Introductions and What is Vagabonding?

Preparing for a Solo Travel Adventure

Dear Friends,

It feels incredible that it is finally time to take this big jump and begin this adventure. As I write this first post, I sit in my apartment in Salt Lake City, surrounded by boxes and clusters of furniture, feeling a potent mixture of anxious anticipation and excitement. Over the last four weeks I have quit my job, sold belongings, said goodbyes to coworkers and friends, packed my travel backpack, and spent some final hours in the mountains that have brought me so much joy over the last 2+ years.

Goodbyes are hard, especially at your Dinosaurs v. Asteroids themed going away party!

In 2 days I will be driving a car full of my belongings from Salt Lake City back to Massachusetts, stopping to see national parks and friends along the way. Then, after a week of R&R at home with family, I’ll be flying from Boston to Medellin, Colombia to start a solo backpacking, or as I like to call it, vagabonding experience. I could be gone for a few months or a year plus, I could see one country or twenty, at this point I just don't know where the forces of fate will guide me! Venturing out into this unknown is a simultaneously wonderful and terrifying experience.

But let me back up here and give you some background... you might be wondering who is this guy? What is he doing? And why is he doing this?

About Me

I’m a 20-something living in Salt Lake City, Utah, originally from Rhode Island. I’ve been in Utah for the last two-plus years working a remote job, skiing, climbing, and spending (some) weekends camping on public lands. I love my life here, as I’ve grown into many great friendships and enjoyed living close to the mountains.

But I also have this deeply powerful gut feeling that there’s so much more I could be doing and experiencing during this time of my life, while I’m still young, single, and unburdened with kids or long-term responsibilities. At 27, looking towards my 30s, I suddenly realize that the freedom I enjoy now wont be around forever. I could get invested in work, have a health scare, meet someone special, and maybe even have dogs or kids eventually.

That all sounds great (except the health scare), but I know once I go down that road I’ll be tied up for a while and it will feel harder to go on a trip like this, more difficult to break away from responsibilities, maybe I wont even be interested in this type of thing anymore, who knows?

Planting the Seeds of Wanderlust

I haven't always valued travel or viewed life in this way. In high school and most of my college years I was very focused on building a career - that was the golden place to get to. When I could be financially independent, live and work in a New York or Chicago, become the big brass, and work until I dropped dead.

When I moved to Boston after graduation in the summer of 2019 to start my first job I was filled with anticipation. My Dad worked in Boston at the end of his career and I have fond memories of running down the platform as his train pulled into the Providence or Westerly station. One day he took me into the office with him and I remember my excitement seeing the Boston skyline, taking a train to work, and walking past grown-ups wearing suits and carrying briefcases. I also remember sitting next to him in his cubicle and feeling extremely bored (great foreshadowing)!

In short: I couldn't wait to live and work a job in beautiful historic Boston.

When I showed up for that childhood goal 2 months after my college graduation, I quickly settled into the routine of the 9-5, going to the gym with my roommate Knight, and either going home for the weekend or staying in town to go out to bars and restaurants. When I lost my job only 6 months in due to a corporate merger, I remember being heartbroken and telling my coworkers about my new job search over lunch. Then, in what I would later view as a defining moment, an older colleague interrupted me:

“You know you don't have to get a job right? How old are you, 23? I traveled all over the world in my 20s and didn't get a “real job” until later on. You’ve got the rest of your life to sit behind a desk, why do you need to do it now?”

Immediately I felt a punch in my gut, the kind you get when you sit motionless as you watch the person of your dreams walk past you and you know that if you don't stop them and ask for the time you’ll regret that missed opportunity later. The kind you get when you realize the childhood fantasy of running away to go on adventures might actually be possible and that if you don't pursue it right now you’ll be woulda coulda shoulda-ing for a long time.

But did I decide to end my job-search and start planning a trip on that autumn day sitting at a restaurant in Boston’s North End?

No. Of course I didn’t.

I ignored the twinge in my gut and got another job, this one better paying and much more interesting than the first. I went headlong into it all, learning about the energy industry and getting versed in the lingo and the culture. Then Covid hit and we settled into an anxious time for 2+ years. The pandemic reminded me, as it did many, that we can't take life or health, or our ability to travel and meet people for granted. Desperate for a change, I moved out to Utah in January 2021 and quickly fell in love with both the place and a person! Two and a half years later, I can say my years in Utah have been the best ones yet. I’ve made great friends, skied and climbed stunning mountains, and gotten to know myself a lot better.

