In this solo episode of Recipe to the Road, I discuss the fear of travelling and what to do when things go wrong on the road. Have you ever been afraid to travel due to a bad experience or the fear of something going wrong? I share my own experiences to shed some light on what to do when things don't go as planned and to show that if I can get through it, anyone can.

It all started with a bad sunburn, followed by food poisoning and altitude sickness. But that was just the beginning of our series of unfortunate events. I was bitten by a dog (twice) and had my phone stolen (but returned again). We also experienced two earthquakes, lost a bag with our hostel keys and got stranded in a rural mountain town Jalpan de Serra. Jalpan is actually a beautiful town and I would love to go back in less stressful circumstances.

I speak a little bit about what to do in specific situations that might arise.

The most important thing for me was to be kind to myself and keep checking in. You can’t pour from an empty cup so take care of yourself first in these situations. You’ll always make better decisions when coming from a place of calm. I can confidently say that after a life of chronic anxiety.

For each different situation follow local advice. Visit the doctor if you’re unsure, especially after animal bites or if you are not able to keep water down for more than a day.

Talk to people in your hostel, Facebook groups or in the area for advice on finding a doctor or different situations.

In a stressful situation prioritise your immediate safety first then figure out your next steps.

I speak a bit about my travel insurance SafetyWing. It is the perfect travel insurance if you are travelling a bit more long term.

You can find more info on their website. Please note this is an affiliate link.

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In this episode of Recipe to the Road I am joined by my good friend Conor, a world traveller who has hitchhiked from Ireland to China and around Europe and the Americas. He shares his experiences and insights about this unique form of travel.

NB. This podcast was recorded before the current protests and conflict in Iran that started in September 2022.

When asked where the most interesting place he’s visited is, Conor says hitchhiking itself makes travel interesting. He says you could write a book about hitchhiking in each country.

Iran was a particularly interesting place for Conor. He says it was very different to  preconceived notions people might have of the country. He notes that everyone hitchhikes there, and the population is extremely well-educated and very hospitable.

Conor didn’t pay for accommodation when hitchhiking. He used the Couchsurfing app, got offered accommodation from people he met or stayed in a tent.

Conor started hitchhiking around the age of 14, starting in Ireland and eventually making his way to Scotland.

Throughout college, Conor balanced his studies with travel and eventually ended up hitchhiking all the way to China. An important resource he used was the website Hitchwiki.

Conor believes that regardless of cultural differences and conflicts, people are fundamentally the same and will help one another when faced with a need.

He has had very few negative experiences in his travels and has a firm belief to "trust in the road."

Conor always carries a small survival bag with essentials like a sleeping bag, pillow, passport, and anything necessary to survive.

He also emphasises the importance of making sure your head and hips are comfortable for a good night's sleep.

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Since our time in Tulum the idea of exploitive tourism and essentially neocolonialism has been heavy on my mind. How can we visit these beautiful places without pushing locals out of their homes and stamping out their culture? My guest Mila Muchinski experienced this first hand when she lived in Caraíva, a village on the coast of Brazil. In a few short years, it went from being a small fishing village with no electricity and a strong local culture to being a hotspot for yoga retreats and music festivals.

Exploitative tourism is the kind of tourism that doesn’t benefit locals. It happens when foreign or national investors with little connection to the area decide to build resorts, retreats and other all-inclusive experiences there with no regard for the locals, the nature and the culture.

I experienced this in Tulum. I had heard Tulum was a very spiritual, jungle location and was so excited to spend some time there. What I hadn’t heard is that the so-called “Eco Hotels” are run on diesel generators, the “spirituality” disregards most local cultures and rituals and is a totally imported, Americanised version of spirituality and the jungle is aggressively being cleared to build more and more “eco-resorts”.

To make matters worse, there is a huge area in the town where locals live in makeshift houses, some of whom were forcibly removed from their houses to clear land for the developments.

Mila’s experience is more personal. She saw this happen in her own country. She saw people being coerced into selling their land to developers for an amount they thought would be life-changing, not realising that their whole way of life was at stake. Now, these people can’t afford to live in their beloved Caraíva because it has been so built up.

Visitors to the town often don’t want to interact with the local community, don’t bother to learn about the culture or language and just pretty much see locals as insignificant.

We discuss how to travel consciously and responsibly. Mila says simple things like interacting with the local community make a huge difference. In her experience, locals want to welcome visitors but they don’t get the chance when people stick to their resorts or retreats. She says learning some words in the language really helps with this.

