Episode 7: Confessions of an inexperienced traveller

These past two months (since landing from Jamaica) I’ve travelled up through Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and into Mexico.

I suppose this is where I share my list of must-sees and wax lyrical on the wander-lust magic I’ve experienced.

The uncomfortable-to-admit truth is that my time in these countries has been more hard work than fun...more endurance than inspiration. I feel like I’ve failed...been a ‘bad’ traveller somehow....to not LOVE such places teeming with exotic culture and beauty.  

I’ve identified the following key reasons:

1. Urban Overload
2. Language Barrier
3. Travellers Fatigue

Herein I’d like to explore how they arose and what I could have done differently. With three months of backpacking the West Coast USA ahead, hopefully I can apply any lessons learned!

Here’s a breakdown of my route - (* = top 3 must sees)

San Jose, Costa Rica (3 nights)

Granada, Nicaragua (5 nights)

*Ometepe Island, Nicaragua (10 nights) *Volcanic Island Magic

Leon, Nicaragua (3 nights)

Tegulcigalpa, Honduras (3 nights)

Coban Ruinas, Honduras (2 nights)

Antigua, Guatemala (1 night)

*Lake Atitlan, Guatemala (7 nights) *Hippy Lake Spirits

San Cristobal, Mexico (4 nights)

Oaxaca City, Mexico (4 nights)

Mesunte/Puerto Escondido, Mexico (8 nights)

*Mexico City (5 nights) *Megawondercity

1) Urban Setting Overload

The route I’ve taken is described by some as the ‘Gringo Trail’ a narrow path of locations well worn by Westerners...complete with lots of budget accommodation, prepared tours and transport links.  

It was easy with my jellyfish style of travel (see here for further explanation) to be swept along with the flow of fellow Gringos between one Colonial Hispanic town and the next.

I came to spend roughly half my time in such settings and (forgive me for being a philistine) if you’ve seen two Colonial Hispanic towns - you’ve seen em’ all! There’s the picturesque square...there’s the fifteen or so churches...there’s the hostel brimming over with drunken backpackers.  

Mexico City was a massive exception to this...being a fascinating Megawondertropolis that defies ennui with its vast size, vibrancy and cultural blend. As a Londoner born and raised - coming to such a place with its 24 hour buzz felt somehow like coming home.

2) Language Barrier

You might be thinking that I should have defied tedium by going off-trail...maybe hopped on a chicken bus into unknown rural climes. Well yes - perhaps I should have, but I’m fairly green to all this and crucially I have a very basic grasp of Spanish.

The language barrier has definitely limited the richness of my experience. It’s another reason why I’m still missing Jamaica - it was the last country in which I could communicate with locals freely. What a joy to be able to chat with the bus driver- learning about his city as he drove his route through Downtown Kingston!

I managed to self-teach Spanish to a decent basic level, but if I could turn back the clock I would have done an intensive week at the beginning of my trip...at the time it seemed expensive, but I now realise how it would have paid dividends as an investment.

3) Travellers Fatigue

Turns out this here life on the road is tough. Indeed the word Travelling roots from the Old French ‘Travailler’ meaning ‘To work strenuously/toil’. “There is a big difference between simply being a tourist and being a true world traveller.” -Michael Kasum

With the ongoing discipline of living on a tight budget, ever on the move with a bare minimum of possessions, little privacy, sometimes afraid, sometimes lonely, sometimes lost, sometimes sick, often hot and sticky, always braving the unknown.

Nevertheless I’m happy to have faced these difficulties and discomforts from which have sprung great insights, growth and strength.

I keep trying to explain this to my Nan who becomes crestfallen whenever I confess I’m not feeling great. I try to reassure her that life on the road simply reflects life back home...you have your ups and downs just the same. The defining dualities that haunt our strange existence!

With hindsight I would have planned to stop after a few months and drop anchor somewhere. Recuperate my energies whilst doing some volunteer work in one spot for at least a few weeks.

As it was I drove myself on and on...and after around 4 months, at pretty much the exact midway point of this trip, I hit a wall. From then on (for the past month) I’ve generally felt like I’ve been battling.

Battling for energy and enthusiasm to explore, battling to be positive and social...battling to stay curious and open to the lessons of these places and people. Though now I’m pleased to report (I hope) that the battle is over!

It’s taken me a long time to get my head around writing this post...it's felt uneasy to address and admit to more negatives than positives. (I'll write about my Latin America highlights in another post I promise!)

But having finally articulated what I’ve been facing, I now feel as though I’m able to move into a new chapter - and regain my passion for this lifestyle.

