Hey, fellow wanderer!

You'll notice this is Wednesday's letter, not Tuesday's.

This week decided to be a lot.

On one end: I turned another year older and spent the day actually celebrating it. Good food, people I love, the kind of day that makes you remember why you travel in the first place. Why you need those slow mornings and those empty beaches and those moments where time actually stops.

On the other end: I was at a funeral yesterday.

So. Heavy week.

What I'm getting at is this: I promised you a Providencia letter this week. The whole island, step-by-step. And I didn't write it. Not because I forgot. It's been living in my head since I got back. But because this week needed something different from me.

And I've learned something about showing up for you: it's not always about showing up with something new. Sometimes it's just… showing up.

So here's what I'm actually sharing with you this Wednesday.

SHORE NOTES

One thing I noticed on my birthday: I was thinking about what to pack for my next trip (yes, brain, we literally just got home). And I realized all the things that make traveling actually work aren't the big stuff.

It's the small things.

The right water bottle that doesn't leak in your backpack. The sunscreen that doesn't feel like you're wearing a sweater. The packing cubes that actually let you fit another sweater in a carry-on. The headphones that work when you're reading on a cliff.

These tiny, perfect things.

So I've been building something I've been meaning to do for a while: I put together an Amazon storefront with everything I actually use while traveling. The things that made my 6 weeks in Colombia less chaotic, the stuff I pack every single time.

It's not a curated list of "best travel products." It's literally just my backpack, but as a link you can click.

→ My Travel Essentials (stuff I actually pack)​

THIS WEEK'S LETTER

The Providencia guide is still coming. I promise. But it's going to be better because I'm not forcing it through a heavy week.

Instead.. I want to ask you something.

When you travel, what's the one thing you always bring? The one thing that makes it actually work?

Is it a specific product? A ritual? A mindset?

Hit reply and tell me. Because the next guides I write.. Whether it's Providencia or Costa Brava or wherever — they're all better when I know what actually matters to you out there.

And honestly, I'm curious. Your answer might just be the thing someone else needed to hear.

FROM MY TABS THIS WEEK

❤︎❤︎ My Travel Essentials — everything I actually use. Not influencer picks. Just what's in my backpack.

🍵 These letters are free, ad-free, and always will be. No sponsors telling me which beaches to love. What keeps them going is the boat tickets, the hostel nights, the "let's check one more cove" detours. If one of my guides has ever saved you hours of research (or found you the beach), you can buy me a matcha from wherever you're reading this. It genuinely goes straight into the next island. Send a matcha→​

See you next Tuesday. With a lot of gratitude for showing up here!

Love, Maya

P.S. 💌 If your week has been heavy too.. I see you. Sometimes just showing up is enough. Sometimes the guides can wait. And sometimes the matcha tastes better when you know someone gets it.