[This is the first in a series by Jacobo Junior, a Mableton resident and a cook at The Cenacle, who went on a two-year adventure around the Pacific, and took many photos as he and a companion traveled. This series includes summaries of blog posts he wrote about his travels. At the bottom of each article in the series, we’ll include a link to his blog where you can read the longer version, and see all the photographs]
How often do you talk about places you want to visit? Or maybe you have a dream location that you believe is an unattainable place. Well, I’m here to tell you that you can go and see those places. I ended up in the beautiful island country of New Zealand. Take a moment to think of where New Zealand is located, because I too had little knowledge of this hidden gem. It’s located remotely in the South Pacific. Now, I’m here to share my adventure with you, that would go on for two and a half years.
My life began in Southern California and at age 11, life took a quick turn as my family and I moved to Georgia, without knowing anyone there. I was happy in California, but my dad chose to move us across the country. Looking back, it was the move to Georgia as a child that gave me the courage to go elsewhere as an adult because life goes on, not matter what.
After graduating high school, I enrolled to Culinary School in Santa Monica, CA, majoring in baking and pastry, a skill that has helped me to this day. At my first job, in Ventura, CA, I met Ben: a long lost brother. Ben played a key role into making New Zealand our first stop among many. We created this bond that continued after I left the job.
My dream was to visit the Twelve Apostles along the Southern Australian coast. For years, I attempted to convince anyone to join me on a little holiday to Australia. After many nos and maybes from family and friends, Ben eventually said yes, but with a twist: “Let’s go on one way tickets”. After it became serious, Ben’s mom, Nikki, was in contact with an in-law who happened to be living in New Zealand. Nikki mentioned our trip to Australia and we were invited to stay on their farm near Auckland, New Zealand.
We got online, applied for visas, and, just like that, we booked our tickets for February 10, 2015. To this day, I have yet to meet anyone from the states to do a similar trip. Now, I want to encourage you to go out and explore the world. Don’t just dream it, see it.
>> You can also follow Jacobo on Instagram