Today I’ll begin the hunt for a volunteering/living opportunity somewhere here in California with the help of the excellent service: workaway.info

The website allows for the advertising of various Hosting positions where volunteering travellers like myself can apply. 25 hours of work a week is usually the deal for free bed and board.

I’m confident that laying down roots for a few weeks will recharge my batteries (and budget) for this final exciting stretch of my journey...USA USA USA USA!!!!!

Wish me luck and thanks for reading!

Episode 6: On finding my Super Objective

Meet Constantin Stanislavski - he’s widely recognised as the Godfather of modern acting craft.

Central to his theory is an understanding of human beings as creatures of desire…with the truth of our existence defined by what we want or need most at any given moment.

Consider how you’ve spent every second of your day until now...you woke up and needed the toilet...next you needed to eat…maybe next you wanted to get ready to leave home...and so on and so forth until just now when you wanted to read something online...thanks for stopping by!  

To play the truth of a character, Stanislavski asks the actor to intimately understand the string of wants/needs being pursued in each moment of the character’s time within the story. As a need is met, one progresses to the next and so on.

Stanislavski extends this idea in suggesting that a character’s string of wants/needs arch towards achieving a singular, defining, specific long-term target...a ‘Super Objective’.

Take Shakespeare’s Macbeth. When we meet him at the beginning of the play as a noble warrior his Super Objective could be “I want to serve the King in war and bring glory to my house”.

After hearing the Weird Sister’s prophecy his mind is poisoned with murderous ambition…

”I want to be King” and then on successfully ascending- for the rest of the action of the play:

“I want retain my throne and ensure that my children will be Kings”.

Is there a singular Super-Objective that you can define for yourself at this stage in your life?

Many of those in the rat-race hold most store by their professional ambitions “I want to make enough money to retire early”. Others are family orientated “I want to be the best parent I can be and give my child the best start in life”. Sadly whilst travelling I’ve witnessed many living a hand to mouth existence “I want to survive”.

In Episode O of this blog (click here for the link) I wrote about how my current focus is to gain an understanding of how best to proceed in my career as an actor. Essentially, my current Super Objective is to define my Super Objective!

With over four months on the road I’m pleased to report the following perspectives and insights that have arisen from conversations with fellow travellers. Thanks to each and every one of them!

This concept (from Simon Sinek’s book Start with Why) rang all kinds of bells with me.

When I decided to be an actor you could say that I was working from the ‘Outside In’. I wanted to be an actor because it seemed to offer the promise of a fun and exciting life.

After years of dedication and training I became an actor and it is indeed fun and exciting, but to have hedonism/personal success as my core vision/ambition has come to feel hollow.

So what should my ‘Why’ be? Hopefully something that gives me a sense of purpose, deeper meaning and happiness...they seem like worthwhile ingredients to a life well lived.

Again I’m very grateful to recent conversations with fellow (spiritually-minded) travellers for helping me distill the following insight, best summed up in this quote:

“Not money, or success, or position or travel or love makes happiness - service is the secret.”

-Kathleen Norris

And so going forward I ask myself how may I best be of service? How can I...with my skillset, with my means, with my knowledge and experience, energy and passions best serve the world?

Tune in next month folks. Four more months on the road to gain an idea or two...

Episode 5: On Backpacking Jamaica in 2017

So I decided to spend five weeks in Jamaica. Why Jamaica?

1) I adore Jamaican culture and hoped to experience it fully

2) I wanted to see if it’s possible to safely explore on a budget

There’s little information out there for backpackers so here's my two cents on how to get the best from your time on this amazing island.

CLICK HERE to meet Rick from Arizona

Sorry if you found Rick upsetting, I confess he’s something of a hero - driving past Hedonism II was a special moment. Love him though I do; he’s emblematic of the 'Resort Tourism' that thrives here.

Hedonism II (as infamous as the name suggests) is one of numerous 'All-inclusives' - luxury hotel complexes that have carved up the coastline beach-by-beach...where men like Rick enjoy the rippin' and the tearin'...and women too - Google ’Rent-a-Rasta’ for further info ;)

Other touristic hot-spots Ocho Rios and Montego Bay dock on the daily with some of the world’s largest cruise ships...offloading thousands of half-day visitors - fanny-packed and sun-lotion-smeared with dollars to burn.

These (largely American) tourists ride the 'Jamaican Resort Theme Park'... Bob Marley souvenirs, Jerk Chicken and Red Stripes served by minimum-wage workers; well trained to smile wide and reassure that ‘Jamaica no problem, mon’...a popular phrase reserved for tourists.

