Billie Besos

Now… where do I start? I can’t remember the last time I wrote anything of substance on my computer. It has been a long while, that’s for sure. And… I guess a lot has happened during that long while. I feel different. I’m pretty sure I am different. It’s quite hard to put into words but I will try to give it my best shot.

I am in Portugal. That’s a start. I was probably in Portugal when I last wrote on here… but I haven’t been in Portugal during the time in between. It’s quite strange that I have ended up here again… but I guess that’s all part of my story, and it’s quite ironic that this is the place where I usually start to write again. This could be because of the chilled life the country promotes… maybe I look inwards when I am here? Maybe it forces me to slow down. Anyway… enough of the wittering and I will cut to the chase.

These were taken on 2nd January 2022 at one of my favourite surf spots Praia do Amado… shame I was just watching

Aaaaaaaaaaah peaceful Portugal

I’ll rewind, but I’ll try to keep it brief. Well done if you’re still there. The beginning of 2021 was very much like the end of 2020. I was still living and working in Portugal, still living under my parents’ roof, and still feeling quite trapped. I was not enjoying my job, but luckily I was finding enjoyment outside of this; I practised yoga and became a qualified teacher, and I regularly practised journalling (something which I am definitely going to be speaking to you more about). I was, however, manifesting a great amount towards a career change, and general lifestyle change. I had booked a course called an STCW which was going to enable me to enter into the world of Yachting. Ok… you might be puzzled. What is Yachting? Why the sudden change of heart? Isn’t that a bit random? Well, this wasn’t completely random. I have always had an interest in travel, the ocean and the Hospitality industry. Yachting combines all of these, and leads to a rather exciting, diverse, and financially comfortable life. It was something I had looked into in the past, but I really felt driven to give it a go during this period of my life. It helped that my boyfriend Josh was just starting out in the industry too and had given me more of an insight. He was in the Caribbean working on a boat during this time… this was testing too. We were in quite a new relationship so I really wanted him to go out there and enjoy himself and not think too much about me being back at home, but this took a lot of strength. However, seeing him out there loving life motivated me more.

The Yachting fun began…. This was taken on my STCW course in Gibraltar in April 2021

I had my course booked for February, yet it didn’t happen until April (f*** you pandemic). Maybe this waiting time made it all more worthwhile though. Fast forward to my course in April, and I think I found the whole experience so much more enriching because it had been a long time in coming. I met some amazing people and felt a real sense of purpose all of a sudden. I felt like everything I had been manifesting was slowly falling into place. From there, things really started to happen. I quit my job, Josh got back from the Caribbean and we rekindled things, and I was off to my first boat within three weeks of leaving my previous job.

A typical Lisbon tram (above) and me strolling towards the Arco da Rua Augusta (below)

We took a (slightly hair-raising) motorbike ride over to Sintra, famous for it’s beautiful castle. *TIP* take the coastal road if you ever do this… (above)

A selfie with a view (below)

I spent the summer working onboard a 32m Motor yacht. I would love to say it was all sunshine and rainbows… but this is not accurate. It was an amazing experience and I have no regrets; I am hoping to get back onboard when the right opportunity presents itself. I went to some beautiful parts of Europe including Malta, Italy and France, and I had the most amazing crew mates. I was the ‘Sole Stewardess’ on the yacht which had up to 8 guests onboard at any one time. I got into the flow of my work and enjoyed many aspects of it. Of course, there were some dramas… I had a slightly difficult relationship with my captain, we had a long owner’s trip and some hectic charters. The final charter of the season was the week from hell; this included crashing the boat, a drunken chef who left mid-charter and a burst dinghy. It’s safe to say that I was ready for a breather at the end of the season. With the lows, however, came some amazing highs. Throughout the season I was able to go onto land and see some beautiful places, Josh’s boat was never too far away so we were able to spend some romantic evenings around Italy, and I barely spent a penny. After the season, I spent three weeks in the UK which was long overdue and filled with catch-ups. The highlight of my trip was watching my beautiful friend Livvy marry the love of her life in our hometown. From the UK, I jetted off to Palma, Mallorca where I was reunited with the friends I made on my Yachting course, before heading over to Ibiza to join Josh onboard the boat he works on. We spent some time on there, sailing with his mum across to Valencia. I then lived onboard with him for a short while, helping out and exploring the fun and diverse city. And breathe for a second.

