Happy New DECADE! Hola hola, I’m BACK—and with a crazy, exciting, emotional series of photo essays summarizing my past 10 years living and traveling solo around the world. It will also explain why I kind of “ghosted” y’all (sorry about that). I’m proud to announce I’ve made it to the other end of the tunnel after MANY sharp turns and (mis)adventures—so excited to start off a new decade finally able to share them with YOU again.

Off we go!

A decade of living and traveling solo around the world (part 1!)

2009-2010

Lived in Egypt, Morocco, and Florida; also explored Spain, Italy, Iceland, Panama, Mexico, NYC

I ended the previous decade – which officially started my solo adventures traveling around the world – with a year studying abroad in Egypt, a summer traveling the Middle East, and 4 months in Morocco.

And it was among the great contrasts of the barren desert of the Sinai Peninsula and one of the bodies of water with the most abundant marine life in the world that I got certified as a SCUBA diver, all the way to advanced. I even got to explore one of the top 10 ship wreck dives in the world, the SS Thistlegorm.

“Oh, and a few quick trips to Europe!

first trip to Rome:

That December, I finished a magical semester living in Morocco (which I road tripped with fellow exchange students over the weekends!)

Morocco is where I flew out to the UK and onto a sick 6-day stopover trip to ICELAND! Crazy that it was cheaper for me to do this free side trip with Icelandair on my way back home to Puerto Rico than to book a more direct flight, haha! That was my first time in Iceland and, 10 years later, it still tops my list of most favorite countries in the world – it’s like visiting a different PLANET:

I even got to see the northern lights! I CRIED, their beauty overwhelmed me:

After spending the Puerto Rican holidays with my family, I went back to the continental U.S. in January 2010 and got to swim with manatees in Florida. It was my 1st encounter with animals in the wild!

I was still a full time college student, so after the Spring 2010 semester kicked off, I took advantage of my very last official Spring Break to sail the San Blas Islands, Panama and to party on an overwater hostel in Bocas Del Toro:

GRADUATION!

After working my butt off holding several jobs/writing essays for study abroad scholarships to pay for university plus travel the world while studying full time, I finally graduated with honors distinction from college in December 2010. Took me 5 and a 1/2 years (2 degrees, 11 countries, and a 3rd language later) but hey, gotta work hard and play hard.

BUT! Before hitting the real world? A BACKSTREET BOYS CRUISE!

Limbo dancing on stage with the Backstreet Boys at a beach party in Cozumel. One of these photos of me actually made it to be the cover photo of the official Backstreet Boys Facebook page after the cruise. EPIC!

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After an epic celebrity party cruise and graduation,  I said good bye to 2010 and hello to 2011 by watching the ball drop NYE in Times Square, New York City from the VIP lane! Click on that pink text link to read the full story on how I pulled this off (it involves NYPD officers…lol)

2011-2012

From solo traveling around the world to a wedding, a baby, and other surprises

Little did I know this year we would have a very Puerto Rican wedding and I would find out I was going to be an AUNTIE. My little sis is all grown up!
<3

Another pivotal chapter of my life also began in 2011: TRAVEL BLOGGING!

That’s the summer LatinAbroad was born!

And this would be the year I’d meet “The One” for me.

Shortly after, I traveled without a plan to Curacao. From ending up in a guesthouse recommended by the very taxi driver that had just picked me up at the airport to Couchsurfing and hitchhiking with strangers around the island, this is been one of my funnest trips to date!

2012 was mostly about professional growth and exploring the Americas for me. I got promoted to marketing and translation manager after working for a year and a 1/2 with a company and was gaining experience so I could eventually spend more (and do more) while traveling around the world–no more financial restraints or limits!

I still had a handful of adventures that year though, including my first travel conferences in NYC and Keystone, Colorado; my first press trips, sponsored hotel stays and tours in Puerto Rico and Playa Del Carmen; and even my first-ever SNOWFALL in Texas!

 

2013 – when life and dreams crumbled…

This was the year things turned awry – my health went from perfect to terrifying…I got chronically ill (took 2 years to get an official diagnosis for) and was never able to use my hands the same way again. I couldn’t type nor mouse click. I spent up to 14 hours bedridden. I could barely blog, even with aids and voice recognition software. I was discriminated against and unfairly fired from a job I loved. I tried to sue but had to settle for a crap amount because hey, Florida is a “right to work” state and fibromyalgia is a “suspect condition.”

BUT! The irony is that because of this sharp turn in my path I reached the lifestyle I always dreamed of having – and MORE (keep reading this series to find out HOW!).

PART 2 of 10 years traveling around the world series coming up soon!