Ep. 222: How this explorer was able to travel the world for free with Eric Giuliani
In this episode, I speak with Eric Giuliani who made it around the world without flying.
Erice crossed all 7 continents using just public transportation and he bartered his entire way. He’s recently published a book, which is available on Amazon, called Sky’s the Limit: One Man’s 70,000 Mile Journey Around the World.
Listen on to find out how Eric was able to travel the world for free!
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Transcription:
Debbie:
Hey everyone, thank you so much for being here. I am so excited to be speaking with my guest today. I’m here with Eric.
Hey Eric, how are you?
Eric:
Hey, Debbie. I’m great. Thank you so much for having me on. I’m really looking forward to this.
Debbie:
Awesome. Can you tell us about you, Eric, and why you live an offbeat life?
Eric:
Sure. Well, I was actually working a corporate career at an educational software company and I was kind of living this, on paper, a really great life. I was living in South Beach, had kind of a nice condo, a nice car, and yada yada yada but I was really unfulfilled.
And so I was kind of getting up living that Bill Murray Groundhog Day kind of life and I said, “What is my deepest dream like? What’s the biggest thing I really want to do?” And I was about 31, 32 at the time and the answer came back, which was something I think most people want to do, which is actually travel around the world full-time.
So I kind of came up with this new idea which is, “Alright. I want to try to travel around the whole world without flying and see if I can cross seven continents using pretty much just public transportation.”
So I kind of thought, “Okay. Wow, that’s my biggest dream travel-wise.” And then what kind of like my biggest dream in terms of getting away from his corporate career? So the other part of it was this transformation side which was I wanted to become a photographer, a filmmaker, and a travel writer.
And kind of the crazy part, which will get you in a second, is that I didn’t even own a camera and I had zero background in any sort of writing skills. I didn’t own any sort of photography equipment, so I was literally starting at ground zero and trying to figure all that stuff out.
And then eventually, I kind of did and pulled it off and started trying to travel all the way around the world.
Debbie:
That seems pretty ballsy of you, Eric, not knowing any of these things. And most of the time when people see those obstacles, right? Because we all have our dreams that we want to accomplish: we want to make this certain amount, we want to travel to these places, we want to get this type of job.
But then we see that we either don’t have the skills like you’re talking about or it’s just really hard. So for you, Eric, how did you actually prepare for this? I think the main motivation essentially was just you didn’t want to have another Groundhog Day, right?
Eric:
Yeah. Well, I mean, there were so many life changes that went into it. But before I ended up quitting my corporate career, I gave myself 1 year to kind of learn all of those skills, and funny enough, the biggest thing that I did, the very first thing I did was actually chart papered my entire living room.
And I just wrote, kind of, step one for photography which was to sign up for photography 101, travel writing, step one, sign up for travel writing 101 and build a travel blog. So I kind of made this really gigantic vision board which honestly was very, very important in the early stages.
And I turned those really big dreams into kind of a to-do list. And then that to-do list just became so much more manageable in my mind and I was able to literally sign up for photography 101 at Miami Dade Community College ’cause I was living in Miami.
And then I was able to start taking these courses somewhere online and somewhere in person over that one year. And then the other part of it which is also very overwhelming is money, right? Like, most people don’t just have enough money to kind of quit everything and say, “Okay, I’m going to travel full-time.” And I certainly didn’t.
I was actually in debt when I initially came up with this idea. So I ended up working a second job and trying to save a bunch of money as I was learning all of these skills that one year. So it’s kind of like a crash course.
I didn’t really own a camera until about halfway through the photography courses. I actually started on an iPhone 4 believe It or not. That sounds so ancient right now but I started on a tiny iPhone 4 and I just eventually bought a Canon camera and used lens.
And then, we’ll get to this in a second, but I didn’t have enough money even when I set out to travel. And I kind of had this little light bulb idea before I left which is, “Okay. Let me try to actually barter my way around the whole world.”
Debbie:
That is pretty impressive because, you’re right, that’s one of the biggest excuses or the biggest deterrent for people to actually start traveling, especially if they have a lot of debt. They don’t have remote work yet but they want to have this lifestyle of traveling and they just want to see the world.
