Welcome to The Purple Pilgrim blog! What is a purple pilgrim? Good question – I am the purple pilgrim – la peregrina
morada! One of the largest endeavors on
my trip around the world will be to walk the Camino de Santiago, a 500 mile pilgrimage
across northern Spain. Those that walk
the Camino are considered pilgrims, or peregrinos. As I prepare for this trip and acquire the
necessary equipment, I found that about half of everything I own is purple, so
the name kind of stuck. If any of you
are driving down the road in Spain in September and see a moving mass of
purple, stop and say hello!
Of course this blog will cover more than my Camino adventure;
it will encompass my entire trip, starting out in Seattle and ending, well
hopefully in Seattle. I figured in this
first blog post I would answer some general questions that I have been asked
about what I’m doing. Thank you for reading
and joining me on this adventure!
Where am I going?
Great question and one that hasn’t completely solidified as
of today.... I know for certain I will
be traveling to Iceland, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, and Portugal between July
and October before returning home to the States, to Wilmington, NC. After that I have New Zealand on the horizon
if my visa issue is resolved before I leave.
Once New Zealand is done I hope to hop over to South America and travel
through many countries including Brazil, Argentina, Peru, and Colombia. And finally, I would like to travel over to
Cuba if everything is squared away with the State Department.
Why am I going?
There are so many reasons for my trip, but none seem to
capture the complete essence of it. I
think the easiest explanation is pure, unadulterated wanderlust. I have been fortunate enough to have lived in
other countries and to have visited other places, but these quick trips did
nothing to quench my desire to see more and do more. My Aunt Bobbie sent me a great quote that
really sets the mood for how I’ve been feeling lately, “’Dear old world,’ she
murmured, ‘You are very lovely and I am glad to be alive in you.’” So it’s time to go see this great big world
and appreciate how lovely it really is.
Who am I going with?
Surprisingly, other people like to travel too! I have been excited and humbled by my friends
who have jumped on board and signed up to accompany me on different parts of
the trip. My sister from another mother,
my HLP, Anjali, is joining me for our road trip around Iceland on our “friend
moon.” My old Boeing coworker and buddy Jason
is going to join in on the Ireland leg. I’m
also excited to visit and stay with two amazing people – Elle and Eoghan
(recently married, congrats!) – in Dublin.
One of my oldest friends (26 years and counting), Mary, is joining me
for the last leg of Scotland. My lovely
Seattle/Texas buddy Chelsea is hiking along with me for a week in Barcelona and
a week on the Camino. And then Araceli
herself is coming all the way over to Europe for an awesome week and a half in
October to help me round out Europe in Portugal. I will be spending parts of Scotland the
majority of the Camino by myself, meeting new friends along the way.
How is it you can do this?
Regardless of the romanticism behind the trip and traveling
the world, there are certain logistics that had to be addressed. To do the sort of trip I am planning takes a
certain amount of:
- Money – how much money, well that’s between me and my bank account. Money certainly is the limiting factor when figuring out where to go and how long to stay there. I also plan to utilize certain programs, such as WWOOF (http://www.wwoof.co.nz/) while I am in New Zealand that will help cover the cost of room and board. But I will say for other people interested in doing a similar trip, you might want to save up a minimum wage year’s salary at your disposal. I am also fortunate to not have a car payment, house payment, and to have minimal student loan debt left.
- Time – after going back and forth with my current company, I decided that quitting my job would make the most sense and allow me the freedom of more time to travel. For other people, taking a shorter trip could entail you to take a leave of absence from your current job or even do this in between your old and new jobs if you have that luxury.
- Desire – if the desire isn’t there, then the trip won’t happen. There are a lot of sacrifices and compromises I’ve made in the planning of this trip. Leaving behind a great job, supportive and wonderful friends and family, and other opportunities isn’t easy, but if the desire is there to do it, then you prioritize accordingly.
At this point I have a little over two weeks in Seattle,
preparing, planning, packing, and closing up shop. Most of the planning comes in three
categories: how to close up my life in Seattle (packing and storing your stuff,
closing out your lease and utilities, quitting your job, and saying goodbye to
your friends), how to prepare for life abroad (vaccinations, visas, travel
insurance, bank accounts, equipment to buy, setting up this blog), and figure out
what to do when I’m overseas (lodging, flights, transportation in between
cities, coordination with traveling partners, and activities to plan (the fun
stuff!)).
Life has never been crazier, but the reward will be
invaluable. I am so excited to get my
trip started and to share with you what I find along the way! Stay tuned…
