Latest posts

A month in the Colombian jungle

July 10, 2023

by Jens Hevike

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

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

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

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.

Privileged with distance

May 2, 2023

by Jens Hevike

People make a living selling bags of potato chips in the congested streets. Hordes of young men wait all day for the red light of the traffic lights to earn their living. I guess there’s not much room to escape this life, to maybe one day sit on the other side of the Uber window and with a guilty conscience keep refusing the snacks on offer.