But Jamaica does have serious problems- in fact the saying has a particular irony amongst natives who feel that life is only problems for them.

Estimates put 20% of the population below the poverty line, with stagnant economic growth and expensive imported food/fuel ensuring a hand-to-mouth existence for many...compounded by high youth unemployment (30%) which fuels gang violence, most notoriously in and around Kingston.

And so Jamaica can be seen as two countries to explore- the artificial, Americanised bubbles of Resort Jamaica...and the rest of the country- Real Jamaica.

Understanding this duality is central to making the most of your time on the island.

For instance, the national currency is the Jamaican Dollar, but in Resort Jamaica US$ are mostly spent by tourists...often paying inflated sums.

And so the worst thing about backpacking Resort Jamaica (aside from the added expense and inauthenticity) is how every other Jamaican (man) is on the hustle.

As a backpacker, I’m ever on the lookout to make new friends, but being seen as a cash cow to be milked limits my chances.

Therefore I advise you to minimise your time in Resort Jamaica.

If you go, check out these great budget hostels with beds for $15-20 per night:

Ochie Rios Reggae Hostel

Montego Bay Togetherness

Negril Judy House

If not Resort Jamaica then WHERE?

#1 PORT ANTONIO

Hands down the best place in Jamaica. Amazing food, paradise beaches and friendly locals. I reccomend Porty Hostel run by Stefano, a lovely Italian guy who set up shop here a couple of years ago. If you have two weeks in Jamaica enjoy a week here along the east coast.

#2 BLUE MOUNTAINS

I only spent a day in this sacred mountain range, touring a coffee plantation. Next time I'll trek the peak via the famous guesthouse Whitfield Hall. A little expensive, but totally worth it from what I hear.

#3 KINGSTON

Stay with Syl Gordon at his Dancehall Hostel, where international dance students come to learn and party with Jamaica’s most talented. Take a private lesson and then join the entourage to hit up Kingston’s livest sound systems - 7 nights a week. You will see some things.  

Other important advice:

# You will never be as cool as a Jamaican...but at least you can try....learn the thumb-click handshake...at all times be ready to declare ‘Respect’ ‘Bless up’ ‘One love’ or ‘Wagawan’ ...and never, ever be in a rush.

# Never charter a private taxi...master the local ‘Route Taxi’ transportation ASAP. It’s a fraction of the price and a great service. Tourists can pay $40 for a journey that costs $1 for those in the know.   

# Use mosquito repellent; nothing chilled about a Jamaican mosquito -they’re big, fast and hungry!

# Use sunscreen - the sun is serious here - I’ve seen some terrible lobster-red burns!

# Cannabis is decriminalised, ubiquitous and dirt cheap. If you partake it's 150JD ($1) for a few joints’ worth or 500JD for a decent bag of 5 grams or so. So I'm told.

# Try Spice Bun an’ Cheese and Aunt Bessie’s Wheat crackers, but try not to get addicted like me :)

Thanks for reading - hope it helps and you have a great time if you visit. For more advice on accessing the Real Jamaica check out this excellent (aptly named) website...realjamaica.org

Episode 4: Taking some downtime off the highway

Today, heck, maybe even for most of this week, I’ve felt depressed.

It’s not easy for me to admit that, for two reasons:

1. Guilt/shame- I’m currently travelling with the rarest freedom to go where I please and so should surely be having the time of my life. I’m in Jamaica for Jah’s sake.

2. Ignorance. Full disclosure: I can sometimes be disconnected from my feelings, especially negative ones which I tend to block.

Managing to observe and examine this process is highly valuable- so how did I come to be this way?

In adolescence I spent several years in poor mental health. A diagnosis of clinical depression at 18 stalled my university ambitions. Three years of imbalance followed before reaching rock bottom with an acute psychosis and a couple of months in a psychiatric ward.

Who knows why...brain chemistry, personality, life. Whatever the reasons, it happened and it shaped who I am today...and I’m grateful.

“What makes you comfortable can ruin you and only in a state of discomfort can you continually grow.” (Bill Eckstrom)

During those years of discomfort I often felt bitter. As a schoolboy I only knew to measure ‘growth’ by academic success...B’s to A’s...A’s to A*’s. As friends were graduating with university degrees and commencing their journeys into adulthood, I was a drop-out - dependent on my parents for care and on drugs to cope.

Nevertheless growth was occurring. Growth that would never be validated with a grade or a piece of paper. No, this was a subtle, translucent growth. The foundation of what has now been over ten years of good mental health.

