setting.

Light Moment. Ouro Preto

Man hiking in a grassy mountain landscape under a partly cloudy sky

Long Haul. Chapada Diamantina

A sunny view of a rural neighborhood with houses, trees, and mountains in the background under a clear blue sky.

Vida boa. Southern Minas

Two smiling men taking a selfie outdoors near a building with a window framed in blue.

With Anderson. Ouro Preto

Looking back, I feel like I was pretty innocent going into the trip.

I’d only been outside of the country a handful of times, and it’d been over a decade since my last trip abroad.

I had expectations about Brazil, but I didn’t really know what to expect from the experience itself.

Eddie had been traveling for half his life. (laughs)

A month is a long time.

A man standing knee-deep in a river, holding a pair of hiking shoes in one hand, wearing a gray long-sleeve shirt, black shorts, a hat, and sunglasses hanging around his neck, making a shaka sign with his other hand.
Two women walking arm in arm down a cobblestone street in a small town with colorful houses on either side, overhead power lines, and a cloudy sky in the background.
Two men playing backgammon at a wooden table in a cozy room, with drinks nearby and a couch in the background.
A man standing on a boat, looking out over a body of water with trees on the shore in the background.
An older man with gray hair smiling while holding a surfboard, standing in a rustic, wood-paneled room.
Black and white photo of a man with a beard and cap holding a camera, standing outdoors near a car, with hills and houses in the background.

Near the Mina de Chico Rei. Ouro Preto

There were a lot of hard moments. Lots of situations that were unfamiliar, physically and mentally.

The night on the boat [on Day 20, when we crossed from Valença to Morro de São Paulo] was probably the most challenging.

Everything suddenly felt foreign again. The people, the language, the setting.

We’d spent time in these small towns in São Paulo, then weeks in the mountains of Minas, and then suddenly we were on a boat in the middle of the night in Bahia. (laughs)

I think we caught the last boat that night, and the scene at the dock was complete chaos. No one was speaking to each other. I remember feeling like something might go wrong.

But that’s part of what happens when you put yourself somewhere unfamiliar.

In the end, everything was awesome. The island was beautiful.

But that feeling—that moment—has stayed with me.

The Boat. Near Valença

I called [Eddie] a few days after the trip, once I’d had time to decompress. (laughs)

It had been long. The final days especially had taken a toll.

I just wanted him to know how much it meant.

It felt like I’d gotten a master’s in Brazilian Studies and a life-changing experience at the same time, all within a month.

I still think about it all the time.

I probably always will.