Suns Out Thumbs Out
The origin of the name
First time drawing a hand…
The name ‘Suns out thumbs out’, comes from my first major hitchhiking adventure.
In 2022, My girlfriend and I were visiting Corsica. We had just arrived on the South of the Island after a ferry from Sicily and needed to make it all the way to the North-west coast to meet our friends.
Public transport on the island is pretty crappy, and it seemed like the perfect place to try our hands at hitchhiking. There are limited roads on the Island, and many people visiting for holiday with free space in their cars and an open mind, so hitchhiking didn’t seem too difficult.
The night before had been pretty rough. We had been in the North of Sardinia and I wasn’t having the best of times. We overpayed for some very mediocre food, I lost my phone in the sea (which is part of the reason we needed to hitchhike), my sleeping mat was punctured by some rocks that we slept on, and we needed to catch our ferry at 6AM after an uncomfortable night of sleep next to a footpath.
Hitching a road in Corsica
When we arrived in Corisca a few hours later, we were both exhaused. However, we managed to hitch a ride directly from the ferry and got on the road. Hitchhiking was easy. Within minutes of sticking our thumbs out, a car would stop for us and take us on our way. At one point, we got dropped off, and before we could put our bags down and take a break, another car picked us up and drove us forwards. It was the best introduction to hitchhiking imaginable.
However, despite this, we were still tired. It became our little mantra to say “Suns out thumbs out!”, before signalling for the next ride. An important part of hitchhiking is outward presentation. Nobody wants to pick up someone who looks unhappy. This was our way of getting into the positive vibe.
This small phrase became a huge part of this first hitchhiking experience. Every time I embark on a hitchhiking adventure now, I say it before sticking my thumb out. Even if the weather is shit. I associate it with fun, adventure, the unknown and happy vibes. So it seemed like the perfect name for this website.