As you know, San Pancho was a town that surprised us. A month’s stay easily turned into six months and it may well be a place we plant roots. We loved and love it there, and my oh my how much we miss it. In homage to our beloved town, here are some reasons to love the San Francisco you’ve never heard of.
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It was disorientating enough, arriving back in England after 14 months away – and matters were intensified by the fact it felt more like November than Spring. The trees were bare and the air had a frosty bite. One week later, and it looks like things are brightening with buds on trees and sun in the sky. I’ve even ventured out of my duffle coat. But that’s enough of the weather report (I am after all English), and after that little interlude, what better excuse for a reminiscing display of San Pancho’s finest flowers. Now that place knows how to do Spring!
We’re not sure of their names so we’ve taken the liberty of assigning our own, including the splendid Peekaboo Player above. Read more
Eleven years ago, I left a little town in Sri Lanka with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. I’d been there two months and fallen in love with the place and its people. Multiply that feeling by a hundred and you have how I feel today, leaving San Pancho behind. Read more
Look at our smiling faces, the sunny days, the stories of lands afar. People often say how wonderfully happy we look – and we are, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have our moments. We drown in piles of work, become irritable with those around us and get overwhelmed by the very fact of life – you know those ‘Oh my god, how are we breathing?, Why is a chair called a chair? and ‘We’re on a spinning planet’ type moments? Around about then it’s time for an intervention – a walk in the park, a favourite movie or, if we’re lucky, the new favourite, which we’ll christen Avatar Therapy.
Here’s introducing the latest in therapeutic techniques… Read more
I’ll be straight up with you. Writing this post was a pickle.
Clarity has been like a soap in the bathtub – I can see it but it slips away with every grasp. Trying to write it down has filled this page six times over and led to picking apart.
Only one thing is sure: when the mind falters from yes to no and every shade in-between within the space of 24 hours, it’s definitely not decision time. Read more
‘Life-changing’ is mega high acclaim in my books. Of course, the pedant in me could argue that everything is life-changing, but when I use it, I’m referring to those memorable moments of awakening that shift your consciousness and alter your path perceptibly.
The day I watched The Constant Gardner was one of those moments. I was shortly due to graduate from university and was lounging around in my student house in Camberwell, pondering the question ‘what next?’ A masters degree in dialects of English, a course in children’s literature, a teaching programme, a journalism course – my options were wide and diverse, but nothing had truly stuck. Read more
There’s something I can’t get off my mind.
I return to my ‘blog post ideas’ list but nothing takes my fancy. How to couchsurf safely, why animo is such an awesome word, and an ever-growing list of why we love San Pancho. They’ll come one day, but it’s hard to focus on anything else when the mind is consumed.
Those of you who read our newsletter may be able to guess what it is – the mega idea that’s got me doing sums, scouring Pinterest and abseiling down jungle slopes.
I didn’t want to mention it until a decision had been made, but it turns out that could take a while, so in place of a looming silence or forced words, I’ll share our story with you. Read more
It’s 365 days since we stepped out of our empty London home onto the early morning streets of Peckham and made our way to Rio. Twelve months and twelve countries later, we’re in Mexico with no intention of stopping our travels. It’s been an epic year and, short of reading the blog in its entirety, I think the best way to tell it is in photos… Read more
San Pedro de Atacama is surrounded by surreal, other-worldy landscapes. In one direction, you can head towards Bolivia’s salt flats and a land of coloured lagoons and striped volcanoes. Travel to Argentina and you’ll pass a mountain of seven colours – or step just outside the town and you’ll find yourself in the Valle de la Luna, named as such because it’s said to look like the moon. Read more
Mexico is one of the most colourful countries I have been to – from the houses to the jewelry to the decor to nature itself. This picture captures a part of it, with the gorgeous orange of the flower contrasted against the bright blue door. I wish all countries were this cheerfully bright.
We are Victoria and Steve, a writer/yoga teacher and filmmaker from London, who decided to start living the life we want to rather than the life we thought we should.
We’ve been working and travelling around the world since March 2012. Follow us for travel tips and inspiration as we journey, write, film, volunteer, couchsurf, retreat and ponder our way round this planet.
