Did you miss me?

Hello, dear readers,

I am back.

Two years since the last post? Wow. Time really does fly. I’ve been busy. A lot has happened.

I am now working on five different projects—all at the same time, yes. And yes, I know that if you hyperfocus on one thing at a time, you’ll probably do much better. But my curious, entrepreneurial mind won’t allow me to do just one thing.

Mainly, I’ve been working in real estate in my little corner of the world. I’ll tell you more about the other projects in due time. But yes... there has been a lot of hard work. Things seem to be getting harder, but in a good way. Every challenge feels more rewarding once you overcome it.

I’ve also been travelling. Not as much as I used to, but still a decent amount.

A quick recap...

I went to Svalbard, in the far north of Norway. It felt like Hoth from Star Wars.

I then spent 15 days in Kyrgyzstan. Absolutely fantastic. Great people. Surprisingly developed. But the best part was the nature: sleeping in yurts, seeing those mountains and riding horses through a valley, crossing rivers and fields. One of the best experiences of my life. There I felt like I was part of Lord of the rings.

After Kyrgyzstan, I went to Iceland—the land of ice and fire. We drove around the whole country, sleeping in tents. Another stunning place. The geysers exploding out of the ground surprised me. I had never seen anything like that before. The natural hot springs were also incredible. There were glaciers and waterfalls that made me understand why people once believed in gods. There was some sort of energy in the air that felt... spiritual.

Some of the Glaciers and me goofing around.

Then came a cheeky trip to Slovakia and Czechia—two countries I had never visited before. Also incredible people. The train system was ... an experience.

I later spent a little over a month in Sri Lanka. I’d wanted to go there for years, and it didn’t disappoint. In fact, it was so fucking good that I will 100% return at some point.

I am now even toying with the idea of opening a hostel there, somewhere in the south. More on that another time.

Anddd thennnn, well... as always, I took a few shorter trips to places I enjoy: a few days in Italy, a few days in London, a few days in Greece...

I’ve also been doing a lot of reading and writing. And... surprise, surprise, dear readers...

I wrote a novel!

It isn’t published yet, as I am currently looking for a literary agent to represent me and help me get it into the hands of a traditional publisher.

I decided against indi self-publishing because... well, I want to see it on actual bookshelves and in bookshops around the world.

And, not to toot my own horn, but... It’s pretty fucking good.

I’ll write a separate post telling you all about it, but I’ve read many books published by major publishers and distributed around the world that were nowhere near as enjoyable as my novel.

I’ll give you one little spoiler for now: it’s called Some Girls.

Ohhh—and did I tell you that I turned 30? Holy shit.

I thought I had made a pact with God—or the Devil—to never turn 30. But it happened.

And you know what? It feels kind of good.

I feel like... a man.

Not manly. I’ve always felt manly. I mean that I feel more mature somehow. It took something as silly as changing the first digit of my age to flick a switch inside me and make me think:

Right... it’s fucking on now. And it is.

Soooo, yeah. I’ve reopened this blog because... well, because I enjoy it.

And my intentions are still the same: to tell people about my experiences, the cool things I learn and the beautiful places I see—but, above all, to explore how we can live better, more fulfilling lives.

Soooo... more coming soon.

Sending love xx

Ivan Tornado

Here I am with my Kirgui Horse