Flint & Steel Full Circle Writing Challenge
Celebrating 5 Years As Nomads!
And coming full circle to where it all began.
It was on September 20th, 2017 that we drove my parent's camper van out of our town on the West Coast of Canada. Well, actually, we drove it onto a ferry that carried us away from the town, but you know what I mean.
We first visited Vancouver Island to say goodbye to some friends there, then we made our way back through Western Canada visiting BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan saying goodbye to family and friends along the way.
We would be dropping the van off at my parent's house, then would be flying to Costa Rica in mid-October on a West Jet Buddy Pass (standby ticket) to do a 2-month housesit on the beach.
That was our one single plan and it was a one-way trip.
The closing date on the sale of our house hadn’t even been completed yet, that would happen 9 days later.
We had spent the previous nine months selling, giving away, and donating all of our possessions. We had closed down three home-based businesses and had spent the final days of summer enjoying hanging out with our close-knit community, knowing that we would likely never see them again.
We were exhausted, but we were also exhilarated.
Two mornings into our visit on Vancouver Island, we went to a coffee shop for breakfast, and the floodgates opened. I sat in that coffee shop and cried out the relief that I felt for accomplishing what seemed like an impossible task. Chris looked at me concerned, wondering why I was crying. But they weren’t tears of sadness, they were the ultimate tears of joy.
I was finally free again.
We had done it!
I had lived 20 years of my life chained to society's rules. A victim of the 9–5 rat race. Running on the hampster wheel as fast as I could, going round and round and never getting anywhere.
For the first time in my adult life, the world was my oyster again. My sense of freedom came from deep inside my soul. I had shed it all. All of the walls that I had built around me that kept me from living the life I wanted, had now been taken down.
I had the ability to invent my future again.
This time, it would be one that I loved.
We didn’t have much money, and we didn’t have a plan. We just went.
Five years later and I find it hard to put it all together. How we made it from moment to moment, figuring out each step as we went sometimes boggles my mind.
And how we have grown as individuals is unexplainable.
From climbing Mayan temples in Central America to exploring the Sahara Desert, helping a starving village in Africa to living on the Red Sea in Sudan. It has been one wild ride!
There are no words that will ever put into context what the past 5 years have meant, but there is one word that comes up time and time again that really summarizes this life for us.
FREEDOM
We have unchained ourselves from a life that was holding us back and holding us down, and have sought out one that is filled with our unending desire to chase down our passions and happiness.
We simply do what makes us happy.
This life is certainly not for everyone. It is an unending cycle of uncertainty and unpredictability. Many couldn’t deal with that, but we love it. We love not knowing what lies around the next corner or what exciting discovery is just waiting to be found. We love not really knowing where we will be in a year, a month, a week.
We love meeting new people as we move around and learning about the different cultures and traditions that are on our planet.
We love discovering the beauty and unexpected landscapes that grace the earth's surface.
We love it all. Truly.
Along the way, we have discovered our love for painting and now paint murals and art for free in many of the places that we visit. Leaving our trail of art behind us is rewarding and comforting. We love knowing that thousands of people will be inspired and uplifted by what we have left for them to enjoy.
We also stop and volunteer when we can. We have volunteered on earth-building projects and farms, and we have taught permaculture techniques and art classes to kids.
We do what we can to give back to the countries that take care of us, never once taking any of it for granted.
We aren’t just observers of what is going on around us, we like to get involved.
In 2015 we took our first overseas trip together to Bulgaria, Greece, and Italy.
It was in Varna, Bulgaria where we found ourselves checking out the prices of condos in a window of a realtor's office.
It was in that moment that we started realizing that we could live there.
We could live HERE.
Yes, 7 years later we are now back in Bulgaria. We have come full circle.
It was one year after being home from that first trip when we made the decision to sell everything and travel full time.
And I find it incredibly fitting that we are celebrating our 5 years of being nomadic back in the place where it all began. This country sparked our desire to set out and try our hand at living in different places.
It was on that trip that we realized how well we travel together, and how much we both have a thirst to see the world.
In just a few days we are headed back to Varna where we will be volunteering at a farm outside the city for 2–3 weeks. We don’t know what Varna has in store for us this time, but we are excited to see what unfolds.
Getting back to where it all began will certainly be exhilarating!
Thank you so much to those who have joined us by following our adventures so far. The world is a big place to discover, and we are certainly not finished yet!
xo Jill
This post is in response to Ellie Jacobson’s writing prompt ‘full circle’ in her publication Flint & Steel.
Other challenge responses I enjoyed:
Friends that may enjoy the full circle challenge (there are still 6 days left!)
Bernie | Michele | Anne | JoAnn | The Sturg | Adrienne | Linda | Vidya | Randy | Robert | Ronald | Rodrigo | Sara | Amy | Erika | Jane | Dennett | Scott-Ryan | Scott | KL | Sandra | Tim | Yana | Nishan | David | Kim | Jordhan | Iva | Osan | B.R. | Pene | Sahil | pocket |
Hi there, we are 2 Canadians, Jill and Chris from Artistic Voyages. We have been nomadic since 2017 living in numerous different countries, and experiencing the life and diversity of our planet on the ground and firsthand. We paint FREE murals in exchange for accommodation. Consider tipping us on Ko-fi!
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