Back on the road: Part II

After a thoroughly enjoyable two years back in the UK it’s time to make a break again, and this time I am looking for something more sustainable. Here I will document my attempt, successful or not, to live and work on the go. Exploring a new continent, learning a new language, trying to make a living, and hopefully providing a reasonable account of it all.

Seems like a great idea on paper, but sitting in the departure lounge at Heathrow I was experiencing some serious self doubt about some things, here are some of them:

Leaving my family and friends whom I love deeply.

leaving a house I had been very happy living in.

Leaving a job I had enjoyed working.

Leaving a city that I had learned to love.

Why am I doing this? London is an amazing city but it’s just one city, and after the last trip around Asia, seeing the sheer variety of people, places and moments the world is full of, it’s hard to settle for one city – for now. Hopefully I will be able to explain in a more coherent manner at some point but for now I’m thinking that home is now just another stop on the road, and that’s a nice way of looking at it. A stop filled with people and places I love, and a closer trip than many bus journeys I have taken.

And those bus, plane, bike, taxi, boat, moto, gua gua and hiking journeys will be taking me too;

Dominican Republic>Haiti>Jamaica>Cuba

Mexico>Guatemala>Belize>El Salvador>Honduras>Nicaragua>Costa Rica>Panama

Colombia>Venezuela>Guyana>Suriname>French Guiana>Brazil>Ecuador> Peru>Bolivia> Paraguay>Uruguay>Argentina>Chile

I’m hoping somewhere on that list will be a place I feel like staying and setting up for a little bit, there will definitely be somewhere I feel completely out of my depth, and I’m fairly sure that at some point I will be in awe at my stupidity to end up in some situations, all part of the fun.

My bag seems a hell of a lot heavier than the last time, and space is at a premium. I’m carrying full camping gear with me this time, including tent, sleeping bag, mattress and water filter for hiking. No doubt after a few weeks I will have decided on some non-essential items to leave behind but I’m leaving with a solid 17kg on my shoulders. Of course a weighty addition is the laptop and charger which is a necessary evil if I am too make a go of earning a living.

Items I will bring are broken into;

Documents

Passport, drivers license, vaccination record, insurance

Clothing

Wooly hat, rain coat, thermal top, jumper, 3No. T-shirts, 5No. boxer shorts, swim shorts, denim shorts, jeans, hiking boots, trainers, sandals, towel

Electronics

Laptop, kindle, iPod, phone, camera, mini video recorder

Outdoor gear

Tent, sleeping bag, air mattress, bag liner, mosquito net, mosquito repellant, knife, water filter, dry bag, rope, straps,

Medicines

Along with these I carry my magical bag of assorted items which contains all manor of useful, questionable and sometime bizarre items that I would not travel without.

So with that covered the next blog will be coming from the first stop, República Dominicana!

Untill then.