All posts by Serial Nomad

Writer & Wanderer
Abu Dhabi, El Camino del Norte

What’s next?

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I’m in the middle of packing my suitcase ready to leave Abu Dhabi for Dubai tomorrow afternoon. There was never really a question in my mind about what I was going to do after this job, more a question of would something pop up preventing me from doing it?

Since completing the PCT the draw towards walking another trail has been constant. I find myself reminiscing more and more about these moments. I’m like a broken record repeating the same stories over and over again. Lucky for me I have a different audience a lot of the time, allowing me to become carried away in the storytelling of a time which actually feels more like fiction than fact to me now.

Without time to plan suitably for another endeavour like the PCT, I’ve decided to venture to a different part of the world to wander through a country, culture and environment that again is quite foreign to me.

After reviewing the video above I realised my skills with the camera are becoming even worse than they used to be when I turn the phone around and film either the roof or the sky instead of what’s in front of me! Further training is required!

The Camino de Santiago or Way of St. James is a network of pilgrimage routes throughout France, Spain and Portugal that lead to the shrine of the apostle St. James the Great in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in Northwest Spain. I’m planning to walk the Camino del Norte which hugs the northern coast of Spain for the most part before joining with the more popular Camino Frances for the last leg of the trail.

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The total trip is 823km over approximately 32 days. This is what I’ve captured during my 15 minutes of research. Over the next 7 days I hope to know a little more before I step foot off the plane in San Sebastián.

Abu Dhabi

Life begins again

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When I called for room service last night the man on the end of the phone asked me where I’d been. I realised two things: 1. I haven’t eaten at ‘home’ in my hotel room for the last month and 2. The month prior to that all I ate was room service. When I walked into my room before midnight for the first time in the last two weeks, I face planted on my bed and fell asleep. My phone was still in my hand when a text message woke me and encouraged me to order food, watch an episode of Homeland, take a bath and then sleep again. These three things have become such luxuries to me over the last month I’m really looking back and wondering if it was all worth it.

What I enjoy about working hard is the contrast it provides me with when the job is done. I have always been somewhat all or nothing, and in terms of work this is especially fitting. I still have reports to write and reconciliation to complete, but my focus has now moved to life beyond work. After spending two months in a large white tent on top of a sand pit, all I want to do is be outdoors. My only thoughts during the last 8 weeks have been work and flashbacks from the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s really weird the memories that flash back all of a sudden. A campsite, a lake, a view. Small inconsequential moments on the trail are what I miss the most. Quiet peaceful solitude and simplicity. Perspective. I think I lost some of that over these last two months.

Someone asked me recently if they should hike the PCT, if it was worthwhile and a life changing experience for me. In my opinion you should do whatever motivates you if you have the means to do so. Why wait? I read something my friend Leigh wrote recently about the notion of retirement. It mirrored my sentiments entirely: http://remoteleigh.wordpress.com/2014/03/02/by-living-more-i-needed-less/

So what’s next? Right now I’m on my way to Oman so I can extend my visa to the UAE for another 30 days. The driver and I are having some trouble finding the correct border to cross. These things are never simple. In fact to renew my visa my driver needs to drop me at the border, I then walk through the pedestrian access point to get an exit stamp, then take a cab 35 kilometres to the passport office in Oman, get another stamp, a cab back to the UAE border, and then an entry stamp back in. Sure, easy enough.

Before divulging my next adventure I thought I’d complete my recent experience here with a few pictures from the event. I’m on the home stretch now and almost ready to take my next leap of faith to another part of this big wide world!

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Abu Dhabi

Half way through

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I’m thoroughly looking forward to getting my life back mid next month and having time to put pen to paper. But I have to say 5 days into the festival I’m starting to feel like all the hard work is starting to pay off. Here’s a preview of the first fruitful days…

Abu Dhabi

The life of an expat

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The life of an expat always sounded glamorous but somewhat artificial to me. Living in a high rise or hotel, expensive company dinners, weekends on the beach, chauffeurs, live in nannies, swimming pools, glitz.

