A Life of Travel: So Much Wandering, No Home Base and a New Tattoo

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It's Tuesday and it's time for a travel newsletter. Today I’m writing from Madrid, Spain.

📆 update

Here’s something I’ve talked about a lot over the years - both in these newsletters and over countless coffees with fellow travelers and friends… the idea of having a proper home base. Another year has passed and guess what, I still have no home base to be found… but I do feel as if I’ve gained some further insight.

After 25 years of nonstop travel, the idea of a home base won’t go away. My current life is a constant mix of personal travel, work trips to check on my tour operations around the world and leading some of those small group tours myself.

And yes, I still absolutely love it. I wouldn’t still be doing this if I didn’t. The movement, the interactions with people, the strange, beautiful moments that somehow become daily life…it’s addictive. It’s been a pretty wild ride.

So what’s this home base thing all about?

I’m getting a little tired. Not of the travel, but of the bouncing around. While I have friends across the globe, there’s something that feels right about having a proper community in one spot. And honestly, the idea of a nice apartment or house near the water that I can always return to sounds quite lovely.

Then why don’t I slow down? The reason is that "normal life" for me involves things like watching elephants walk by in Botswana, being invited for tea with a family in Mosul or choosing which night market in Taipei I want to go to for dinner. I know this sounds ridiculous but it’s just how life has worked out and it’s been my routine, for a long time. And it’s a hard routine to replace.

This is why, after leading tours in India and Iraq last month, I continued to Istanbul for a few days. Then Lisbon to catch up with friends, followed by Madrid. Next up is Romania for a road trip and Christmas. I’ll then be celebrating New Year’s in a country I’ve never been to before (still deciding where that’ll be!).

That’s the norm and anything else seems far less appealing.

So here’s my plan for 2026 - no pressure. I’m not going to stress about finding that elusive home base. Instead, I’m going to listen more closely to what I’m feeling and make firmer decisions that reflect that.

The goal? To keep building a life that feels true to me, which is how we all should live. More conscious choices, less giving in to expectations.

And speaking of that...

I got a new tattoo.

It’s a unique version of a dodo bird. The dodo, once native to Mauritius, tried to survive in its island paradise before it was wiped out by humans. Not the happiest story. But for me, this bird is a symbol of something bigger - that we all deserve to create our own paradise. We should be able to follow the path we want, without others interfering or telling us we’re doing it wrong.

More respect. Less judgment. We’re all just trying to make life work in our own way.

Recent Trips

🇮🇳 INDIA: My time in India - visit number 41, I think - was as memorable as ever. Travel there always comes with its quirks, but the experiences more than make up for it.

One morning really summed it up: thanks to a close local friend, we got rare permission to attend a village festival usually closed to outsiders. The theme was ‘magic’. Tractors balanced on eggs, cars on rupee notes, statues floating mid-air, fountains with no visible water source. Then came a full-blown procession with masked dancers on truck beds, wild music, twirling hobby horses, sweets being handed out and a local potter family welcoming us into their home. And just when it felt like things might slow down… another, even more energetic parade kicked off. The vibe was surreal. That’s India.

🇮🇶 IRAQ: I’m not sure where to begin as it was all incredible. But more than the sights, this trip is always about connection. Every day, everywhere we go, the hospitality is next-level and so humbling. Restaurant owners won’t let me pay, tea invitations come nonstop and strangers welcome us with such genuine warmth it’s hard to describe.

In just one hour walking through Baghdad, this happened: a cafe refused to take my money after I ordered for the group, a soldier offered me his coffee as a welcome, a garbage truck driver shouted “Welcome to Iraq!” while touching his head in respect, a TV reporter asked to interview one of us, and a juice stall insisted our pomegranate drinks were free.

This is what travelers find in Iraq - and one well-traveled guest on my recent trip said it best: “I’ve never been to another country that is so different in reality than what we think.”

If that sounds like your kind of experience, I’ve got just 2 spots left on the March 2026 Iraq tour!

