Gabe (US)
My first attempt at world travel took place in Central America after I graduated college and only lasted four weeks before I depleted my savings and was forced to return home. But during that time, I met lifelong friends and had experiences that changed my perspective on life and the world we all share – I swore that I would travel again someday.
Three years later I was living in Portland, Oregon working at my first real career-oriented position and finally not hurting for cash. I didn’t want to give up everything I had worked so hard to achieve but I couldn’t help but ask myself, “You now have the means, what are you waiting for?” It’s pretty easy to rationalize the familiar, and staying in a comfortable situation really can be the rational thing to do, but I figure occasionally you have to be irrational. So here I was, feeling the comforts of true financial security for the first time, and in the face advice about retirement account goals, career advancement, and maintaining hard engineering skills, I decided to seek adventure.
My inspiration for this came also in large part from my family, who has always prioritized travel and cultural experiences over more traditional values. For instance, when my parents got married, they took the money that another couple might spend on an elaborate ceremony and used it to quit their jobs and take a year-long honeymoon in Mexico and South America. I’ve heard them talk about this trip of theirs my entire life and grew up with photos of it hanging on our walls so thanks to them I not only knew it was possible but also that it would be something I would be able to take with me forever (I was also reasonably confident that I wouldn’t have to fight for their support of my decision). Thirty years after they had returned from South America, I was setting out on the same trip.
The travel strategy I employed stems from one theory: any plan I make alone cannot be as good or as well informed as one that I make with friends – it was this reason that I decided to keep an open schedule and an open mind. All of my best stories have spontaneous beginnings, so to keep things interesting I tried not to plan too much and instead I would decide to where to go next based off the advice of locals and other backpackers. And, as it turned out, I had a lot more to gain by talking to these people than a couple ideas for plans. While the views and experiences to be had in South America are both incredible and plentiful, the real treasure was the people I met. Whether it was overhearing another traveler talking about driving into Guatemala before ending up spending the next month with him and his over-lander friends, tagging along with some backpackers en route to Uruguay last minute when my plan to cross into Chile were interrupted by the eruption of spontaneous riots across the country, or even just playing videogames with some Argentinian amigos as a break from all the chaos, I found that I managed to find true companionship with people from all corners of the globe and the stories and experiences we shared is worth more than anything I could ever achieve alone.
My name is Gabe Sobel and I live in Portland, Oregon. I started a new job, but searching for work after being a nomad for so long wasn’t easy (shout out to Covid-19), but I never once regretted my time in South America for a moment, and it’s because of the people I met and the lessons I learned along the way that I’m ready for the next adventure – no matter what form it takes.