Tonight while I walked along the corniche I came to the realisation that I am in fact an ‘expat’, a word I associate with business men who wear expensive suits or women who sunbathe while the nanny nurses the kids.

Everyone in the working world in Abu Dhabi is an expat. I ran into a woman in the lift the other morning who asked if I was American because she heard me speaking English. She seemed desperate for contact with someone from a familiar land telling me how weird this place seems to her. In some ways I agree, but on the other hand this place feels just as much home right now as anywhere else on the planet.

Tonight was my second evening stroll along the Corniche. Walking is my sole activity outside of work. It brings me such joy to simply be outdoors amongst the life of the city. It also gives me time to think outside of my ever growing task list and refocus on why I’m actually here and what I want to be doing.

When I reached the beach I sat and reflected on this fascinating expat lifestyle I’m currently living. It certainly ain’t champagne breakfasts and lazy days on the sand…

Abu Dhabi

Head above water

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For the past couple of weeks I’ve been swimming in the world of work and desperately trying to tread water while the waves of deadlines and requests have been hitting me from all sides.

I had a few breakthroughs today, and although the tide seems to keep dragging me back, I know eventually I’ll reach a point where I hit the shore again.

This morning I spoke to my four year old nephew to wish him happy birthday, and other than a recent five minute conversation with my dad for his birthday, I’ve been completely cut off from society outside of the Fort walls where the festival I’m working on will take place in just under 4 weeks! Frightening!

As I stared at my computer screen just before 10pm this evening I decided it was time to resurface and give a brief update on where I currently stand. I’m sure a few of you might have thought I’d vanished into the ether, but I’m still alive and kicking, keeping myself afloat and my head above water.

Abu Dhabi, Australia

The meaning of life

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This is the one question Google doesn’t have a decent answer for. I know this because I Googled it a few years back only to discover numerous listings on Monty Python’s film from the 80’s. Is this the most accurate source we have for spiritual guidance concerning this topic? For some reason while sitting in a lonely cafe sipping coffee and eating rhubarb pie I once again I contemplated this quandary. Strangely enough I seemed to stumble across the answer. It actually came from a parallel I was drawing with the trail. Enjoy what it provides for you and leave it in better shape for the next person. Could the world be that simple?

When I got home I completed packing for my evening flight to Abu Dhabi. As I was about I leave the apartment the handle of my suitcase completely snapped off. The following is what transpired. I guess it’s true what they say: ‘it’s about the journey not the destination!’


Music: Radical Face, All is well (goodbye, goodbye)

It was a long flight but for the first in a long time I enjoyed a lengthy conversation with the person next to me. A German school teacher called Mr Wild. How does one get a name like that!? We chatted like old friends until I had to force myself into a sleep coma to be able to get up and go straight to work upon arrival, ergh! After 11 hours in the office I was done, and I’m now sitting eating room service ready to crash for a decent nights sleep.

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Australia, Pacific Crest Trail

Reminising

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I’m sitting here with tears streaming down my face having just watched the video of my arrival at the Northern Terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail. I’m not sure what made me do it. I was scrolling through the videos from that final treacherous day, finding it hard to believe that the person walking through the snow was actually me. Maybe it’s because I spoke to Fuller tonight and he mentioned that final thrilling day, and just how frightening those videos were. I guess I had to see them again for myself, which naturally brought back so many emotions and encouraged me to go the whole hog and watch the one I knew would bring a tear to my eye.

Speaking to Fuller brought back the reality of the trail. We both agreed that sometimes it’s hard to believe it really happened, that we did in fact walk from Mexico to Canada. We’ve both reached a point where it’s hard to talk about now. I think I’m in the process of filing away the memories and emotions, and each time I bring them up, I need to repack them neatly away again. Fuller came up with a good analogy about the trail being a little like an ex-lover. The experiences you share with the trail will never be known or understood by other people and it will forever hold a place in your heart.