On the summit of Mount Timpanogos

But this twinge in my gut from the business lunch conversation in Boston four years ago has not faded and has instead grown stronger and louder. The longer I wait, the longer I realize that this trip has a strong grip on my heart. As much as I’ve tried to talk myself out of it, or replace thinking about it with work, romance, and hobbies, I owe it to myself and all who have helped me get here to do this adventure to the absolute maximum that I possibly can. Even if it isn't exactly what I’m hoping for, at least I’ll know I gave it my best shot.

The Plan - Vagabonding

So what AM I hoping for? What is the plan? What is my goal here?

Well, its hard to be very specific, because honestly I don't have a plan per se. I don't have a set itinerary or list of specific sites that I have been dying to see. What I want to accomplish here might best be described by Rolf Potts in his book Vagabonding, An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel, a book I highly recommend and plan to be referencing a lot in future blog posts.

Potts says Vagabonding is not only a form of long-term travel but is also a mindset and approach to living by “using the prosperity and possibility of the information age to increase your personal options instead of your personal possessions” and that it’s taking a “friendly interest in people, places, and things that makes a person an explorer in the truest, most vivid sense of the word.”

This free-form approach usually involves staying in hostels in an effort to make new friends, seeing and doing as much as possible on a budget, and having enough time and open-mindedness to enjoy spontaneous experiences that arise from spending enough time in a place. Based on my experiences so far, solo vagabonding is the best way to travel, as you make friends along the way and can plan the trip as you go. This sounds pretty scary at first, especially for people like me who are natural over-planners. But through a few previous travel experiences, I’ve learned that by going into a new place with no expectations and no hard plans, I always end up being open to learning and connecting in new ways. Some of my favorite trips so far have included:

1. Renting cars and driving the scenic “Garden Route” along the southern coast of South Africa, from Cape Town to Jeffreys Bay with Anthony, Logan, Anna, Charlotte, Ben, and Ellie from the US (September 2017)

2. Making a spur of the moment decision to take a solo weekend vacation from my semester abroad program in Cape Town, South Africa, and flying to Windhoek, Namibia to visit Etosha National Park (November, 2017)

3. Searching for the Loch Ness monster and falling in love with highland cows and sheepdogs in Scotland with my family, Clare, Ann, and John! (June, 2018)

4. Trying to hike up Volcan Pichincha the morning after getting into Quito (ignoring many recommendations to acclimate first), getting altitude sickness, and using coca leaf remedies to feel better (I know what you’re thinking, not THAT kind of coca)(January 2020)

5. Singing Adele karaoke in a nightclub in Banos de Agua Santa, Ecuador with Alma and Lior from Israel (January 2020)

6. Spending a day searching for the best empanadas in Quito with Ben from Iran and Hamza from Yemen (January 2020)

7. Drinking cervezas and delicious horchata and going salsa dancing in Oaxaca de Juarez with Victor from Mexico and Marie-Alice from the Netherlands (April 2022)

8. Walking through the historic Centro neighborhood of Mexico City on my first night in Mexico, sampling the best street tacos I've ever had (March 2022)

9. Getting lost on mopeds and finding a secret beach in Puerto Escondido with Huw from London (April 2022)

Most, if not all of these experiences arose from having lots of free unstructured time in a new place. A trip becomes more spontaneous when it is free form in this way, and thus allows the traveler to view the world through a child-like lens again.

Coming Up Next on Ten Minute Ticket!

So now you know my approach to this trip. I hope to use this platform to test and make sense of these vagabonding theories as I put them into action, and in doing so I can keep in touch with all of you! I plan to post every other week on average, but knowing me timing of posts will not be too consistent. To keep you all in the loop, I've started a newsletter that will email you every time I post!

If you haven't signed up for that yet you can do so on the Home Page of this site, or just shoot me a message!

And a Quick Thank You

I should get back to packing, but before I do, I want to shoutout and say thank you to all of the friends and family who have helped me think through and process this dream over the last 4+ years. You know who you are! I know I talked a lot and unloaded a lot of anxiety and uncertainty on you in the process.

Some of you shared your own long-term travel stories and reminded me that it's going be ok.

Some of you had no idea what I was talking about but told me to send it anyway.

Regardless, you all inspired me. I want you to know that you rock and I wouldn't be here without you!

Here’s to you, dear reader, and all the unplanned adventures right around the corner!

Much love,

Charlie