The Road travelled so far

This year I am turning 34. Kind of a shock, if I am honest. Where has the last decade gone and what’s next?

The travel bug first got me when I was only 16, attending high school on the Sunshine Coast, Australia. From that time onwards, I have been travelling a lot – with friends, in groups and solo, every few months somewhere new. By 25 I had backpacked through Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia meeting wonderful people all around the world.

In between I spent time studying in Madrid and Lima, did internships in New York and Ireland. Lived in a secluded monastery in the Italian Alps. Moved to Copenhagen for my graduate studies.

Studying and interning to eventually get a good paying job in the corporate world – that was my idea back then. Majoring in Travel set me up for a career in tourism, in the end this is what I was most passionate about! On the other hand I wanted to learn more about global development corporation, international politics and the meaningful work of international aid organisations in the developing world. Interested in finding innovative approaches and working solutions to reduce poverty in the world, I got my Master’s degree in International Development.

Well, guess what, turns out it’s quite hard to get an entry level job at the UN or at the World Bank or actually most major international development organisations! So instead I moved to London and started working as a Gap Year consultant for a small volunteering company focused on marine and wildlife conservation, a job I very much enjoyed!

Always on the hunt for happiness, looking for that flow state. Always restless – Better, further, more extreme, more unconventional. My mum would say I am always on the run from something.

Was it escapism? Was I running away from something? Or the opposite, was I looking for something that I couldn’t find anywhere?

Closing in on the big 30, I was once again wondering what was next. Once more I was looking for adventure, but this time an adventure of a lifetime. Growing up I always had this desire to be at sea. Not sure where it came from, I didn’t grow up near water and I don’t come from a sailing background. Maybe I was a sailor in my past life?

Flicking through a magazine three years ago, I came across an ad that promised the “race of your life” on a large racing yacht circumnavigating the world in a fleet of twelve boats. Perfect, all signed up a week later! After seeing the price for the whole circumnavigation, I decided to go with only the first two legs though – two Atlantic crossings, the first one 5 weeks non-stop from Liverpool to Uruguay. Only a few months later I found myself on a 70 foot racing yacht, stripped down to the bare minimum (both the yacht and me).

At sea at last! In a team of 20 fellow sailors and sailoresses of all ages, shapes and sizes we were racing against eleven other yachts. Fighting the rawest and most brutal of the elements, sleep deprivation, arguments on board, the freezing cold, the scorching heat, our mental and physical state, it was harder than anyone had expected. No shower, luxuries or privacy, little sleep and absolute exhaustion.

Atlantic crossings, especially when racing are rarely easy, you’re always at Poseidon’s mercy. I am immensely proud of what we have achieved as a team during these gruelling 10.000 miles half around the world!

Lately, I have been working as a Latin America specialist at a large tour operator creating tailor-made itineraries for clients wanting to explore Peru, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. My decision to work in sales was driven by passion rather than money. Seeing my clients come back happy after their holiday motivated me to go to work every day. But strict sales targets and the pressure to make an ever increasing amount of money without having the time to truly focus on each individual client wasn’t doing it for me, so I quit.

Now I enjoy working as a Product and Operations Manager for a London based adventure travel company organising unique expeditions in some of the remotest regions around the world – love it!

Finally...

I really do hope that my blog gives you guys and girls – you flashpackers, digital nomads, slow travellers, earth changers and everyone in between – some useful tips, planning tools and ideas for unforgettable transformative and sustainable flashpacking adventures!

The Road travelled so far

Finally...

The Story

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