My clothes were soaking wet when I entered a Chinese shop to buy an umbrella just outside the centre of Porto. The day didn’t start well. I woke up half sick and with a sore throat, after a restless night on a tight couch. I looked through the window and saw the grim reality of my first day on what was supposed to be an epic journey – relentless rain of Porto, accompanied by a cold wind. Thinking how I’m a disappointment for all my adventure travel idols, I ordered an Uber to get to the shop. “No umbrella, no nothing, completely unprepared, sick, I can’t even get out of the house without an uber. How am I supposed to reach Marrakesh and survive on a budget for two months?”
However, as I equipped myself with an umbrella, a slight sense of confidence came back, and I courageously went onto my next mission – pharmacy. Some throat candies and aspirin – now I already felt unstoppable. A sudden slip and fall in the main square brought me back to earth. My umbrella was also useless with the wind. I realized that that day was not about the spectacular, but about making the future spectacular possible.
Next stop – metro station, got a daily pass. I exited the station about two kilometres away from Decathlon and confidently decided to walk the distance to save at least some money. Then I got absolutely destroyed by the weather conditions, but successfully arrived to the store – raincoat, two pairs of hiking socks, hiking boots, bottle of water. There was no other choice but to change my clothes right there in Decathlon. Some girl witnessed the whole process – she seemed to be genuinely amused and astonished by what I was doing, especially when I started to change my socks and re-organize an already overpacked 10 litre Quecha backpack in the middle of the store. Dry socks, good boots and a raincoat, I felt like an RPG character acquiring items and gear while roaming the map. “I have become death, the destroyer of worlds” – I was completely indestructible. Also, I looked like I was sponsored by Decathlon. Sadly, I wasn’t.
Next and final purchase mission was to buy a tablet for the sake of writing. I entered the shopping mall with enthusiasm, I exited with 200 euros less and the anxiety induced by doubt – “do I really need this? I’m going to break it, lose it, or simply won’t need it. I’ve spent almost 300 euros on the second day od my joueney and I’m supposed to travel with 1870,00 euros for 65 more days, my average expenditure doesn’t look promising”