Not lost, still just wandering.

My Story

In 2020, against all logic and amidst a global pandemic, I quit my job in the hopes of finding my true path in life. Up until that point, I had been living quite comfortably on an American paycheck in destinations all over (mostly) Latin America. 

My home is not a highway - a straight road to follow on well-known lone pavement. 

At a glance, my rather unconventional life looked great, like I’d really cracked the code on life and living. It appeared as though I was living the dream as a digital nomad. And I was…to a certain extent. Deep down, however, I knew I was still settling.

I was living in places people dream of visiting, including Cusco, Peru and Cartagena, Colombia, but spending most of my time behind a screen doing work that didn’t light me up. I became so drained by it that my free time wasn’t always well spent.

Sure, I had the steady paycheck and a rather impressive amount of freedom, but the passion was missing. What became abundantly clear was that work was distracting me from the life I wanted to be living. I needed a change.

I roam through wide open space - no maps or foot tracks. 

By 2020, I could feel that I had reached my limit with settling for a life that was less than fulfilling. Even though I had no idea what to replace it with, I knew I was playing it too safe, too afraid to let go and let life reveal a new and more aligned path for me.

Maybe it was the removal of all distractions thanks to the lockdowns of the pandemic or maybe it was just time. Either way, I finally mustered up the courage in May of 2020 to put in my notice. I had saved enough money to make the leap into the unknown a little less scary. 

Those first few months of freedom were strange to navigate as I shed the habit of do, do, doing all the time and had to teach myself how to just be. I felt direction-less and that wasn’t the socially acceptable way to feel.

No turnbacks - I’m in deep. 

I don’t know what I thought would happen when I quit, but I certainly didn’t expect the new life direction to take as long as it did. For about a year and a half, I lived in total freefall and surrender, watching my bank account dwindle to $0.00 again and again while I picked up odd jobs here and there.

What kept me going is that I knew there were no turnbacks this time. I was willing to risk it all to find my way into a life that didn’t allow for any settling. It forced me to keep going, to keep looking forward. It taught me to stay present and, more challengingly, to stay patient. It also forced me to stand by and reaffirm the leap I took, to not be tempted by the call of comfort and safety coming from what I left behind.

Where I’ll go, I am not certain. But I know I will be fine. 

You may have noticed the bolded text in my story. These are lines from Still Wandering by Bronze Radio Return, a song that found me in the depths of this unknown I’ve been describing to you. The words were and continue to be the theme song of my life and the way I’m living it, the way I’m inviting you to live yours in everything I publish on this blog.

Like the song says: Where I’ll go, I am uncertain. But I know I will be fine. While once these lines were a wisp of hope to me in the darkness of not knowing, they’re now simply a reminder, because I’ve experienced how true they are. Again and again. I was fine. I am fine. I will be fine.

I’m still at it. I’m still keeping on.  

While quitting my job in 2020 sent me on a trajectory of learning how to live in the unknown, with just the beat of my own heart to guide me, it’s now where I choose to remain. There’s nothing like not knowing what comes next to keep you on the edge of your seat. And I speak from experience when I say, it’s where the magic happens - within and without.

I’m still at it and still learning as I go. These days I’m still keeping on with travel writing, both here on the blog and for publications, and have plans to start supporting people in connecting to their own inner voice, especially while navigating their version of the unknown.

If this is being lost, then may I never be found. 

This is both a travel blog and a firsthand account from a traveler, but really just a human, fully surrendering to the great unknown. On these pages, you’ll find destination guides to the places I wander as well as the raw and real telling of my journey as it unfolds. 

No Maps or Foot Tracks is about learning how to embrace the destination-less journey in life and in travel, tuning inward as you go outward, and leaving room for chance encounters, unexpected detours, and a life to unfold beyond your wildest imaginings. As the name encourages: No maps. No foot tracks. Just your own inner compass to guide you and a friend - me ;)

You can find me posting in real-time at @nomapsamber and @nomapsorfoottracks on Instagram and at No Maps or Foot Tracks on Facebook.