Podcast

In other news, I was recently on the Become Nomad Podcast with my friend Eli David . Here’s the link below in case you want to listen to our chat about long term travel:

💭 did you know?

🐇 Japan Has a Rabbit Island
Ōkunoshima, a tiny island in Japan, is overrun with friendly, free-roaming rabbits - hundreds of them. Originally a secret WWII site, today it’s better known for its hopping residents.

🌉 The Amazon Has No Bridges
Despite stretching over 4,000 miles across nine countries, the Amazon River has no bridges. Most crossings are done by boat or ferry - mainly because the jungle is so dense and remote that roads barely exist.

2026 Tour Update

• SOLD OUT: Japan (2 trips), Vietnam and Socotra Island

• GETTING THERE: Iraq, South Africa, Romania and Bhutan

• WIDE OPEN: Peru and Kyrgyzstan/Uzbekistan

The truth is, I never really know which destinations will be popular in a given year. But I do know this: I pour a lot of my life into these tours (some say too much!). And I’m more committed than ever to crafting small group trips that are meaningful, fun and genuinely different.

I’m really excited about 2026 and I hope you’ll find a trip that works for you!

🌐 around the globe

🇲🇷 The City of Libraries in the Sahara
In the ancient desert town of Chinguetti, Mauritania, libraries are tucked behind unmarked doors, housing centuries-old manuscripts preserved by local families. One man is on a mission to preserve these manuscripts at all costs. I’ve been here several times myself and know the man featured in this article - he’s doing wonderful work.
Read the story

🚆 All the Trains in Europe
This interactive map shows exactly how far you can travel by train from any station in Europe. Warning: major travel planning rabbit hole ahead.
Try it here

🇮🇹 Sardinia’s Mysterious “Fairy Houses”
These sacred Neolithic structures, called Domus de Janas, were carved into rock over 5,000 years ago. Locals believed fairies lived inside.
Read about them

🇱🇧 Beirut, in All Its Contradictions
This personal essay captures Beirut’s chaos, charm, beauty, and heartbreak, written by someone who knows the city inside and out. It’s raw, poetic, and very real.
Read the story

📸 National Geographic’s Photos of the Year (2025)
Some of the most powerful and surreal travel photography from the past year, curated by National Geographic. Visual inspiration overload.
View the gallery

🇷🇼 Rwanda: The Country That Breaks the Mold
A thoughtful reflection on travel in Rwanda - its safety, culture and the way it quietly redefines expectations. I’m hoping to get there within the next few months myself.
Read the piece

🇹🇷 A Cliffside Monastery in Turkey
The 1,600-year-old Sumela Monastery is perched dramatically on a sheer cliff in Trabzon, Turkey. The views are as stunning as the structure.
Explore it

😖 Meet the World’s Most Grumpy Museum Guide
At a museum in Düsseldorf, Germany, one tour guide’s dry, deadpan delivery has made him a cult favorite among visitors. Art meets sarcasm.
Read the feature

🍜 The Surprising History of Pho
Vietnam’s most famous dish has a long, twisty history involving French colonialism, beef bones and national identity. Worth a read (and a bowl).
Learn more

🗺️ where in the world?

In the last newsletter, I showed the map below and the idea was to choose a section based on this question:

For the rest of your life, you can only travel to one of these regions, which do you choose?

Here’s how many people chose each Section:

Section A: 4%
Section B: 13%
Section C: 7%
Section D: 36%
Section E: 11%
Section F: 11%
Section G: 15%
Section H: 2%

I chose Section D. It covers too many of my favorites - a bit of Italy, Greek Islands, Middle East, most of Asia plus Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. That would be more than ideal for me!

This week’s image game:

To keep this section fresh, today we’re going to play a game called Mapster. This geography game shows you a few cities and the name of a country. You then need to draw the borders of that country, the accuracy of which determines your score.

You can only play once per day.

Try it out and let me know your score (along with a screenshot). I’ll post the highest scores in the next newsletter!

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Thank you so much for reading!

Derek
(my middle name is Earl)

WanderingEarl.com

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