I’ve obviously had too much solo time on my hands today because I was also reading some of the notes I wrote on my return to Sydney before I started this new blog. I definitely hit a few low points in those first few days readjusting to ‘home’ life again. I remember many people encouraging me to write about ‘life after the trail’. I think this is a topic that will continue to resurface for me and every other thru-hiker as the post-trail experience runs its course. Although the piece below sounds incredibly depressing, re-reading it made me feel it was worthwhile to share so that others feeling a bit of the same will realise you’re not alone:

I feel like I’m suffocating. I have an incredible knot in my stomach knowing that my life will never be the same. I will never again be preparing to embark on the most exciting adventure of my life. I’ve just lived it. From extraordinary to ordinary. I’m short of breath. The physical effects of this feeling of loss are breathtaking. The trail is no longer a looming mystery filled with longing and excitement. The story is complete, and I must find a new beginning without repeating the past. How can I top that? Haven’t I had enough excitement for one year? Shouldn’t I be satisfied and fall back into society’s groove like all the other players? I’m sliding down a plughole into the dark tunnel of my own thoughts. Flashbacks of a time that was haunt me. Even the bad feels good. I want it back, I wish it wasn’t over. I’m not ready to move on. The highs and lows that were magnified on the trail have followed me into this world. I want to crawl up and sleep, or escape into the wilderness. 

 

The roller coaster of emotions has certainly steadied from that day. I did struggle a lot getting back in the groove of this reality, but continuing to move forward and staying active has definitely been the key.

Australia

Escape to India

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It’s been 3.5 years since I travelled to India to race an auto rickshaw 2000 kilometres across the country; but last night as part of my 2014 ‘let’s get things moving’ resolution, I finally put together a 5 minute snapshot of the experience after delving into old videos stored away on my external hard drive.

For anyone needing a little travel inspiration check out the video on my new 2010 – India video gallery page.

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Australia

A new perspective

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I’m staring into a fridge full of leftovers in a quiet apartment after four days of activity with friends. This may well be the first time I’ve experienced true solitude whilst being in Australia, other than camping in my sister’s backyard. All I can hear is the tapping of the keyboard and the gentle crashing of waves in the harbour outside. It’s peaceful and eerie at the same time. I’m rapidly shovelling quinoa salad into my mouth after consuming my fifth coffee for the day. I’ve decided it’s an anything goes kind of day. That’s also why I polished off a packet of pre-made popcorn, assorted salted nuts and the remaining beetroot dip in the fridge for dinner.

In two days I’ll be back on a plane to Abu Dhabi and 2014 will come to life. It’s weird as I’ve spent the last 4 weeks surrounded by friends and family, rushing from one place to another, and now I’m suddenly in an empty apartment for the next couple of days in complete solitude until my time runs out and I’m back in the air.

As 2013 came to an end, I felt a sense of relief that the book had finally closed on what has probably been the most intense year of my life. It’s been a year full of achievement, love, loss and life. When 2014 ticked over I immediately thought that this year would be one of no expectations. But as I sat chatting with a friend over coffee today, I realised that 2014 for me is the year to live. Not to say other years haven’t had that motivation behind them, but this year I’m really going to focus on taking in every moment of being alive and making full use of it. It’s also another year of unknowns, exploration and adventure; so I’m going to be conscious of being ‘alive’ during every moment of it.

There are a number of occurrences that often change my perspective on the world. Death is probably the most influential, when you realise how unimportant certain things are, but the start of a new year also has its way of encouraging reflection. I’ve been incredibly reflective post hike, as I’m sure many thru-hikers can relate to. Recently I discovered an entirely new way of looking at the world – underwater. Strangely enough just watching life occur in this foreign environment made me realise there’s so much going on around us that we don’t see. Maybe that’s another resolution for 2014 – always keep your eyes open!

Music: Memory Tapes, Swimming Field