29 Years of life | 10 Years of Independent Travel | 6 Continents | 48 Countries | subscribe

Hey Ajala👋

It’s the most wonderful time of the year when Line Managers actively ask about your leave plans and remind you to get your requests in. Knowing this community, we’ve been travelling throughout the year. But If you have some straggler days you need to take before they reset, this edition will give you every excuse to turn on your Out of Office (OoO).

18 ways to be OoO 📉✈️🤝

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How booking-a-flight-deal-to-Brazil-within-10-minutes-and-tossing-my-itinerary-while-there REWIRED my brain.

Research by Google shows people spend 3x more time planning trips than actually being on them. Even as someone who enjoys researching deals and helping travellers plan affordable holidays, I completely see this.

But when it came to booking Brazil, I got to experience the ease my clients tell me I bring. Unexpectedly visiting my 6th continent started with a £430 flight deal (yes, £430 to South America) sourced in response to Brazil being on the bucket-list of many Ajalas. Quick research revealed Salvador, in Bahia State to be rich in history, Afro-Brazilian culture and incredible food. Plus the flights were a rarity - conveniently timed, long-haul, ridiculously cheap. I booked it and had one-third of my holiday planning done, in 10 minutes.

Being in Bahia stimulated all my senses, and I'm still processing how incredible an experience it was.

Even now, when I close my eyes I picture Chapada Diamantina National Park where I spent three blissful days exploring waterfalls, rivers, caves, and viewpoints. I taste the food that had a surprising resemblance to the spice and warmth of Yoruba home comforts. And I audibly hear the music of Salvador. Its drums, our dancing, our joy sung out into the streets to celebrate Black Consciousness throughout November.

This video sums up the sounds that hijacked my itinerary. I was supposed to ‘immerse’ myself in Salvador’s history and culture through museums and art galleries (which didn’t happen) then end my trip spending 2.5 days winding down on the east coast (in gorgeous private accommodation). However, the energy of Salvador (and affordable Ubers) pulled me back to dance, drink and connect in the historic centre even after I had left.

I've definitely come back rewired. Softer yet stronger, more open, more myself. Brazil affirmed my vibrant beauty on a daily bases, from the young to the old, from men and women alike. And after a year that swung back and forth between heartbreak and healing, I’ve returned remembering that I am still that girl: beautiful, joyful, and highly favoured. The fear of failing and pressure to know exactly what’s next loosened in me… and in its place grew a lightness I didn’t know I had misplaced.

Despite being back in grey, rainy London I can see the beauty of the season. I’m open to vibing through life a little, to entering 2026 without a rigid itinerary and to letting God script the year in ways I can’t pre-book. I’m additionally grateful that God has kept me covered in all my solo wandering (+partying!) In that safety I’ve gallivanted from Portugal, to Cape Verde, to Nigeria and now to the other side of the Atlantic ocean. 400 years prior these exact journeys that would have been horrendous and life-threatening for someone like me. In 2025 they helped me find (or re-ignite) adventure, history, perspective, clarity, warmth and connection.

P.S: How to support Let’s Go Ajala for free

I’ve recently been able to join affiliate programmes! If you’d like to support me for free as you plan your trips please use my links before making your booking. It does not affect the cost of your order at all and it gives me a high-five to keep going.

Accommodation: Booking.com / Agoda / Expedia / Hostel World 

Activities: Get your Guide / Klook 

Travel: Trip.com / Busbud / 12Go / Kiwi.com  

Staying Connected: Airalo e-sim