Welcome to Gypsy Wednesday! Every Wednesday, I strive to highlight all the juicy morsels related to travel and beyond.
Night was not only still in St. Clair, but hypnotic. Breeze ruffled the sleepy leaves hanging lazily on the trees. Homemade mojitos quenched the July heat, as we waited for the propane barbecue to fire up — tuna burgers and marinated prawns a
succulent aspect of the night’s menu. Endings were a tiny particle, far, far away.
My stay in Toronto was annotated by evenings spent on my friend’s expansive balcony.
We talked India (he’s been there twice) and hitting the travel wall.
“I wouldn’t go for 8 months ever again. It was too long. By the end I was just exhausted,” said Kori.
HIs statement got me thinking as did Nomadic Matt’s article on the subject.
Since I’m only two months in, I can’t imagine slowing down. Immersed in the honeymoon stage, I’m ready to pledge my loyalty in sickness or health without qualms.
However, everyone that lives and breathes in my life forewarns – I will get sick of it. Long for home.
Here’s the thing, I don’t really have one. Whether that marks me as nuts or a trailblazer will be determined later. My mom is convalescencing in a nursing home and my dad is retired, hasn’t been part of my life for years.
The advantage that some travelers have is knowing their ancestral home is available, their parents a tangible concept – a compartmentalized place to energize, rebuild again.
So, I question and question. Will I? By 6 months past, find myself hankering for permanency or stake my claim back in Canada.
I don’t know for certain, but intution tells me there’s no turning back and I can’t see wanting to.
There’s always been a restless yearning in me, a voice questioning whether I belong in Canada at all. Nomadic Matt’s stance is long-term travel has a natural end. One day I must pull up sticks and drop a permanent pin on Google Maps.
Let’s posit you relate to my story, that perhaps, you too, are in search of something, a radically new realization of home, a full self even.
1. Take breaks. Grab a breather, hopping tourist sites is certainly part of the experience, but only a sliver of the sum. And a hectic schedule will ensure burn-out. My breaks can be up to 2 days – basically doing nothing. Such is the concept of slow travel.
2. Re-focus. The happening architecture, travel hook-ups, alien food is all fascinating, but keep on track with your goals. Mine have turned into dual purpose: is there permanency in a foreign land for me, and damn girl – you’ve got some personal work to do. It’s extremely easy to lose sight of why you needed to leave the cubicle.
3. Crack that creativity. Exposure to unknown lands and cultures is the key you need to open any repressed creativity, and makes us smarter. It’s proven. A sound reason to continue exploring. Travel on the brain.
4. I hit it. This is my fear. My weak suggestion is to stop for a few months. Find a cheap, but clean flat in Thailand or Argentina. Dawdle for days at a time. Gather the whys, hows. Travel, although alluring in itself, should have some purpose for you. A purpose will fuel the stressful, trying times.
Throughout the chaos and excitement of travel, don’t forget that you are the center of it all. Digital nomads and travel as a lifestyle can have a permanency – YOU.
Have you ever hit the wall? What did you do when it happened?
Photo: Kusine
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@RenegadePilgrim – Thanks so much for your comment, it wasn’t long winded at all. Everything you wrote makes sense. Thailand can be a little tiring, but India will be worse! That’s why it’s my first stop. :)
I’ve been traveling for four months, have a little under three weeks to go. I hit the wall when I arrived in Thailand a few weeks ago. It didn’t help that I was getting scammed left and right while in Bangkok and Ban Kruit, so I headed north to Chiang Mai for what I thought would be a few days, then go to Cambodia. I am having such a good time in Chiang Mai, I have stayed for two weeks. I also noticed that once I hit my wall I stopped blogging (I really, really need to update my blog!) and pretty much have been pacing myself, not doing too much and only doing activities when I feel like it. It’s been nice to stay somewhere for a while and just chill out. I feel like it’s the calm before the storm, because I know that the life I am living on the road is going to come to a grinding halt when I get home, so I am taking the time to relax and start to prepare myself to reintegrate into American society after having been in quite a few distinct cultures over the past few months. Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so long-winded, but I think just take each day as it comes and if you have a day where you don’t feel like doing anything, don’t! Listen to your body and take time to just “be”.
@Sabina – Alas! Maybe my weak suggestion is another man or woman’s goldmine. Trust me, if I hit it – you will hear about it. :)
@Lily – Great universal advice. There really is a freedom that hard core travelers can miss. Don’t set your life by a set schedule, go with instincts and desires. :)
@Audrey – @Audrey – Thanks for sounding in as well. And maybe that’s the key, you just have to get through it/over it. The graph and one bus ride was a nice summation of how the wall hits you.
