Home - Explorer Genes

Do you have an insatiable wanderlust, an incurable urge to seek out what lies beyond your horizon, or a restlessness for discovery? It’s not FOMO driving these feelings, pushing you to travel and explore your world. The answer might lie in your genes! An estimated 20% of humans have an actual “explorer gene” embedded within their DNA. The good news is you don’t need genetic testing to confirm if you possess this gene. If you, like us, have the nagging curiosity to explore your environment then you very likely test positive for the Explorer Gene too.

After many years trying to hopelessly suppress our explorer genes, in 2018 we finally gave in to them, sold or gave away our possessions, left behind our careers, and set out with our new homes on our backs. We spent years planning and saving like mad to prepare for our leap to become fully nomadic. Along the way we’ve discovered financial independence, countless connections to people and places, and have fallen in love with home-free slow travel.

The Explorer Genes blog is the story of our unique journey, with quirky snapshots of our life slowmading the globe on a $50 (combined) budget per day. We love to geek out and write about all the fun insights and facts we uncover, make history not boring, and share obscure or off-beat discoveries as we go. We are also culture hounds, avid hikers and walkers, and try to seek out adventure on a budget whenever and wherever possible. We truly believe that travel isn’t simply what you read in guidebooks, or is something found only in a lists of “must do’s”, “must see’s”, or “top ten’s.” Instead, we create a by-the-seat-of-our-pants itinerary that comes from slow travel, meeting and living with locals, and finding wondrous and off-beat travel opportunities when we can.

– Mandy & Greg Chase

It’s a Wrap: El Salvador!

In Summary… This was the first visit to El Salvador for both of us and it was truly a wonderful experience. This tiny Central American country has been on our radar for awhile, especially since it has become safer and more peaceful in recent years. Although only about the size of Massachusetts, it packs a […]

March 24, 2026

A Week of Soaking in La Ruta de las Flores, El Salvador

From San Salvador to Concepcion de Ataco We had just nine days in El Salvador to work with. Por que? The reason is a marvelous “privilege” of US Citizenry….Greg unfortunately has (deferred) jury duty he couldn’t get out of when we return in late March. Also, we wanted to ensure two month-long stays before we headed […]

March 23, 2026

Passing through the Heart of San Salvador

From Lisbon>London>NYC>Miami>San Salvador In the span of 37 hours… Yes, this was the travel “day” of a harrowed modern budget traveler and following this experience, as per normal, we felt like we got hit by a bus. No, this lifestyle is not for everyone and is getting increasingly harder on us too. This is why […]

March 20, 2026

A Five Day Winter Stopover in Sunny Lisbon, Portugal

Exploring the Ajuda Neighborhood On our escape from Europe, we are passing through Portugal’s vibrant capital for four days. Surprisingly we had never been here so we decided to devote our time to discovering the city, and save Sintra and surrounding areas for another visit. We chose an apartment west of the center in the Ajuda […]

March 11, 2026

Spain: It’s a Wrap!

In Summary…. This was my second time and Greg’s third visit to Spain and although we definitely found more redeeming qualities, budget saving measures, and I had the huge asset of being able to walk this time, (yay!) we’ve still concluded, it’s not a top country for us. At least it’s not in the winter […]

March 10, 2026

An Andalusian Christmas on the Coast of Spain

Exploring the Town of Rota For the holiday season, we took a housesit somewhere we’ve never been together…the sparkling southern coast of Spain. Other than being home to a bizarrely familiar community, thanks to the US/Spanish Naval Base, Rota is a charming seaside destination with a quaint and quiet old town, whitewashed Andalusian houses, narrow […]

March 7, 2026

Want to explore by specific destination? This map displays every country we have visited since becoming nomadic in 2018. It’s color coded with green colored countries linking to anything we’ve written on them. And, all those uncolored countries… well, those are all our upcoming adventures; so stay tuned as we color them green!

In our country wraps series, we summarize the upsides and downsides of our time in a country, breaking down expenses, sharing insights, and offering general impressions to help you plan your own adventures.

Uzbekistan: It’s a Wrap!

In Summary…. Now that you’ve drooled over all the stunning architectural photos and listened to us drop every synonym for the color blue throughout our time in Uzbekistan, this post will begin to convey more of our real experience in...

It’s a Wrap! Tajikistan

Despite having the same last four letters, which actually just means “LAND,” Tajikistan felt radically different than the first two ‘Stans of our journey. It felt much more off-the-beaten-path, the people are radically different in their Persian-feeling look and hospitality,...

It’s a Wrap: Kyrgyzstan!

People in Kyrgyzstan have been nomadic for at least 3000-4000 years, so it’s only natural two nomads like us have felt inclined to experience their customs since we first learned about it years ago. All four countries we experienced in...