Backpacking: what we learned from traveling throughout six countries in a year

The time to say goodbye has arrived! We’ve been home for a week now, trying to adjust to the time zone while meeting our families and friends. Our year of traveling has come to an end and we declare our mission accomplished (what doesn’t mean that there isn’t more to come!)

We still remember clearly the time we spent planning our project. There were nine months of researching, studying, and getting emotionally ready for a long and uncertain journey. The truth is, we didn’t know if things would work out. We were constantly asking ourselves questions like: and if they don’t let us in the country? Will we end up being victims of scams? Will our savings be enough? Aren’t we doing the biggest mistake of our lives by leaving our jobs, our comfortable homes, and our stability behind to go on an adventure without any guarantees?

Our minds were filled with doubts but followed the bravery of those with a crazy dream, we threw ourselves into the world. On March 5th, 2018, we boarded our first airplane for a life-changing journey with no turning back.

We didn’t know then, but that day we said farewell to Ana and Josie who used to see the world through narrow eyes.

The feeling we have is that from the moment we said ‘yes’ to our dream of traveling the world, all doors opened to us. It didn’t take long for us to find out that the barriers we thought would make our lives harder were our internal ones—and we were the only ones to blame for shrinking ourselves and thinking things were impossible.

When we realized we needed to give permission to ourselves to dream, the universe also gave us its permission. During our year on the road, nothing but incredible things happened.

We visited all places we wanted: we’ve been to big metropoles and small villages, we hiked up mountains, we swam in the springs of a volcano, we visit emerald lakes, we had fun in a snowstorm, we experienced desert weather, we saw bears, elks, dear, koalas, kangaroos, dolphins, and whales in the wild.

We met fabulous people: we visited old friends around the world, we made new ones, and we were helped by strangers on the streets. We feel like the universe selected the most generous and inspiring people to cross paths with us. It was like those people had been given the mission of offering us more than we could ever ask for.

We also learned every day: we gathered baggage that, for us, is worth a treasure of diamonds. We had the chance to learn about languages, culture, history, geography, science, economy, philosophy, art, and, mainly, about ourselves. And that’s something that has changed us forever.

Now, we are closing our first chapter. ’30 on the road’ had the main goal of filling the gap between the dates we both were turning 30 years old – March 7th, 2018 (Josie), and April 8th, 2019 (Ana). We traveled to six countries in 381 days.

With our hearts filled with faith, hope, and many more dreams to pursue, we’ll allow ourselves to keep believing. In some weeks, we’ll hit the road again toward new destinations and goals. We feel that chill on the spine and that fear of the unknown all over again, but now, we have our background to guide us:

It doesn’t matter what life brings our way, we already know that, if we overcome internal barriers, and if we say yes to our hearts, there’s nothing we can’t reach with hard work and perseverance.

Thank you to everyone who has been with us for the best year of our lives so far. We feel deeply honored by all your love and support.