Hooray Readers! I'd like to share some thoughts and photos altogether, plus leave a question...

Suuup, guys! As far as updates go, on the insane trip I don't have much to add, apart that my life has been following the same pattern millions of people follow on a daily basis. Funny isn't it? How everyday more and more people feel bored on their working routines and wish they could simply quit everything, dress a backpack and throw themselves into this world of ours. That's exactly what I did, and here I am... working like a horse, way more than when I was at home.

That said, is travelling the solution for all the problems?

I'd say no... unfortunatelly. But I'll have to explain myself further on, because this question actually is so vast and in-depth that I'm still looking for the answear. So, while we develop the thoughts, I'll introduce you to Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia - the place where my mindset started to change. Enjoy!!

. . .

Wandering Along the River

By the time I reached Ljubljana I had been crossing Europe for more than a month; a long, cold, windy, rainy, fun and above all quiet month. I'm pretty confident to be around with nothing but myself enjoying any dumb idea that may cross my mind, such as choosing the worst short cuts ever in history of wandering.

However, at some point I found myself camping less and going to hostels more.. where's that guy who used to sleep on the streets in Patagonia? Where's that guy who used to travel with barely no money?

^{Old Town in Ljubljana}

Walking by this very canal I started to realise that my bicycle trip had became something automatic and without a real purpose; long days cycling and crossing empty villages, no locals to greet and stop for a quick chat. The whole idea of being free to camp while enjoying nature was not being fulfilled as in my previous trips and I've started to realise that taking pictures turned into an obligation, just to have content to keep the blog going. The texts turned into boring descriptions of places I had passed through and the long, detailed and full of dialogues story tellings disappeared from the blog. Language barrier may have been the reason for not interacting with locals, but also for the most part they were just not interested at all in a conversation. And thus, I've started to feel bored.

The Lack of Connection

Even though happy to be doing such a journey on my own, I couldn't feel a connection to any of those marvelous cities; we cannot deny their importance to history, but most of them had just became touristic magnets. Thousands of tourists packed fighting for a spot to take their selfie for the social medias on a perfectly restored castle. Most of them blindly walking around without paying real attention and trying to understand how life would've been back in medievel days. Around, many stalls selling all sorts of trinkets ranging from t-shirts to souveniers so everyone could take something back home to show others where they have gone. I don't blame them, each one with one's travel style, but I didn't want to be in the middle of that.

^{Perfectly restored Ljubljana castle}

Nostalgia

My expectations of meeting locals along the journey were far from reality, let alone receiving permission to camp on their garden. Sleeping on the streets for the most part was out of question after many warnings of bike thiefs peeking around in search of an easy pray.

I missed the long days of light camping in the middle of nowhere near a river, without any preocupations but what to eat on that day. I missed leaving all my stuff unattended knowing that absolutely nothing would happen to them. I missed making friends on a camping site and a few hours later treat them and share food with them as if we knew each other for many years.

^{Cafe Nostalgia in Ljubljana}

Now I had to keep on going and crossing all this history cities that I wasn't really enjoying anymore, thinking about nature and the peacefulness of a clean river flowing right in front of my tent's door. Money was ending fast, preocupations were raising and the chances of finding a quick job were almost zero. I was becoming just a normal tourist.

I've started to question myself: Why am I doing this? What is the purpose of travelling? Why do we travel?

For now I'll leave you with those questions as I, more than 3.000 km later, can't really answear them.

The content will continue with more thoughts and photography sharing, eventually I'll find nature again further on, but for that you'll have to keep in touch.

Why do you travel? Would you visit Slovenia?

If you liked this post, please, consider leaving your upvote for a hot coffee.

~Love ya all,

Disclaimer: The author of this post is a convict broke backpacker, who has travelled more than 10.000 km hitchhiking. Following him may cause severe problems of wanderlust and inquietud. You've been warned.