I think for a really long time, and it still happens today, we’re often taught that we can’t really enjoy the life that way until we’re retired, we’re in our sixties, you’re comfortable.
Eric:
Yeah.
Debbie:
And then you can start living life, Eric. Then that’s when you really should do it. So I think a lot of us have figured out that you don’t have to do it that way. So that is definitely kudos to you.
Now, when you actually decided to leave, you’re prepping yourself to do this, what was that what now moment like for you after you’ve given your notice? Then what was the day after like? How did that feel?
Eric:
It was obviously super exciting because I’m actually going to start to get on the road here pretty soon. I’m going to leave Miami and actually technically fly to my starting point which was Cape Town, South Africa.
So, I started, kind of, at the very southernmost point in Africa and wanted to kind of start there ’cause I figured Africa would be the most challenging continent to kind of barter my way across.
And so, yeah, it was super exciting and I’m sure everybody knows it’s also very scary. But one of the things that gave me the most confidence, which was right before I left. Miami, was I came up with this idea to barter and how I bartered was with hotels.
And so the initial thought was, “Okay, hotels would most likely be willing to give me a room for free if I could provide some sort of service for that.” So even though I was a new photographer and a new filmmaker I thought, “Hey, let me reach out to every hotel in Cape Town which was literally from your five-star hotels to your 0-star hostels.”
And I sent this email which was, “Hey, if you let me come and stay for a week for free in exchange for what I can do, I can take photos of your rooms, of your restaurant, of your lobby, of your pool, of your breakfast, whatever and a video as well.”
Now, keep in mind: when I sent this first email, I had zero hotel photos on my newly created travel blog. It was just photos of Miami Beach because that’s where I was practicing every morning. So there were a lot of sunrise shots.
So I’m thinking there is no chance any of these hotels, especially a nice one, would ever say yes because if you check out my portfolio at that time, it’s pretty empty. And believe it or not, the next morning, I woke up, three hotels in Cape Town had agreed to my offer and I had kind of the first two and a half to three weeks already spaced out in terms of where I’m going to stay for free,
And it really hit me at that moment like, “Oh my God, this idea is going to work because if it works here in Cape Town with no portfolio, with no background, I know I can just kind of duplicate this as I move about the world and then obviously build up a portfolio which, miracle, is exactly what happened.
So that was a really seminal moment at the very, very beginning, right before I left when one of these hotels took me up on my offer to let me stay for free in exchange for the photos. And I thought, “Wow, this is it. This is really going to work somehow.” And I didn’t know how but that was the first kind of strong sign that I was on the right track.
Debbie:
And that just proves that you never know what’s going to happen until you ask. That’s what you’re gonna do.
Eric:
Yeah. And they were really nice hotels too. Like, there was a beautiful bed and breakfast in this little part of Cape Town called Kalk Bay. I got there and I don’t even know what I’m doing. I’m kind of laughing to myself and like it was just very exciting and overwhelming because now I’ve actually got to do what I promised which was fun and I grew into that role.
But yeah, in the beginning, you’re just like, “How did this work again?” Like, “Okay, cool.”
Debbie:
And sometimes you surprise yourself with what you actually create with your life.
Eric:
So, true.
Debbie:
And that’s the thing. I think a lot of people are so afraid to just ask, right?
Eric:
Yeah.
Debbie:
Because there’s going to be a lot of rejections. And I think in recent years, there’s been a lot of things popping up, especially for influencers who are asking for free stays for social media stuff. But there’s a huge difference between that and then actually bartering for work because you are working, you are creating something there, and it’s not just for likes or whatever it is.
Eric:
Right.
Debbie:
Because these companies, these hotels, will use those photos for their website, their social media. And there’s a huge difference here and it’s so funny and interesting that you do that, Eric, because I do have a decent amount of listeners, I have readers, like, tens of thousands of readers with my website, hundreds of thousands of listeners on my podcast, and tens of thousands of followers on social, but what I always tell to companies whenever I work with them, especially brands that are hotels, is I’m also going to give you images, right?
