Visions of Johanna
I’m a solo explorer, who’s been lucky enough to see a fair bit of our planet. The freedom to roam isn’t something I take for granted; it’s the biggest privilege a human can have. You won’t find many useful travel guides here, but I hope you find travel tales that inspire you to visit new places, live like a nomad, embrace new cultures and travel solo. I’m happiest in nature, on or in the ocean, and exploring different ways of life. Being curious sometimes means I’ve pushed life to its limits, taken the biggest risks, and fallen from the greatest heights. It also means I’ve met some of the world’s best humans (fact!) and my life is full of stories and experiences, and that is the humble offerings of this travel blog…
You’re about to set sail into unknown lands where life will change so dramatically that it’s incomprehensible. You’re on that ledge looking into the horizon but the view is misty, your new life is just out of sight. How can you possibly know what lies ahead and where will you find your travel tribe?
For what feels like the hundredth time you hoist the brand-spanking new (and insanely heavy) backpack onto your back… just to test. It’s filled with unfamiliar objects for all the unfamiliar places. Those shiny new hiking boots, that you probably should have worn-in but haven’t had time and some bamboo travel socks that you were persuaded to buy two pairs of.
Normal life is about to change forever and although the thrill of what lies ahead is consuming, there are some doubts snaking around your brain.
I travel because I can. I’m lucky. I am privileged. There is no ban for me (yet). I was born in the ‘right’ country, with a useful passport, no persecuted religion to identify with, no war. Total freedom to roam.
Swirling mist circled the Buddhist monastery, high up on Mount Koya. Exploring Japan had led me here. The icy air an easy victory for the paper walls. Yes actual paper walls! The paper door has a ferocious tiger print on it, in the grrr pose, similar to those old-school tattoos. Just the paper tiger blocking me from the outside world. A kimono lay neatly folded, waiting for me to brave the ice-air. I’d had a demo in the art of kimono-wearing. Absolutely no cleavage, but the neck (the sexiest part of a woman’s body in Japan) revealed. Screw that! Absolutely nothing should be revealed in the fear of hypothermia.