This morning I woke up, walked 5 minutes to the beach, swam in the ocean, and got out to pet my dog, Paquito, who was waiting patiently for me to be done swimming so we could play some more.
It was a bit after sunrise, but the sun was still pretty low, glowing behind the morning clouds.
I took a second and stared into the sky, and I was transported back 8 years ago to a beach near Lisbon, the day after I moved from the US to Portugal.
In both of these instances, my thinking brain shut off. I was simply feeling the moment.
Grateful. Content. At peace.
I was exactly where I was meant to be. It might not have made any sense if I thought about it too much or tried to rationalize it, but I had that feeling in my gut that I’ve learned to trust more over the years… as if my stomach was telling the rest of my body and mind, yes.
8 years ago, I graduated from university without a plan. All I knew was that I wasn’t ready to stop traveling, I had a genuine desire to see the world, and I wanted to do that in a place with great beaches while learning another language. Oh, and I absolutely did not want to work a 9-to-5 for some soul-sucking company.
So, Portugal it was.
Moving to Portugal made no “sense” to the thinking brain, but I knew I had to go. I wasn’t pursuing anything to do with my degrees. I had no job lined up. My residence visa still hadn’t even been approved just a week before the flight.
Even so, I knew I had to go. I had to trust my gut.
The day after arriving at my new home, a tiny town filled with literal castles (yes, plural castles) called Sintra, I took a bus to the coast and went for a surf.
Standing on that Portuguese beach about to enter the majestic coastline with a surfboard in my hand, I took a deep breath. Gratitude. I did it. And it felt so right. I fully trusted in that exact moment that I made the right decision to squeeze all my belongings into two backpacks and move to a foreign country.
Little did I know at the time how much that experience would shape me. It began a series of events that would lead to previously unimaginable, amazing circumstances, still playing out beautifully today.
The past two days have brought me that same feeling.
I drove 16 hours over two days from Paraty to Florianópolis (Floripa), the Brazilian island where I’ve decided to have a base for a few months.
My new temporary home… just like when I moved to Portugal.
I arrived yesterday at 5pm to the same campground by the beach that I spent three weeks at during February and early March. I live in a converted van, for those wondering. Campgrounds are about as official of a living situation as it gets for people like me.
Paquito immediately jumped out of the car, greeting his doggo friends with his tail wagging like a helicopter. I packed a bag, locked the van, and took the trail that leads through the grassy marsh and dunes to the beach.
The conditions were perfect. The temperature was a tad warm, the water was a tad cold, and the waves were smooth and body-surfable. I ran around with Paquito - who was equally excited to be in nature after sleeping at a gas station truck lot the night before - laughing and playing like a little kid. My face was filled with a goofy smile while I ran around the hard-packed sand alone on this vast beach with my crazy dog.
Again—that same feeling.
I’m where I’m supposed to be.
And boy, am I excited! (and a bit nervous and anxious… but they’re pretty much cousins of excitement, so… same thing.)
Over the past two weeks, I was in Paraty to be with my girlfriend, Ana, as she and her brother took over their parent’s café in the historical center of the touristy, colonial town. Just like I’m starting a business project, so are they. They will be transforming the space into something more modern. Like me, Ana is also ready for a pause on travel.
I’ve spent a considerable amount of time in Paraty over the past few years. While it’s a cool place, the city’s energy does not match up with my energy. It’s also really hot, and I’m sick of the heat. Sue me.
So, I’ve returned to Floripa, where I was with Ana for the 20 days before Paraty.
Are you confused about this timeline, yet? Welcome to the life of a nomad!
Those 20 days were filled with many little moments that satisfied my current desire to be part of a community.
And not just any community—this place is a magnet for people focused on their physical and spiritual health. The fact that it’s an island with beautiful beaches doesn’t hurt.
I began noticing how happy my soul was with each simple day…
I was waking up early every day, taking Paquito to the beach, and going for an ocean swim.
I started meeting other people walking their dogs at the same time each morning. One of these people is a guy named Cesar. He started a project that merges fitness with breathwork and yoga and invited me to a sunrise event the next day.
Community!
I found an organic, vegan all-you-can-eat buffet for under $6 USD that I went to every single day. There, I got invited to a 4-day meditation retreat led by a new friend named Romi. It had events involving reiki, breathwork, men’s circles, and loads of other practices.
Community!
I was quickly meeting and interacting with like-minded individuals, people I found interesting and inspiring.
I had a group of wonderful people to eat lunch with regularly.
I was invited to a sunrise meditation on the dunes that happens every Wednesday.
