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…
On a warm August afternoon, in New York’s Chelsea district, I was sat in a hostel courtyard contemplating my next move. In came a whirlwind: a character so full of life and stories I was instantly spellbound. Meet Inge, my Amsterdam based hitchhiking friend. Some people radiate energy and life, Inge is one of these people. If I could see auras hers would be a gigantic rainbow, I’m sure of that.
Have you ever had one of those moments where you wish you could rewind time? I don’t have them often as I mostly believe every experience is a learning curve. Or at least I’ve conditioned myself into thinking that, so I don’t go into a full-on meltdown every time something catastrophic happens.
I stood shaking and crying next to our work landrover, staring through a hole with jagged edges – the place a window should be. The glassy crystals lay across the seat, covering my very normal looking rain jacket but something was very wrong with this picture.
“Under heaven nothing is more soft and yielding than water. Yet for attacking the solid and strong, nothing is better; it has no equal.”
I’m in a rural community in the heart of the Miraflor Nature Reserve, Nicaragua and about to witness the most spectacular site. I’m surrounded by natives, sweaty natives, as they’ve worked tirelessly for weeks, digging trenches and laying pipes. Water is the aim: fresh, clean water.