In the middle of the pandemic, I decided to travel as planned anyway. The original starting destination, Mexico, had been open most of the time, so what could possibly go wrong?
Traveling is all about getting a new challenge every day, good and bad, and somehow dealing with them. Well, the Covid pandemic turned out to throw up some additional hurdles. Sanitary measures, PCR tests, and especially closed borders…
But, of course, there were advantages as well. Visiting tourist hotspots without a lot of tourists was a delight. Being able to talk with hotel and guesthouse owners because they finally had time provided valuable insights.
And, of course, the pandemic caused waves that in the end brought me not to the original final destination Costa Rica, but in Ecuador and Colombia. That’s why, during a month of recovering in Medellin at the end of the trip, I decided to write ‘The long road to Medellin’. Another long-form narrative (around 44’000 words) that might translate into a book at some point as well. But reading it aloud and publishing it as a podcast was quicker and easier.
If you want to dive into the highlights and low points of this incredible five-month trip, there are several podcast channels at your disposal: