THE WEEKLY #231: WE MADE IT TO DECEMBER

2020 will always be one for the books. Everyone has been on their own rollercoaster. Some have had a scarier ride than others but we’ve all had to deal with some ups and downs. However, not for one second do I think I had a tough 2020. There were three parts to the year. My first three months of travels, five months in Australia and then finishing the year with four months on the island of Madeira.

This year was actually quite a fun ride for me. I was able to get into the best shape of my life hiking consistently 12,000m of incline a week and avoiding any show-stopping injuries all year. Whether it be trail running, cycling or hiking, I just wanted to keep moving and grow. The last two years of work has prepared me to hike nonstop here in Madeira. This spell in Madeira will prepare me for the next expedition and that continual growth is a sustainable and motivating way to live and put in the work daily.

Having my first long spell back with family and friends was a great refreshing period and something valuable to me. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to connect with those that I love on an extended basis so that five months back in Adelaide was special and grounded me back to where I grew up.

My income dropped by about 80%. Yet, I proved to myself again that money is not the driver in my life and hopefully never will be. I still earned enough to pay my way in this world and having saved almost every cent I’ve earned over the last five years gave me a strong sense of security. Despite this big pay cut due to world travel coming to a standstill, I’ve not found myself complaining to friends and family nor yearning for my income to return. My income is a byproduct of the lifestyle I have created, not the purpose. Knowing that I would continue to live in a relatively similar manner if there was no income attached to my career shows me that I am heading down the right road. I didn’t need to make a quick, shallow online course or sell something to my audience to get by. I just kept doing what I was doing and let the rest take care of itself because I’ve been providing value to my audience for years with free-to-read travel guides that have been viewed more than sixteen times by over eight million people.

Sometimes you aren’t sure how you would act or who you would turn into if you were in a certain situation. I’ve changed almost nothing in my lifestyle for the past five years. I’m here for the adventures and having a majority of my income stripped from me in 2020 showed me that is true not just something I thought would be the case.

That’s a bit of reflection on 2020 but what did this week entail on Madeira. More hikes! The rain subsided for the most part after a rainy ten days previously. We took full advantage and went out for a couple of stunning hikes including the most dangerous trail on the island. We survived and lived to tell the tale. Fortune favors the brave.

Here are a couple of videos and my gallery of photos from this week.