And that always stands out because most of the time people are just like, “Oh, I have a lot of followers. It’s just for that.” No! Like, there also has to be something else that they can use themselves too.
Eric:
Yeah.
Debbie:
And that is a really ingenious way to do it. And that’s why even you, at that time you weren’t an influencer, you didn’t have hundreds of thousands of followers and you were able to do this, which I love.
Eric:
So true. Like, I was offering a service as opposed to likes, right?
Debbie:
Exactly.
Eric:
And I never came at it from an influencer perspective. Even though I do have like 50,000 followers and whatever, whatever, whatever I never ever even really reference that to be honest because I was like, “I’m providing a service that is actually going to be really valuable to you because you’re going to use these on TripAdvisor, you’re going to use these on your social media, you’re going to use these on your own website.”
And I tell people all the time that my thing was photography and film because that’s what I enjoy but I met, believe it or not, an electrician in Africa who was rewiring the outside lighting for a hotel for a month’s worth of free steak. I met personal trainers that were giving food training sessions in exchange for a room or whether it was a chef coming to do or somebody was painting murals in exchange for a room.
So, there are so many things you can offer and so I just tell people, “Offer whatever it is that you’re interested in or whatever it is you’re good at. It doesn’t have to be photography. You might not even own a camera or maybe there’s something that you do well and a hotel might just take you up on that and you might as well just reach out.
Debbie:
And this is a concept that I think not many people think about or do, right? I think most people think of when they see people with free says that it’s just influencers, right?
Eric:
Yeah.
Debbie:
But there’s so much more than that and it’s actually so much more valuable because it is a service that these companies actually need, right?
Eric:
Yeah.
Debbie:
And you’re talking about all of these different types of occupations that you have done at home that you can use as an actual bartering service to do when you are traveling, which I love. I love when people are thinking outside of the box so that they can afford to travel and you don’t need to break the bank. You don’t need to wait for years and years, you don’t need to retire to be able to do this.
Eric:
And what’s your biggest expense while traveling? It’s always going to be the lodging, right? So to me, I was like, “Let me knock that out of this,” and I wasn’t using an airplane so I guess it wasn’t like I had these big airline expenses.
So, to be honest, the only thing I was actually really paying for was kind of the public transportation which was the bus rides and things to get from city to city or spot to spot. So, yeah, that was like, “If I could figure this one big thing now, then you’re not going out like your number one, number two, and three big expenses all in one shot.
Debbie:
I love that and of course, we’re going to go into much more detail with this with our extended interview with Eric so make sure you check out that extended with him because he’s going to talk to you about how to pitch and how to really make sure you get this bartering deal going for yourself so you can travel sooner rather than later. I love that, Eric.
So now, when we think about someone like you and people like us who work remotely, who are travelers, who are digital nomads, people who lived the offbeat life, a lot of people are afraid because they feel like there’s really no security, right?
What does that mean to you? Why didn’t that deter you from continuing to do this, right? And how do you get over that hump of not technically having a secure income for yourself?
Eric:
That was really tricky and to even take it a step further when I was boarding my way around the world, I never had a route plan. So I never knew where I was going to be going two, three, four weeks in advance.
So, oftentimes, I felt like, not homeless ’cause that’s a very serious thing, but I felt like I wasn’t even sure where I was going to be next. So there was a lot of pressure and there was a lot of stress on it.
And I think that comes when you’re doing something that really means something, you’re going to have to deal with a lot of pressure and a lot of stress. And this was my deepest dream and it wasn’t going to come easy.
And so, I think for me, I just used that fear of failing and that stress of not knowing where I’m going next, and I tried to harness those things and turn it into great work so that I didn’t want any hotels to be disappointed with my product whatever I gave them at the end.
With the book that I just wrote and published, I was writing stories as I went and I wanted to give everything a hundred and fifty percent. And I think when you’re stressed out if you can harness that in a way sometimes and even acknowledge it, like, you have to own it. Like, “Yeah, this is really, really hard. This is really scary.”
