Three months and four countries in. This was the longest I’d ever been away from home. While on the road, I’d meet other backpackers saying they were exhausted from moving around all the time and miserable from not being with their loved ones. I, for one, couldn’t have been any happier. I felt freer than ever.

Homesickness is still a concept I don’t quite understand. Here, much like I had intended, I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I wasn’t accountable to anyone, and I could mind my business. Having no attachments totally suited my lifestyle. Even when it came to the important things – like friends. I’d say I missed them, only we’d video chat so often I’d practically see them more than when I was back home, given all the long hours we all work!

And so, by the time I got to El Salvador and was on my way to the fifth country, I was only excited for what was to come – never looking back. So far, every place I visited had given me so much – and El Salvador was no exception: 

• • • Friendship: In El Salvador, I met people I now consider family. Spending time with them enriched my journey in ways I never expected. Moving forward, I decided to cut back on some of the luxuries I’d grown used to, fully embrace the backpacker life, and stayed in more hostels. I loved my me-time in Mexico, but after weeks in Belize, Guatemala, and El Salvador surrounded by people, I felt this shift would be a change for the better.

• • • Confidence: El Salvador, like the other countries I’d visited so far, pushed me to my limits. I’d done so many crazy and wild things! From spelunking in underground rivers and exploring ancient ruins on an ATV in Mexico, to scuba diving, paddleboarding, and windsurfing in Belize; from trekking deep in the jungle and scaling a volcano in Guatemala, to climbing waterfalls and surfing in El Salvador – I kept raising the bar on what I believed I was capable of. And with each conquered fear came a deeper understanding of what happens when I let go of insecurity.

• • • Dreams: Getting to learn the basics of surfing was pretty much a childhood dream come true. I started off thinking I’d never be in a position to even try, then ended up in Surf City by sheer chance, signed up for a class on a whim, doubted the very fact that I could actually do it – and still managed to master baby waves. I swore this wouldn’t be the end of it. I’d have to spend a few months surfing at some point.

• • • Food: I might have said that I wasn’t at all homesick, but if I have to be completely honest, there was one thing I truly missed about Malta – or rather, Europe – and that’s the food. I would’ve given anything to lay my hands on a stuffed loaf of Maltese bread.  Latin cuisine admittedly got tiring after the first couple of weeks – all the beans and rice and cilantro and chili and lime and what have you. And the pasta? Let’s just say it’s an abomination – an insult to Italian cuisine. That’s why around this time, I found myself eating more fast food than ever, with burgers becoming a staple. Having said that, I really did enjoy pupusas!

• Distance:

• • • Total walked: 77km
    • Total travelled: 277km

• Books: 
  • • The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch
    • o   A Bit of a Stretch, Chris Atkins