The Nomadic Life Posts

July 16 / soul

So, full disclosure, the truth is I’m rather uncomfortable having a blog. Don’t get me wrong, I need it. I need the outlet. I need a way to process my thoughts and feelings. I need a way to put down my observations and experiences, I need a supplement to my…

June 27 / Finances

I didn’t realize I spent as much time in Ecuador as I did. In truth I only went to a few places, the Galapagos, Montanita, and a few nights in random places as I rushed through the country to meet a friend in Peru and to avoid the USD expenses…

June 14 / Ecuador

Not long ago, if you had asked me whether I’d ever want to go to the Galapagos, I would have emphatically said yes, but I likely would have said, “it’s a nice dream but impossible. Only researchers can go the Galapagos. It’s a protected area and not open to tourists.”…

May 12 / soul

The soundtrack to my year. A month back, on the 10th of April, I lived a new milestone. Unceremoniously I sat on a sand dune overlooking an oasis in the desert of Peru, ushered in the beginning of my second year as a homeless nomadic soul and closed out my…

April 13 / Finances

Well, I survived. When I left my old life I had no idea what to expect and whether I’d be able to afford living on the road. I had looked at my income and made some educated guesses but there was no way to know. Today, I know. Life on…

April 8 / journey

Almost everyone I met said I would love Colombia. They said they loved it. So, I figured it couldn’t be too bad if there was so much consensus. Even from my first country, Mexico, I had been hearing praises, and down through 5 other countries I kept hearing it, but…

March 20 / soul

No time is the depth of my solitude felt more deeply and with more resonance than on my extensive bus journeys throughout the many landscapes of the world. In those moments, during the interminable hours catapulting across a country where trees are dots and homes are dashes of a Morse…

March 16 / Finances

Colombia was a disaster in terms of tracking all my spending. Christmas and New Years were rather expensive, as I wanted something different in terms of food and drinks. There was a lot of activity at first but this was also where I got lost for a while and had…

March 13 / soul

When I first started this blog I wasn’t really sure what purpose it was going to serve. It just felt like something natural to want to have while traveling and I knew I’d want an outlet and a motivation to write down some thoughts. But originally I wanted to provide…

March 12 / soul

What the heck is a digital backpacker? By now, many of us have heard of Digital Nomads. It’s a term that’s been growing in use over the past few years. It’s been crawling its way into mainstream speak for a while, but hasn’t quite hit the ears of the majority…

February 18 / Colombia

Let me start off with what sucks about Bogota. First, it’s massive. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, when you consider it has no metro system, it means that it’s hard to get around. Essentially, all movements require taxis. Sure it has a bus system, and it’s decent but…

February 12 / soul

I started this journey 10 months ago today. I guess this post is both a celebration of 10 months and a recognition of what I’ve left behind. The path I’ve taken may not always have been clear, and I won’t pretend it is now either, but I have learned a…

January 30 / soul

The Bucket List of one Digital Nomad Whether we have it written or not, whether we admit it or not, we all have a sort of bucket list. As I’m writing this, I’m in the process of fulfilling one of the biggest items on my list: travelling around the world.…

December 22 / Finances

Panama is the country I spent the least amount of time in. At 14 days, it was a bit of a pass-through country. I hadn’t planned on staying long and thought it would be a gateway to Colombia, which it was. I did spend most of the time in Bocas…

December 1 / Finances

Costa Rica. Ugh. Ok, yes it’s beautiful, but god does it really have to be that expensive? It’s absurdly expensive and I don’t understand why. Of all the countries I’ve been to so far, this one made the least sense. Granted some of the places I went to were tourist…

November 23 / Costa Rica

It’s true, when I was younger, I was fearless. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t courageous or brave, just fearless. There’s a difference. When it came to the physical world, I respected very little in terms of limits. I once dropped 25 feet, barefoot onto a concrete tennis court. I…

