3 month travel-versary
Today marks three months on the road. It happens to coincide with Thanks Giving which is not something I would normally celebrate but as a citizen of the world living out my dream, I have a lot to be thankful for.
USA - Mexico - Cuba - Belize - Guatemala - El Salvador - Nicaragua (in it)
Every day brings a new adventure, another photo to insta-spam and plenty of memories to fill the bank. It’s a little different travelling at 35 compared to my year away at 18. You can read about that here.
Central America has absolutely blown me away - and I'm not done with it yet.
Stocktake:
# Sherpas - 1
# countries - 7
# buses - 55
# beds - 39
# beds - 39
# sense of humour failures - 5
Trip highlights:
Guatemala: hiking Acatenango Volcano and watching Fuego erupt all night. Read all about it.
Cuba: wow! I’ve never been to the 1950’s before. Our story is here.
Belize: diving with nurse sharks
Guatemala: watching the sunrise over Lake Atitlan and the surrounding volcanos
Trip lowlights:
Missing out on Honduras. Massive FOMO being experienced but my travel philosophy is 'do less to experience more'.
Bed bugs in Antigua 🐜
Puking off the boat in Belize
I have zero regrets about making room for this trip in my life. It was a hard decision to leave my job and say farewell to family, friends and Sydney life. It was particularly difficult to miss the weddings of Alice & James, Emily & Dim and Lara & Luke - don't worry folks, I'll be home for your baby showers ;-).
Thankful for:
Sherpa (aka AJ). He’s the rock in my life, grounding me completely. He is the most loving, kind and considerate person on this planet and this adventure is made better everyday because of him. I’m also thankful for his ability to carry bags - his skills are insane.
Family: every day I miss the Phillips Crew. Dad had a stroke while I was Mexico which was absolutely devastating. Testament to his strength, he’s back up and running (literally) with support from my beautiful mum and brother.
Friends: despite crazy timezones, there is no distance that can come between friendships. I’m thankful for technology that allows me to stay in touch with my my friends. Also, to my new friends on the road, what adventures we’ve had!
Travelling: this life adventure has allowed me to see the world, break from the norms and given me the space to think creatively.
Kindness of people: the people of Central America have overwhelmed us with warmth. Our Spanish is so terrible and still, everyone wants to have a chat and help us out.
BBC news app: for educating me every day. I feel more aware of our world than ever.
So three months down and *cough, cough* more months to go. I welcome every day with open arms. Ahead of us, we’ve got the rest of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama before we high-tail it to Colombia to meet special friends for Christmas and New Year celebrations. Give me strength! ;-)
From there, somewhere, somehow, we’ll tackle South America. But always with somedays with Sherpa.
Instagram: @thelisaphillips #somedaysherpa