Do your research too. Is your hotel or retreat owned by an international corporation? Do they hire locals, support local performers and tradespeople etc? If they claim to be an eco-hotel do their claims hold up?

Go out and about and spend your money with locals. Visit markets instead of shopping at Walmart or other international supermarket chains. Go to local restaurants and coffee shops instead of going to international chains.

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In episode 3 I spoke to Alejandro, or Tao Alejandro on YouTube and Instagram. Alejandro is a long term slow traveller. We spoke about how he has been able to travel long term and addressed some of the blocks that may stop people from travelling.

Alejandro started his YouTube channel a few years back in Thailand but this year he’s started posting consistently. He posts videos about different places he has visited.

His favourite video that he filmed is when he visited the coffee town Pluma Hidalgo. You should definitely check it out!

Alejandro has been able to travel for the last nine years. He said it could be expensive but there are ways of cutting costs when travelling.

When he was in Australia he had a working holiday visa so was able to work and travel there.

For other trips when he didn’t have a work visa he would get his accommodation for free by volunteering in hostels. He uses a website called Workaway. All jobs on Workaway require 20 hours work per week and in exchange volunteers get their accommodation and sometimes some meals covered.

Alejandro also works online to cover his costs while travelling. He works online as a travel agent and does translations. There is a site called proz.com where anyone with 2+ languages can do translations.

Some other sites to do freelance work online are Fiverr and Upwork as well

Alejandro says he finds it easy to be vegan in Mexico, especially in San Cristobal. There are so many vegan friendly restaurants there and a lot of vegan products available. But even outside of San Cristobal you can always get everything in the supermarket, Alejandro says.

Alejandro thought he had good English until he went to Australia. When he moved there he had a really hard time at first but it forced him to improve his English.

He doesn’t think people should let a language barrier stop people from travelling though. He says just go for it. With the technology we have now you can get by.

Alejandro says fear might stop you from travelling but if you push through there is so much to gain. The 2nd time he went to Thailand he went alone and was scared but he says he was so glad he did it. He believe that taking these chances are what help you grow.

Ale does slow travel and avoids planes as much as possible as a way of being more environmentally conscious when travelling. He says that particularly in the Americas you travel by land so easily.

He also says he like to eat local and vegan as this is much more sustainable

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From pick-up truck tours in El Salvador to getting mugged at knifepoint in Nicaragua a lot happened in the 3 weeks my guest Orla spent in Central America. Orla did the trip with 3 friends and spoke to me about the experience. We discussed route planning, replacing a passport, budgeting, staying safe and travelling as a woman.

Trip planning

We discuss how Orla and her friends planned the trip. It was relatively easy for them as their friends had done a similar trip so were able to share their trip planning Excel sheet.

Then the group took responsibility for one country each. They planned the activities, the route and the accommodation in each country.

Where they visited

Orla visited Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Belize on the trip. In Nicaragua she went to Managua, Granada and Leon.

In El Salvador she visited El Tunco. After that Orla and her group went to Guatemala. In Guatemala they visited Antigua, Lake Atitlan and Flores.

She finished her trip in Belize staying in San Ignacio and Caye Caulker.

Getting mugged in Nicaragua

Unfortunately for Orla and her friends they had a bumpy start to the trip. In their first stop in Nicaragua they got mugged. Locals jumped in and helped them straight away getting most of their stuff back but one of her friends still had her passport and phone taken.

Travelling as a woman in Central America

Orla said didn’t find her gender played a part in her safety while travelling in Central America, any more than it might anywhere. She notes that in Belize men will call out to you as a woman but she never found it threatening or intimidating, more friendly. She spoke to some girls from Belize who said they appreciated it and took it as a compliment when the men did this.

She was able to compare this to her time travelling in India. As not just a woman, but a woman with blonde hair she really stood out there and got a lot of unwanted attention.

Contact the show: [email protected] or @recipetotheroad

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Coming January 25th Recipe to the Road is a collection of travel stories and information from people all over the world with different backgrounds, different budgets and different life experiences. The idea of the podcast is to literally share the recipe to the road and make travel accessible to everyone through information. 

Each week host Maria, with the help of her amazing guests, will shed some light on different aspects of travel. 

Contact the show: [email protected] or @recipetotheroad

Apply to be a guest: https://forms.gle/MbPYGzHxKQvCUfdt8 

Podcast production: www.creativelycontenting.com