For me, the Greek aphorism ‘Know Thyself’ (seen above) is the definition of good mental health.

Depression is a deeply introspective state. Life, with its all-absorbing momentum, is halted. You’re thrown off the ride and when you land…’you’, whoever that person was, is gone. Who you are now is unclear, but one thing’s for sure...it feels fucking terrible.

I don’t know if I’ll ever revisit that dark place. The prospect used to terrify me, hence my reflex to block negative feelings. For me, being ‘down’ feels synonymous with Depression and therefore not to be tolerated.

And so ironically, as I run from Depression in such a way, with intolerance and denial, I’m actually running towards it, feeding its potential re-manifestation. For if good mental health is ‘know thyself’ then bad mental health is ‘ignore thyself’.

For the past two months I’ve been intensely absorbed and fulfilled - backpacking around Colombia. You can check out my last post on the lessons I learnt here.

Now for the first time on this trip, the ride has slowed. I am alone...far from home…existing in the bubble of my own being...my heart heavy with a sadness I do not understand.

Please do not wish me better or hope that I cheer up soon. Instead celebrate and be grateful with me that I am simply aware. I welcome this spell of sadness as a teacher bearing a lesson of self-knowledge- an opportunity to grow and learn.

Wherever you are on your own journey I wish you patience and tolerance. Whatever you’re going through it will soon pass...everything does.                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Episode 3: Lessons learnt after two months Backpacking in Colombia

Today marks two months away from London...officially the longest time I’ve been away from home, ever.

I’ve spent this time in Colombia...experiencing the country as a backpacker...learning how to cope with, and embrace the transient lifestyle of utter freedom, bewildering novelty and solitude.

Hereby written...with the help of a few Columbian anecdotes...are my top five pieces of advice for the new backpacker to be...

Lesson #1: Make pancakes for Strangers

Toned and tattooed; the young Frenchman deftly served a stack of crepes with a bountiful selection of accoutrements...including a bowl of crushed Oreo cookies.

‘Take one man!’

Being English, I politely declined...'You're too kind...no thank you.'

Generous and perhaps experienced in the subtleties of English manners, the Frenchman insisted; 'Come on man...don't be polite, have one!'

And so I did. And so we became friends. And so I learnt the culinary masterstroke of a crushed packet of Oreo cookies...surely the finest of pancake accoutrements.

It was a valuable lesson...a valuable recipe in fact:

Pancakes* + strangers = new friends.

(*One cup of flour/one cup of milk/one egg...mix/fry/serve with accoutrements and a smile)

And when you’re alone in a hostel far from home who doesn’t need a new friend?   

In my case it was pancakes, but I’m sure there are many ways to break the ice with your fellow anonymous travel-mates; over some small act of generosity. Otherwise it’s all too easy to sit amongst each other in silent isolation, glumly gazing a smartphone screens.

Your new friend might be a veteran of the region and only too happy to share their best advice. Or else you might really hit it off and have a new companion for days or weeks to come. Either way, I believe that you receive what you give...so be generous and positive!

Lesson #2: “No dar Papaya”

1.30am and I was homeward bound from the salsa club, having witnessed various men and women move their hips in hitherton unimagined ways.

My hostel was a short walk away here in Poblado, the well-lit and well-policed upmarket neighbourhood of Medellin, where all of the backpacker hostels are based.

At the next corner I happened upon a young, immensely well-built blonde man. I recognised him from the club though now he stood frozen, gazing into the middle distance.

Interrupting his reverie, we soon struck up a happy conversation over our different paths. He, Theoretical Mathematics Professor at MIT...I an actor.

A few street corners later and it was time to part. ‘Let me take your name...I’ll add you on Facebook’. Alone on the suburban street it felt safe to take out my phone.

Alas it was not...before I had written his surname (I got his first name...Simon)...a passing moped pulled to an abrupt stop beside us. I returned my ‘papaya’ to my pocket.

A man and a woman each took off their helmets. The man aggressively advanced towards me ...the woman for Simon. Instinct took over and I ran...my hostel was less than 50 metres away. Ashamedly, I can’t say what happened to Simon...I never looked back. He was built like a brick shithouse so I think it’s safe to say he wasn’t kidnapped.

This was an attempted crime of opportunity. Had I not made the mistake of showing papaya perhaps it wouldn’t have occurred. Papaya is a valued fruit in Colombia, hence the expression ‘No dar Papaya’ to be interpreted as ‘don’t be flashing items of value and therefore attracting trouble.’

