Note to Self: Group Tours Suck But Be Gentle With Your Fellow Sheep Anyway
I’ve been in Morocco for the last 2.5 weeks and I’ve loved almost every second of it; the sea, the surf, the beach camels, the fruit smoothies, the ridiculously cheap prices, and the smiles of the warm people.
Today, though I was annoyed.
You see I booked a group tour to hike through Paradise Valley, an oasis in the middle of the desert. I don’t typically like group tours because I like to go with my rhythm and absolutely abhor being shuffled around in a herd of sheep. But Paradise Valley was an hour away and to get there by public transport was pretty much out of the question. I could take an illegal taxi there and hope that there was a normal taxi coming back that I could jump in. Otherwise, it would be a five-hour walk. Yikes!
Needless to say, I opted for the tour. So this morning I met outside of the pharmacy and waited for the shuffle shuttle bus to pick me up. By the time we arrived at the trailhead though, I was already hungry. I brought my usual snacks; nuts, hardboiled egg, and banana but it wasn’t enough. I felt hanger rising. I tried to distract myself with a quick pace and ended up taking the lead.
At one point the tour guide ran up to me and said “Slow down sister, we have old people with us.” I boiled inside. I wanted to MOVE. Not to mention I’d had a Moroccan coffee before hopping on the shuttle so I was more than amped up.
We finally arrived at the 7-meter plunge where several brave souls stripped down to their swimsuits and jumped in. I’d also worn mine underneath but the water was frigid, the sky was cloudy, and I didn’t feel like being cold afterward, so I just watched the others splash in and struggle to get out quick enough.
On the way back, I started to salivate thinking about the chicken couscous I would order when I got dropped off. Much to my dismay, however, the group was shuffled once again to a small restaurant where they treated us to some Moroccan tea. By this point, I was STARVING.
One guy from my group had arrived a few minutes before everyone else and had ordered himself some lunch. I was jealous. Why didn’t I think of that? Now it was too late.
We finished our tea and began our ascent back to the van. When we arrived I noticed the gentleman who’d ordered himself some lunch wasn’t there. As time passed, I grew more agitated. I overheard a couple next to me say that he had wanted to go for a swim after lunch.
As you can imagine, some dark thoughts started to dance in my head: Are you SERIOUS? First, he orders himself lunch while the rest of us sustain on thyme tea and hard cookies and then he makes everyone wait on him while he takes a dip in the pool. How rude!!
I tried to keep myself from spiraling even further and just busied myself with my Tetris app and just hoped that this misery would end soon. Never again I told myself as I cleared another row.
And then he finally appeared. He had water dripping from his head and he looked frantic. He gets on the bus and makes an announcement before sitting down:
“First of all, I want to say thank you for waiting for me. I wanted to explain why I was late. A few years ago I lost a friend of mine while jumping off that cliff and for my psyche I have come to do two things, 1: watch others jump off the cliff and 2. jump off myself. When I saw a few of you jumping earlier, I was triggered and I had to leave. I knew I couldn’t leave without jumping myself so when you all walked back to the car, I jumped.”
“Oh my god! “I said from the back of the bus. A few others on the bus piped up in unison: “I am so sorry for your loss.”
He sat down and we all drove back. But I couldn’t get what he said out of my head.
Tears filled my eyes. I couldn’t help but think about how brave he was to have come here and make that leap. I also couldn’t help but put myself in his shoes. A good friend of mine had just visited me. If that had happened to her I would have been destroyed forever.
There are many morals to my story but here are my key takeaways:
You never really know what someone is going through. Be gentle with each other. Even if you never get clarity around someone’s behavior, we all deserve grace.
Live life to the fullest always even if you have fear. I wrote a poem about that recently. Read it here.
Love your loved ones hard. Tell them you love them all the time.
Bring more snacks than you think you’ll need, or just bring a whole damn lunch. I read a quote recently that pretty much said; “if you hate everyone around you, eat. If you think everyone around you hates you, take a nap.” I love it and think about it often.
What was YOUR key takeaway from my story? I’d love to hear about it.
Eating Healthily AND Cheaply on Travel Days
So it’s been brought to my attention that people like to hear how I live an epic life for less outside of the Matrix, so in addition to sharing digital marketing hacks and emotional insights on this blog, I will also be sharing ways in which I afford my jet setting lifestyle.
Full transparency - my income ranges between $1000 and $2500 per month depending on the month. That’s the nature of freelance. For a lot of people who are living and working in “wealthy” countries, that is not a whole lot of money. But, I make it work.
And now I wanna share my tips with you so that you can feel empowered to make it work as well. Because the reality is that you don’t need to be a Kardashian to travel the world nor do you need to eat bread rolls and canned tuna for your entire trip (fun fact: I did this on a trip to Italy in my 20s and had AWFUL stomach problems the entire time. Luckily I know a bit more about nutrition now. LOL).
