A few thoughts as I celebrate my two-year backpacking anniversary.

I could not have imagined before starting my journey two years ago that time would pass so quickly. It's interesting to ponder that today would originally have been the end of my planned 2-year trip. I believe I made the right decision a few months ago to continue travelling and living around the world as this new life is too precious to stop.

I pretty much loved my college & university years after which I was at a loss what to do. I remember working in tele-sales, which was so disheartening that a few of the team would go to the pub next door at lunch time in order to make our afternoons go more quickly. It was during one of these boozy liquid lunches, that myself and a fellow work colleague made a list of unusual jobs we may want to pursue.

I remember vividly that number one on the list was to go and work on a cruise ship, and number two was to become a flight attendant or air steward as it used to be known. In less than 3 months, as if by fate, I replied to a newspaper advertisement, was accepted and after a 5-week tough training course, I received my 'wings' as its known and became a flight attendant—traversing Europe to begin with, then as far as Australia as the airline grew its routes.

My next major calling in life was working in finance where I was fortunate to work with an amazing group of people, just as I had done during my airline days. At the same time came married life and stepfatherhood. Interestingly, when I look back, it was my ex-wife that used to question things and it was me that rarely did so as I didn't see the point.

I now find myself having created my questions website, asking bigger questions than I could ever have imagined. around

Progress has been much slower than expected, recently reaching the milestone of having 30 questions with 10 answers. The project is proving more difficult than I had imagined with each new question being deeper and taking longer to research than anticipated, usually between 4-5 days.

Writing answers in a concise fashion is also proving to be a challenge as I have to strike a balance between short attention spans, but supplying enough information to arouse further research. Having said this, I am learning a great deal covering a huge swathe of subjects and am enjoying the process immensely. I will be aiming to answer six questions every month, as well as publish 2-3 new questions—despite this plan, I probably won't be finished until the end of 2021.

In the current phase of my life, I can fortunately say that the past two years have been absolutely amazing. I have visited so many great countries and seen so many special places and more importantly, met inspiring backpackers from around the world.

People

I have met far few people on this part of my travels, partially because this part of the world is less travelled and doesn't seem to have the same traditional backpacker routes compared to Southeast Asia. Also far fewer people are travelling due to the plannedemic. Most hostels have been closed and so I had to stay in small dive hotels which invariably meant bumping into far fewer people.

Some of the people I have met include a: professional poker player, musician, spiritual healer, digital marketers, content creators, writers, students, entrepreneurs, club owners, retirees, flight attendant, human resources, patent attorney, designers, yacht captain and a number of cannabis cutters.....I didn't know such a job existed!

Celebration

I was going to book a 3-day stay at an all-inclusive hotel, but decided instead to put that money towards a nice studio apartment for a whole five weeks until the end of October. I wanted to experience what it's like living in a luxury condominium building as many expats choose to do in Southeast Asia and Mexico, this was also my first experience of using the Airbnb service.

To properly celebrate, I had breakfast at my favourite cafe and for a late lunch headed to a beach club with dinner consisting of the mandatory cocktails followed by a good meal.

Visa

During this Covid-19 outbreak, I spent all of my time in Mexico. I tried to extend my six-month visa for an additional six-months as the Mexican Government were gracious to do, free of charge under humanitarian reasons. The reality however wasn't great. My first visit to immigration office was efficient as I just needed information and was given a form. Further visits however proved painful on multiple levels to say the least, so I am at present an illegal immigrant!

2020

This year has surprised everyone, succumbing to unprecedented propoganda, chaos, violence, and worldwide change the likes of which we have not seen in living memory. So why is this, well it is a US election year; we have the continued global economic depression which was never solved during the 2008 crash and finally the Covid-19 plannedemic.

Some of you will know that I don't subscribe to the left or right side of politics as I view both as abhorrent and used as a way to divide people rather than bring people together. The same fake voting intention polls that predicted a Clinton victory in 2016 are predicting a Biden victory this time. However, my prediction is that Donald Trump will win the 2020 US election in a landslide.

Covid-19

As you can see from a close-up photo of a shirt that I purchased here in Mexico—the design is to remind me of the scam that is Covid-19 and the destruction it has caused billions of people around the world. covid-shirt

All my research points to this being a pre-planned event hence why I call it a plannedemic. Humanity has been under a psychotic official narrative which most cannot see. Smart people that can spot propoganda or a cult a mile away have not been able to see what's happening right in front of their eyes.....this is the Covidian Cult of mass conformity.

I hope that one day, all those accountable will face justice....this is one of the reasons I came to create a quote on this subject:

A castle of lies & deceit, surrounded by a moat of facts & integrity, rots away as truth seeps in. Ugo Domizioli

The WHO recently confirmed an infection fatality rate (IFR) or put simply, the death rate, of 0.14%—this is virtually the same as the seasonal flu. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) also recently issued the following survival rates at various ages: 0-19 years = 99.997%, 20-49 = 99.98%, 50-69 = 99.5% and those aged 70+ = 94.6%....this is why I refer to this as a Scamdemic. Doctors and nurses are finally speaking up about the fake science used with class action lawsuits beginning to take shape.

Health

My health for the past year has never been better. My vitamin D levels I suspect are particularly high due to all the natural sunshine I receive which I believe has helped boost my immune system against Covid-19. My weight and waistline have continued to shrink by eating less as I'm in warm climates. I'm also practicing intermittent fasting more regularly by having a big lunch and not eating again until either breakfast or lunchtime the following day.

