SOBER TRAVELING
Traveling is one of the most invigorating and empowering adventures we get to experience out of our day-to-day routines. We get to explore the world and experience new cultures, cuisine, and new incredible people. It is such a privilege to be able to experience people’s other worlds, so why not indulge in these experiences without drinking?
One of my first sober trips was to Peru with my girlfriend Jillian. I had expressed to her that I have NEVER gone on an international trip and not had a drink. It seemed to be the norm when we would go out. To go out to dinner and have nice wine; to go snowboarding and get blasted on the hill while burying beers in the snow. I didn’t know how to do any other way of “traveling” and it never seemed to end. It was ALWAYS in the plan to go out and rage for any occasion while traveling.
While Jillian and I were on the way to Peru, we went over all of the amazing things that we planned on our own to do while we were there. We planned to go horseback riding in Cusco, go on a 30 mile biking tour through the Incan Salt Flats, explore the local markets, find the best food in town, get up at 4am to go and hike Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu, and even stay in the Amazon Rainforest for over a week in a treehouse 30 feet up in the trees (only covered by a mosquito net to keep the bugs out). We could not WAIT to land and begin our adventures in Peru!!
As we got into our groove in Cusco - our mornings started early. We had to plan our days so everything was timed out precisely in order to reach our next destination on time. We had to navigate things popping up like strikes, which shut down the trains, having to take taxis in the middle of the night, and missing our train to Agua’s Calientes; things don’t always go as planned. While things don’t always go as planned, I always say “it isn’t an adventure if something doesn’t go wrong”. Even though things don’t always go as planned, we were still able to navigate these changes, the early mornings, and transportation changes while feeling on point from not being hungover the night before.
Being able to handle changes and new adventure while not feeling like hell in the morning or all day was one of the most empowering feelings on this trip to Peru. I had never felt this alive before and so confident in a new space. We enjoyed all of our experiences to the fullest, got more out of this trip than I EVER HAD out of any other international trip, and squeezed in just about everything that we could in two weeks. Had we gone out every night and found the biggest clubs and most happening bars, I know for a fact that we would have not been able to get the absolute most out of this trip like we did.
Although not drinking on a trip for me was quite the change, I felt so empowered to continue doing trips like this to really embrace the WHOLE adventure, and to top it off – being able to remember the whole thing. Traveling while sober can seem challenging and a bit uncomfortable at times, but being able to dive into the whole experience is absolutely priceless.
