Zero To Travel Podcast

Yari Coello 0:00
I also think beauty is not just one thing, and the beauty industry has been very dominated by a certain look a certain feel. And I think that's a bit of a shame because it really is diverse. You know what people do around the world, different skin tones, different hair textures, different body shapes and different rituals.

Jason Moore 0:19
That was today's guests. Yari Coelho, who was kind enough to stop by the show, and you'll hear the funny story behind how we met in person late at the end of last year, and how she kickstarted her life abroad and her life of travel with almost no money and the small steps and the little bit of faith she took each month, month by month to create this life abroad. It's a wonderful conversation, we also get into beauty, the standards around the world, why they are ever changing how it's represented in the media, we talk about that from a couple different perspectives the consumer perspective, as people who use social media out there traveling, how beauty may be perceived and of course the Creator perspective when you're posting things, just a great conversation around the beauty as as a topic which is something she specializes in on her website, and a lens through which she sees some of her travels and we get into destinations. Yara is bent to over 50 countries. So I forced her with my questioning my hardline questioning to give us her three, three of her top sort of standout, don't miss destination. So you're gonna get all that and much more in this show. Plus, I'm going to share a couple of my favorite facts around Yardies adopted hometown London, England, one of which really warms my heart and makes me proud for reasons I'll explain in this show. So let's get into it. Shall we? Buckle up strap in. Thanks for being here. And welcome to the zero to travel podcast, my friend.

ad 1:59
You're listening to the zero to travel Podcast where we explore exciting travel based work, lifestyle and business opportunities helping you to achieve your wildest travel dreams. Now your host World wonder and travel junkie, Jason Moore. Hey, what's

Jason Moore 2:17
up? It's Jason with zero travel.com Welcome to the show. Thanks for hanging out. Let me bring a little travel into your ears today. This is the show to help you travel the world on your terms to fill your life with as much travel as you desire no matter what your situation or experience. And no matter how hard I try. After I returned home from London late last year, I couldn't recreate that magical pub experience. We talk about the pub life in London and one of the many aspects of what Yari our guest today loves about living in London living abroad. And as I mentioned at the top, I'll share a couple of my favorite facts about that city. And that was the last trip. I really took on my own abroad, kind of had that solo travel experience stayed in the hostel did the whole thing. And, man, it felt good. It felt good. It came at a good time, a little bit of a lull in the pandemic. And yeah, I got to meet Yari in person, you'll hear the story, how that happened. And now she ended up on the show, and you get to hear our conversation today. So I really look forward to bringing that to you. Now, the first fact about London, I want to share this one came from a website Googling and turned up this website uk.urbanus.com. They have 20 interesting history facts about London. Did you know there are over 300 languages spoken in London, I thought that really says a lot about the cultural diversity of that city. And I think you can really feel that in the air when you get there and experience that just walking around. Lovely place to visit. Now, there's another quirky fact about London I want to share that I feel a personal connection to and I also want to give a shout out to somebody in this listening community. First, I want to start with just saying I wish I thought of this idea. I don't know if you've heard of rumpl ru MP l.com You can go to their website. They make the coolest blankets. I just got sent one. I got this Yellowstone National Park edition. I'll tell you about that in a minute. But the design on these things are incredible. And the blankets are made from the same tactical materials used in like premium outdoor gear and active wear. And each blanket is made from 60 recycled water bottles. So this is one of those companies that does it. All right, they're a B Corp. They offset their carbon footprint. And I'm really excited to have them now as a sponsor of this show. They have over 135 prints. These blankets are perfect for indoors and outdoors. My kids have been using it nonstop. You could take it to the beach, camping, picnic, Van lifing, whatever and because they're made of that material that outdoor material, They're light, they're packable. They're just awesome. I love them. And you can get a discount as listener this show you say 15% with the code zero, the word zero ze Aro, say 15% with the word zeros era. I'll link to that in the show notes, we've got a rumble.com when you check out, you'll just use that discount code and get hooked up. So I want to thank them for that and hooking up the listeners of these year to travel podcast the Yellowstone blanket I got is so cool. It was a special collaboration they did with the Yellowstone National Parks 100 and 50th anniversary so it's got a bison on it and it's got the old faithful in which is a place I've stayed at for some nights a long time ago. Lovely place that has old faithful of course, and so many different just cool designs on it, but all of their blankets, again, awesome design packable cozy, perfect for travelers, and of course you're getting hooked up with that discount that 15% discount with the discount code zeros era so check them out. Thank you to rumble for supporting today's show. Now listen, people tend to like money right helps you travel helps you do the things you want to do. So if you're a person, you might like this. The US Bank cash Visa Signature card lets you customize your rewards to maximize your cashback. receive up to 5% cashback on the to reward categories that best fit your lifestyle and adjust your cashback selections each quarter as your spending changes. Learn more at us bank.com/cash+whether You're a movie buff or a gym rat a foodie or a techie, a homebody or a jet setter. You can earn 5% cashback doing the things you love. Just be yourself and get rewarded. Plus, you'll get 2% cashback on one everyday category like gas stations, Evey charging stations, groceries or restaurants Apply now at us bank.com/cash+and. Discover how you can get $200 Cash Back bonus. The creditor and issuer of this card is US Bank National Association pursuant to a license from visa USA Inc. Some restrictions may apply. Alright, I'm excited to share this conversation I had with your a stick around on the back end. And we'll talk about that extra connection I have with London being based here in Norway, there's a little hint plus a shout at somebody in this community. Stick around for that if you got some time. And I'll leave you with a lovely quote as well. On Beauty. Please enjoy this chat. And I'll see you on the other side. And

now, you ended up here because well, first of all, you are definitely speaking my language because we were at an event the World Travel Market in a bar in London cheerio, by the way. And I heard this fellow travel colleague, I overhear. Yeah, somebody's saying, hey, kind of IPAs, you got over there. Tell me about your IPA that wait a minute, hold on. This girl speaking my language here. And then and then we were right next to each other at the bar. And we turned to each other. And yeah, then we just started talking. And here we are.

