Greetings from 30,000 feet!

I’m writing this week’s message on my way back to the National Institute of Health in Washington DC – hopefully for some good news.

If you follow along on IG or YouTube, I’ll assume you know my health story, and I’ll save you the details. If not, you can watch the full story here.

This will be my 3-month* checkup to see if I’m cleared of Leishmaniasis. I’ll give blood, then meet with an Infectious disease doctor, dermatologist, and wound care specialist.

*It’s been almost a full year since I was diagnosed with this crazy flesh-eating parasite, but we had to restart the clock on treatment from the date I started my second round of intense infusions.

Now the frustrating part is, no matter how well it goes tomorrow, we still won’t be 100% certain that I’m cured. I will be monitored for a full year to make sure no new lesions arise.

I’ve mentioned this in my Patreon updates, but one scary story the ID doctor told me was that he had a patient who found a new lesion after 14 YEARS of being Leish-free.

With that in mind, now any new mark scares me - so that sucks.

Regardless, I’m excited to meet with the team and I’ll give you an update on how it goes next week!

COOL THING IN TRAVEL

Speaking of healing properties – 4:20 is on Saturday!

Not too long ago, you had to travel to Amsterdam to officially celebrate this unofficial holiday.

Check out the old photo below of my first visit to the infamous coffee shops.

I was studying abroad in London and planned a weekend trip with a few classmates. I remember choosing a beginner-friendly strain called “Bubble Gum” and then there was something about a boat – or maybe it was a goat… sorry, everything else is fuzzy.

Anyway, with loosening legal restrictions in the US and Canada, you don’t have to go as far to enjoy the experience (in public). There are cannabis experiences popping up all over, so I made a short list of a few interesting ones for the upcoming holiday:

• Smoke and Mirrors, Las Vegas - This spot made a name for itself with its amazing THC-infused cocktails and for being the first state-licensed lounge opened in February 2024.
• Weed Bus LA, Los Angeles - Hot box an entire school bus with your next cannabis themed party, or just go on a tour of the city of LA.
• Cannabis Super Club, Los Angeles – A higher culinary experience.
• Puff Pass Paint, Denver – The first ever Cannabis-Friendly inclusive 4/20 art classes.
• Puff Puff Pour, Portland - A twist on food and beverage pairings by replacing food with weed.

My responsible disclaimer: Don’t get too high, it ruins everything.

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Changing gears back to more conservative forms of medical assistance - Since launching the Travel Deeper Bootcamp one of the biggest questions I get asked from the community is about travel insurance.

Luckily, with the situation I’m going through right now, I found the NIH; a government-funded research-based organization (so they cover all of my expenses).

To be as direct as possible - I used to use WorldNomads for my travel insurance, and now I use SafetyWing. If you travel abroad, I highly recommend it.

No more weird terms or getting lost in a confusion of choices. SafetyWing lays it all out, crystal clear, helping you grab the perfect coverage for your adventure style and budget.

One last quick story from the archives…

Back in 2009, on my maiden voyage into this life of traveling full-time, I lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

While I was there I got an infected cyst on the back of my neck and I didn’t have travel insurance.

I would have had to pay a few hundred dollars to get it fixed, but luckily a local surgeon was a frequent customer at the bar I worked at so I was able to pay for the surgery with drink coupons - check out the pre-surgery photo below.

Moral of the story, if you don’t have drink coupons - get SafetyWing.

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That’s it for this week. Hopefully I’ll have some good news to share next week!

Cheers to new horizons,

Gareth

P.S. If you haven't already, check out the newest “Day in the Life” episode where I spend 24 hours with a Canadian Rodeo Cowboy.