15/01/2026
After ten years on the road, my body recognises these phases.
Ten years of travel.
To many, it sounds exciting.
The truth is:
I also have flat days.
Tired days.
Days without magic.
It may sound like luxury.
I lived months in a tent.
Slept in hammocks.
On banana leaves.
On airport floors.
It may sound exotic.
I drank water that tasted like fire.
Survived on rice.
Wore moulded clothes because nothing ever dried.
It may sound dynamic.
I got stuck because of rain.
Without electricity.
Without water.
It may sound idyllic.
I felt the ground tremble,
wondering if this was the earthquake.
Go or stay?
I waited out a hurricane.
A tree once fell right in front of my tent.
Fifty centimetres closer
and I wouldn’t be here.
Cold desert nights.
Rainy campfires.
Washing in rivers or between cabanas.
Wild bushes as bathrooms.
Loud music, traffic, barking dogs,
non-stop.
Bed bugs too.
Dogs that chased me, bit me, singled me out.
I learned to share space with strangers.
And to be alone in the jungle at night,
afraid
and still stay.
None of this felt romantic.
It was uncomfortable.
Overwhelming.
And even now,
I rarely tell these stories.
Because words flatten what the body remembers.
My body still carries them.
Quietly.
Like something precious.
These are the memories that shaped me.
That gave the last ten years texture.
Everything is temporary.
And even in the hardest moments,
I knew there were still people to meet.
Stories to live.
Connections waiting.
That knowing
kept me going.