My name is Nicole. Nice to meet you!
~~Why are you writing this blog?~~
In 2010, I sold all of my stuff, quit my job, and bought a one-way ticket to the other side of the globe. One Great Dewdrop was born as a way to let my mother know that I was still alive while I was traveling abroad. Now, One Great Dewdrop is my digital scrapbook, mostly of travel and outdoor adventures.
~~Wait, go back to that one-way ticket part. You did what?~~
I decided to see and experience the world, our One Great Dewdrop. I saved up as much money as I could, got rid of my stuff, left my job, ended the lease on my apartment, said goodbye to my friends, and bought my first one-way ticket.
~~When and how did you get the idea to travel?~~
Because I'm curious. (Other acceptable answers: [a] because it's there; [b] for the hell of it.)
I caught the travel bug on a trip to northern Peru as part of a Group Study Exchange (GSE) sponsored by Rotary District 4460 of Central New York. Dave wanted to return to New Zealand. The rest is history.
~~Where did you go?~~
Before the epic trip, I had been to Canada, Italy (twice, about 2 months total), Peru (once, about 2 months), The Bahamas, and Puerto Rico.
On the "big trip" in 2010-2011: New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey, Israel, West Bank, Ukraine, and yes, I'm counting Azerbaijan. Also the National Parks in the Southwestern United States.
In 2012, I finally returned to Latin America: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.
Here's the map:
View Nico's Map in a larger map
Yellow: home
Red: Places I'm going
Blue: Places I've visited or lived
Green: Great natural places I've experienced
~~How much does a round-the-world (RTW) trip cost?~~
Depends on your style. I traveled overland as much as I could and avoided costly plane tickets. I visited mostly developing countries, saving Europe, Japan, Iceland, etc. for when I'm old and no longer care to sleep on bus station floors. I hate shopping, plus I didn't have room in my backpack! I like wandering around a city or visiting a national park more than booking a package tour or visiting minor "tourist traps" just because they're there. And finally, I don't drink much alcohol. Because of all these reasons, I've generally found it cheaper to live and travel abroad than to stay in one place, living in the United States, particularly if I stay longer in fewer places.
~~How were you able to afford such a trip?~~
With saving, preparation, discipline, and an easy start in life. I have a full-time job, no debt, and genuinely enjoy living a simple life. Other people pay a mortgage to a bank [well, I do that now!], go out to dinner twice a week, perhaps buy a flatscreen television; I traveled. It's only a question of priorities. Probably helps that I was willing to chuck the guidebooks, skip the guided tours, work, eat in dirty restaurants, sit in sweltering local buses, and laugh at myself (a lot).
~~Where are you right now?~~
Home. :-)
~~"One Great Dewdrop?"~~
"One Great Dewdrop" references the following passage from Travels in Alaska (1915), by John Muir.
When we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty.
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