An unrequested list of things that will stress you out before travelling [The Americas – #chronicles 2022]

During the last few weeks, before starting my adventure a few days ago, you could frequently hear me saying: “I’ve had a lil panic moment”. I know, I know. I’m overreacting. I’m over-planning.

But hear me out…. does no one else out there feels real “pre-adventure stress”? (Asking for a friend…)

It’s still Covid times, it’s a 6 month trip, and it’s me. Only me. For at least 4 of those months.

You might be asking….”Mariana… why is this that stressful? It should be an enjoyable trip, a one in a lifetime experience”. And it will be… I’m sure of if. But it can be quite stressful to find the most affordable ways of doing things which are also safe for someone travelling alone and that fits with my dates.

However…. forever thankful to my friend Google, and to all other bloggers out there writing reviews and blog posts. The world is an easier place (and a more confusing place!) with yer all in it. I’m still thankful though!

Apparently people like “blog-lists” these days, so here it goes.

A list of some random shit that might stress you out before travelling for 6 months (with no potential solutions being offered 😅)

The job that you’re leaving

• Ok, I understand that for some of you it might be the exact opposite, and you just can’t wait to go, but if you’re in a similar situation as me (where you love your job and do intend (at least at this point) to go back to it) it is incredibly stressful to try to wrap up all the projects, do handovers, making sure everything is in place etc etc etc

Your flat / house

• I’ve been the luckiest kid alive for having a landlord who has allowed me to keep my flat, but at some point I was not sure if I was going to be able to. I can not describe the amount of stress I went through just thinking about the packing, the storage, and the thought of having nowhere to come back to. Stress!

The health stuff

• From vaccines to Covid, from last minute tonsillitis because you’ve overdone it, to your pharmacist losing all your records of all the vaccines you’ve done privately with them… honestly, I had it all. I’ll die of a stress induced heart attack before I die from all the vaccines I’ve doubled up on.

The friends / family farewells

• If you’re anything like me, you’ll basically write your will/testament and will want to see everyone one last time before you go. Stress!!! And you’re setting yourself for failure. You will never be able to see everyone. The good news is that hopefully you won’t die, so you’ll get to see them all afterwards.

The overplanning

• I have this thing where I stress out about the plans I didn’t make and the dates I didn’t book and missing out on stuff. I then go the opposite way and start stressing out about having booked stuff in the middle of a fully unplanned/unbooked adventure (like Machu Picchu, which needs advanced booking due to permits limits). What can I say, I’m a complicated woman.

The travel packing

Oh god, the travel packing. Honestly, what a shit show. I’ve got nothing to offer here. The amount of panic shopping I did (followed by panic returns) is not something I’m proud of and will forever need to apologise to the environment for doing. At the time it seemed like a good idea. It was not. I’m still sure I’ve over packed and probably packed the wrong things. Oh well… I’ll have to cope with it as I go.

Now that I’ve offered an unrequested list of random things that can stress you out before travelling, I’m here to say that I’ve got no solution or advice. We’re all different. The way you’ll pack will be different than mine. The way you plan (or not) will not match the same requirements as I have. You might not have a job or family and friends to say goodbye to.

So just grab your stuff and go (or don’t, I’m not your mother and you don’t have to go anywhere 😅).

Go with fear, go with stress, go with apprehension. Hopefully you’ll get to drop them on the side of the road at some point, and proceed with lightness, courage and a lot of unexpected adventures to talk about.