My Ex is My Best Travel Buddy

What is it like when your ex becomes your best friend and favorite travel buddy?

People have really strong opinions about the way one is supposed to behave after a breakup: stay friends, never see them again, phase them out. I have had experience with all three, but most of the time I try to stay friends with my exes; there is a reason I liked them to start with, so why not keep them in my life, assuming nothing terrible happened?

Sometimes people break up because they fall out of love. Sometimes people break up because one does something awful to the other one. Sometimes the timing is wrong. Whatever the circumstance, an ex rarely turns into your best friend. But in my case. This is the story of how my ex-boyfriend became my biggest supporter and favorite travel companion.

If you’re thinking of taking a trip with your travel buddy, make sure to read this post first!

The Story of How We Met

We met in the most romantic of ways. It all started on a dark and stormy night in a Facebook Group for expats in the country of Georgia. The year was 2020. Arthur was planning to enter Georgia a little sooner than expected because he had heard this Corona thing might become a big deal. I had arrived in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital city, six weeks before.

Art made a Facebook post in the group asking about places to stay and different neighborhoods. I answered. He replied. I replied. We took it to private messages. A virtual friendship started. We chatted for a few weeks over Facebook Messenger, and once he finally arrived in the country, I invited him over to game night with my friends.

The day after Arthur arrived in Georgia, the country shut its borders. Our small game night group became our pod. The only people we saw in real life for several months. When the weather started warming up in Georgia, the restrictions began to lessen. There was a big party in the park. We were all excited to be social. There was alcohol. There was drinking. We shared a drunken kiss. He broke my tooth. We had a good laugh. Then I got veneers a week later.

That kiss turned into a Covid relationship. The country was closed to new people entering, but the people already there could move around for the most part. We went hiking in Kazbegi, the Georgian Alps. We got drunk on ChaCha with locals in Mtskheta. We spent a month at the beach in Batumi, and a month in the snowy mountains in Borjomi. We drank wine in Signagi, the city of love. Throughout it all, we talked and talked and talked. We got to know each other very well.

Because we had become so close, we also knew that what we wanted in a relationship was different. What we wanted for our future was different. But we enjoyed our time together. So we kept going.

The Story of Why We Broke Up

After 14 months in Georgia, we decided to move on. The world was opening back up and as avid travelers, we were getting antsy. I had 90 days left before my NYC-based remote job wanted me back in the US and he was ready for new landscapes. We decided to leave Georgia and have one last hurrah together. We crossed the border from Sarpi, Georgia into Turkey.

We then spent the next three months crossing Turkey from the east to the west. We took a hot air balloon ride over the incredible formations of Cappadocia, drove a scooter along Turkey’s Turquoise Coast, and ate amazing food in Istanbul. Turkey’s capital was our last stop. The moment we always knew was coming had finally arrived. After one year together, we cried and said goodbye.

We didn’t break up after a fight. There was no drama. There was no anger. No resentment. Just respect for each other’s goals and life paths.

My Travel Buddy: The Story of Friendship

Usually, when a relationship ends, the text messages begin to slow down. The connection fades. But not in our case. He was still the person I wanted to tell funny stories to. I was still the person he wanted to ask for advice about a YouTube thumbnail. So the messages never stopped.

Throughout the year that we dated, Arthur had a YouTube channel. We spent that year filming videos together as we traveled around Georgia and Turkey. He was the inspiration for me starting my own YouTube channel. He encouraged me as I began my journey into content creation and hate comments from internet trolls. He supported me, I supported him.

Because we had already established an intimacy in our relationship, we felt comfortable talking to one another about our vulnerabilities, dreams, and ideas. That intimacy carried over into the friendship we were now forming. We were comfortable with one another. How could we not be after one year of existing in cultures where we don’t speak the language, staying in shocking apartments along the way, cooking, filming, and discussing the details of our bowel movements after sketchy meals?

Even though we were no longer in a relationship, it became clear that Arthur was someone I always wanted to have in my life. Maybe not as a boyfriend, but as a travel buddy.

My Travel Buddy: The Story of Our Journeys

We already knew we could travel well together after dozens of mini trips in Georgia and three months of constant movement in Turkey. So a year later, when we were both coincidentally in South America at the same time, we decided to meet up. He was back in his home country of Brazil, and I was living in Argentina. He was headed to a wedding in Peru, and I said “Let’s meet up!”

We spent a month together in Cusco together, and within that time we did the 5-day trek to Machu Picchu along the Salkantay Trail. This trip further solidified our friendship. We were experiencing incredible places together. After our month together in Peru, I returned to Argentina and he continued up north in his trek throughout all of Latin America.

One year later, I was back in the United States in my hometown in Colorado, Boulder. Coincidentally, Arthur found a job in Colorado and ended up staying with me for 2 months over the summer. We caught up, drank a ton of great craft beer, and did some hikes around Boulder.

Fast forward 5 months, and my number one travel buddy and I were back on the road. We met up in the Barcelona airport and made our way to Egypt together, where we spent the next month. As I write this, we are in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, our next stop after Egypt.

This may be our 6th country together, but I know it will not be our last.

Travel Essentials

Because I travel so much, I often have friends and strangers on the internet asking me what I do about good travel insurance. My answer is always the same: SafetyWing.

I use SafetyWing, which is great travel medical insurance created by nomads for nomads. You can sign up for as many days as you need, and cancel whenever you want. They have particularly good prices, especially for those under 40 years old. Check them out here.

TRAVELING SOON?

INSURANCE: Cover yourself with travel medical insurance by SafetyWing.

FLIGHTS: Get the best flight deals with Skyscanner and set flight alerts with Hopper.

STAYS: Check out hotels and apartments with Booking.com and Vrbo.

RENTAL CARS: Get the best deal on rental cars with Discover Cars or RentalCars.

GOING HIKING? Get a 30% discount off your yearly AllTrails+ Account (code: nickiposts30)

eSIM: Get an international eSim with Airalo.

CITY GUIDES: Save time and purchase pre-made city guides with Thatch.

CITY TOURS: Book your tour with GetYourGuide and Viator

LUGGAGE: Get the best carry-on suitcase here.

CREDIT CARD: Start earning travel points with the best travel credit card.

BUENOS AIRES GUIDE: Purchase my Buenos Aires travel companion here.

CONSULTATION: Book a 1:1 travel consultation with Nicki here.

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