I began conducting some initial research a few weeks ago. It consists of going to the library and checking out various travel books, books on other countries, books written with specific settings in mind, and even a few DVD’s on various countries.

Using the library to assist in initial research is something I would highly recommend.

1. It’s FREE! I don’t have to spend money Justin and I are trying to save for travel and transportation on 100′s of books.
2. We cannot carry lots of books. I am not sure how many we will bring at this point but it’s not going to be a ton. We will have to plan on buying additional informational books and maps as we go.
3. It’s a great way to see whats out there, new and old resources. Whereas a large book store will only carry the most recently released travel books. These are great! But their are other good resources that only library’s can offer.

An example of a lesson I learned from some items I checked out today:

Book: “Spectrum Guide to Maldives” The islands south of India (yes, in the Indian Ocean). After looking into the islands I realized that they are tiny islands (most that you can only reach by boat, not even enough land for an airplane to land), that house upscale resorts. I plan on returning this book on my next trip to the library.

Book: “Driving Over Lemons, An Optimist In Andalucia” This is a book by Chris Stewart (a guy who originally grew up in the states) who moved with his wife, Ana, to El Valero, a mountain farm in Andalucia, Spain. His book is a tale of his adventures that resulted in “both hilarious disasters and blissful serendipity”. He still lives in Spain today with Ana (his wife) and they have a daughter, Chloe. And I think he has a dog too, because his official author photo was taken with a dog. However, Chris could have stolen the dog to look extra awesome in the photo.

DVD: “Hairspray” That’s right, the movie based on the musical. John Travolta plays a woman and I heard he can still shake it and look good on the dance floor. I’ll have to put him to the test and find out. What can I say? This is not directly related to becoming a nomad backpacker. The last two DVD’s I checked out contained factual information on two different countries. I think it’s important that I do not become obsesed with other cultures and loose focus on my own culture. Which at times may mean John Travolta as a woman.

Maps: Alright, so I didn’t “check” any out. And you can’t actually check out maps at the library I have been currently going to. However, they have a used book section; they sell used books, magazines, travel brochures and even maps. I took a look to see if any of them would be helpful. A few of the maps I came across today would probably come in handy, including maps of Amsterdam, London, and Southern France. But as a nomad backpacker, I believe it will be important to wait and buy maps once we will need them. Instead of traveling with a backpack that could be mistaken as an atlas. Once we know our first few destinations, I plan on having a few maps and resources prepared in advance.

I got a few other books today too. So far it is proving to be the best way to explore resources for FREE without accumulating loads of books that I could never bring in the limited (size and weight) capacity our backpacks will offer. I think this is a great way to begin to educate myself during this initial stage of planning

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