Yari Coello 8:20
I know what's crazy is I recognized your voice like, not straight away. But after you said your name. I was like, Oh, this is a podcast I like to do.

Jason Moore 8:36
Well, thanks. Yeah, I left that part out because that just makes me blush. But no, I'm so glad you're here. And I'm on the line with Yari Coelho, who has a website called the beauty backpacker.co.uk. I'll leave the link in the show notes. And we got a lot to talk about today around, you know, beauty and content creation and life in London and all kinds of things. So anyway, welcome to the zero to travel podcast, my friend,

Yari Coello 9:04
thank you for having me.

Jason Moore 9:06
And it's always a treat, when, you know, we've actually gotten to hang out in person before we record because then we are just getting on the video here and I get to see your face. And it's like yeah, we just met a couple of months ago, it feels like I feel like that doesn't happen as often during the pandemic, as you know used to but here we are. So welcome to the show.

Yari Coello 9:26
Thank you. So happy to be here.

Jason Moore 9:28
Well, are you like skipping out of work right now to do this interview? Or

Yari Coello 9:35
some less? Yeah. The perk of working from home because you kind of you know, I'm much more flexible now if I can just manage my time and speak these things. And

Jason Moore 9:45
yes, it is a perk and yeah, we got to talking when we were hanging out and I was just fascinated by the fact that you move to London, of all places like you know on paper who should be You living in London? You're born totally different place like, yeah, there was an interesting story behind that. So I wanted you to share, first of all, how you ended up there. And then what kept you there?

Yari Coello 10:10
Yeah, yeah. So I think like most travelers, I probably always just had the bug from a young age. And so I'm originally from Florida in the States, and I didn't get the opportunity to study abroad. In college, it was something I'd always wanted to do. So actually, when I finish, I didn't really have much of a plan. My best friend and I just moved to Barcelona, actually, was not a lot of money. And you plan, but I ended up staying there for about a year and a half. And I started teaching English and wait, wait, wait,

Jason Moore 10:45
hold on, hold on. I gotta stop you there. Yeah. What do you mean, you guys just like had a little bit of money and you just thinking, hey, we're just gonna go to Barcelona, because

Yari Coello 10:55
just because, yeah, literally, we both thought, you know, we have plenty of time to go and get serious jobs and stuff. And I didn't have anything lined up. No, that cheese. So we said, we took like, literally pocket money. It wasn't much and said, Let's just go. I mean, I must have had like, $500, or something like that. It was bad. But yeah, it was 21. At the time, you know, I'm, I'm definitely a free spirit anyway, but at the time, even more so than now. So I thought whatever will make it work. And if it doesn't, I'll just go home. And literally, that was the beginning of everything. Because I ended up staying, she went home, but I stayed for about a year and a half, I started teaching English. And from that point on, I think, like expat life, just the bug really hit I love living abroad and having friends. Well, from Spain, but also from other parts of the world, other parts of Europe. And so when I was thinking, What do I do next? Because after, you know, about a year and a half, like I said, I thought, I'm not really ready to go back. But I know I do want to get back into work or study more, or whatever. So that's when I actually applied to go to grad school in London. And I applied in the States as well, I actually was thinking of moving back. But as soon as I got the offer for London, I thought I'd be crazy to say no to this, because it's just the chance to live somewhere else and to keep living abroad. So I moved to London, and never looked back. I mean, it was I studied for the year. And then kind of same, I was in an in between situation of a better find a job before I run out of money. But I managed to do some freelance work and got my first gig in London. And now, almost 17 years later, I am still here. So I never ever went back home. If only my parents had known years ago, that I wouldn't be looking back.

Jason Moore 13:00
It's better that we don't know these things. Right? It would be too overwhelming to think about that much of life, which is I think, the beauty behind doing a somewhat spontaneous trip like that, or just, you know, following your heart towards travel, I think it's you could have been in that situation where you had 500 bucks. And you're like, well, we didn't have jobs. So we left but you could have been oh my gosh, we don't have jobs, we better. You know, keep working on our resumes and apply to 100 more, you know, you were just like, well, we don't have jobs. We're going to let's go to Barcelona

Yari Coello 13:34
Oh, yeah,

Jason Moore 13:35
I mean, having so little cash for a trip like that. Sort of like back against the wall type of situation forced you to get out and you know, get a job teaching English and all of the Yeah, I mean, how did that impact your sort of your your your first trip there? I mean, because obviously led to life abroad, but it didn't start so easy. You could have ran out of money and then just had to come home or something.

