"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness."
- Mark Twain
A few days ago it was 11 months since we set off from South Africa on our round the world trip. Since then we visited 20 countries and 74 cities over the 11 months.
Our roving had started a few years earlier when I went to work on contract to the Philippines. After finishing there in March last year it was followed by a few weeks in London, then Dubai before going to South Africa for a few months.
Before we set off again.
Travelling around the world was an awesome experience. But at the moment I'm relieved that I’m not constantly having to be thinking about where we’re going to go, how we’re going to get there, where we’re going to stay and what we are going to do when we get there.
Since my last update we travelled through Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil with vast differences in landscapes, weather and environments. Like all of South America it is vast, rugged and edgy.
There were a few highlights – the wine tasting in Mendoza the home of Malbec, visiting Buenos Aires which is one of my favourite cities in the world, to the deserted beach city of Colonia in Uruguay, the busyness and traffic of Florianopolis, the massiveness of Itaipu (the second largest hydroelectric scheme in the world) to the ultimate spectacle of the Iguazu Falls which is made up of 275 separate falls spreading across 2.7 km … awesome!
To give you some more insights below are links to the articles that I have written about some of these places:
The Last Steps
After São Paulo my wife went to Boston for her son's 40th birthday and then will go on to spend a few weeks in Dubai where her daughter has recently had another baby. I’m now in London staying with my son’s family for a few weeks.
Our next milestone is to meet up in Spain in early September.
My big question I'm pondering is 'what now?'
'Can I make this lifestyle into a digital nomad business?’. 'Should I also look for a short-term contract assignment or try to find a remote working job?'. ‘Where should we live?’.
‘What Now?’
For those of you don't know our story. Before leaving South Africa for the Philippines we sold most of our possessions and apart from what we are carrying with us all we own is four small boxes of personal possessions, two bicycles and a set of golf clubs. All our worldly possessions are sitting in storage in South Africa.
I accept that minimalizing to this degree is pretty radical and there aren’t many people who are going to follow our example. However it has been liberating! It has taught me a very basic lesson - most of the possessions that we have we don't need and we don't use. Look around you now and you’ll see redundancy – all the things that you “need” and never use.
It’s interesting to think that businesses like Uber and AirBnB have been created by commercialising underutilised capacity – could clearing out some of yours lead to more freedom?
There are as many forms of roving as there are with retirement. All very personal and flexible … but often many more than you have considered. There is some risk that the path you choose may not turn out as expected so it’s always advisable to have a Plan B … which you should have even if you decide to just stay at home.
For now I’ve enjoyed the break but it’s time to start making plans of what’s next.
Until next time please follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Pinterest as I will continue to curate information and resources. Please contact me with any concerns or suggestions you have.
So till next time take care and keep expanding your comfort zone.
Patrick
PS Please go to my My Best Travel Resources page on the RovingRetirement site which has some useful things to buy.
PPS Please pass this newsletter on to friends (as many as you can!) – with a request to sign up and join the growing roving tribe.
“If you want to do it you’ll find the reasons … if you don’t you’ll find all the excuses”