Quality people can be found in the most unexpected places. With keeping an open mind despite your possibly less than ideal surroundings, you may just find someone worth knowing. This is exactly how we met Dougie. As Kira and I were still absorbing the situation we had volunteered ourselves for (not yet at the stage of laughing about it), a conversation sparked up with what appeared at first to be just another traveller. It did not take long to realize that Dougie was a genuine person. It took some time to learn of his very interesting travel history because he was more interesting in learning about ours. Kind and humble are the first words that come to mind when thinking of my first impression of Dougie. After speaking with him more over the course of the next 24 hours, we also found him to be very experienced, honest, and insightful, which you will soon discover for yourself. It was a pleasure to have met Dougie and we sincerely hope that we maintain contact over the years.

Where are you from?
I’m from the United States. I was born in Washington DC but then my Italian mom moved us over to Europe. I lived between school in London and holidays with my mom in Rome eventually coming back to the US for college.

How long have you been travelling for?
I try to make a multi-month trip every 2 or 3 years. Each time I do a lot of writing and this time I’m traveling for just under 3 months, writing a travel and history mashup.

What inspired you to start travelling?
I think that growing up around the place gave me a love of different cultures and also some solid training for how to just be dropped in an unfamiliar place, to make friends and just make it work! My first solo trips started in my late teens when I began road trips across the US from college in Rhode Island to California for summer vacation. After that I really started wanting to explore the rest of the world.

Tell us about your current recent trip?
Being that Central America is so close to the United States I really wanted to finally put some time into exploring it. I decided to mostly focus on Guatemala and Nicaragua this time, with small journeys into Belize and Costa Rica just to get their feeling.

What does a typical day of travel look like for you?
I like to have a healthy balance of social time, alone time, adventure time and chill time, when I can catch my breath and work on some creative projects. In general, unless I’m in quick exploration mode or it’s just a stopover, I like to stay in any one place for a week at least so I can establish a routine and feel it out. It’s important for me to stay healthy so I like to cook for myself whenever I can and have a place to do yoga. I love to write so a private area to gather my thoughts and get away from distractions is great. I’m a total social butterfly and can easily become tempted by social situations and get distracted buy all the fun stuff that travelers are often getting up to. So it’s also really important for me to factor in some alone time when I need to. There are days when I like to cocoon and not even leave the place that I’m staying in …and other days where I want to hike all the mountains, surf all the waves and do all the things! But I always find that I feel better when I don’t deviate to far from my daily routine.

What is your favourite and least favourite part of travelling?
One of my favorite parts of traveling is the continuous potential for self growth. Traveling can bring up a lot in everyone, and remaining open to the lessons that each experience can teach us is a great thing. This often means being flexible with your expectations and tolerant towards things that may be different from how you are used to them. Being able to witness how other cultures live can give us great insight into our own behavior. Sometimes we realize our lives are great as they are, while other times we can learn a whole new way of doing things. And then, how we return to our old lives, is where the rubber really meets the road. Do we fall back into our old habits or do we incorporate our new revelations and understanding into our everyday lives?

My least favorite part of traveling, besides the occasional stomach bug or parasite, is having to constantly feel like I’m saying goodbye to all the wonderful new friends I met along the way. There are these beautiful moments when we find ourselves a little slice of family …but travelers are ephemeral beings and inevitably we move on often going separate ways on separate timetables. Occasionally I’m left wondering what could have been had we spent more time together, and a piece of my heart leaves with them. But before you know it, if you remain open instead of dwelling on what your missing, you’re suddenly surrounded by wonderful new people. In fact this whole cycle happens with such regularity that it is a great practice for being able to swiftly connect… while not becoming overly attached.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced while travelling?
Of course I’ve been robbed a few times, I’ve been short-changed and given counterfeit money, I got a really horrible intestinal parasite in the Himalayas but all that stuff is par for the course if you travel for long enough in the more rugged parts of the world. And eventually you get better at avoiding those situations anyway. In my earlier days, especially when traveling solo, I would sometimes get lonely, which could then send me in a spiral and lead me to feeling rejected, or like an outsider looking in. Once in a while that old feeling still creeps in but these days I just throw myself into the mix and that seems to work out pretty well.

I guess my biggest challenge these days is trying to figure out how I can best share my experiences with my friends, family and the world so they can not only know what I’m up to but maybe even glean a little benefit from my travels. I’ve always written books worth of journals during each of my trips but never shared my writing with anybody in any real formal way. I think that will change after this trip, I’m really excited about telling this story.