@ayngelina – Sounds like a smart plan, you’ve got to listen to yourself and not push because of some marathon need to fit it all in. Good luck with the volunteering stint!
@Michael Tyson – You make a valid point. It’s a shifting of priorities, and as you say – friends/family, those people who know you well, are closest, will take precedence. And I love these philosophies pouring forth. A cyclical type of travel makes perfect sense. Thanks for contributing to this discussion!
@Michael Hodson – A few words from the wise. I like your cult and think I’ll join it! Wine & beer is included, right??
@Andi – Hi gorgeous! I think that’s what I’m hoping will dawn on me. Hopefully, the country finds me. :)
I really like this post, Jeannie. It’s relevant for so many – or most – or all – long-term travelers. I don’t think your solution for “I hit it” is a weak suggestion. If you do settle in somewhere for a few months, it will allow you to explore on a different level and to actually integrate, which will allow you to learn about and understand whereever you are far better than just spending a day or a week. I hope you don’t hit it, though, since you’re hoping not to.
I say – cross that bridge when/if you come to it. Yes its good to be aware that you might have times of stress or fatigue, as we all do in everyday life, but you have the freedom to go with the flow, travel fast, or slow depending on your mood and interest and stop to smell the roses & recharge when you need to, hence you dont need to hit any walls at all! The delightful thing you have in your favour is that you are not dependent or having to respect anyone else’s needs/desires/timetables; this positively obliterates many stresses! You lucky gal!
I wrote about this last year when I hit the travel wall in El Salvador (http://www.uncorneredmarket.com/2009/06/hitting-the-travel-wall/). I do think that moving slowly and taking breaks in places do help to prevent burn-out. But, there is also something to the idea of where you travel and choosing to spend time in different types of places.
We spent 18 months in Asia and didn’t really get burnt out. True, it was at the beginning of the trip, but the fantastic thing about Asia is that when you cross a border you are usually faced with a different culture, language, and cuisine. In Central America, each country had it’s differences but there were a lot of similarities and after 4 months I hit a culture shock wall – all that had been fun and different at the arrival in Central America started to annoy me.
When I hit the wall in El Salvador, I didn’t think to stop traveling. It was just something I needed to get over and move on. I think it’s part of the process.
At only four months I think I’m starting to hit it. I’ve decided once I get to Peru I’m going to look for a volunteer opportunity and stay there a while as I’m feeling a little transient.
Like Erin, we’re travelling slowly – I’m not even sure the wall exists if you travel slow enough! We find that we go through cycles. We’ll travel for a few months and then our respective projects begin calling us so we’ll settle down for a few weeks or months and do a bit of work. Inevitably the feet get itchy again and we’re off! I think it’s just a natural cycle. I don’t even particularly prefer one over the other – I love what I do so I even look forward to the “work” stage.
I certainly haven’t hit “the wall” but I have come to envisage a time when I might want to stop. This has really only cropped up recently. The thought of settling back in Melbourne, Australia used to make me shudder. However, travel has made me appreciate my friends and family and one day, seeing them each week will be more important than seeing Europe.
Totally hit it. Multiple times. Is just a part of long travel. Breaks are important (also important for not getting sick). Being flexible with your plans. Enjoying your own company — sometimes for extended periods of time — is vital.
Like most travel things, it isn’t something to be feared. A little “wall depression” was sometimes just the thing to waken my creative juices again. And after a little rest and perhaps some wine and beer…. ready to go again.
You know what else could happen? You could fall in love with a country and want to stay there!!!
@Erin – Great advice to all of us, and that might be my plan as well. If someone will rent a mouthy, Canadian gringo an apartment that is. :)
@Gray – Lovely, eloquent way to say it. YES! :)
@Shane – Dude, that does sound ridiculous, but it’s true ain’t it?
@SpunkyGirl – I hope so.. that is, practice what I preach. Wow, I think what’s happened for you was the right thing. The only. :)
We are putting off the wall by travelling very slowly. We left the UK 6 months ago and only 2 months has been spent travelling around. We rented an apartment in Buenos Aires in 2 months to study Spanish and now we are housesitting in Salta. I am ready to hit the road again now – staying put for a while rekindles your desire to explore.
Perhaps the reason your friend got burned out was the physical act of having to move on every little while, learning a new city, making new friends, constantly starting over. I can see that being exhausting after awhile. He may have had a place to “come home” to, but even if you don’t, you may find you want to settle down somewhere long-term after awhile. The beauty is, after so much travel, you’ll have a better idea of where is the best fit for you.
It sounds ridiculous but sometimes you need a holiday from the holiday.
I’ve hit the waiting wall. I have a 4-6 week lull before I leave for my trip. 2 weeks in and I’m crawling the walls!! haha
I think we all hit travel walls and you give some good points as to how one can overcome them.
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