Another Year, Another Trip

It's been a while since I came back to the US in December of last year. Since then, I started a nonprofit organization called TuxTechRepair.org to fix old laptops and electronics. I was able to fix a broken iPad, but I lost my interest to continue with any other repairs soon after. Then I was motivated by AI and vibe coded a home inventory application using Python. I've been using my application to track the values of the stuff I own. In late February, I made a website for my friend's band called Loosey. The next month, I went to New York City and saw Loosey play a live show, which was a great experience!

Now, I'm ready for my next travel adventure. However, the goal of cycling around the world is not going to happen. There are too many difficulties and inconveniences that I don't want to deal with. Things such as packing my bicycle into a box and transporting it to an airport, cycling on the left side of the road, dealing with the cold and rainy weather, hiking my bike through muddy terrains, etc. If I was younger maybe I'd taken up on these challenges, but now I feel I need more comfort. I still want to travel the world and the only other option is to backpack. That's what I'll be doing for the next couple of years until I feel I've had enough.

From my previous adventures, I realized that it's best for me to travel a few months at a time. So a few weeks ago, I bought a one way plane ticket for April 26 to Venice, Italy. I'll be backpacking in Italy and go all the way south to Malta. From there, I will take a flight to Wrocław, Poland, to pick up my bicycle. I'm thinking of cycling to Athens, Greece, through the Balkan coast while stopping by a couple of places along the way to visit a few friends, one in Slovakia and the other in Croatia. The total length of this trip will be about three months, since that's what the Schengen visa allows. I will come back to the US from Europe in July and vote in November for the midterm election before traveling to my next destination.

That's the plan for now: a backpacking trip from Italy to Malta, then a bicycle tour from Poland to Greece. I hope I won't get too lonely, or bored and tired, during the trip. This will be my fourth long term trip since I quit my job in March 2023. And I sure hope it won't be my last.