Travel
I've been searching for my paradise since about 2014. It turns out that paradise is a hard thing to find. I've been all over Europe between 2002 and 2010, visiting countries like England and Scotland, Slovakia, Belgium, Germany, France and Austria. After that I went to South-east Asia. Namely the Philippines and Malaysia. Both are good fun for a while. But both countries are not really what I'm looking for.
What am I looking for? Not sure! Maybe peace-of-mind most of all. But that's in short supply everywhere, it seems.
On my travels I am joined by various people from time to time including some girlfriends and my mother, Jeanette.
New Beginnings
Fall of 2015
In October of 2015 I left my home in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, for the last time and flew to the Philippines that evening.
the Philippines
2015 → 2018
The Philippines is a great country to explore and to see all the sights. Every island has beaches, mountains and rivers to explore.
Malaysia
Fall of 2018
We decided to take a little vacation to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to do some shopping and be allowed to 'reset' our visa.
the Philippines
2018 → 2019
Rice fields in the Phillipines. Everything around here revolves around rice.
Europe
Winter of 2019
Rome Italy. On my way to the Netherlands I've also stopped in Pisa, Venice and Milan.
Mexico
2019 → Future
I've managed to become a Permanent Resident in Mexico. It'll be my home for the foreseeable future.
Adventure on wheels
I love exploring on a motorcycle. All my possessions on the back, and just go. Following the road, or path or trail. And just ride to the next interesting looking place. Where I'll then probably stay for a while. I like to explore everything I want to see and discover. There is no plan other than a general direction and some cities or areas I want to check out. Most of the time planning doesn't go much further than about 1 to 2 months ahead while traveling.
In January 2021 I bought a brand new BMW F850GS Adventure motorcycle. And in July 2021 I made a 9500+ Kilometers long adventure through Mexico from Cancun in Quintana Roo. I've spent about 4 months on the road before finally finishing in La Paz in Baja California Sur. I sort of sat out the Chinese Flu pandemic there while seeing all there is to see in the area.
In 2023 I drove the other way to Merida in Yucatan. This was another long journey of about ~7000 kilometers. A subject of that adventure was to ride from the USA-Mexico border all the way south to the Mexico-Guatemala border following the coastline. This took a few months and took me through several beautiful areas devoid of tourism because of cartel activity.
I then landed in Merida, in Yucatan for a while and recently I made yet another long trip through Mexico, this time straight through the middle and drive another ~6500 kilometers from Merica back to La Paz in Baja California Sur. I figured that overall, La Paz is a relaxed place so I set up show there once again. The big idea of the last trip was to look around and see if I could find a nicer place than La Paz, and if not, stay in La Paz.
I didn't quite find anything suitable. So La Paz is where I'll be for the foreseeable future.
Distance
Via Airplane I've traveled more than 109500 kilometers. Riding my motorbike I've driven more than 125000 kilometers in the last 8 or-so years. And I've moved around more than 14000 kilometers by train, bus and boat.
Accommodations
Over the last few years I have stayed in more than 140 different hotels, lodges or inns. I've lived in 31 different houses and apartments and slept uncomfortable on more than one occasion.
Countries
So far I've been to 19 countries in my life. I speak Dutch and English, a few words German, French and Spanish. Currently I'm learning Spanish but I'm not very good at it. And after a year in the Philippines I completely gave up on understanding Bisaya and Tagalog.
Disasters
I have been in a hotel fire where the building caught on fire from the next-door slums. Earthquakes hit hotels I stayed in and I've been in 7 major tropical storms, a hurricane or two and three dust storms. After a cat 3 hurricane I've been without electric power for 4 weeks. And I've driven through floods and nearly got hit by a landslide.
Misfortunes
On my motorcycle I've been the victim of 3 hit-and-runs. I also ran over a dog at high speed and a bird hit me in the helmet once. I've fallen of several ledges/cliffs with and without motorcycle. I've crashed into a car and a pothole. Parts of my luggage got lost and I've had food poisoning quite a few times.
Adventure
I've hiked up 4 mountains and explored more than 10 waterfalls and tons of scenic views. I've been on heaps of nice beaches and swam in many rivers and bays. I've stared into the Sonora desert and conquered the Mayan ruins in Yucatan. And I've driven off-road several thousand kilometers for it.