Anniversary

Today marks the 1-year anniversary of me entering into a long-term relationship..with my backpack! And I still remember what I felt shortly after boarding that plane to Lima..my thoughts were shifting back and forth between "fkyea this is gonna be amazing..!” and “wtf am I doing exactly..?!” 12 months on and I’m pleased to confirm that it has been amazing indeed.. I still don’t always know what I’m doing exactly but (as many of my friends have been pointing this out recently) I (seem to) always have a plan. A plan with no fixed dates or locations but lots of options and possibilities. Which is how I like it.

To quickly bring the story up to date.. what happened so far: first it was 8 months in 8 countries - lots of fun and excitement and awesome people and pretty places..and I got a tan (!) - followed by 3 months in Europe - catching up with friends and family and admin and re-packing and really-getting-rid-of-everything-this-time..and still got that tan (!) - and then leaving for what I call Round2 of my travels.

Is Round2 any different from Round1? Totally. The first major difference is..well..what you are reading right now. Thanks to your messages and questions and comments my dear friends, I’ve decided to share my adventures and experiences in a more vocal format as well as keep the photo blog going on misssmithdriftssouth.com ..  

Next major difference is that extra 4kg-s in my backpack (it’s now 14kg!) and I really have no clue where it came from! I swear I only added a few more tops..and-shorts-and-footwear-and-a-pair-of-jeans-and-a-little-handbag-and-some-make-up-and-my-electric-toothbrush-and-my-epilator..all in the name of survival! ..ok what really happened is that I realised I wanted to have these items in my life. And this is where the real difference is: life vs trip (a.k.a one-way vs return ticket). With Round2, I’m aiming to create a lifestyle that allows me to stay on the road as long as I want to, without going bankrupt. You guessed it, I do have a plan! And it really is the same plan as yours: Step1 - make the income-expenses subtraction result in a positive figure; Step2 - make it sustainable; Step3 - have fun doing it. Eeeaaasy… Except that I have a little love-affair flaring up with Havana (which is why I’m here for the second time this year) and I’m stating the obvious when I say Cuba is not the place for starting out a lifestyle like this. So, Step0 - keep calm and get out of Cuba. Soon..ish.

And this is where I am at now.. Don’t try to hide it, I know you are as excited to see where I’ll end up as excited I am about sharing my journey with you. So I’ll keep you updated on my progress as well as post some random travel stories and lots of photos. Hope you’ll also keep the messages, comments and questions coming..!