Spent 2 months and 2 days travelling in Central and South America! Will have more detailed records under globetrotting notes but in the meantime:

FEELING PROUD

I have wanted to do this for the longest time! My doomscrolling on Instagram previously used to consist of travel influencers - people who were vanlifing or camping or hiking or solo travelling. I dreamt and felt frustrated of my office life without any such exploration. The draw of LATAM increased after I started learning dance. Yet, the fear I felt when starting to plan was very much real: what if I felt too lonely? what if the language barrier was too big? what if my phone got stolen?! what if I couldn’t make any friends? I almost thought about whether to cancel. Also not proud to say that I’ve gotten stressed while packing before every trip - packing and unpacking and repacking takes me forever. But I’ve also learnt that I need to either chase my daydreams or learn to feel comfortable setting them aside (which I never do and it forms a little ball of frustration so yes gotta do the scary things).

Things worked out :) I have learnt to travel in a way that allows me to explore but within my comfort zone! And to identify what things I want to do, and eventually feel a sense of satisfaction after doing them. Making decisions when travelling feels much easier now - figuring out first transport / flights, accomodation, transport to accomodation, sim card and currency. I research thoroughly and create plans for the next day with timings in mind and often times may follow it quite closely, but it gives me confidence to know what I want to do when I am alone, while also having flexibility to join others if any interesting things came up.

My trip started first with school - going with an organisation helped me to feel a bit more comfortable. This was followed by a tour through Peru. When I ended it in Bolivia, it was a bit of a struggle initially for me - especially given the altitude and falling sick. But I got better and finally when I went to Colombia and Panama (both self planned!) I loved those portions of the trip so much. I now feel much more comfortable to travel to different places now alone, and it feels like the whole world has just opened up!

A side benefit of the trip is that I have also some how come back a lot fitter? Between perhaps the altitude, food and the amount of walking and moving - running now feels easier, I’m also lighter than I’ve been in years. How do I maintain this!

Coming back feels perfectly normal

Touchdown! I loved the trip and also excited to be back, it’s great to feel both of these things at once!

It was great to come back and see friends immediately, given that I was coming back for a friend’s wedding. 

For now trying to properly record and capture everything! So I have something to look back on.