Yari Coello 14:04
But you stuck it out. Yeah, I stuck it out. I mean, I was broke. I couldn't do much, but I didn't care. You know, I mean, I think at that point, it was just really about just having experiences meeting people. We stayed in a hostel for the first week or so, we found really cheap accommodation. And I was doing odd jobs here and there. So I think I was on our pair like two days a week and then I started teaching English and I was willing to travel pretty far for schools that would have me for an hour or two and then I just started building on that, like one student would recommend me to another student and then it was enough to kind of survive on and that's all I was really looking for. It wasn't like I was I certainly wasn't asked for the money. I just wanted to have rich experiences and I was getting that you know, you could still come up to all the bars and get cheap bottles of wine and have big nights out. And I have made so many cool friends and I started traveling with them, which was also cheap, because it'd be you know, I go home with my German friends and stay with his family, which was incredible for me to spend Christmas there with him. And, you know, all those moments for reasons that I would just keep thinking, Oh, well, I'll just keep myself ticking over to the next month, until the next month, and I somehow always did. And that's just kind of how it ended up becoming as long as it did, but it was never ever planned. It was literally month by month by month. Okay, I'm still here. Okay, this is still working. Yeah.

Jason Moore 15:38
Do you ever miss that month by month, not knowing where the next month is gonna take you type of lifestyle?

Yari Coello 15:44
Definitely, definitely. I think, you know, as you get older, and you do have more responsibilities. Now I have a flat in London. And, you know, there's just different pressures. I don't have kids. But I imagine that's a whole nother layer, you know, in terms of settling down. So I do think, yeah, there's a freedom in that time. And I'm really, really glad that I made the most of it. I mean, you can still make the most of it during any chapter of your life. But I think that's a real special time where you're not bogged down by as much responsibility. And you're more fearless. You know, you're not thinking as much about what could go wrong, you just kind of go for it. And things just work out. At least that's how it's always been for me somehow somehow falls into place, and you get by and, and you never regret it. You know, you never look back and go, I wish I wouldn't have booked that flight. I wouldn't be here. I'd probably still be who knows back in Florida. So I'm grateful for those risks. For sure.

Jason Moore 16:43
Yeah. And what was it about London that kept you there? I know you originally came to study, but you didn't have to. There are many cities, you could go and live in. You could travel around more. It seems like London's been such a consistent part of your life for so many years, obviously. So what is it about that city, we don't need to like romanticize it or hear anything? I'm sure there are pros and cons to living in London, like there are anywhere else we could talk about those. But you know, at the same time, you did stick around a place for a long time. And there are other places to go. So what yeah, what is the connection there with you?

Yari Coello 17:26
Um, it's hard to say, I mean, I feel cities is kind of like people there, they have a personality, right. And there's something about a place that just resonates with you. It's almost hard to put into words. I mean, I I loved that it was so international. And you know, especially at that time for me just meeting so many people from around the world a lot who are of a similar age and starting a life in London themselves. So we connected on that. Just the size, the sheer size of London and what it offers in terms of things to do people to see places to go. And I think a lot of people think London's a really expensive city, but actually, it all 60 tons of free things. So I'm even in my early years, when I was just starting out working and stuff, you know, there were all the free exhibitions and museums, the park, the house parties, you know, he's constantly doing cool and interesting things every weekend. And it was just an exciting life. And to this day, even though the shape of my life looks different, I still like knowing that I like knowing that, at the drop of the hat. I feel like doing something different this weekend, I just go on timeout, and I'll find something I've probably never done before venue I've never been to or a gig I can attend for some random band I've never heard of, I think just that constant activity and buzz to it. Kind of like travel, there's always an element of unknown or shaking things up that I really love about London. And I still feel that way now.

Jason Moore 19:03
Do you I was gonna ask you after all the years because as an expat myself, sometimes it's your day to day life isn't the same as your day to day travel life when you're traveling, right? But at the same time when you live in a foreign country. It's not like you're traveling all the time. It doesn't always feel like that. But it's no matter how long you live there, it's still foreign. At least that's how I feel right? And you didn't grow up there. So you're never you're there but you're not like you're part of it, but you didn't grow up in it. I don't know. It's there's so many weird feelings and thoughts around just living the expat life. At the same time. You get that cultural exchange all the time. And sometimes there are many cultural mishaps and other times it's, you know, you kind of giving somebody else a cultural experience just because you're from another place and you're interesting to them because you're not, you know, from that area. I mean, There's so much to it. How is your relationship with London changed? Over the years? Do you think when you think back to kind of when you first got there to now? Is it more like daily life kind of just not thinking about it too much? Or? I don't wanna put words into your mouth, but I just love to hear.

Yari Coello 20:17
Yeah, yeah, I mean, it's definitely changed. So I think, I mean, part of getting older as well, I think I just like be COVID relaxing a bit more than I used to, but, but I do think I have to think about it more. You know, if I want to go out and do something new, it probably doesn't come as naturally to me now as it used to where it was, every weekend, I really went out and tried to find something new and different and that different friends, I'm much less likely to do that. Now. I think also with the pandemic, in particular, where there were so many lockdowns here, it's almost become normal not to leave the house and have to remember, Oh, wait, we can leave the house like that we can book things, I don't have to be inside all the time. So there, there's definitely been a transition in that way. But not so much in the sense that I, I feel at risk of not finding something cool and new to do. It's just that I have to push myself to do it more. The other thing is, you know, in the early days, I just didn't get British culture in the way that I do. Now, you know, like the, how sacred The pub is, or a Sunday rose, or, you know, all the different terms American versus British and spellings, smell, things like that a lot of phrases, that now I use myself, I don't even think about it, or you know, my boyfriend is British, or a lot of my friends are British. Now, you know, in the old days, it was also to novelty. Whereas now I kind of think of myself as a very hybrid, American, British, I'm really half and half. And then when I go home, to visit my family, I become very hyper aware of all of my British tendencies that I didn't have in the early years, but I kind of need them to be called out when I'm outside of the UK, because every British person will think I'm very American.

