At the tippy top of my journey, for now, this is all theory. Those who follow me will be privy to my follies and successes.
Currently, I am in Dallas, Texas USA, about to board a bus and begin heading south. The plan is to travel all the way to the southern tip of South America with my backpack, tools of my trades and my djembe drum. It should take no less than a year.
For more details about my journey check out my previous blog,
At Breakfast With Qiqi and Noki
Spending lots of hard earned money to buy comfortable Americanized familiarities can only allow for a shallow experience
A genuine situation is to be found among the people of the community, in their homes, eating their flavors, working side-by-side, playing with their children, singing, dancing, playing their music and strolling their streets. Speaking their language is a huge bonus.
To truly travel for virtually free, first of all, one must align their expectation with the freedom experience. Great tools both within and without are essential
Flexibility - If you can be flexible and easy going then, you can do this. It is important to me, personally, to not be "high maintenance". I don't have to have many things most people believe they can't live without. By keeping an open mind and non-judgemental about my surroundings I can find the good and beauty in all. This flexible mindset creates a foundation for being exposed to priceless"off the beaten path" experiences.
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Couchsurfing - This is an awesome way to meet people and be exposed to someone knowledgeable about the area. Many hosts are very happy to have overnight guests and even offer food. Through Couchsurfing I have met other travelers with great information and other connections to share. The best way to be successful with Couchsurfing is to do the following:
- Get Verified - send in the fee so you can recieve their postcard in the mil that holds your magical verification number. It's a one time payment and it's worth it. This will boost your success with the Couchsurfing community enormously.
- Verify Your Phone and Address - Once you have these things verified you feel like a safer and serious person.
- Get references and Friends - Show that you're a real person with a real world and friends. The more the merrier. At least 5 of each will seriously boost your credibility.
- Post some photos - A minimum of 6 photos and again, the more the merrier. Please make sure the photos really show YOU. Photos where you are not really clear is not much useful and appears vague. Photos of you with many different people and obvious travel scenes are great. This raises your trust factor way up. I understand that this is even more important for men than women.
- Fill in some real and thoughtful responses in your profile - If you write a vague sentence or two about yourself that describes just about anyone you won't sound very interesting. What makes you special? Ask a friend to help you describe yourself. "Easy going, laid back..." C'mon...you can do better than that!
Once I started getting Couchsurfing commitments booked and connecting with people in my destinations then I really started getting excited about my journey.
It's happening!
A lifetime of following my heart and living outside the box has molded me into a very interesting person. As a result my Couchsurfing profile conveys this truth and therefore many people are happy to swing their door wide open for me.
I am eternally grateful to all who have and will happily host me.
Are you in Latin America and would like to host me? Let's talk.
At this time I am looking for information about travel through Mexico. Sounds like there is a potential for danger. The buses are cancelled because of fighting in some areas.