November 15 / soul

Being a digital nomad sounds awesome. Well, it kinda is, but it’s also a lot more stressful than you might think. Granted the nomad life means you get to travel the world and set up your office in some pretty spectacular places. Whether on a rooftop covered palapa overlooking the…

November 13 / Accommodations

Wild Waves, Playa Guanacaste/Popoyo, Nicaragua — 4.5 star Website: wildwavesnicaragua.com Trip Advisor Link A FEW SHOTS OF Wild WAVES Clean, stylish, new bathrooms. The dining area. Simple isn’t it, but works well for after dinner drinks too. One of the shared rooms. Clean and functional. The fridge, help yourself but…

November 13 / Finances

Nicaragua was never on the radar. In fact I only went there because 1. I had to flee the costs of Costa Rica and 2. I was already so close I couldn’t find a reason not to at least check it out. I hadn’t planned on staying very long but…

November 11 / journey

True confessions of a beginner surfer I’ve always prided myself on learning physical activities quickly. I’m pretty agile, strong enough for most activities, light on my feet, and pretty in touch with my body. Ya sure, I’ve just officially become middle-aged (I can’t believe I’m middle-aged) but what difference does…

October 17 / Costa Rica

First, let me start off by saying that I got here in the beginning of October, which is clearly low season. However, that didn’t help at all when trying to book a room or dorm upon arrival. I got here around 11pm and began my search for a place to…

October 2 / Finances

Mexico is fantastic and still very affordable. It’s definitely a country I’ll spend more time in. My time there was split between about 2 weeks alone before V joined me and about a month or so alone after she left to go back home. The time spent with her was…

October 1 / Accommodations

DF SUITES, DF, Mexico — 5 star Website: hostelsuitesdf.com Hosteworld Link A FEW SHOTS OF DF SUITES HOSTEL A small ground floor courtyard. The ground floor TV/computer/common area. A view from the ground floor courtyard. One of the dorm room bunkbeds including the lockers to the right and the sheets…

September 23 / journey

Mexico City, districto federal, or DF for short. What an incredible city! It really has everything you could want and a bit more. Of all the cities I’ve visited, and granted it’s not yet a huge number, DF is among the top 3 with NYC and Montreal. This city really…

August 14 / Logistics

Bus – plane transport central america Traveling throughout Central America by bus or plane is generally surprisingly easy. Many countries have an impressively well developed transport infrastructure. With a few exceptions, these aren’t the days of chicken buses anymore. While Belize was the worst in terms of infrastructure on almost…

August 12 / Logistics

Almost 4 months in, and time I think, to do a bit of a recap. I left my home, sold everything I own and said goodbye to my friends in early April. Since then I’ve been through 4 countries, 3 of them new, a number of cities, multiple towns and…

August 8 / journey

Puerto Escondido – A surf haven Puerto Escondido is a pretty special place, and it turns out for many; an addiction. It’s not immediately obvious why. Sure when you first get into the city, you have that long tan sand beach, with huge white water waves crashing against it, and…

July 29 / Finances

We only managed to go to 2 places in Guatemala: Finca Tatin in the jungle, and Antigua in the mountains. So all in all, V and I only spent 8 days there. What we wanted to do was climb a volcano and spend time in the jungle so that’s what…

July 28 / Accommodations

Casa Amarilla (Yellow House), Antigua, Guatemala — 4.5 star Website: guatetravel.com Trip Advisor Link A FEW SHOTS OF CASA AMARILLA (YELLOW HOUSE) HOSTEL A small top floor courtyard. Private room beds were large and quite comfortable. TV was optional and a bit more expensive. Rooms were pretty bright and spacious.…

July 27 / Guatemala

Guatemala’s Ecology Guatemala is a much richer country than I expected, both in terms of levels of poverty and ecology. Maybe our expectations were much lower after having passed through Belize which was in fact poorer than expected. Belize which was more expensive and seemed to have less to offer,…