Jason Moore 22:08
Well, what's an example? Do you have a story where you're back home and your parents or your friends are like what that was so British have you Yari?

Yari Coello 22:18
A lot of the things I say mostly things I say, so do they owe to leaving the company? Are you having a leaving you there? Like, what does that mean? As I'm like, Oh, right. Okay. So mostly, it's phrases that I use, like a Hindu or a stag do instead of Bob for our bachelor party.

Jason Moore 22:34
It's not like you storm into a keg party with a cup of Earl Grey tea in your life.

caricature I just made I know, but I couldn't resist anyway. I know. It's not that but okay, so yeah, more like, kind of phrases. And I mean, I, I feel you the longer I've been in Norway, the more I sort of adopt, I guess the Norwegian culture becomes a bit ingrained in me in subtle ways, and sometimes not so subtle ways. So when you go back to the states, yes, there is you use the word awareness. There's like a hyper awareness sometimes around the culture, because you've been out of it for so long. And some things just really stand out. They hadn't maybe noticed before.

Yari Coello 23:23
Yeah, I mean, I definitely feel it when I go back home. I mean, especially same with pandemic, I haven't been back to the states for two years. I went back in September, and literally talk that was that used to all the little nuances, like even how the news is portrayed in the States versus the UK, which feels a lot more dramatic, is how I would say that. I'm like, Oh, wow, can't miss this next segment. Yeah, it's all those little things that you don't notice when that's, you know, been the majority of your world. When you see the two side by side, you're always comparing and contrasting. I think

Jason Moore 24:03
it's true. It's almost shocking how, over the top dramatic the way they present things on television. I mean, I watched a football game for the first time in a long time. First of all, um, my kids don't really watch those types of things we don't like, really sit down as a family and watch a football game or anything. This is a special one. It was a playoff game. And my son was like, just he said in the region, but he's like, this is just commercials all the time. That was the first thing. And I will he's right. The commercials were so I don't know, it's just different. I you know, it's way different. It just stands out way more when you've been away from it for a while. And that's with anything. It's like when you when you land from a plane into a new country like well, everything's different, you know, the smells like it's just so different. You just notice it. So it's the same in reverse. When you go home. There's something wonderful about the pop culture, I think, in England.

Yari Coello 24:56
It's the back. It's about you know, describe it as the kind of the extension of your lounge or living room. And, you know, like your local pub, and I absolutely love it because it's so true, you know, just officially in the winter, weirdly, in the winter, because there's nothing, there's something about it being cozy and warm. And if you're local, you know, your local pub, if you're lucky enough to have a good one that kind of was quite old and has this very old school feel. It's just the best and you kind of get out of the house without really having left the house, you know, mine's probably less than five minutes away. But if I wanted us a wine, it's more interesting to go and have it there. And there's, you know, so cozy the seating and armchairs. And you get to know the people that work in that pub, because you're there all the time. So it's familiar faces. It's just, it's something I really love about the culture here. Whenever I have left to travel long term, it's probably one of the things I've missed the most. Whenever I'm away from London. It's such a nice, like, friendly feel.

Jason Moore 26:02
I was only there for a handful of days, and I miss it now really talking about it. Yeah, it's just so like you said it's cozy. And I don't know what the mentality is, when people go into the pub live, their mindset changes, and people are just more relaxed are kind of more open to talk. There's just the energy of it. I don't know, the the the wood, all of it. It's just Yeah, it feels like a place to go. And you don't have to be a drinker or anything. It's not like people sitting around. I mean, there are people sitting around the pub getting bombed, of course. But you know, a lot of people just, it's just like, you go down and have a pint or whatever non alcoholic beer in some people's case, whatever. It's more of just like a social thing. I feel and

Yari Coello 26:44
yeah, and I love that it's relaxed. You know, I think it's like, if you go to a bar, I would think oh, I have to like be a bit put together. I should change my outfit, especially work from home when you're always so casual. I like that. There's no, it's not pretentious, it's easy. You can literally roll out, you know, in your leggings and sweatshirt and you know it has that really casual. You don't have to try too hard and have a good time feeling. Which is my idea because no doubt.

Jason Moore 27:16
Well, would you say that's a version of beauty? We can talk we should talk about beauty. Out in your leggings to the comfortable?

Yari Coello 27:27
Yes. Very natural, very natural. Exactly. Exactly.

Jason Moore 27:32
Let's talk about beauty as a topic. I mean, you could have gone a lot of different directions, you're putting a lot of work into your website and like you talked about the mission behind it or just your interest in beauty as a topic. And as it relates to because it's the beauty backpacker, almost those sometimes maybe people don't think those words go together. Right? Like, yeah, jumbo shrimp. Well, that's one of the things we need to talk about, you know, beauty as it relates to travel on into, you know, the context of social media and what people put out there and how that can be, you know, challenging and maybe damaging in some cases, to some people. There's a lot to unpack here. But I think just starting with why this is a topic of interest for you, beauty. Yeah.

