So (a)social

July 18, 2023
by Jens Hevike
3 Comments

Yes, I am a very social person. I love being with other people and getting to know new people and their experiences. Yet, I also have an “anti-social” side where any interaction with people takes energy. Extroverts who charge in social settings like someone struck by lightning often can’t put themselves in our introverted shoes. In the past, I have sometimes been mocked for this, that I was tired again. Yet I was doing my best. Alcohol often helped me temporarily calm the introverted part of me – at least for the evening. I paid the cost later with even more tiredness.

A month in the Colombian jungle

July 10, 2023
by Jens Hevike
2 Comments

The almost four weeks in the Blue Dot Hostel have given me a lot of fun and joy. I learned a lot of new things about working and living together in the Jungle. The people in the camp have sweetened my time and have grown close to my heart. Volunteering somewhere has opened up a whole new horizon of travel for me. Because everyone stays here longer, you get to know each other much better than if you just move from hostel to hostel, where it feels like you start over with small talk every day. Since you pay with your own labor here, it’s also an inexpensive way to get to know a country. Provided you have time.

What the heck am I doing here?

June 21, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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If you look at my posts on Instagram or on my blog, you might think I’m on vacation. In a way, that is certainly the case. I am in beautiful places outside of Germany. When I talked to my friend Fiona on the phone, she told me that’s not true. I’m not on vacation. If I were on vacation, I would be seeing all the sights that all the other backpackers have on their list. Sometimes I think I’m missing something. But I’m not missing anything. I went away to leave behind what I didn’t like in the past, and now I’m trying to find alternatives. I’m trying to figure out where and how I want to live in the future. I’m exploring what life concepts fit me. I’m looking for ways to finance that lifestyle. I am searching for myself and what I want.

Jericó – Colombia

June 7, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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Medellín was my first stop in Colombia. I’ve already heard a lot of good things about the city. Especially among the digital nomads it seems to be very popular. Unfortunately, my impression was not quite as positive. A lot of things seem to have changed for the worse in recent years. Especially Corona has driven many people to the streets and especially into the hands of drugs. On the way to the city center you meet a lot of people just injecting or preparing a pipe. As the guide of a free walking tour tells us, we tourists are part of the problem. On the one hand, we bring money into the city, with which more and more people can finance their lives, on the other hand, we drive up prices so high that many can no longer afford the rents.

Brazil – Paraty – São Paulo

May 18, 2023
by Jens Hevike
1 Comment

I see my trip less as a vacation in which I try to see and experience as much as possible, but as a journey to myself. That’s why the people I spend time with are more important to me than the place I’m in. Sometimes that person can be myself. If I can choose it, then it is preferably a quiet place in nature. If it’s a city, then with little traffic and lots of greenery. Places where I can retreat to switch off.

Brasil – Rio de Janeiro – Ilha Grande

April 25, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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Somehow I slipped into a lifestyle here that suits mine. You don’t rush, time passes without paying much attention to it. The clocks tick differently here than in the Western world. Just because there is a timetable doesn’t mean it will be followed. We’re in an Uber. We’re stuck in traffic. According to the timetable, we’re already late, but nobody cares. The bus is also late.

How much money did I spend on Ta Araroa?

April 15, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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I have to admit that I didn’t really pay attention to money since I didn’t have a strict budget. Certainly you can make the TA much cheaper than I did by eating less in restaurants, sleeping less in beds and hanging out less in cafes. In general, New Zealand is very expensive. I was surprised how quickly I had high costs.

Cities – Sydney and Newcastle

April 13, 2023
by Jens Hevike
2 Comments

Soberly, cities don’t really know what to do with me, except to shove things in my mouth and let me run aimlessly through the area. They try to stress me out with their noise and hectic pace, which they haven’t succeeded in doing very well so far. When I think back to how I was doing just two weeks ago, I have now ascended to the spheres of a champion.

Australia – The Great Northern Walk

April 2, 2023
by Jens Hevike
1 Comment

I don’t know if we have them in Germany, but if we do, they are certainly not as numerous as you encounter them here, or should I say swarming. The little worms suck on the skin and fill up their narrow, tubular bodies until they are as thick as a finger. Then they fall off. The blood thinner makes me ooze. Mike showed me that they can’t tolerate salt and will retreat after just a few grains and usually die. I must have had twenty on my feet that day, not dangerous, but annoying. As Mike told me, I got into an area here where the leeches swarm through the area like a plague.

Australia – Blue Mountains

March 27, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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The wilderness of Australia is so much wilder than that of New Zealand and the biodiversity much richer. I have only been here for a week and have already seen countless wild animals. Different kinds of parrots, crows, all kinds of butterflies and other birds. Today Josie and I ran into a monitor lizard about 60 cm long, plus tail. This was the first time we both saw one in the wild. Later he was creeping along the other side of the river, about 5 meters away from us, when he suddenly made a leap from one branch to the other to attack a snake that must have been over a meter long. He tried it a few times and also bit into it until it finally managed to free itself and fled into the water.