Our worldwide journey has begun!
Who would purposely become homeless and get rid of all their possessions to explore the world? Now you know at least two people!
Hudson and Rocio
9/24/20262 min read
On September 23rd, 2026, Rocio and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary by taking a one way flight to Guatemala! We agreed that instead of gifts, we would just travel the world for a year. It was a cute idea until we had to do the myriad of things to make it happen...but now I'm writing to you from Antigua, Guatemala, so by the very last minute we made everything work!
As if we hadn't made ourselves busy enough, the last month was spent moving out of the place we had called home, selling and donating most of everything we owned including our vehicles, and ensuring we stopped paying for all the subscriptions, insurance, etc that we wouldn't need and instead getting what we knew would be worth it.
The night before was a mix of emotions, with multiple unpacks and repacks, quadruple checking our passports and reservations, and trying to get a few hours of sleep before the 0430 trip to the airport. The airport was mostly smooth, other than Rocio's ticket losing her TSA pre-check. Actually, we had to change our initial flight the day before because flight times changed and we wouldn't have made our connection! An espresso martini and mimosa in the Centurion lounge sounded worth a little less sleep so we opted for the earlier flight.
We landed in Guatemala City around 1PM and had to find a coffee shop that our prearranged ride would pick us up at...only to find out that our ride had come hours earlier and "missed us." Our screenshots of the original purchase helped and he came a few hours later. We met some other travelers on the shuttle and had a fun ride to Antigua, a beautiful colonial city with cobblestone streets and colorful buildings which had been the capital of Guatemala years ago. Our excitement to explore ran out quick on low sleep despite a few cafecitos and we had a very early night.
A couple notes, we went two hours back which isn't a ton but ensured we got an earlier bed time and earlier wake up. Guatemala uses the same electrical outlets as the USA which is wonderful, and the current conversion of USD to Guatemalan Quetzals is around $1 to $7.8. It is refreshing to pay around $8 USD for two cappuccinos and two water bottles versus a single dang coffee at Starbucks nowadays.
I totally forgot to mention our accommodation! We got a private room at the Somos hostel and the room is perfect. There is a queen bed and an ensuite bathroom. The hostel is incredibly clean and the other guests have been courteous (quiet). Walking around the city of Antigua has felt beyond safe and most everyone has been really friendly. I don't think the locals are used to being greeted by tourists and they seem to light up when we smile and say, "Hola! Buenas tardes!"
Dinner the first night wasn't great but all the little coffee shops and bakeries have been really cool. We are going to rectify our previous dinner experience by following our nose tonight instead of online reviews. Go where it smells awesome and the people are having a good time, that's the new mantra. Screw online searches, turns out the authors may not have physically gone there.
Tomorrow is an early wake up to hike to an ACTIVE VOLCANO. The ability to acquire gear and trek to camp next to an active volcano is exactly why we believe in staying fit so you can wander.
Until next time F2W fam, much love!
-Hudson out!