Yari Coello 28:23
So I think I mean, the fact that you've called it out that kind of dichotomy between beauty and backpacker, I was very intentional. Because I think I mean, I've so many things to say on this. But one thing I can say that I think beauty as an industry, especially if you're not close to it can sort of be seen as a bit superficial or focused on your looks on the outside. And I think beauty is so much more than that, first of all, and I don't think that it can't, I mean, I think it can sit side by side with something like backpacking and I consider myself someone who loves the outdoors and tracking and being adventurous and getting messy, you know, all that stuff. But equally, I like to dress up, I like to do my makeup, I like to think about what hair oil I'm gonna use or, you know, have a luxurious bath, or whatever it may be. And I think, I mean, we can get into a topic of femininity and all that stuff. But really, I think those things can sit very nicely together. You don't have to be one or the other. And in terms of beauty, globally, and why I took an interest in terms of my content is I also think beauty is not just one thing, and the beauty industry has been very dominated by a certain look a certain feel. And I think that's a bit of a shame because it really is diverse. You know what people do around the world, different skin tones, different hair textures, different body shapes and different rituals. And what I was really fascinated by was traveling and I've always done this even before the blog existed Every country I went to, I just took an interest in that, like, what are the things that local women do, what are the products, they use, the local ingredients that they might make their own, you know, creams out of or oils, or whatever it may be, and what beauty means in that country because it does really very right, whether it's more about eye makeup, or hair length, or these sorts of things, I'm very fascinated about the diversity of beauty, and promoting that being a woman with like, you know, being a Latina, having dark curly hair, especially for me growing up, I just have a lot to look to in terms of different types of PD. And despite, you know, the fact that I'm not a huge beauty brand, I'd love to be one day, it's nice to put a face to that diversity, and to be someone that can call that out and really try and show you know, different look different fields, different perspectives on what beauty really means. In the world. Genuinely.

Jason Moore 31:00
I love that. When you really look at a human being anybody on the street, anywhere you use, you will see the beauty in them, doesn't matter what they look like there's so there's something beautiful. There are many beautiful things about everybody, it might be the way they the quirky way they hold a pencil or like, I feel like everybody has genius and beauty in them. And you just need to take the time to look and appreciate it. It is fascinating how the definition of beauty changes over time, in certain cultures over borders, right, like you said, and then you realize, well, this is all just completely subjective. And whatever a beauty standard is, for any people at any moment in time, it's not going to be the same, you know, 100 years later, or maybe one country over or whatever, which really means that there's kind of no such thing as beauty. Right? There's no real beauty standard. And so the ones that you're talking about that were like, forced on us through the media, that's, that's a problem. But how do you solve that? You know, like, how do you I think about my daughter, you know, growing up, and then Thankfully, there's a lot more awareness around this stuff right now. Right? And, you know, until very, not not too long ago, I mean, I think it's just more recent, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, but you know, fashion magazines, and, you know, brands, big clothing brands, and things like that have started to feature like normal sized people front and center, modeling their clothes and things like that, which is wonderful. And like important, obviously. And yeah, what are your thoughts around the representation? And the comparison trap that people can fall into by looking at Instagram feed, especially in travel, right? It's like, here's the girl in the bikini with her, you know?

Yari Coello 33:04
Those photos? Yeah.

Jason Moore 33:07
Now, what are your thoughts around all that? And I love that you're kind of like, it seems like with your work, you're really like working to kind of change the narratives around here. So you know, that's kudos to you. And, yeah, just what are your thoughts around that? Like, what kind of advice do you give to people that feel like they get caught up in those things when they're like scrolling through social media?

Yari Coello 33:25
Yeah, I mean, I think I struggle with that, even as a content creator sometimes, because you do really see like, what's trendy, you know, and it is that shot, like everyone's standing at whatever waterfall with that. And to me, like, yeah, it's so kind of monotonous and isn't really original, I mean, from a content side. But apart from that, I think it can perpetuate this idea of like, everyone should look and be the same. I think in some ways, I hope that because I'm not quote unquote, like the traditional look, that in and of itself is just like, helping the whole diversity, even in the Creator space of not everyone looks a certain way. And it's good to have representation in that space. I think there's a long way to go in terms of brand partnerships and the media still, in general in terms of increasing that diversity and having, yeah, just more a wider range of representation. But I think on an individual level, yeah, we do still have to be a bit cautious. I mean, even myself, I can be a little bit guilty of that based on who I follow and the fact that a lot of the people who do have huge audiences can look the same. Not all I don't want to generalize, but then it's for me, it's about kind of curating the content that I see so that it is really not just a single view and then I'm not saying only one you know, through one lens, so I will try and seek out like, more Latina content creators black content creators Asian con To create it in terms of what I see in my feet, of course, I want to see travel and beauty has been a backpacker. So that is what I typically see my feet. But I really do my best to try and see that through a diverse lens so that I'm always getting that mixed in terms of what's kind of going into my own subconscious. I think people can control that as much as possible in terms of curating it. And then yeah, I hope in my small way, I do play a part in just helping improve that representation in the world and media, because I see content creation is very much a big part of that, and only an area that's going to grow as well.

Jason Moore 35:40
Yeah, that's great, practical advice as well, I think for the social media consumer, who is just, you know, scrolling through is like you said, just diversify it. So you're not caught in this bubble of sameness. And I just think that's a great practical tip, right? That's something anybody can do. You can just find other accounts, follow them. It changes the algorithm, right? It's going to show you different things. And that's important. Yeah, you mentioned some of the challenges as a content creator. And this isn't just for content creators, but this is for anybody listening who you know, wants to post some stuff when they when they travel. And you know, we can't please everybody, of course. So if you want to post a picture of yourself, you know, at the waterfall, and you're looking good, and you're feeling good, like we're not saying don't do that. Yeah, yeah. But I mean, what are some things people should consider be mindful of?