It was a very close call and a timely reminder of just how careful I ought to be. Time and again in the past weeks I’ve met others less fortunate. The lesson...stay vigilant...and then some. DON’T SHOW PAPAYA.

(I’m aware that my story contravenes the common wisdom that in a theft situation you should give up your valuables without resistance...no personal possession is worth being harmed over. I absolutely stand by that advice...my decision to run was perhaps foolish...yet alas it wasn’t a decision so much as an instinctual reflex...brave warrior that I am. Every situation is unique and you’re gonna play what you’re dealt)

Lesson #3: Escape the backpacker bubble

After weeks of bumbling along the gringo trail and ticking off the ‘must-do’ leisure activities I was ready to move into a new phase of travelling..to work, to learn, to try to get away from the tourist trail in the hope of learning something deeper of Colombian culture, something beyond the distorted membrane of the backpacker bubble.

Shortly thereafter, it was my great fortune to meet two wonderful women; yoga teachers, healers and experienced travellers...Ruth and Caitlin. (Check out their blogs by clicking on their names.)

Aside from hours of utterly enlightening conversation they furnished me with instructions to a hippy-run farmhouse, remotely nestled in the sacred Sierra Nevada mountain range. They don't advertise or take bookings...the owner’s philosophy is that you will come if you are called. I was called.

Indeed it was a special place...spiritually and artistically centred. I took it as a good omen that one of the two long term volunteers, Izzy, shared the exact same birth date and year as me.

Though perhaps the most magical element was that the household’s next-door neighbours were a large family of the indigenous Kogi tribe. The Kogis had escaped Spanish colonisation by fleeing to these mountains, thus preserving their traditions and bloodlines dating back to the pre-Columbian era.

Now on my first night I was introducing myself as several family members visited the house to watch a DVD on Izzy’s laptop! The next morning I was drafted to help on their farm...digging a large hole for a vivarium...breeding fish to feed the family.   

In the local national park, visiting tourists pay good money just to pass through and see the Kogi people. Yet there I was...shovel-in-hand-in-hole...working alongside Augustine, Santiago and Clemente...making them giggle uproariously by repeating naughty words in their native language.

I felt a special contentment surrounded by nature and a timeless way of life...Grandmother quietly digging up yukka...baby crying for attention by the mud hut...birds of prey circling overhead...mountain valley stretching out below towards the coast.  

Going forward I’ll be keen to find more moments such as that. If you want to guarantee this kind of experience in your own travels then I recommend using a volunteer placement service such as...
Work Away or WOOFING.

Get off that beaten track...connect and learn something real about the culture of where you’re visiting. As an added bonus, being surrounded by locals will likely fast track your learning of the language and the customs.

Lesson #4: Keep Calm and don’t sweat paying ‘Stupidity Tax’

I don’t know about you, but I hate that feeling of being ripped off...perhaps you’ve failed to haggle and paid too much for something or just been the victim of some kind of con. When you’re travelling on a budget and trying to be careful with your cash then this hurts all the more.

I have a little name for this kind of occurrence…’stupidity tax’. It’s a tax you as an inexperienced traveller...because in your first-time ignorance you didn’t know better.

Yes it sucks and yes you can let it spoil your day...turning it over in your mind...considering how it could have gone differently...or you can choose not to. As my close friend advised me in those moments of stress…’breathe and let it go’. Then think about what you can do differently next time.

Breathe and let go...a sunset awaits you

If you’re buying something expensive...don’t rush! If you can speak the language maybe ask a local what something should cost. Shop around and get a couple of prices for comparison. Enter into the spirit of haggling with a playful energy. Try walking away - salesmen hate losing the sale so threatening to leave is a great tactic to see if they will drop the price.

Furthermore, try to understand the value of money as a local...not as a tourist. For example consider the price of a bus ticket or the price of a basic street lunch. Yes back at home you might be happy for a sandwich, crisps and a drink for £6...and yes you will find options catering to tourists for this price bracket too. But some of the best meals I’ve had have been from local canteens...‘typico’ dishes for £3.

Lesson #5: Be a Jellyfish

I encourage you not to make plans and embrace the flow of wherever your intuition guides you. Cultivate awareness in the present moment. Embrace the idea that within every new situation lurks a lesson to be learnt...provided you can approach it with sensitivity, patience and an open heart. Adopt the attitude that each and every person is a potential teacher, having lived a lifetime of different experiences.

Trust in the way and for further info click here to read my earlier post on this subject!

Lots of love and Happy Travels!