You can’t fight those feelings and I think a lot in my book is talking about how difficult it really was and the realities are not these pretty pictures on Instagram. The realities are this is very challenging, very stressful. It ended one relationship that I was in at the time because it was so difficult to balance all these new things that I was trying to do.
And there is no perfect way and I think what makes it so exciting is that you’re learning through all of these obstacles and through all of the stress who you really are. At least that’s what it did for me.
And so, to be honest, you really need that stress or that fear of not knowing how all of this is going to work because it helps you think on your feet. And remember, I was doing the same thing everyday for so long that I really wanted a challenge, right?
Like, I want to figure out who I was. I wanted all of these obstacles and I think even to a certain extent I probably manifested a lot of them on purpose so that I can get to the real me. Because it really helped me when you’re stuck in Africa or you’re stranded in Siberia and you miss your train.
And it’s -4 degrees in Siberia, you have to think on your feet and figure things out pretty quick because if not, you’re going to go home, you’re going to fly home, and you’re going to quit. And I think that to me, the biggest point of all of this was that all of that stress turns out to be really great if you can use it in the most productive ways.
Debbie:
I’m thinking about it in a way that if you’re not willing to leave your comfort zone, there’s no reason to leave home, right?
Eric:
Yeah. I mean, that’s where the greatest growth is. Everytime you’re outside your comfort zone, that’s going to be where you learn the most about yourself. And so I knew that going into it and any time an obstacle did kind of come up or stress did come up, it wasn’t like, “Why me?” It was like, “Okay, great. Now, what’s next?”
My mind just switches from why me to kind of, “Okay, great, what’s next. How can I get through this?
Debbie:
And also I think that that is why it’s so different from just your typical vacation. I think people think that when you travel for this amount of time that it’s just a long-term vacation.
Eric:
No. So, real quick, this was the hardest way to make it around the world without flying 70000 miles using only public transportation.
So I spent like a month on a cargo ship crossing the Pacific. I spent three weeks crossing the Atlantic, and these little tiny arduous buses in Africa crossing through third world countries and also in Southeast Asia where it was really, really difficult.
So I don’t ever chalk up what I did as any sort of vacation. It was great to work with really nice hotels but the in-between was traveling as real and as raw, as rugged as it literally humanly gets.
Debbie:
So when you were putting yourself in these situations ’cause that’s what you did with yourself, what do you think was the biggest obstacle that you actually faced during these times?
Eric:
I think there were a couple. So the biggest one was actually like there were a lot of terrorist attacks and so when I was trying to cross through East Asia, there was a terrorist attack at Garissa University in Kenya which killed a hundred and seventy-five people.
And so, in a physical sense, there were a lot of warnings out for Westerners. I haven’t mentioned it but I’m 6’10”, I’m a tall white guy with a lot of tattoos. So I stand out.
Debbie:
No, you blend in, Eric.
Eric:
So, I was definitely nervous because there were very, very serious terror threats that were actually carried out, and like I said, over a hundred seventy-five people were brutally murdered. In the very next couple of days, I had to take a 48-hour bus ride through that region, where that attack was carried out.
So that’s a really big part of my book and kind of not quitting at that moment. I could have easily flown around the danger but I chose to go on this 48-hour bus ride through a life-threatening area.
So physically, that was probably the most dangerous. That also happened again in Egypt, in the Sinai Peninsula. There were a lot of terrorist activities in that region as well. And kind of what we’re saying, just mentally, how can I actually quit a corporate career and transfer my life into something creative?
And so, you have just a lot of doubt, you have a lot of insecurities because I’ve never been a photographer, I’ve never been a writer. When I just released my book, I thought it was really good but I’ve never done this before.
And so you just have to wait and see what people think. I mean, thankfully, I’ve got good feedback so far but you’re really putting yourself out there and in a creative sense, especially if it’s stuff that you’ve never done and don’t have a background in.
But that’s also when you can learn the quickest because you’re starting at zero and everything’s new and you have a passion for it. So there’s obviously a lot of positives as well.