Yari Coello 36:29
Yeah, definitely. Because I mean, certainly I wouldn't deny those places get posted. And you see them time and time again, because they are beautiful. I mean, it makes sense, right, they're, you know, they're beautiful places to see and visit, I guess, something I try and do is sometimes almost like not predispose myself. So if I'm going somewhere new, I actually won't look at it on Instagram too much before I go, because I almost just want to rock up and see what comes to my mind or through my kind of eye. And that way, it's really personal and really original, and sometimes it will be literally what everyone else is gonna do anyway. Because we all think that's beautiful. But at least I feel like I'm giving myself the opportunity to come up with something that really feels my own. By not kind of going in having seen what was already trending for that place. So that's one thing I would say. Yeah, I'm trying to think what else the other thing is, yeah, just getting a bit creative, you know, kind of playing around, I'm thinking in terms of photos, like shooting from different angles, or, you know, trying to really position it in different ways, being playful, even if you're gonna be in the frame in terms of how you how you pose or stand, you know, I think it's, it's kind of remembering that, that creativity can come first as well, you know, and kind of playing with it. Because to me, that's the whole point of it all, like, go somewhere fun, or somewhere new to kind of take it all in to capture it in a fun and personal way. So it's kind of going into it with the right attitude. So you might do something that just feels very you and not what's been done before, you know? Yeah.

Jason Moore 38:17
And many ways, I think, well, what you said before, is kind of like, well, you put yourself out there, because we need to see all kinds of everybody out there, you know, it's traveling and stuff like that, I think, you know, for the person that's self conscious. You know, maybe that's not for them and to be in pictures and things like that. But you know, if you're self conscious, because you you don't think you look a certain way, right, a certain way or something, then that's like, to your point. I mean, it's beauty is everywhere, so why not just destroy the narrative, right? Yeah, just, you know, taking the power back and just put yourself out there, you know, I'm wondering through your experience, traveling and discovering the traditions, the ingredients, the wellness routines, and all the stuff you kind of explore if you found anything really like I don't know if a strange is the right word, because we've already said that, you know, beauty varies, so there's no right or wrong. But yeah, just something like really kind of different types of practices or ingredients used or just you know, some Yeah, some interesting facts, I guess around of around the world. Yeah, some things.

Yari Coello 39:33
Yeah. No, I mean, I definitely have some really unusual ones that I did while backpacking. I mean, the one that stands out the most is a mud bath I did in Colombia, which was really cool. A little bit touristy, but also so fun. It was. This was just like outside of Gaza by Hannah and Columbia. It's kind of like a mud, volcano mud pool sort of thing. So But actually, I didn't know too much about the fact that much like thermal waters will have loads of different minerals and nutrients that are actually really good for, you know, hydrating the skin, softening the skin, which is something I'd never really thought of. And I kind of along those lines in Mexico as well, there's something called Deus Michael, I hope I'm saying that correctly. But it's like inside of an Adobe type hot, you go and have this kind of steam bath experience. But you can have, it's not a shaman, I won't know the exact term, but sort of along those lines, that someone will join you. And then it's quite a meditative experience. So you're sitting there in the steam bath, which I didn't get to do the full experience. But if you do, apparently, it's quite challenging to stay in the space because it's like three to four hours long. And same thing, it seems it has like all these different local herbs, to almost add herbs, that's the British versus American thing. But it has all these local herbs that kind of seep into the air, and then you meditate. And, you know, it's really about mind body. So some of that I would say has been really cool. Each country does have like a slight variation on the thermal bath or more waters. On the massage, you know, a Thai massage, it's very different to some of the other massages in Southeast Asia, much more bendy, I would say. Thailand is an incredible place for beauty experiences as well, if you really wanted to go to a destination for that. But honestly, probably one of the coolest things for me that has been universal has been finding out that the simplicity of beauty wherever I go, because really, it does tend to come down to what are the local ingredients used, right? Whether that's like a local Clay, or like coconut oil, for example, which is a big one in a lot of different countries. Shea butter is another big one, you know, that really a lot of traditional media products around the world are very simple, not very complicated, very natural, you can make them almost straight from the store. And I think that's a really cool because it's a universal thing that's still unique to every place. But also a reminder that beauty doesn't have to be that complicated. And it doesn't have to cost you know, 200 quid for a really high end luxurious product to work. You can really do back to basics, pick something up in a local shop when you're traveling. And it could be just as good if not better, you know, than the stuff that you might pick up in duty free. So I think that's a really cool discovery. And I still continue to discover because everywhere you go, you find new local, interesting brands, ingredients products.

Jason Moore 42:56
Yeah. Yeah. And sometimes we we cut a couple cucumber slices, put them on the kids eyes. Actually pretty inexpensive.

Yari Coello 43:08
Pie mask there is.

Jason Moore 43:11
And you can pamper yourself as a backpacker for sure when you are in the right places, because like you said, Thailand and some some places in Southeast Asia, I've had incredible massages and things like that for very inexpensive. You know, what I didn't do was put my feet into the pool, the little tanks they have in Cambodia where the fish will then eat the cuticles off of your toes. I'm just like, No. Well, first of all, I don't know my toes could probably use it. But I'm good. I don't need to I don't need to feed the fish with my toes.

