So you're going travelling?

Upon telling people I was going to be travelling for a few years there was always similar questions that arise. Answering them became repetitive to the point that I could recite my responses without thinking.

"What about your education?"
"Aren't you scared? There's a lot of fucked up people out there!"
"Doesn't that cost a lot of money? How are you possibly funding this?"

There's more but you get the point.

Anytime someone decides to do something against the societal grain they are almost always met with long confused looks, being told it's not possible, named irresponsible or a combination of all three with a touch of anger. It's inevitable that you will have multiple conversations with closeminded people telling you how to live your life by their standards. But you know what? It's not their life. Not everybody has the same definition of a life well lived so in the end you've got to so what's right for you.

"What about your education?"
Oh you mean that cookie cutter institution I'm supposed to pay for when I'm 18 and haven't got a clue what career I want? That box that puts me in debt where I sit in a classroom learning from studying papers and books all taught by people who most likely learned in the same way? Why simply read about Pol Pots regime in Cambodia when I can go there and explore the history on my own terms? Or how about the troubles in Northern Ireland? What's better than exploring war sites such as the battles of Moscow, Gazala, Brittany or the bulge with your own senses? Walk the grounds that history took place upon, it is much more satisfying than running your hands through that textbook. Travel expands the mind in ways that a classroom just can't do. I'm not saying that furthering your education is a bad thing but don't be that guy that spends their whole life in a classroom because you thought that it was what you were supposed to do. It's not for me, at least not right now.
Don't forget to travel! See the world! Get lost in a strange city! Eat crazy street food! Do whatever your heart beckons.

"Aren't you scared? There's a lot of fucked up people out there!"
If I said I wasn't a little scared I'd be lying but that's half the fun! You can't live your whole life in a bubble of safety, it's just not satisfying. And surprise! There's a lot of fucked up people everywhere! Travelling requires a healthy amount of common sense, the kind that tells you not to get into the candy van but jumping on the back of a strangers Vespa sounds entertaining. It's all about having a balance. The media makes the world out to be a terrifying place sometimes but that's because it makes better news. It doesn't mean I'm going to go waltzing into Iraq right now but being properly informed about the country you're going to is usually all you need to know how to avoid sticky situations there.
Fear is something to be faced not something to curl into the fetal position vowing never to leave your house over. Taking yourself out of your comfort zone will open an endless amount of possibilities, strange circumstances, meeting amazing people and finding yourself curious about the world around you. You've just got to cut away.

"Doesn't that cost a lot of money? How are you possibly funding this?"
Yes and no. My biggest expense in transportation. Flights, buses, trains, carpooling, etc... Once I get to my destination I use the wonderful world of workaway to live in the culture allowing me to save money and prolong my travelling. Travel doesn't have to be expensive if you travel smart. Make communal meals in hostels to cut costs, learn how to navigate around for cheaper flights and trains, utilize sites like workaway and helpx that allow you to live and work with people around the world in exchange for meals and a bed. It takes practice but eventually you learn to budget your everyday activities. You also learn to enjoy repetitive meals of stirfry because it was cheap and saved you $5.
As far as funding, I made travel my priority. The 6 months of skydiving was sort of a lull in saving for me because I fell in love with the sport but that's another story. If you make something your priority and invest a bulk of your time and money into it you will be surprised at how easy it is to achieve your goal.

There's also positive feedback when talking about travel. Talking to people about this trip was met with feedback as mentioned above but also curiousity and inspiration. Many people said I was doing the right thing, not that I needed validation, but it's good to talk to people who have that open mindset. I've received many messages since being gone from people saying they wish they would have done this when they were my age, talking about the flawed education system and that I'm brave to throw myself into the world. In traveling and being willing to share my experiences I've inadvertently inspired my Mom to take a chance and follow her dream of traveling to Ireland. She's always wanted to go but has always put something else first, now she's headed to her dream destination and is going there with no set plans. She is going head first into travel and I'm sure it will reward her with ups and downs but in the end it will be unforgettable and perception changing; as travel always is.

So why do I travel? I suppose I've never been the person to conform to societies desires. I have always wanted more out of life than what was fed to me throughout my 12 years in the education system. I always asked why I had to follow others expectations and realities of what life was supposed to be. After high school I didn't know what to do with my life even though I always thought I would. I was in a bit of a slump and a great mentor told me that I should go travelling. In that moment, it made perfect sense. Within 4 months I'd saved $4300, bought my ticket and was headed to Europe. Those 6 months changed me. My perspective on life took a 180 and I allowed the magic of travel to form my experiences. It altered my perception of the world, for the better, and is a trip that I wouldn't change. Now, 3 years later, I'm travelling again. This trip is a big one! But it is again something that just made sense. I'm tearing away the societal constraints from my soul and opening my mind to everything that travel has to offer.

If you've ever though of travelling, make it a priority and do it! It will never be the wrong answer. 

Iceland is Scary!

I arrived in Iceland early Saturday morning and headed into Reykjavik to explore the city. My bus to Stykkisholmur wasn't until 17:00 that evening so I was stuck with my pack all day as well. First thing I noticed about Reykjavik, was the insane amount of tourists. All I saw for the first 4 hours was people with cameras and backpacks; the tourism industry seems to be getting a nice boost with these cheap flights!  I stopped in a few cafes and enjoyed some traditional Icelandic moss tea, which is delicious in case you're wondering... Then I made my way to the bus stop across the city to head northwest. 

