View over Montreal from my old apartment

First of all I have to see its been one hell of a crazy 4 months. From first discovering hostel life in Los Angeles and San Francisco to traveling through every country in Central America. I’ve met so many amazing people and seen so many beautiful locations.

Lake atitlan in Guatemala

When I set out on this trip I said I wanted to experience new things and find myself and i’ve definitely had more crazy experiences in the last 2.5 months then the rest of my life combined. From spending a week living with hippies at the rainbow gathering to boarding down the side of an active volcano in leon Nicaragua. Plus there has been a shit load of partying. I don’t think i’ve ever drank and partied so much in my life as I have in the past 2 and a half months.

Me boarding down the side of the volcano

But it hasnt been all high’s there have been a lot of lows a long the way. Time’s where I have felt lonely and although I have met a lot of amazing people along the way I still haven’t found many people I really feel a connection with. Maybe that’s because at heart i’m a nerd and there aren’t many of us nerds traveling around and partying at hostels.

With 2013 now here and with my funds dwindling  (I’ve got about 2.5 months left of budget) I’ve been looking to the future on what I want to do and while I have been enjoying my travels. It has gotten pretty tiring. living in hostels with limited privacy surrounded by people who mostly want to party has taken its toll.

Partying it up in Playa Del Carmen Mexico

This is one of the reasons why that after only a week in Cartagena Colombia I made the decision to fly to Quito Ecuador. I am sick of partying and drinking. I don’t want to get to the end of my trip and just say that I partied my way across latin America. I want to do more trekking and activities with the time I have left.

Visiting glaciers on Cotopaxi volcano Ecuador

Also as I’ve been getting closer to the end of my travels I find myself missing all the things that come with having a job an apartment and remaining in one place.

• I miss having friends that stick around for more than just a few days at a time
• I miss being familar with a city and being able to easily find things I want
• I miss being able to speak the language and able to go to the store and buy something without it being a struggle trying to communicate what I want.
• I miss my daily routine and activities like going to gym,boot camp and hanging out with friends on weekends.
• And as silly as it sounds I miss work. I feel that traveling long term has made me appreciate my free time. When everyday is a holiday you dont appreciate your time off as much.
• Lastly I miss video games. It’s been over 5 months since i’ve played a proper video game. It’s pretty sad that I’m sitting here in Quito Ecuador and all I want to do is sit down in front of a computer and play some guild wars 2. (Haha I’m a Nerd)

So what does this mean for my travels? 

Well I’ll still be traveling through Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia over the next couple of months. It all depends on my budget which at this stage I have half thrown out the window because I realized that I’d rather have fun doing the things I want to do for a shorter period of time than travel for longer just for the sake of it.

After that I am still not entirely sure what I will be doing at this stage I’m thinking of trying my luck at finding a video game job somewhere in Europe or USA,Canada. Failing that I am in the process of organizing another working holiday visa for Canada and I will go there and find some work there while exploring more of what Canada has to offer.

Even if I do find myself with another full time job this won’t be the end of my travels. If this trip has done anything it has opened my eyes to the world. Travel will always be a big part of my life and just because I wont be traveling in the traditional sense of being on vacation I think that working in a new city in a new country and exploring all of the surrounding area’s on weekends will still be a lot of fun.