Yari Coello 43:50
That's a pretty Yeah, that's a good one, actually, in terms of the random experiences you can have. That's quite surreal. It feels very strange. But it works very well. I could. Yeah. Yeah, I've done it. I've done it a couple of times. And I've been so impressed. I'm like, wow, that's another thing. It's just the same thing. That's probably better than any pedicure I've had and probably overpaid for in London and all I had to do. Fix my feet and what did you take?

Jason Moore 44:23
That's true. Yeah, there you go. Yeah, you just saved yourself 100 quid. You got to feed some fish, give them their lunch. So very nice. Skin eating fish. Where do you get them and we can pick them up, bring them home? Is there anything we missed around the discussion around Beauty and the narrative there? I just want to make sure that you kind of were able to share all of the points you wanted to share here while we're having this discussion around that or whatever advice and maybe we we covered most of it but just wanted to give one opportunity there to kind Unless you fill in the blanks if there are any.

Yari Coello 45:02
Yeah. No, I mean, I think that kind of covers the biggest things for me, as I said of the round, just expanding the perception of beauty and what it is in kind of multiple ways. One is the diversity piece one is kind of shaking that negative stereotype around it being superficial, because it can also be tied so much to wellbeing, looking after yourself, self care, I know that's a bit of like a term that everyone loves. Now, self care, but you know, I really think it's holistic, it's not just about like, you know, what you do on the outside at all, it really is about, you know, to me, it's also meditation, breathing techniques, you know, all that sort of stuff I love as well, because it's kind of a holistic way of looking after yourself. And I think it's a lot more expansive than maybe what you think of when you just hear the word beauty. There's so much behind that. And I think that's what fascinates me. And I hope people keep an open mind to that, because everyone can actually explore it and tap into it in their own way, if they kind of realize that it's so wide reaching and so diverse. And, yeah, kind of a whole area to explore, you know?

Jason Moore 46:19
Yeah, I love that. That's a great point. Maybe it's just the word that can be off putting, in some ways, right? If you if you're, if you have a narrow definition of a word like beauty, rather than an expansive one, it can, it can definitely alter the way you think in terms of that. The lens through which you're kind of interpreting social media or the world, maybe beauty is the wrong word for some people, right? Like when you're thinking about these things. Interesting. You have been to 50 plus countries.

Yari Coello 46:59
Yeah. I can say about that. I can extend

Jason Moore 47:06
this to a little destination talk here. What What are like your three? Don't miss spots?

Yari Coello 47:13
Yeah, okay. So oh, so hard to choose. So I'd say Japan, I absolutely loved it. That was my first real proper solo trip. I went for almost a month. And I absolutely loved it. It was just the sheer culture shock and beauty is incredible there too. I should say in Japanese beauties. A whole world but just the culture shock of it the diversity of what there is to see from like Tokyo to you know, I mean, I didn't go everywhere. But the the islands. There's, yeah, it's just such a rich place. And it's perfect. If you're on your own, you're never really bored. Just try to navigate it.

Jason Moore 47:57
Yeah, what was the social? Sorry? The like, yeah, the social aspect of the solo travel experience in in Japan, was it pretty easy to connect with people meet with people have those? Yeah,

Yari Coello 48:07
generally, I found people were quite curious. And so they would chat to me when they kind of saw me on my own. There were definitely the language barrier was probably the more challenging bit in terms of getting around. But as a country, it's so efficient and streamlined. So getting around was easy enough. And I was able to communicate you know, and yeah, sometimes, I mean, I remember going to the fish market there and just starting to chat to some guys when I was eating sushi that spoke good English. And so I found it quite easy as a solo traveler and very safe. I mean, that was a big consideration for doing that as my first trip alone. Yeah, I loved it there. I also just like anything nature, so Iceland is also top on my list. I went I did a road trip with my younger brother there and we had the most incredible time. I mean, it's just so beautiful. All you have to do is drive around and look. You're in awe of the place. So that was one of my favorites. And then I just you know if he asked me where I to leave London, what would I do? I just like to go and live on a quiet remote island. So Philippines was unbelievable Mexico funnily enough, it's you know, on the doorstep for Americans, but I hadn't really been until I went backpacking and I thought wow, I could live here I just absolutely fell in love with Mexico as well but for similar reasons, kind of the flow life, hippie life. To me, there's nothing better than that when you're traveling kind of wake up. You eat you have to be to these flow easy days. So those would be definitely in the top five for me as well.

Jason Moore 49:56
Nice. And I know you I'm not sure how much Sam, you spent in New Orleans growing up, but that was your background as well, right? Because I love New Orleans. I wanted to ask you about your favorite New Orleans dish because New Orleans and food is just makes my stomach growl thinking about it.

Yari Coello 50:17
Yeah. So my dad, my family is from Honduras, but my dad moved to New Orleans when he was 10 or so. So he grew up there and actually we he cooks a lot of local food at home. I mean, jumbo Elia is a big one, of course. And I love coffee and chicory coffee is really big there. So my dad always has chicory coffee at home. But for me, number one, New Orleans food is the vignette days, you know, the little pastries that covered in the Oh, those are amazing like to dip in a coffee. That to me is the best. But I only lived there till I was about five. We traveled a lot we would drive back from Florida to visit family. So I went back, you know, a fair few times growing up, but most of my upbringing was in Florida. And it's such a cool city. It has such a European and southern feel. I mean, just the mix of cultures there. It's such a cool place.

Jason Moore 51:19
Absolutely. Any plans on leaving London anytime soon? No, you got your life there and everything. You've been there for a while. Where are you at?