In this post, I will be covering one topic - eating healthily and cheaply while traveling but especially on travel days.
Here is a feast that I bought from Whole Foods in NYC for $22. This feast could have easily provided two dinners, two breakfasts, and snacks for two adults. If you do the math that’s $2.75 per meal per person (and I left the snacks out, so it’s actually even less).
That’s a WHOLE lot cheaper than eating at the airport. In fact, when I got to LGA, I briefly checked a packed restaurant to see how much they were charging for a meal. I would have easily paid $22 just for a hamburger and fries and I would have felt bloated and cranky for the rest of the evening.
So - here’s my “hack”. Plan ahead on travel days. Instead of relying on airport food, head to a grocery store and choose “whole” foods that will keep you feeling full. Here is a list of things to consider purchasing:
Protein bars (make sure to check the ingredients and skip any that have more than 5 ingredients). I like the RXBars because they have no BS in them.
A bagged salad with dressing, this Sweet Kale one is BOMB (make sure to mix the dressing in the salad before security otherwise it might get confiscated by TSA). I usually travel with a lidded stainless steel bowl so I can prepare my salad or oatmeal but if you don’t have one you can usually snag a cardboard or plastic box for free or a few cents (at Whole Foods for sure.) That way you can mix your salad and protein together. It’s much cheaper buying a bagged salad and mixing it yourself than buying a premade salad from the to-go section.
Nuts especially almonds or walnuts. Unsalted roasted sunflower seeds are a cheaper alternative.
Any raw veggies and fruits
And healthy proteins like:
canned tuna or sardines (if you are going to eat it on the plane, probably best to pick a different protein LOL).
I opted for falafel balls to save my fellow passengers from gagging.
Hardboiled eggs (you can usually buy these already cooked at most grocery stores in the US if you don’t have time to prepare in advance).
Low-sodium organic jerky (these can get costly, I usually only buy if there is a sale). Watch out for sodium intake, especially before a flight - you don’t want to arrive at your destination all puffed up.
Rotisserie chicken (particularly great if you are a group of friends or a small family, then you can buy the whole chicken)
If you are landing somewhere late, make sure to have some snacks to tide you over until morning, like RX Bars. Don’t take a chance on restaurants being open or near your accommodation. I also always like to bring something for breakfast in the morning because I like to eat first thing when I wake up and I just don’t want to have to worry about going out and getting breakfast. I find that oatmeal, nuts, and fruit will usually tide me over.
There you have it! There’s how I stay full, satisfied, and nourished - for cheap - on travel days. I hope it helps :)
What are YOUR favorite travel day meals or snacks?
How This Desert Witch Stays Places for Free When Traveling
I am currently typing this from a table facing a large window with a view of desert landscape and the Catalina mountains in the distance. There is a babbling dipping pool outside beckoning me to dip my feet despite the colder temperatures, and well the sun is shining. I don’t have much on the agenda today except go on a hike nearby and finish up some work things. Sounds like a dream? Well, it certainly feels that way!!
An Oro Valley dream, that is. Oro Valley is a suburb in the north of Tucson. And I’m staying in a large three-bedroom adobe-like house in a peaceful neighborhood at the foot of the mountains. This house is backed up to protected land so no nosy neighbors lurking in (unless you consider a bobcat carrying his prey a nosy neighbor).
What if I told you that I was staying here, alone, for the low price of nothing? What if I told you I also got to use the Subaru parked in the garage? And eat and drink anything in the cupboard?
You might think, “well that’s nice of your parents.”
Guess again.
My parents are lovely and will come to visit me while I’m here, but have nothing to do with this arrangement.
Nope.
The reason I can call this magical place home for three weeks is that I am a trusted house sitter. That’s right. People entrust me with their house while they are on holiday. That means I also have to take care of plants, bring in the mail, and snuggle their pets (a bonus if you ask me!!)
This time I am in charge of snuggling a 14-year-old Chihuahua mix who is wrinkled and gray and has stairs to get up the couch and the bed. His breath stinks but he is awfully stinking cute so I don’t mind.
Not all house sits are for this long or include the use of a car. But if you are looking for an affordable way to travel the world, you might also consider joining the site, especially if you are a digital nomad who has flexibility with moving around.
There are different plans you can buy but the cheapest is around 100 per year, a great deal even if only use it for one night.
And the best part — is the friends (furry and otherwise) you’ll make along the way. You are staying in someone’s home, so it’s much cozier than a hotel. You get exposed to different foods, ways of life, and books, I LOVE to scan people’s bookshelves :)
So, if you are ever wondering how I am able to afford to travel the world, here’s one of my little not-so-secrets.
Happy housesitting!!