Sure. The weather sometimes, especially the first weeks. I walked for days in pouring rain. Some trails that were boring or very different from what was described. My shoes: sandals that broke and closed shoes that wore out faster than expected. My solar panels that stopped working. Shelters that only existed on the map.

But honestly, those aren’t my biggest disappointments. They are more like things that just happen and are part of it. There are always ups and downs. Just like life itself, I take that into account and can generally accept that well. It is what it is… a cliché, but still the reality.

However, my biggest disappointment is myself. I actually thought that now that I’m living my dream life, I would leave certain problems behind. I am free. I no longer have to go to my job. I live outdoors, move every day, have all the time in the world, and decide for myself where I wake up tomorrow. So I actually thought that some of my old habits would just disappear. Not so. Silly expectation and thought.

I still procrastinate. I can waste too much time scrolling uselessly on my phone. I still don’t do exercises to keep my body flexible. I still eat way too many sweets. Apparently, you can be thousands of kilometers from home, sit in the middle of nature, have nothing more to wish for, and still retain the same bad habits. That was quite a confronting discovery for me. I thought, naively enough, that a different life would automatically bring about a different version of myself. But that’s not how it works.

You can quit your job, leave your home, pull a hiking cart behind you, and wander through Scandinavia for four months, but you always take yourself with you. Maybe that’s the most important thing I discovered during this journey. Not that I am rid of all my ‘problems.’ Rather, I see them much more clearly now. And that might be a first step. But who knows, that might also be a foolish expectation…

Asking costs nix. Do you have a question? Every Sunday I answer one. Ask it in the comments or anonymously via the contact form.

Vragen kost nix is Dutch for “Asking costs nothing.” Nix is a playful, made-up word. It doesn’t actually exist in Dutch. It’s a phonetic spelling of niks, the Dutch word for nothing, and it’s also a nod to my name, Marnix, shortened to Nix. Every Sunday, I publish a new edition of Vragen kost nix, where I answer a question from one of my followers. It can be about my travels, life on the road, or anything else they’re curious about. So, if you have a question, just ask. Asking costs nix!

PS. I already answered this question on September 13 on my Instagram account, but hadn’t published it here yet. Here it is retroactively.