Yari Coello 51:31
I think London for good. You know London for good. Yeah, I really love it here. And I don't have citizenship I want to apply. I probably should do. And, you know, hopefully with continued work flexibility, I can still move around, you know, like go back to Florida for a month here. They're still managed to work maybe and travel on the move. But I definitely want London as a home base. I really Yeah, I love it. It's my second home if not almost feels like my first home these days. I'll be sticking around for a while I think

Jason Moore 52:08
it had been many years between the time I was there last and met you and the time that I was there before like over 20 years. So I just forgot how incredible London is what a city and such a great time today chatting with you. Thanks for sharing everything you have. And if you want to just let people know remind people where they can find you and stuff and get in touch if they have any questions. Now's the time.

Yari Coello 52:36
So yeah, I am BD backpacker, as Jason said, and you can find me on all the standard channels, Instagram, Facebook, I don't know tick tock. I don't use it as much but I'm on there. And then the websites just Speedy backpacker.co.uk

Jason Moore 52:52
Awesome. Thanks Yari. And maybe we can meet up in a pub in London again sometime soon. Definitely.

Yari Coello 52:58
Definitely keep in touch Next time you're in town, I'll take you to my favorite local

Jason Moore 53:06
love that sounds amazing. Thanks for your time.

Yari Coello 53:09
Thank you

Jason Moore 53:16
Alright, thank you to Yari for stopping by the show so great to have her on and to get to reconnect with her so you're if you're listening, I hope to see you again in London next time I pass through beauty such a big topic and travel that I never really thought about before. So this brought up a lot of questions for me and you know what I mean? I'm a sucker for a good hot spring. I've had the the hot springs experience where you hike nine miles up into the mountains and find the the natural hot springs, but also you know, if you want to pamper yourself a little bit, going to one of those like nice fine hotel hot springs and that. I mean, that's fun to row up in the car, hop out, get in the hot springs have a little beauty treatment or massage or whatever, hey, I wouldn't complain. Y'all need to spoil ourselves a little bit. Right? Could that be a challenge? For us today? Maybe we spoil ourselves a little bit. I like to throw in some challenges sometimes on the show. So let's, let's do that. Let's make that the challenge. Go and spoil yourself a little bit today. Whatever that means to you. Maybe for me that is I can't go get a massage or something today, but maybe I'll sit down and I'll you know allow myself to step away from work and play a little guitar just hanging out. Maybe have a nice dessert and a coffee with no distractions. sounds. Sounds lovely. Anyway, there's your challenge today. Go Go spoil yourself. Not a hard one. Can you manage it? Can you if you actually do go spoil yourself please leave me a voicemail. Let me know what you did. And in fact get in touch. Anyway, I always invite listeners to connect. This is a community powered show reached me at Jason at zero to travel.com or just drop me a voicemail with that link in the show notes. Super easy to do. Just click a link hit record and say hello. I do want to give a shout out to some Eddie in this community, it's always nice to get these reviews, right? I mean, they meet a lot, and they help get the podcast out there. And the whole point of the podcast is to help people continue to travel the world on their terms. So in a way, when you leave a review, you're helping to get the podcasts out there and pay it forward. So thank you very much to Taylor, who gave me a five star said favorite podcast. This has been my go to podcast for over two years, Jason consistently hosts incredibly intelligent, well spoken and unique people who contribute to conversations on travel that goes beyond the surface of of travel, I learned something new in every episode, and enjoy the casual but thought provoking conversational nature of the podcast highly recommended. Thank you. I'm bringing this up not to toot my own horn. But listen, I need your help finding those incredibly intelligent, well spoken and unique people, whenever I come across guests that I think will be interesting for the for the communities, for the listeners for myself. And that can bring some some value here, I do my best to book them. But it does help to crowdsource those guests from from you, because you're going to know about a lot of people that I don't know about. And that would be a great fit for the show. So please send me your guests recommendations. If you want. I just want to throw that out there one more time. Now, let me talk about this connection I have with London and then I will leave you with a with a quote. I think this is really cool. And I just love that. Two Cities can do something like this year in and year out and share this bonds. Now I'm reading this on visit norway.com. That's why this connection is personal. I'm a Norwegian citizen now. So yes, this is my home country, my adopted home country in many ways, in addition to the United States, and I'm starting to feel that love. And every year, there is a Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square in London. And that is a gift from Norway. And that's because the Norwegian people wanted to express their gratitude to London for their assistance during the war, World War Two. And those were between the years of 1940 and 1945. So they started giving this tree to London. And they've been doing it annually since 1947. I love that that tradition is still going on. Even the World War Two was so long ago but that appreciation that gratitude still exists and still gets recognized. Year in and you're out just a beautiful thing. So if you find yourself in Trafalgar Square during Christmas, then you can look up and see the tree and know that that came all the way from Norway as a token of appreciation. That is beautiful beauty was a big topic of the show. And there's so many beautiful things about the world and I find that act that gesture beautiful. And what do you find beautiful, my friend what are you going to find beautiful today? What are you going to find beautiful in this world. Beauty within without anywhere in everywhere in Acts, in people in animals and things in ideas. Beauty is everywhere. So soak it up and enjoy it today. My friend. Thank you so much for listening. Let me leave you with a quote now. A short and sweet one from Confucius who said everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.

Go out and see the beauty today my friend. Thanks for listening and I'll see you next time. Peace and love.

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