I have also been completing my backpackers' workout more regularly as I have been living in my own apartment more so than hostels. I have at long last been able to cook in my own kitchen, my own food so this has also helped me to begin to balance my choice of foods. I still love street food and in Mexico that means tacos from independent stallholders. I can now claim two years of not falling sick from food poisoning.....come on everyone, get your teeth stuck in to some amazing street food. Fatigue has not been an issue at all this year as I am travelling far more slowly and not constantly moving every few days.

Destinations

My trip took a wrong turn when I attempted to board my flight in Rio de Janeiro to Bogotá, Colombia. I was refused boarding as I didn't have my yellow fever certificate card. With hindsight, I would have been under one of the most severe lockdown/house arrest situations in the world for over six-months, needing an official letter to go outside apart from getting essential supplies.....I guess the universe had my back, as it always does.

My favourite places on this leg of my journey include: Buenes Aires (Argentina)—known as the Paris of The Americas for it is such a beautiful city. Oaxaca (Mexico)—which has a cuteness and small town feel to it. San Cristobal (Mexico)—this hill top town I found to be extremely homely. Finally, Playa del Carmen (Mexico)—as it has a great combination of facilities including a fantastic beach and selection of restaurants and bars.

Weather

With another 365 days under my belt, the number of days of rain this past year has been around 18. A few more than last year, but this has only occurred recently when a tropical storm followed by hurricane struck the Yucatan Peninsular in quick secession and added 4 days of rain to my tally.

Costs

My average daily spend has been around the £25 mark yet again, despite staying in hotels and currently an Airbnb studio apartment. Most of the dive hotels I stayed in initially, were around the £8-9 per night mark. In Playa del Carmen, I managed to find a small studio apartment, with my own kitchen for around the £10pn.

My current posh Airbnb studio apartment in a lovely condo building with multiple swimming pools, a sauna, gym, cinema room and rooftop deck, comes to just over £20pn. pdc-condo

As I booked for over 30 days I managed to take advantage of the monthly stay discount where you can often save over 50% on the daily price. Despite spending more of my budget on accomodation, I saved money by cooking all my own food.

I've had a few people ask how much it costs me per year to live this current lifestyle. I no longer keep a tally of exactly how much I spend, as I know that short periods of above average spending end up evening out over the course of a year. If I had to put a figure on it, I would estimate that including everything would be around £1,000 per month, so £12,000 per year. If I were to look at this objectively, I'm not actually spending more than I would be in London and yet I'm getting to travel the world.

My days

During the past three months since my last trip summary, I have remained in the Yucatan Peninsular as it has been the easiest area to travel around and the most open part of Mexico. I will cover more deeply this area with my next trip summary but in the meantime, I spent some of my time on the island of Isla Mujeres and then headed back to Cancun on the mainland. The large majority of my time (3-months), has been spent in Playa del Carmen and Tulum.

My days start with coffee at my condo and then I head down to the beach by 8am, which is a mere 10-minute walk away. A very casual 2-hour walk, soaking up the mild sunshine without sun "protection" lotion gives me a great opportunity to reflect. I often have a quick swim in the ocean to cool down and then another back at the pool at my condo.

After a quick shower, I catch up with reading alternative news media covering a diverse range of subjects, and then begin writing and putting together idea outlines for future articles and researching answers for my questions website.

I have been asked, why do I have a fascination with alternative media? questions

The answer is quite simple, it gives me an alternative point of view and information that I do not receive via normal mainstream media channels. This has meant I can plot my future life direction with more certainty than before which on many levels has proven to be accurate.

I realised over ten years ago, that real journalism died many decades ago. Mainstream or traditional media channels continually fail to ask the right questions, but also create completely fake stories. 'Alt Media' as its known, has been filling a void for millions of people worldwide. Head over to my recent narratives article to see phrases and narratives used during the past few decades to shape public opinion.

Social media

I have also been asked, why I don't post more images and stories on my Facebook page and other social media platforms. There are a few reasons. Firstly I'm very conscious of the fact that most of my family & friends have been under lockdown conditions over the past 6 months whereas I have had a fairly easy time while in Mexico, being able to freely travel and live. I am also transitioning toward slow living abroad, rather than continuous travel with new daily glamorous destinations to show. Finally I don't approve of the current trend of social media censorship.

Intuition

I have mentioned before, that I try to live my life with intuition and gut feeling rather than logic. I was walking along the beach a few days ago and came across a young 2-3 year old boy that was in the water and his father was having a swim further out to sea. I came across a similar situation while I was in Southeast Asia. A mother was very far away from her son and the father was also out to sea, he started to panic and was trying to get back to shore very quickly as he was worried for the safety of his little boy. I sensed the situation and stood behind the boy. This gave his father reassurance until he came back to shore, he smiled at me to acknowledge I sensed his pain.

In another incident, I was walking along a pavement when a small child broke away from his mother and was running towards the road. I quickly crouched down and put out my arm as a barrier which stopped him in his tracks. This all happened in a split second. The mother gave me a huge smile. I remember thinking—if all my travelling amounted to just this one moment, it was worthwhile.

Future

Going forward, as I mentioned, I will be living as opposed to travelling and spending at least a month in each destination. My original Central American itinerary has gone to pot due to the Scamdemic. on-hold

As I publish this article, I am not sure of my immediate future plans but I am looking to stay in Playa del Carmen and Tulum until the end of the year as other countries have too stringent regulations for tourists, so quite simply, they're not going to get my business.

Book

After much thought and deliberation, I have decided to turn my questions website into a book. This was not my initial intention, but about a year ago a few people mentioned whether I had considered the idea. I don't envisage it to be published until sometime in late 2022 as I have a huge amount of work to do. It will be available for free in various digital formats and as a paperback book.

HOMEPAGE