Hi there! I'm Caroline aka @TheHoopTraveller. I spent a great deal of the last 5 years hulahooping and traveling around the world and it all started because of a strange little secret. As a result, I've got thousands of videos of me hooping everywhere like Macchu Picchu, the deserts of Bolivia, Beijing, the strange landscapes of Australia, and even at the top of Rockefeller center (currently re-bingewatching 30 Rock due to the lockdown). In these times when we wonder when we will be free to travel again, I looked back at my own travels and offer you those silly montages of me dropping my hoop in paradisiac places (I'm surprisingly clumsy for a hooper).
Lakes, volcanoes, boats, historical monuments or god knows what... If I've been there, I've hooped there!
It all started because I got a very special job where was working from home, a full-time job in SEO but from home and with very little responsibility.
*Be patient, because this story gets VERY GOOD, and I kept it a secret so far*
I was finding my time so long at home. After being a waitress for three years it was hard to adjust to not having people to talk too. One day, I saw an advert on Facebook for an event "hulahooping on a rooftop", so I decided to go because I liked rooftops! But it's the hulahooping that left me flabbergasted. How could they do all of that with a plastic circle? And I never stop hulahooping since.
But at the same time I got a message from a friend traveling in Thailand asking me if I'd like to stay with him for a while. So after convincing my bosses to let me go remote for 3 months, I join in and take my first travel hulahoop with me. But my friend didn't actually come, so I end up joining three swiss girls, and start an amazing roadtrip through Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. And it didn't take too long until I started hulahooping in ridiculous places, about 3 days actually!
But it doesn't stop there! After that trip I was getting more and more comfortable doing my work abroad without my bosses knowing (the hotspot on my phone was my saviour). So that year in 2015, I spent about 3 months at home in London. I then asked my bosses for 3 months to go to travel through South America, you know, to cover my tracks. Those three months were amazing, so amazing that when I was supposed to go back home, I intentionally missed my flight home from Brazil, while chilling in the Cafetaria region of Colombia. That flight reminder on my phone did give me chills though. I then flew to Mexico on a whim!
And It's in Mexico that my life of lies starts, because my poor bosses think I'm safe home in London and I'm in freaking Mexico! I also realize only now that I'm further west of Colombia and not further east. So I'm not gaining two hours of sleep but losing two, and now have to work from 2am to 8am. Ta da taaaaa... [SHOCK, HORROR]
I will manage to keep this lie for 7 months and go to Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and then go from Texas to Québec. Doing all sorts of crazy things by day, partying in the evening and working/worrying about the wifi at night when my travelmates were sleeping.
Sometimes I would have videoconferences with my bosses, including a memorable performance review that I did from the very well lit toilets of a hostel. Having to fake being in dreary London when you're in the tropics can prove challenging. I was wearing a turtle neck trying to hold my sweat or trying not to move so he couldn't see the sink beside me. And to my surprise, they were happy with me! Man, if my former boss Christoph ever reads this one day, I want to say that I am very sorry that I lied to him, but it was just one lie and the outcome was complete freedom and living the best life. How could I resist that?
But when I got back to Europe, I was tired of traveling and tired of the job, even though it was the "perfect job". I was also in a deep existential crisis, I needed to be more creative! So I quit and then casually moved to Melbourne, Australia to keep on hooping, and after that to New Zealand. I am now self-isolated in Brest, Brittany, my hometown where I'm organizing my own walking tours and hulahoops classes.
When I look back on that time, it's been absolutely nuts, ridiculous but so most self-affirming journey. And I'm sure that when I'll be old, I still be laughing at the magical enormous lie that got me traveling the world.
To follow my adventures with my hoop: @thehooptraveller
More info: thehooptraveller.com
That's me hooping around New Zealand last year
Mount Cook, Franz Josef, Okarito, Westport, Rotorua, Punakaiki... I spent a whole year in New Zealand and what to say about this country, besides that it is pure perfection.
My favourite places would be: the West Coast of the South Island, Mount Cook and the Malborough Sounds. If you're driving do not miss out on the Queen Charlotte Drive next to Picton, and on the whole of the West Coast.
My favourite places would be: the West Coast of the South Island, Mount Cook and the Malborough Sounds. If you're driving do not miss out on the Queen Charlotte Drive next to Picton, and on the whole of the West Coast.
And that's me in Mexico (DF, Oaxaca, San Cristobal, Tulum...)
Mexico, its madness and of course, the delicious food, made it quick to my Top 5. Go see some Lucha Libre in Mexico City, eat some tacos 10 times a day, take a cooking class in Oaxaca, surf in Puerto Escondi, take some magic mushrooms in Palenque, paddle your kayak in Bacalar... There's so much to do in Mexico! I had the absolute best travelmate for this leg of the trip, who definitely add some spice and some music to the first chapter of my life of lies.
... in Tasmania too (that's in Australia btw, I got it confused with Tanzania for way too long))
Although Australia is all round nice, I must say Tasmania holds a special space in my heart. It feels a lot more european all of the sudden, it reminded be of home. Visit all the dairy farms you can because they've got the best cheeses in Australia and magical beaches when the weather allows it including Freyssinet and King William National Park.
And hooping around Bolivia over Christmas (Salar de Uyuni, Dali desert, La Paz...)
I embarked on a 3 day tour of the Salt Flats of Uyuni over Christmas in 2015 with a random French family and I recommend it to you, the tour, not the family although they were adorable.
Bolivia is nothing like what you would see anywhere else. The various colored deserts feel out of this world and so does the capital city, whose sprawling markets will confuse you more than once. I got lost once and landed in a market with clowns everywhere. Trippy!
Bolivia is nothing like what you would see anywhere else. The various colored deserts feel out of this world and so does the capital city, whose sprawling markets will confuse you more than once. I got lost once and landed in a market with clowns everywhere. Trippy!
And a long time ago in Ireland too with my mummy and step-daddy...
I drove around Ireland (Kerry, Cork, Donegal, Giant's Causeway) with my parents, which explains the chilled attitude and general silliness.
...In the the Galapagos (aka the Galaps aka my flashiest holiday ever)
Aaaaw, the wonders of the Galapagos. An unbelievable experience that I will never manage to afford again.
Tip: for cheaper island hooping cruises, sometimes it's best to be on the island to negociate your cruise options. In order to fill up tours, they can offer you some great deals!
Tip: for cheaper island hooping cruises, sometimes it's best to be on the island to negociate your cruise options. In order to fill up tours, they can offer you some great deals!
... In Guatemala where I stayed for a month and a half and was a great surprise: Tikal, Semuc Champey, Antigua, Acatenango, Lake Atitlan, Livingston...
What surprised me about Guatemala was the variety of landcapes (mountainous, Carribbean, jungly...) and people's happiness and sense of humour. I once had a chicken bus driver explain to me that the Mayan time was 15 minutes early than normal time to get me to hop on his bus. I'm still not serious he was serious.
In Brazil, where I landed for the trip through the Americas: three weeks full with Caipirinhas and some nonesensical parties
From the vastness of Brazil, I've only seen Rio de Janeiro, Florianopolis and Foz do Iguaçu. But I certainly had lots of fun!
And in the Netherlands too!
On my way to Australia, I stopped by the Netherlands to see some friends and ended up staying in one of the yellow cubes in Rotterdam. Classy!
And a short layover in Beijing
Still on my way to Australia, I spent 16 hours in Beijing, enough to hulahoop extensively in the Forbidden City and grab some unusual street eats. Can I say I've been to China, no, not really.