January 2021, I decided to meet up with Misha…a long time internet friend, fellow boxer, and fellow YouTuber in Mexico.
He was living there already, enjoying the expat life, happy to be away from what he describes as “cold depressing Russia and negative friends/family”. Being the exotic Russian gringo in latin america was exciting for him. He got famous on the internet doing street interviews in Spanish with local girls. Looking back…you could say he was a “passport bro”.
We had always wanted to meet but couldn’t find the time. Now I was single again and free of any obligations to tie me down to anywhere. I said why not? And bought my flight to Mexico.
We started in Tulum and had a blast. Wandering the city and eating at various places. At the time, you looked like a superhero speaking Spanish and translating everything when I couldn’t. I was still very much the typical American who only speaks English.
After some days, we split and went our ways. Him back to Cancun (Mexico) where he lived. And I was enjoying the nomad backpacker life so much, I continued on to just about 30 other cities in Mexico for the next 8 months. Meeting and hanging out with other travelers and nomads. We were living the life. It all seemed a paradise, especially considering all our friends and families back home were stuck in lockdown.
Some highlights:
- In here, I tried dancing tango a little and even did a performance.
- Introduced to acid/LSD by Gaz.
- I meet many incredible people along my travels, key characters who would help me move around the world for the next several years.
- I start doing DuoLingo spanish and could speak it after 6 months.
- I try scuba-diving (success), kiteboarding (fail), bachata (enjoyed), salsa (enjoyed).
I then realize that I’m never coming home. I never want to live in the US again. I gave my brother and mother the orders to close up my apartment and move all my things to storage. It’s official!
The only thing left was where I was headed after leaving Mexico.
…my return to Europe. 🙂