Community!
You might be thinking this just sounds like a guy describing having friends and a community, and… you’re right! I talked about this burning desire for community after living so nomadically for 8 years in my last newsletter. It’s something I haven’t focused on in a while, and I could feel that I was in the right place.
So, after a visit to Paraty, I came back… this time to stay for a bit while I focus on building this business.
This sense of community is the exact essence of why I’m creating this business in Baja.
For those new here, I’m starting a new project that I’ll be building and sharing in real-time in these newsletters. I will be guiding overlanding tours throughout Baja California, Mexico. Essentially, I’ll be taking people traveling in their own vehicles on an expedition for a few weeks through the rugged, beautiful, and remote peninsula of Baja.
But this isn’t a “guided tour company”. I want the focus to be on curating a community of like-minded individuals who love adventure travel, sharing dinners together while wild camping on a remote beach, and having meaningful conversations over a campfire before waking up early the next day for a sunrise meditation and breathwork session.
Sound like something you’d be interested in? Send me an email or comment on this post, and I’ll make sure to add you to the list.
I believe the best moments are shared.
Life is better in a caravan. In the case of this project, there will be a literal caravan, walkie-talkies and all!
(And yes, that is definitely going to be one of the slogans.)
Since the time I announced that I’m pursuing this business, I have sat in all the anxiety of my thinking brain telling me all of the reasons why I shouldn’t be doing this, why it’s not really what I want, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah.
But by sitting in that mental ambush for some time, I’ve gotten more clarity than ever that this is exactly what I want to be doing, and it’s going to be a fucking blast.
That feeling in my gut is unwavering.
Plus, feelings follow action. The more I create and get going, the more momentum of positive emotions that follow, fueling more creation, and so on…
As much as I rag on my overthinking brain, it’s not all bad.
I think it’s important to go thoroughly comb through the pros and cons of future endeavors, do a bunch of research, and weigh if starting the project is a good option.
So, let’s imagine the absolute worst-case scenario of building this business. Imagine an epic failure. What would that look like?
I think the biggest failure in building this entire business would be to do everything and not have a single person sign up. Not one. No tours. No interest. Nothing.
First, there’s the bummer of “failing” in public, since I’ve decided to transparently share the creation process in real-time. Fortunately, I don’t care about this too much. I’d care more about not trying and regretting that I didn’t even start. Or announcing here that I’m going to do something and then never do it.
Let’s dive deeper.
In this scenario, I would make $0, but I’d still rack up some expenses. I have to ship my van from South America back to the United States, and that’s pricey. However, I’d be doing that anyway, so that’s not a true business expense.
Once all is said and done, I believe I’ll be under $2000 for business expenses before the first trip is set to start in November/December 2025. Luckily, that’s not the end of the world… and that $2000 is a very conservative estimate.
These are the only two negative things I can think of.
The other results of this “failure” are all positive outcomes.
I’ll learn how to properly/legally establish an LLC and set up a business and all associated accounts. (Yes, I am interested in learning how to do this.)
I’ll gain more skills in setting up a business website and branding, design, logo, etc.
I’ll get real-world experience with marketing and advertising.
I’ll end up in one of my favorite places in the world, where I’ll be surrounded by like-minded people with the chance to become a part of another amazing community.
Even in the worst-case scenario, the failure would be a net-positive experience for me… which definitely isn’t the case for all projects.
So, I’m even more stoked knowing that this thing is already a win, regardless of the outcome.
With this out of the way, it was time to create a massive checklist of every to-do item I could think of.
I started with a giant, unorganized list using the Things app that I have been using to organize my entire life since my early college days.
You might notice the name of the project as the good trip. Unfortunately, that name is copyrighted and the LLC wasn’t available in the state of Florida (where I need to register the business). I was pretty set on that name, but I’ve since changed to something else and will share it in the next newsletter.
Next, I organized all of the items into categories and started applying dates and deadlines.
It’s amazing how after that simple exercise of trying to imagine every possible thing to take care of, the huge, overwhelming project becomes something manageable and fun.
One step at a time.
I keep reminding myself to enjoy the process, have fun with it… be playful.
And it’s working. More to come soon. 😉
And yes, I fully realize how digital nomad-y it sounds to be an American citizen working remotely in Brazil for a future business endeavor in Mexico. 2025, baby! 16-year-old Alex would be stoked at the life 30-year-old Alex is living.
Thanks for reading,
Alex
Loved reading this Alex. What a life! Can’t wait to follow your progress x
Sending you good thought's for success! Live life to the fullest!