Travelling can take a toll – mentally, physically, spiritually – how do you get passed the hard days?
When the hard days come up, as they always do, I just remind myself that just yesterday I was feeling awesome and I’ll probably be feeling just as awesome in another day or two. I also remember not to judge the whole experience based on how I feel on a dark day! Instead I find that those days are great for giving myself some extra love. Maybe getting a massage or just chilling, reading, eating something delicious or watching a movie. We don’t need to further beat ourselves up when we’re not feeling great! Certainly exercise, meditation and journaling always help me. Reaching out to some loved ones to tell them how much I care about them. Being grateful for what I have instead of dwelling on what I don’t. Ultimately I know that while the current situation might be uncomfortable, it’s going to pass.

How do you make it work financially? (ie. did you save for the trip, are you working? living on a budget,etc?)
I used to design websites and do graphic design on my travels. Sometimes I spent so much time on my laptop that I barely explored the places I was traveling through! Eventually I realized that living through a computer wasn’t the way I wanted to experience the world so I quit my job and these days I’m traveling on savings while at the same time figuring out a way that I’ll be able go on adventures and actually make a living from it! Right now I’ve got a few ideas. Besides the seam of being a successful writer I love taking people into nature. I already help run a wilderness retreat center back in Oregon so becoming some sort of Adventure Guide sounds like it could be a lot of fun. I’m also considering creating a healthy hostel / community project somewhere, very possibly in Central America after this amazing trip.

Aside from the basics (money, passport, backpack), what are 3 items you can’t live without?
SMART PHONE with cheap international data plan! So unbelievably useful that I never miss my laptop. Although I’m not doing much work these days that requires a laptop so that makes it easier. I use dictation a lot for note taking. 😜
INSULATED THERMOS keeps drinks hot or cold, acts as a resume water bottle too. A surprisingly pleasurable little item!
YOGA MAT! Gotta stay healthy if I want to keep traveling into my old age!
HONORABLE MENTIONS: slim Gerber pocket knife, tiny Petzl headlamp and Earplugs for snorers in dorms!

What is your favourite place you have travelled to and why?
It used to be Thailand and Southeast Asia in general but now I’m really feeling that Central America is top of my list and Nicaragua in particular has been very special for me. I love the diversity of what I’ve seen so far in the different towns, islands, lakes and countryside. People are friendly, the food is good, the roads are decent, money goes a long way and it’s a lot closer to my home then Southeast Asia! Of course it doesn’t have $5 Thai massages on every corner but no place is perfect. My current plan when I go home is to start learning Spanish and maybe come down again next winter, look for a small piece of land and to build something awesome.

What is your least favourite place you have travelled to and why?
Parts of China bothered me. It often felt quite repressed and conservative for my liking and I didn’t feel like they put much value on individualism. I also didn’t love parts of Malaysia because I felt there were aspects of Islam that also felt repressive, in particular having to wear or not wear certain things and issues with public display of affection.

Have you been anywhere which turned out to be totally different to how you imagined? If so, how?
Not really that I can think of. I love to read and research places before I get there. I really didn’t like Belize very much, but the weather was terrible when I was there.

What makes travelling successful to you?
For me traveling is all about how we evolve during our trip. If we allow ourselves to be open to the new experiences (and not just drink, eat and party the entire time … which don’t get me wrong I used to do a lot in my younger years!) then we can return as changed people. And the way we return is just as important as the journey itself. What old behaviors do you want to let go of? What new behaviors do you want to bring back? How do you want the new version of you to be?

What do you think the biggest misconception is about travelling?
Without a doubt the biggest misconception across cultures is how unsafe the world is. People, especially nontravelers, are often so fearful about the lack of safety in other countries. After all, that’s often the very fear that keeps them at home.. Of course we need to keep our wits about us, have our shit together and not do things that people suggest we don’t do. But for the most part I’ve been constantly bowled over by how friendly almost everybody is in most of the places I’ve visited. Sure you get some assholes but you get those in every country. And if you keep out of trouble and keep honing your street smarts then you’re pretty unlikely to have any problems.

What do people never ask you about your life of travel that you wished they did?
How I keep my whites so white!?

If you could recommend one book to a friend, what would it be?
Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life

If you could give one piece of advice to someone who wants to travel, what would it be?
Don’t listen to fearful or judgemental people. Most of them are just envious that can’t do what you’re going to do. Stop caring what others think you do with your life and begin following your heart. Pick up a Lonely Planet book and let your curiosity be your guide 💕

If you want to continue to follow along with what Dougie is up to, you can find him here:
Instagram: @projectfresh
Website: www.projectfresh.com