A journey across continents and compassion
The dream was simple yet extraordinary: travel overland from the Arctic to the Sahara, visiting schools along the way to connect young people across the world’s most diverse regions. What started as Salina and Dario’s ambitious TOPtoTOP project became a profound lesson in resilience, global solidarity, and the power of international rescue networks when crisis strikes far from home.
The road less traveled: trains, buses, and ferries
The journey began with all the logistical challenges modern travelers face: bureaucracy, permits, and the ever-present question of documentation (thank you, Peter). Germany proved particularly time-consuming for organizing school events, with layers of administrative requirements that seemed designed to test patience. Yet the team persisted, determined to bring their message of global connection to classrooms.
Photography, once a straightforward part of documenting their school visits, had become surprisingly complicated. Compared to just a few years earlier, obtaining permission to capture moments during educational events had become increasingly restrictive, a reflection of changing policies and sensitivities that we must now navigate.
The Mediterranean crossing to Tunisia marked a turning point. Aboard the ferry from Italy, the captain invited them to the bridge, a rare privilege that transformed into an unexpected window into contemporary global challenges. From that vantage point, they witnessed firsthand the desperate journeys of migrants from North Africa attempting to reach Europe by small boats. It was a humbling reminder that the world’s inequalities are not abstract statistics but lived realities of people seeking better lives.
Algeria: beauty and vigilance
Getting from Tunisia to Algeria by train proved unexpectedly difficult, setting the tone for what would be a challenging but transformative leg of the journey.
Once in Algeria, the omnipresence of police, particularly in the southern regions where three country borders converge (Algeria, Niger, and Libya), was impossible to ignore. The heightened security reflected a tragic reality: a Swiss woman had been murdered in a café in Djanet the previous year by extremists, casting a shadow of caution over travel in the region.
Yet danger and beauty are not mutually exclusive. With their friend Peter and his brother and sister, Salina and Dario found themselves in exceptional hands, the Tuaregs, the legendary “blue people” of the Sahara. They sang with them under the canopy of stars in the Sahara, and thanks to the low humidity, they didn’t need a tent to bivouac.
But even in this remote region, there was trash, and so we started to collecting plastic.
Salina challenged the young Tuaregs in sports and there was always a lot of fun and freindship.
For a week, they experienced the profound remoteness of a high plateau accessible only on foot, far from the modern world’s demands and distractions. The landscape was harsh and beautiful, the community warm and welcoming. They were planning a return to Djanet for a school presentation and further exploration of remote oases.
When the mission becomes emergency
But the Sahara, for all its magic, is unforgiving. On the plateau, Dario drank contaminated water, a moment that would trigger a cascade of medical complications. Dysentery struck, and dehydration followed rapidly. What began as traveler’s illness escalated into something far more serious.
Salina’s quick thinking saved the first crisis: she managed to get Dario medical attention in Djanet. But the second day in hospital revealed a life-threatening emergency.
Despite aggressive treatment, triple antibiotic therapy administered intravenously and continuous fluid rehydration through three simultaneous lines, Dario’s white blood cell count continued to climb dangerously. The pain became unbearable, so intense he found himself doubled over in agony. Then came the diagnosis that every traveler dreads: a blood clot (deep vein thrombosis) in his left leg. The dehydration had caused his blood to thicken to dangerous levels, triggering thrombosis.
That Tuesday evening, Dario didn’t know if he would survive Wednesday.
The Rega: angels in the sky
In that moment of deepest crisis, the Swiss air rescue service Rega became their lifeline. While Sabine coordinated from Norway with the Rega, the Rega maintained constant communication with the hospital in Djanet. The team worked tirelessly to secure landing permission in this remote Saharan outpost.
After four days in the small hospital in southern Algeria, where resources were limited but the dedication of the medical staff was exceptional, Dr. Bacha deserves particular recognition. Finally, the news came through: Rega had received clearance to land.
Everything happened quickly after that. The ambulance jet touched down, and Dario was evacuated to safety. By then, Salina had also fallen ill and was evacuated alongside him. The paramedics and medical teams were, in their words, “enormous salvation.” They didn’t just rescue Dario, they saved his life.
From Zurich, the transfer continued by ambulance to Lucerne Cantonal Hospital in Switzerland. After six days of care and treatment, Dario and Salina were discharged. A consultation with a vascular specialist revealed how close Dario had come to catastrophe: he had narrowly avoided a pulmonary embolism, which could have been fatal.
Salina recovered more quickly, though she remained weak. Dario now requires compression stockings and blood thinners for the next three months, physical reminders of his brush with mortality in the Sahara. Dario’s next checkup at the hospital is at the end of January.
What really matters
Even in crisis, the work continues. Tomorrow, Sabine gives two TOPtoTOP presentations in Norway. The project’s mission is too important to pause. Already, preparations are underway for the next global expedition beginning at the end of May.
What this experience revealed, more than anything else, is that vulnerability and courage are not opposites. Yes, Dario fell seriously ill. Yes, they faced genuine danger. But they also experienced the extraordinary power of international collaboration: Peter and Salina coordinating in Algeria, Sabine coordinating from Norway with the very efficient REGA base in Zurich, Switzerland; an Algerian doctor providing exceptional care despite limited resources; Swiss rescue professionals and ambulance personnel working through the night, and hospital staff delivering world-class emergency medicine.
The Tuaregs in the Sahara showed them kindness and wisdom. The captain of the ferry shared his perspective on global migration. The Rega pilots and paramedics embodied human solidarity at its finest.
This is what TOPtoTOP is really about: the recognition that our world is one interconnected community, that challenges know no borders, and that when we truly need each other, boundaries dissolve.
To Dr. Bacha in Djanet, to the Rega team, to the paramedics in the ambulance, and to the staff at Kantonsspital Luzern: thank you for reminding us that humanity’s best impulse is to help, to rescue, to heal, especially when the person needing help is a stranger far from home.
The Arctic to the Sahara may have taken an unexpected turn, but the journey continues, richer and more meaningful than ever before.