Debbie:
Absolutely. And they think one of the positives, at least for me, whenever I go on these trips, whether it’s long or short, is really the relationship that you build with complete strangers, especially if you’re put into situations that are either dangerous, just not the norm to you.
What was that like for you, Eric? What do you think are the most memorable relationships that you have built during that time when you are traveling the world?
Eric:
That is so true. Traveling is always about the people to me and not the places. That said, I’m a very introverted person and, believe it or not, I’m a homebody which is very counterintuitive for somebody that travels the world.
I’m a little bit of an introvert, a little bit of a homebody, and tend to be a little bit shy. But in the book, the two main people that I’ve met were actually: I had started traveling in Africa with my then-girlfriend at the time. And so that brought us extremely close together. When you’re traveling the way that we were and you’re together. 24/7, it’s not like you can just kind of walk down to Starbucks and get a couple of minute break from somebody.
So I really learned a lot about myself and relationships just in general with that first one. And then we ended up having this very cheerful breakup in Tanzania where she had left and I continued on alone. But she was just so important and such a large part of the book, especially the beginning, that year of me trying to learn film and photography and she was super supportive.
And then actually going on all these long awful bus rides through Mozambique in Malawi without complaining and really actually embracing and enjoying it. So I just learned so much about myself and relationships through that relationship.
And then two years later, I actually met another woman and it was kind of this very intense love at first sight kind of thing. And I don’t want to ruin the end of the book but our connection was definitely kind of the next level type connection and we ended up embarking on this long-distance relationship. It’s kind of fun and into the book. so I don’t want to give the last line away.
So those were very important people that I had met or was traveling alongside for a little while but honestly people that like rest stops or when you ask for help and somebody helps you in a country and you don’t know the language. And you’re trying to kind of mind where to go and it was just like the kindness of strangers who are always willing to kind of help me out and put me in the right direction.
And even though there were some really rough things going on in the world, thankfully I came across really nice and kind people.
Debbie:
So, Eric, where was the last location that you traveled to before you went home?
Eric:
So I crossed Africa through the middle east, Europe, into Asia, Australia, North America, South America, and Antarctica. And then I looped all the way back around to London. So technically London would have been kind of the starting point and the endpoint ’cause that’s where my loop connected.
So London would have been the last point and believe it or not. I then kept going. I took a bus to Amsterdam and then when I could have flown ’cause I’ve completed my mission, and then I flew home, or I didn’t have a home, but I flew to Miami and got home from Amsterdam.
Debbie:
That is amazing. Well, you definitely took yourself all over the world. And I was just going to say from what you were talking about in terms of creating and building relationships when you are abroad, it was like your Eat Pray Love type of thing. You had someone in the beginning and then had some kind of the end.
Eric:
Yes. I always look at my book as Eat Pray Love meets Bear Grylls. It’s a very romantic relationship-based journey and kind of a spiritual journey as well. But it’s also, then you have the Bear Grylls aspect, the survivorman side, where you’re out in the wild crossing the Sahara Desert, you’re getting into cargo on a ship.
So you have all these wild travel experiences kind of mixed together with the softer side if you will.
Debbie:
Love that. It’s all-encompassing, spiritual love, like survival man stuff. That’s pretty awesome.
So, Eric, when you were living abroad, what type of international insurance did you use, or if any?
Eric:
Great question. I actually didn’t want any. And I think my dad was just very insistent on, “You have to get it.” And I just didn’t get it. But kind of a funny story was when I would get on this cargo ship.
So crossing the Pacific Ocean, you’re a month at sea. And in order to get a passenger ticket, which I didn’t even know you could do, you can buy a ticket on a cargo ship and be a regular passenger. But in order to do that, you actually have to get this crazy insurance which is very expensive that if you need to get airlifted from the middle of the Pacific Ocean, your insurance will cover this airlifting to whatever country is close by.
So, to be honest, I can’t remember the name of it but I did end up having to get insurance specifically for the cargo ship journeys that I was on which was about two or three times. But outside of that I just kind of winged it and I did go to a couple of doctors.
Like, I went to a doctor in Ethiopia which was not a great experience. And I did go to the doctor like in Malaysia and Greece. So I will just go and pay out of pocket if I ever did actually have to see a doctor.
