6 months on the Road!

HELLO SPAIN!

After all the rain, wind, and cold that I endured during my last days in Portugal, Spain greeted me with nothing but beautiful sunshine. For the first time this year, the sun signed its name across my bare legs, as I suddenly remembered how much water one needs, biking in a 20C (70F) weather!

HUELVA

I travel pretty slow but after an intense cycling session, I usually take a day off. The first half of the day is spent working, the rest relaxing. It is a great (and truly the only!) opportunity for me to have a little bit of time to write and edit videos/pictures so I savor every bit of it. 

SEVILLA

The weather continued to spoil me as I got to Sevilla. I spent an extra night there to do a little bit of sightseeing and enjoyed the company of my lovely Iranian host, who showed me around and shared a little bit of his beautiful culture with me.  

#GARBAGEGIRL

I continued with the #europecleanup project and collected more garbage along the way. I hope to bring more awareness to the issue, and inspire people to take responsibility for our Planet in their own hands. 

IT’S SPRING TIME!

Despite all the garbage that I see on the side of the road, one cannot ignore the beauty of Nature that wakes up from the winter before one’s eyes.  A sight of the first sunflower, the company of a butterfly, or a pleasant feeling of sun on your skin, all make me start to consider moving to the South of Spain in a very near future. 

CAMPING

Since most nights, I stay with hosts ( I use Couchsurfing) on the days that I can’t find anybody,  I get anxious. On those rather rare occasions, I camp. But let me pull down the curtain of “Ola’s so brave” - I am absolutely terrified of doing it! The sheer idea of camping on my own in the wild sends chills down my spine, and I just couldn’t understand all of those dudes who would always be uber excited, whenever I told them I sleep outdoors. Until… 

Two nights ago I had my breakthrough! I found a nice, hidden spot, threw my bike over a fence (that seems to become a theme here), and had the whole place to myself (and about 100 birds who kept me company). I reasoned with myself, trying to face my fears, and actually managed to calm my nerves. Who knows, maybe at some point, I will even start to crave sleeping in the forest?

WAKING UP EARLY

The one thing I really appreciate about camping is that I always wake up at the break of dawn. The day starts early and I get to see the beauty of a waking world. This time I had a chance to film it.

SHOPPING DAY

I’ve noticed that I started to enjoy the countryside life way more than staying in bigger cities. I get excited about simple things and feed a need to be close to Nature. That’s why when my host Pedro took me to his neighbor to get some veggies, I  radiated with excitement! I can’t think of a better way to treat oneself than preparing a meal made out of freshly picked plants. One day, I will grow my own food and be sustainable doing it :) 

6 MONTHS ON THE ROAD

Gosh, where did the time go? When I began my adventure, I planned to be on the road for 6 months. Today, on the anniversary day of my departure, I know that I not only want to but NEED to keep on going! This experience has been nothing short of mind-bending, life-shifting, and perspective-changing, and it’d take a book to explain it all… and so I’m writing one! :) 

WHAT’S NEXT?

It seems that with the borders being closed my plan to see Giblartar will have to be postponed. As wonderful of an experience, this would be, I gotta keep a big picture in my mind, and cross borders, only if I have to. I will be making my way towards Malaga this next week! 

This is the progress so far.