My relationship with alcohol is complicated. I drink it but I couldn’t say I like it. Alcoholism runs in the family. There have been deaths, and it caused me terror in childhood. I once thought I’d steer clear of it for life, but it didn’t work out like that. I became a teenager in England; … Read more
“She doesn’t know”, “I don’t know”, “She really doesn’t know?”. My friends were shocked, on arrival in Porto, to find that I, their reliably prepared friend, had no idea what to do that weekend. I am that person – the one who finds the flights, fusses over hotels, and researches what to do. I’m the … Read more
A couple of weeks ago, on the first day of the TBU travel blogging conference in Porto, I waxed lyrical about having found my passion and feeling hyped about being a travel blogger. I had been inspired by Dave and Deb of the Planet D‘s keynote speech.
Since then, things haven’t been so simple. I’ve had moments of despair, thinking no way do I want to do this if that’s what I have to do. The issue is marketing and monetization – two words that make me cringe.
Sandboarding in San Pedro de Atacama is one of the most popular activities in Chile’s oasis in the desert. I wasn’t keen – my co-ordination is abysmal and I’ve never done anything like it before, but when the lady in the tour shop asked “why don’t you want to do it? It’s fun,” I had … Read more
We spent about six weeks in Salta, Argentina and fell in love with its laid-back charm, cobbled streets and terracotta roofs. Practically the whole town closes from 1-5pm – even the surgeons go home to spend time with their families – giving a taste of the pace of life and values of the city. These … Read more
This article was originally published in issue five of Oh Comely magazine. My mum’s family are homebirds. At one point there were four generations living under one roof at Nan’s house. My mum and I were the only women in the family not living within a 10-mile radius, and we were only an hour down … Read more
Coming to the Travel Bloggers Unite conference in Porto was a tricky decision. I had to make the journey from Peru so it wasn’t a simple case of catching a budget flight from Europe. I agonised over it. Could I justify the cost? This was an obvious consideration – but more than that it was … Read more
Wow. Today I realised it’s exactly six months since we closed the door on our house in Peckham and set off on our adventure around the world.
When we left that day, we had no idea where our journey would take us – what we’d do or where we’d go beyond Brazil. We had proclaimed we were on a quest to find a way to live – to perhaps even find ourselves – but our views on that have changed since then. We’re already living the way we want to – bringing our careers on the road. We’re not aiming for a particular destination – geographically or mentally. We are digital nomads and we love it that way.
Here’s an update of what we’ve been doing during those six months and what we plan to do next.
I’m a complete geek when it comes to finding good places to stay. Cosy, handmade, individual, homely, bohemian and eco-friendly are all words that grab my attention. Add to that a view, a hot tub, privacy, and a good price and I’m definitely sold. People are always asking me for recommendations and tips on how … Read more
I have a confession. When I went to the Grand Canyon on the tail end of my gap year, aged 19, I was such a brat that on the way there, I moodily declared: “So what, it’s just a big hole”. Cringe. This was mainly to annoy the very keen group of German girls on … Read more