Debbie:
Love that. You’re definitely living on the edge. So that is pretty incredible. But I do have to say that finding insurance when you’re in a study location is really hard but it’s even harder when you’re on the road.
You’re talking about this, especially with the way you travel, Eric, it’s pretty crazy.
Eric:
So hard. Yeah.
Debbie:
And I’m often really confused by all the requirements and need so much help to get through the processing claims because I am not that type of girl. That’s why I’m really glad I found a company, Integra Global, I’ve been working with them for such a long time, who has the most incredible customer service.
They have 24/7 help and you can submit a claim through their app. And your claims are being managed by their in-house global expert team who are able to handle any issues which means less stress and panic. But of course, Eric loves the stress and panic, apparently.
Eric:
That one is amazing. I wish I would’ve known this because all of what you’ve just said were all of my issues. Like, how do you even submit a claim in it in Tanzania?
Debbie:
Exactly.
And the great thing about Integra Global too, which I really rave about, is that they cover things that you may not even know you need. So during the whole start of the pandemic, there are so many insurance companies that didn’t cover that and they did.
So that is one of the things that I really love about them. So, Eric, if you’re interested or if anyone else is interested, you can go to IntegraGlobal.com for more details because they are pretty incredible.
Thank you for your story with that whole insurance and being on the road, which is pretty incredible that you need a different thing for that if you need to get airlifted or anything. Hopefully, none of us will have to go through that.
So, Eric, let’s fast forward to 40 to 50 years from now and you’re looking back at your life, what legacy would you like to leave and what do you want to be remembered for?
Eric:
I want to be remembered for that. Like, “Man, this guy had a chance to either stick with his corporate career or just change the complete trajectory of his life and tap into this creativity.”
And I want to just be remembered for somebody that was able to kind of go out on a limb and chase their dreams to the utmost end of the Earth. Literally, the end of the Earth and gave it 150% in order to do that.
And hopefully, that is kind of what I would be remembered for and hopefully, it will inspire other people which is really important to me to kind of go out and do whatever it is they’re meant to do. Maybe it’s not to travel the world but if you want to be the best accountant, hopefully, there are parts of my story where I stuck with my dreams when it seemed impossible to translate to other people’s dreams as well.
Debbie:
I think about it this way too: you have one life to live and there should at least be one moment in your life where you do something completely insane and crazy. Well at least, other people may think that way but whatever.
And that’s part of living life and then you can go back when they think about this moment that you had and really feel like you lived it.
Eric:
And the greatest thing about it too is I can close my eyes at any point and I can picture all of those places and all those moments. And so you get to relive all of those great experiences because you’ve had them and they don’t really go away.
Sure, memories fade and things like that but they’ll always kind of be there inside me. And I think that’s a really, really important thing.
Debbie:
Yeah. And no more groundhog days or at least if you have to go back to that, you know you’ve lived life for a year or two.
Eric:
Well, it’s hard to go back. If you had to go back it would be very difficult and that’s kind of a big thing too.
Debbie:
You could have lived it.
Eric:
That’s why I kept fighting so hard for what it is. I have a photography business now because I scratched and clawed to start this business and I worked so hard in the book because I wanted those things to be successful so I didn’t have to go back. Because it would just mentally be impossible at this point.
Debbie:
Yeah. True. Love that. You’re not the same person anymore once you start leaving that type of life which is amazing.
So before we say goodbye, I have five rapid questions for you. Are you ready?
Eric:
Alright. Let’s do it.
Debbie:
What has been the best money that you ever spent while abroad and why?
Eric:
The best money: my favorite thing is to go to a soccer game. So I went to this incredible soccer match in Rio de Janeiro. It was Vasco da Gama versus Fluminense, which is the poor city team versus the rich city team. And there were 20,000 fans in a hundred-year-old stadium. And it was only like a $10 ticket but it was the best experience I ever had.
It was just wild and bringing in Brazil for soccer matches is just amazing.
Debbie:
That is pretty incredible and what an experience.
Alright. Describe what your ideal day would look like.