Here are some ‘yachtie’ shots… well, some more glamorous ones

The Royal Wedding 3.0 (and yes… I was the only bridesmaid who never managed to have a dress fitting!)

This might be getting a little lengthy… I told you I had been up to a lot. I have, however, missed something vital from when I was in Palma. Aside from enjoying the beaches and the nightlife, all of a sudden I had secured a job for the Winter (through a friend) as a Chalet Host in the French Alps. Some of you might think WOW, how dreamy. And you’re not wrong… the French Alps are beautiful, and what better excuse to spend time there than working in a luxury ski resort. It sounds amazing, yes, but for some reason something felt off to me. Maybe it was because I had pictured myself working on another boat for the Winter? Anyway, I went ahead and organised my travel out to the Alps; it all happened pretty quickly. With a brief pit stop in Portugal to organise my belongings, I was in the Alps by late November. It was quite a dramatic adjustment for me to begin with. I couldn’t believe how cold it was, and I suddenly felt a bit unsure about what I was doing there. Oh yeah… I forgot to add that I have NEVER skied before in my life. I have always wanted to learn so this was partly why I took the job but yeah, complete and utter beginner. I gave the job and the lifestyle change a really good go; I was beginning to enjoy my time there. I had planned to go home for Christmas due to my boss being away for the holidays (also very uncommon for seasonaires) which gave me a milestone to work towards. BUT, guess what happened next. Two days before I was due to leave for Portugal, I had an accident. I had taken one ski lesson at this point and practised a bit with friends, which maybe gave me a false sense of confidence. That said, I wasn’t doing anything silly to cause my accident. I went out skiing with a new friend and was taking things very easy on the beginners slope. Granted, it was pretty icy. Basically I just slipped and lost my footing and fell straight onto my back. Long story short, this led to two nights in a French hospital, a back brace, no job and me moving back to Portugal. It sounds terrible, and obviously it is not ideal that I now have to take it easy and wear a back brace. However, I am so grateful that it wasn’t worse, that my Dad and Josh drove to come and save me just in time for Christmas, and that I have a home and family to come back to. I do, however, have no job and need to reassess things. It should be a speedy recovery and I am acting pretty much like normal, just missing my yoga and exercise.

Some shots from the six-ish weeks I spent in Spain… I have many more to post

Valencia

Palma

Ibiza Town

I think I am still in slight shock and adjusting to being back in Portugal. This all happened only a few weeks ago, and I was supposed to be back in the Alps by now. I am, however, going to try to use this time wisely. I don’t want to put an immense amount of pressure on myself to be super productive, but I do think this is a good time for me to look inwards and work on some projects I have been thinking about for a while. This is partly why I think I decided to write on here again. It makes me feel like I’m doing something useful by coming back to this platform. I also think I am searching for something. Some bigger purpose in life. I want to get back to writing again, but I would like to change this from a travel blog to a lifestyle blog. I would still love to write about future trips and travel, working on boats and more, but I think after the past couple of years, I want to also gear this towards day to day life, mental health, coping strategies, being mindful, yoga and journalling. I have been researching what I can do to make a difference and have a passion for sharing my coping mechanisms with the world. I am hoping I can make something out of this. When I can exercise properly again (not just going on long walks every day) I hope to delve deeper into my yoga practice and share this, but in the meantime I am keeping busy looking into life coaching. I am currently reading a book on Psychology called ‘A Manual For Being Human’ by Dr. Soph and am researching what I need to do to make this a future business.

If you have read up until the end then I thank you. I will be making an effort to grow my blog and website, with hopefully some useful materials to come. And who knows, maybe my next post will be written from another boat. We will see what’s in store!

Lots of love, Billie x

The Alps are truly beautiful… taken soon before things went downhill

I have not posted for around a year now, and I’m not exactly sure why not. I think it’s mainly down to the fact that I have had a busy, and I mean BUSY, year this past year. The contrast between 2020 and 2021 was pretty stark for me. I manifested and built towards my dreams, and I guess they all began to unfold this year… you could almost say at lightning speed. The truth is, maybe I haven’t really been able to keep up with myself over the past year. This could be why I have barely given myself a minute to sit down and gather my thoughts.