Meet the Nomads – Sam and Zab of Indefinite Adventure

Sam and Zab bought a one way ticket to Buenos Aires last January 2013 and have been exploring South America since then. Both of them used to work and live in London prior to embarking to this long trip. If you’re looking for blogs to read about travels to South America and Europe, you’ll definitely find a lot of interesting and helpful posts on their blog.

Sam and Zab also shares a lot of info about tasty and delicious foods that they have eaten in their travels, be sure to check out their Food Porn Friday section. You’ll also find some helpful budget related post as they document the cost of their trips in each countries that they have visited.

Get to know more about Sam and Zab and visit their blog at Indefinite Adventure.

Before you leave this page, check out my short interview with Sam and Zab.

 <- Zab and Sam ->

How did you discover your passion for travelling?

“For me (Sam), it was when I did my first big solo trip back in 2009 when I traveled for four months in South East Asia, China and back by train across Mongolia, Russia and Eastern Europe. Before leaving on that trip, I knew I wanted to travel, but I didn’t know just how much I’d love it: I became intoxicated, and built my life around finding ways to do it more and more often!”

“For Zab it happened at a much earlier age. As a teenager, he remembers hearing about the travels of his international family, in particular his aunt who’d immigrated to the UK from Grenada in the Caribbean as a young child and would often travel back there and to the various other places around the world her siblings lived.”

What’s the most horrible experience that you’ve had on the road?

“I suppose we’ve been really fortunate not to have any truly awful experiences so far. We’ve both been ill a couple of times (several times needing to visit a doctor and get special medication, but never necessitating a hospital stay), but usually the other has been well enough to take care of the ill one, so it’s not been that bad. Sorry: I know you were hoping to hear something terrible and get your schadenfreude on!”

What’s the best travel experience that you’ve ever had?

“So far in South America, it would definitely be the four day tour of Bolivia’s southwest circuit that we did back in May. It was physically difficult (with the altitude and cold), but the landscapes we saw were just out of this world, and the whole thing is not something we’ll be forgetting any time soon!”

What’s the biggest realization that you’ve got out of travelling?

“That we’re not backpackers. At least not in the traditional sense, though we do carry backpacks, and they’re actually pretty small (check our post here about our packing list). What I mean is that we’re no longer interested in finding the cheapest dorm room and ticking off all the ‘must-see’ sights wherever we go. We prefer to have a little more comfort (and don’t mind paying for it), and rather experience places by wandering around, people watching in cafes, shopping at local markets, making friends and having them over for dinner instead.”

What keeps you going? What keeps you motivated?

“Well, we travel pretty slowly. We tend to rent apartments in a place for a few weeks or a month then spent a couple of weeks travelling to the next place where we’ll do the same. We find that once we’ve been in a city for a while, we’re ready to explore new places when we leave. But the motivation? The freedom to be living the lives we truly want for ourselves rather than what people expect of us is a big driving force and something that propels us forward.”

This is a silly and hypothetical one. If you would be given a chance to travel with a popular person or a celebrity, who would it be and why?

“For me, being the sci-fi geek that I am, I’d have to say I’d pick the Doctor as a travel companion. Travel not only through space, but also time? Count me in!”

“Zab goes with Bette Midler. Don’t ask why.”

Where’s your favorite place in this planet and why?

“That’s a really hard one. On our current trip in South America, we definitely liked Buenos Aires the most. Its European feel, amazing street art, cool cafes, young vibe and great mix of architecture plus the fact that it was the first place we experienced in South America together made it a really special place for us. But in the whole world…we may just have to say Berlin. For many of the same reasons as Buenos Aires actually, plus the fact that it’s Germany (so, excellent standard of living, wonderful organisation, and a people we can ‘get’), has an amazing vegetarian, vegan and organic food scene and that we already have many friends there. All of these things together make it the place we are most strongly considering making our base next year.”

What’s your best tip for newbie traveller?

“Take less stuff, and more time!”

What’s the funniest and silliest thing you’ve ever done while travelling?

“Zab once forgot to change his shorts for swimming trunks when we went kayaking in Bariloche, Argentina and got them soaked. This resulted in him walking back to town wearing his little trunks and his shorts hanging from his bag to dry! Mostly this was funny for me.”

“And I like to take picture of myself doing silly poses with the camera on self timer.”

How do you keep yourself safe on your travels?

“Common sense, mostly. Keeping belongings within sight whenever possible, not flashing money or gadgets in crowded places and simply being aware of your surroundings. We of course also look out for each other, as we’re aware of things happening around us in different ways: Zab may not notice or understand a warning from a local, while I may not notice the dodgy looking guy across the street who’s seen that I’m carrying a laptop.”

What do you think about yourself?

“So we decided to take a shot and describing each other!”

“Sam, as described by Zab: Sam is often caught in limbo between not caring about how he looks and dresses and being extremely vain. Some things he likes are lists, collecting postcards, science-fiction, hyperbole, trains, astrophysics, podcasts and maps. Some things he doesn’t like are beer, religion, crowded and noisy places, being told he’s wrong and mushrooms.”

“Zab, as described by Sam: Zab is a serial procrastinator with a tendency to get so absorbed in reading the latest gossip on new Apple products that he forgets to eat. He knows how to kick your ass at making Excel spreadsheets and getting people to do what he wants. When he grows up, he wants to be a Lord and spend obscene amounts of money on shiny new shoes.”

“In January 2013, after being together for over seven years, but never really having lived together, we left the UK on one-way tickets to Buenos Aires. Indefinite Adventure is where we chronicle our journey, give practical advice and inspiration to fellow travellers and share our passions for good (mostly vegetarian ) food, boutique and eco hotels and slow travel.” – Sam and Zab of Infinite Adventure

Editor’s Note: All pics are provided by Sam and Zab.

Next: Stuart and Eloise of Am I Nearly There Yet Previously: Dan and Casey of A Cruising Couple For more interviews with travel bloggers, check out the archives of Meet the Nomads.