Eric:
Travel-wise, when I would wake up, I would always like to work out. I think that’s really important. So I would never skip a workout while I was on the road. So I carried these little exercise bands or I would do yoga videos in my hotel room if there wasn’t a gym.
And then I would always make sure I get breakfast and then I would actually start kind of doing, if it was the hotel photography, I would try to do that and if it wasn’t that I would just walk around the city. I’m not a big touristy type of person. I don’t like to go to monuments or churches or things like that. I like to just walk around and go to a cafe or coffee shop and kind of just mix and mingle and live a normal daily life.
I don’t necessarily need to see everything wherever it is I’m at.
Debbie:
Yeah, I can relate to that. I’m a big eater so I could just eat my way around.
Where’s the best location, do you feel, to live as a remote worker?
Eric:
I only speak English so for somebody that has traveled around the world, it is a little bit pathetic on my end that I only speak English. So if I were to live somewhere else, I personally would want to live where I can just communicate the easiest.
And so, I would love to live in Australia because obviously, the language is the same. So Melbourne is one of my favorite cities. I think I’d be a great spot to kind of work remotely. I also love London. And then, in terms of the cities where many don’t speak English, I love Buenos Aires, that’d be a fun city to kind of relocate to and work remotely.
I can go on and on and on but there are so many great places but I love Australia, England, and probably Argentina.
Debbie:
Love that.
Now, if you could have a superpower, Eric, what would it be?
Eric:
That I could fit more comfortably in bus seats, in plane seats. I’m 6’10”, 265 lbs. and still I was on the tiniest buses. They’re not even buses, they are minivans with a bucket turned over and that’s a seat. And then you’ve literally got some woman sitting in your lap, in your leg.
So it would be more comfortable and, oh, to be able to sleep on a bus or a train because so many of my journeys were overnight and you have to sleep on a bus or a train and it’s very difficult to get a good night sleep, just in general, on anything that’s moving.
Debbie:
Yeah. I didn’t even think about that. ‘Cause you’re so tall, oh my God, that must be hell for you when you go to those places. But hey, you still kept going out.
Eric:
Yeah. It’s pretty crazy.
Debbie:
Now, last question. What’s the one thing you wish you did sooner?
Eric:
I think the one thing I wish I did sooner was to include other people more.
Like I said, I’m an introvert, I’m a homebody, and when you’re doing something creative, you tend to kind of close off and you tend to have to, like, tap into that creativity which is somewhere within usually, in my experience.
And so I didn’t maybe meet as many people as I could have or as I should have because of the stress of trying to get all of these creative thoughts out and try to do what it is I’m trying to do.
One of the areas that I closed off a little bit was maybe making those connections and having those deep bonds with other people. Now, I occasionally do that but that was one of the faults of mine.
And I’m not being hard on myself because I was trying to do so many things at one time while traveling but building maybe better friendships and relationships and being a little more open to that I think would have suited me and my journey a little bit better.
Debbie:
You can do it next time, now too.
Eric:
For sure and that is the goal. Like, that is a definite goal moving forward, to include other people more and not be so isolated on my own.
Debbie:
Love it.
Thank you so much, Eric, for being here with us today.
Now, if our listeners want to know more about you, where can they find you?
Eric:
Yes. So I’m just “Travel Tall”, obviously. So TravelTall across Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and then also I’ve got my own website which is travel to TravelTall.com. And then everybody can check out the book which is Sky’s the Limit and that’s available on Amazon.
So just type in sky’s the limit, and then Eric, or Eric Giuliani. And the subtitle is One Man, Seventy Thousand Mile Journey Around the World. I hope people will enjoy it. So far, I’ve been getting really awesome feedback so love to have your listeners read it.
Debbie:
Perfect. Will definitely check that out.
Thank you again so much, Eric, we really appreciate you.
Eric:
Thank you. I appreciate it. This was fun.
Listen to Eric’s extended interview where he shares how to travel the world for free by bartering your services.
What you’ll find:
In this episode, Eric will show you the unspoken skills of bartering your services and use them to travel the world free of charge.
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