Fast forward 3 hours and I'm in Stykkisholmur! A small town of around 1000 people, none of which were out to point me towards a hostel. In fact, I had no idea if there even was a hostel in this town. I was fully prepared to start pushing shed doors open to find a place to sleep. And although I was really looking forward to getting hypothermia, I found a hostel on the harbour! There was 2 others waiting inside to book a room and we hit it off. A French girl, Charlotte, and an American guy, Ben, that had rented a car from Reykjavik and headed for a roadtrip! They fed me because I also had nothing to eat but some crackers and we talked until 1. In all this talking they agreed to drive me up west to a couchsurfers I was supposed to stay with!

And the roadtrip begins! We left at 11 and stopped for gas. Sidenote: gas prices here are insane! It's 249 ISK to the litre, which works out to about $2.46 Canadian. I damn near choked on my crackers. Anyway, we drove through the winding fjords all day, stopping whenever we felt like it to take pictures. The fjords are beautiful.

So raw and powerful. Each fjord was unique in the way it cut the water and rose up. Winding roads, blue skies and blinding snowstorms. They've got it all at once. We were driving along at one point and the weather was flawless. And then you just see this wall of snow and when you hit it you were basically punched in the face ... Seriously, uppercut to the jaw and then headbutt to the teeth, left to bleed out on the side of the road. Until 30 seconds later you open your eyes and it's blue skies again. Iceland has the weather of a bipolar schizophrenic.

Mental disorders aside, the blatant raw beauty of Iceland's Westfjords is a spectacle that needs to be seen. So after being repeatedly punched in the face and almost running out of gas we were enroute to a couchsurfers house to drop Charlotte off.

He was kind enough to invite us in for coffee and conversation before we headed off. We arrived back in Reykjavik just before midnight, just in time to find a hostel! Although sleep wasn't on our schedule. We were on the hunt for some grossly overpriced beer to cap the night off. Alcohol in Iceland is taxed very high, similar to the other nordic countries. It's usually about 900 ISK for a beer (same size as a bottle in a Canadian bar) which equates to roughly $8.85 Canadian. Happy hour here is the same as simply going to the bar back home. We met up with Mariusz, a Polish guy from the hostel, grabbed a beer and chatted. We went to the harbour to try and find the northern lights but with no luck. On our way back to the hostel we saw two folks standing outside their hotel and decided in our little stupor that we were going to start a conversation. It worked out surprisingly well as they invited us inside the lobby to drink! A Scottish fellow, Ian, and a New Yorker, insert name here. We stayed until 5AM drinking terrible beer; enjoying brilliant company. Ian thanked us for reminding him of his youth and insert name here belligerently talked about Amuricah and subliminally whispered Edmonton Skydive into the discussion.

The following day Ben, Mariusz and I drove Southeast past the infamous Blue Lagoon, to the Ocean, made a quick stop at a waterfall and then to Eyjafjallajökull (the volcano that erupted about 3 years ago).

We went ghetto for lunch and bought some cream cheese and flatbread to snack on... Mariousz was our server from the backseat and prepared them with Ben's defunkt credit card. We then froze our respective asses off waiting for the Northern Lights to appear. Obviously, being in Canada, I've seen them before but they were spectacular regardless and quite fun to photograph. Also, being with people who have never seen them was the best part of it all.

After we couldn't feel our hands we started on the drive back to Reykjavik. We made pesto and had wine to end the day, all for free thanks to Downtown Hostel, and went out for one more look for the Northern Lights. They weren't there... All we got was crushed hopes and numb faces. We called it a night with one more beer at the hostel.

Mariusz left us the next day. He ate his oatmeal alone, drinking his tears and milk because neither Ben or I had the decency to join him. We spent the day wandering around Reyjavik, drinking moss tea, eating lamb pete/meat soup, a Bill Clinton hotdog and hitting up a geothermal pool. Which was brilliant but confusing. Your body is insanely warm, but because they're outside, your face is insanely cold. But the water is wonderfully blue! After the relaxing hour in the warmth we followed our livers advice and searched for a happy hour. After some searching, we found The Dubliner. Amazing place! We stayed for 4 hours chatting with the bartender, Thor, and two regulars. The Bartender and I generally spoke about how much working for the man is a load of crap, some Icelandic economics and skydiving. Which is always a welcoming conversation to me :) At lockout we got a free beer and ran into a group of other travellers who were blindly drunk so we were instantly BFFs. We walked around looking for another bar open but had absolutely no luck. After exchanging information, we were on our way, but not before running into some Germans and giving them a slightly intoxicating tour of Reyjavik. Which may or may not have included letting ourselves onto a large boat on the harbour. We called it a night shortly after 4AM and Where I laid in bed for about 5 minutes before getting up, packing my bag and heading to the bus station for my flight. I donated my winter coat there because, well, Italy. Simple as that.

The bus ride consisted of me smiling a lot, random naps and remembering the amazing way that travelling opens you up to endless opportunity. I wasn't going to write everything out in so much detail but I wanted to illustrate how travelling somewhere with almost no plans can evolve into a great experience. My plans fell through on day two but due to the spontaneity and kindness of other travellers and Icelandics my 4 days were packed with amazing company and experiences. The Icelandic people are all extremely warm hearted and are a prime example of generosity of the human spirit. They were all willing to open their doors and hearts to travellers that needed a hand. So for those of you thinking that travel is scary? Don't. Things won't always go your way but learning to roll with what does land at your feet with make for a great experience regardless of what your expectations may or may not have been.

Oh! I amost forgot... bring gloves.