Leaving Everything Behind to Travel the World: This Is What It Means to Live as a Nomad

To depart. To move forward with the lightness of baggage that has no ties. With just a few items in a backpack and no mortgage to return to. A dream for those who yearn to transcend routine. And a nightmare for those who have an aversion to uncertainty. Baltasar Montaño (Puebla de Sancho Pérez, Badajoz, 1971) has experienced both sides of the coin. On November 20, 2016, he turned 45. He celebrated in Bogotá. The days leading up to it were not easy. Saying goodbye to his family and friends in Spain was bittersweet. After leaving his job as a well-known journalist in Madrid and closing a home filled with memories, he bought a one-way ticket to Colombia. It was the first day of a new life he had long desired. A life where he could use all the time in the world at his leisure. Without office hours. Without a permanent residence. Open to what fate might have in store for him.

Seven years have passed since that birthday. Baltasar continues to lead a nomadic life. He has traveled through much of Southeast Asia and South America. And his goal for 2023 is to explore Africa in depth. However, there is one thing from his old life that he has been unable to give up: writing remains a necessity, a way to explain what he sees and feels. In the book 'No Ticket Back,' he explains the reasons for his decision and takes the reader through some of the places he has visited during this time.

Baltasar's book can be read as an invitation to radically change our way of life. In fact, for those who want to emulate him, he begins by practically explaining how he managed to implement his plan. But, the reader might wonder, how does this man make a living? Simply put, with the severance pay he received after voluntarily signing up for the Employment Regulation File (ERE) of the newspaper he had worked for nearly 14 years, he bought a house to rent out, thus generating reasonable income that, complemented by a monthly allowance from his savings, allows him to have a modest monthly salary. "Obviously," he points out, "I had to prepare myself to learn how to live with much less than what my job and position allowed me, but in exchange for - forgive the grandiloquence - buying my freedom."

But, how much money are we talking about? "In general terms," he explains, "I have about €1,500 a month, and with that I travel. I traveled all over Vietnam by motorcycle, and without depriving myself of anything that wasn't outrageous, I ended up saving about €500 a month without even trying. I spent three months traveling through the country and its islands on a Honda Win 120 that I bought in Hanoi for $220 and sold 90 days later in Saigon for $210. I lost $10 plus about $30 that I allocated for repairs during my journey of more than 4,000 kilometers. It seems that the investment turned out to be quite profitable.

In the medium term, Baltasar has no intention of abandoning this life: "Honestly, I feel happy in the movement, in the search for the unexpected and unpredictable, which is why I travel solo and almost without a travel plan. For me, traveling is about talking to people without the rush or stress of the return ticket day approaching. I don't have it and I have all the time in the world to enjoy everything new."

However, in this constant forward motion, he acknowledges that there is something he still finds difficult: saying goodbye. "It tends to be complicated," he admits. "Since I spend quite a bit of time in each country, I tend to form close relationships and great friendships, some very intense. I always warn that I'm just passing through, because my journey continues and at some point I'll leave, but sometimes it's hard to say goodbye and for them to understand me."

Obviously, leading a nomadic life is a fertile ground for the unexpected. He asserts that, despite living through numerous uncomfortable situations, he has never been robbed during this time. But, has he ever felt afraid? "Yes, less than I imagined, but yes. The Myanmar army detained me for poking around in an opium plantation, but I was lucky and they let me go. Also with the Brazilian police in Tabatinga -Amazonas- and several times in Mexico, where for the first time I came to fear for my physical integrity."

Despite the challenges, Baltasar defends his way of life. Even though he does not yet feel the need to settle down anywhere, he has discovered numerous places that have left a deep impression in his memory: "the Ratanakiri jungle -in Cambodia-; the lost ruins of Calakmul -in Mexico-; various fjords in Chilean Patagonia; several Bolivian peaks over 6,000 meters; the Ucayali basin in Pucallpa -where I began to ascend the Amazon-...". A long list that he continuously expands. When traveling becomes a way of life, the expression 'being a citizen of the world' takes on a new dimension.