ABOUT
Welcome and thanks for stopping by! I've been fortunate to travel to many places and see many things over the last few years. In August 2017 I left my job and started travelling the world full time on the thinnest and barest of shoestrings!
I aim to share all of my endeavours, adventures and mishaps here. Enjoy!
"I'll never have enough money to do it, so I'll just do it anyway..."
Jess, 2010
Who is Jess is a Wanderer?
I grew up in a small village in The Cotswolds, England. On July 30th, 2004, aged seventeen, I set sail on a journey that would change my life forever. The plan: to lay the bricks for a new school in a remote rural community several hours west of Accra, Ghana. Jump forward to now and the school is open, has electricity, running water and provides free education to hundreds of children.
Little did I know that this trip would result in meeting amazing people and us having such an impact across different areas of Ghana. We decorated an existing school, taught local children games and songs, helped out at a medical centre and did some conservation work. It was four weeks of overwhelming amazing-ness. It was also where I contracted malaria!! Oh, and I cancelled my flight home and drove through Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco and Spain to get back to the UK... much to my family's disbelief.
July 30th, 2004 was when I caught the travel bug, I hope I'm never cured! Since then I've been to numerous countries but I make a point of saying 'I don't count countries, I count experiences'.
Where did Jess is a Wanderer come from?
I've lived on three continents and wandered across seven. I have an ever-growing bucket list of hopes and dreams. It was the middle of 2014 when someone asked me what I did with all the photographs I took on my travels. Back then, the answer was nothing. This niggled at me for about six months and that's when I decided I needed to share my pictures and anecdotes with the world.
With my first name being Jessica, I've always called myself 'Jess-is-a...' Therefore, it seemed only fitting to continue the 'Jess is a' trend and with help from my good travel companion, Wolvo, 'Jess is a Wanderer' was born in a dodgy hotel room in downtown Curitiba (Brazil) on July 22nd 2014. I was in Brazil for the World Cup (which had since ended) and had been mugged just a short time before but I was ready to take on the challenge of going public with my travels.
Unless otherwise stated, all photographs and stories are mine. Everything is as close to the truth as I am physically able to remember. I hope you'll be entertained, informed and inspired as you come wander with me.
. dreamer . photographer . adventurer
How is it possible to travel so much and work full time?
This is a question which I'm often asked. The answer has three parts.
Part 1 = I'm a teacher so school holidays are long and frequent. Whether it's a long weekend or a three week break, there's always time to plan a trip of sorts.
Part 2 = My life mantra: I'll never have enough money to do it, so I'll just do it anyway.
Part 3 = Time to get a little philosophical here. I really do believe that you can make more money but you can't make more time. Life is short so you've just got to get out there and do it, see it, experience it.
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UPDATE: As of September 2017, I'm no longer working but tramping my way around the world with an extended stay in NZ. I'll be picking up teaching here and there to support myself. Hope you'll be following along for the adventure!