The Journey Continues…

In June 2024 we quit our jobs to travel for one year. We’re now just over 7 months in and what a wild ride it has been, but not without it’s challenges.

As everything on this blog will elude to, I LOVE travelling, it is 100% my happy place, but this year I’ve had to face some new challenges with my mental health and been suffering from unexplained panic attacks and anxiety. A completely new phenomenon for me…

It’s been a slow journey to learn to accept my new found anxiety, and a steep learning curve to find ways to successfully control my panic episodes and bring them under control, and I definitely don’t feel out of the woods…. But here we are, sitting in the airport waiting to board a flight to Mexico for the second half of our journey, part anxious that the anxiety will strike (anxiety about anxiety is SO annoying) and part excited for the next adventure. I can’t tell them apart any more… But then, from a biochemical point of view, anxiety and excitement are almost identical!

We made the decision to try to continue regardless, rather than fight against it. First, because coming home didn’t seem to help! And despite having amazing support from family, the panic attacks continued 😞And, second, we decided having these feelings on a tropical island, might be better than having them in rainy Manchester 🤣

We’ve put no pressure on ourselves, yes we’d love to go everywhere we initially planned, but if we’re not feeling up to it, there’s no pressure either way. We’re taking each day as it comes and dealing with things as and when they arise, trying not to overthink or over stress about what might happen.

Acceptance and preparation (knowing what to do if I get an attack) have helped tremendously, but accepting I have anxiety over things that, just 1 year ago, I wouldn’t have bat an eyelid about, has been very difficult. I’m so grateful for the strong support network I have around me (especially Dave and my mum) and have found opening up about my mental health very easy, thanks to the non-judgemental and supporting people I have in my life. But actually most people I’ve spoken to seem to have been through almost the same or something similar, now or at some point in their life. It seems shockingly common, which is equally upsetting and reassuring… I’ve realised how lucky I was to have made it through 37 years without having a panic attack until now!

What’ve we done since the last post?

We always planned to come back home for Christmas, before heading off again, and we had some much needed family time in these last few months, including 2 months in France with my mum, which was amazing to have quality time with her, catch up properly and then fall into a nice routine of normality, enjoying the French countryside and chill vibes. Then 6 weeks at my Nan and Grandad’s, again great to spend time with them more regularly. Also visits to Dave’s family, our friends, and LOTS of Rupert-cuddles. We go away refreshed and recharged by our loved ones.

Dave was also able to pick up some hours at his old job to top-up the travel fund a bit, which has left us in great shape for the next adventure.

This next trip will take us both into completely new territory, through central and south America, new countries and new landscapes.

We are both incredibly excited, and keen to make the most of our dwindling time before we have to get back to reality once more….

Things we’re looking forward to the most:

For me, as always, it’s the wildlife and nature. I can’t wait to get back under the waves, snorkelling in the Belize barrier reef, the 2nd biggest barrier reef in the world. Also all the jungle fauna, like toucans, jaguars (omg how amazing would it be to see a jaguar), pumas, tapirs, sloths and monkeys in key national parks like Tikal (Guatemala), Corcovado (Costa Rica), Omatepe Island (Nicaragua), La Fortuna (Costa Rica), and then into the cloud forests, for hummingbirds and more toucans in places like Mindo (Ecuador) or Monteverde (Costa Rica), and then into the Amazon, perhaps in Ecuador again or Peru (Iquitos). And I’d love to take Dave to the Galapagos, there were so many things I missed last time!

For Dave he’s looking forward to the volcanoes, Acatenango in Guatemala, Cotopaxi in Ecuador and the avenue of volcanoes, La Fortuna in Costa Rica. The endless Maya ruins (Tikal, Uxmal) and then Inca monuments (Macchu Pichu). Nazca lines and the Bolivian salt flats. The sprawling cities of Medellin and Cali. And maybe seeing some boobies (blue-footed of course 😉), hummingbirds and sloths!

There’s a lot we want to do, and with a delay to our flights (we had to push back by a month due ANOTHER unexpected setback 🙄 there’s always something, isn’t there), we have less time than we initially planned…

But, positives: Everything is sorted now, storage is still all secure, the tenants have had no issues in the flat,  Rupert is in safe hands (thank you so much to Gareth, Jade and Holly for looking after him whilst we are away!), we’re packed (I’ll be doing a packing post after this one if you’re interested), and we have our first few weeks of the trip booked to give us more peace of mind and relax whilst we are here. We’re both physically fit and healthy and doing well (despite the challenges) and our family is fit and well, and really, that’s all that matters…

If there’s something that these last few months have taught me, it’s that life is always challenging, even when you think you’ve made your dream life, there’s always something more to overcome… But once you do, it makes you stronger (I hope) and gives you the encouragement to keep going, keep exploring, and not to give up on your dreams. We both want to do this, and there’s nothing that can stand in our way!

First stop, Mexico! 🥳🥳