Puglia special

Inspiration shot February 2023

Puglia is becoming increasingly popular; trendy travel magazines, newspapers and special editions: everyone is writing about the area. Unfortunately, most journalists visit the same places, while there is so much more.
Do you want to discover the real Puglia? Since I have been in Puglia for a few months now, almost without interruption, I would like to share with you my love for this authentic part of Italy. In this Inspiration Shot you will find tips, insights and fun facts. Whether you want to take a vacation here, want to practice remote working (during my Workation in April?), want to come and live here or perhaps even invest, here we go…

Deep dive in my village

“A specialist is someone who wants to know more and more about less and less until  he knows almost everything about almost nothing.”

This is kind of how I live and travel. I don’t want to visit 10 villages in 7 days. I would rather concentrate on 1 place so that I really get to know it well. So instead of the Puglia tips from all those magazines and travel guides, I will share with you the ‘deep-dive’ in my village Ceglie Messapica.

Meet & greet

More than 120 people got a tour of my tiny house, met the puppies, heard about investing in real estate and about living and working from my village. You can watch the (Dutch) replay here. An hour of Puglia, from your lazy chair:

Want to experience living here (for a while)?

My tiny house is for rent in the month of March and during the summer. On Airbnb, you can check photos and availability. If you book directly with me, you will receive a ‘friends’ discount.

Do you want to experience what it’s like to live in my village for an entire month? In your own apartment, doing your own grocery shopping, working remotely, but with other like-minded digital nomads around, with my guidance, workshops and excursions? Then Workation Village Italy in April could be what you are looking for! I still have a few spots available!

Workshop alert

Digital Nomad workshop

Are you considering a location-independent lifestyle? Are you already on the road, or preparing to leave your home country behind?

This live online workshop could be the start of your new life!

I will answer all your questions about remote work, registration, international company setup, taxes, insurance, and of course the fun sides of location-independent living and entrepreneurship.

So you don’t have to reinvent the wheel and can learn from my 15 years of experience, mistakes, and solutions.

Inspiration bites

FUNNY VIDEO

This Italian girl gives a masterclass in talking with your hands and shows us the Italian temperament.
I already thought the video was funny, but with the subtitles, it’s downright hilarious.

This will be the most entertaining 40 seconds of your life, promise!

DOCU
The truffle hunters

This film is set in another part of Italy, but it is still about local culture, food and dogs, so it fits the theme.
A wonderful film, where you really get to know another unknown part of Italy.
I watched it with the puppies, but they weren’t that interested 😜

DOCU
The winnebago man

No idea what this movie has to do with the theme, but I saw it and had to share it with you.
A weird documentary about ‘the angriest man on earth’.
It reminds me a bit of the legendary ‘Searching for Sugarman’, which is highly recommended.

CONGRATULATIONS! 🍾 🥂
Cecile Dekkers

Cecile came to my writing retreat in the French Alps and joined my writing coaching program to write a children’s book about the stages of grief processing. From a book about the ‘big 5 on safari’ it eventually became a self-illustrated book ‘Mother Duck’s Birthday’. Her visuals are so creative!

Did you know...?

… that I saved two puppies? Unfortunately, not everyone here in Puglia takes good care of their dog. Most dogs live outside in a pen and many unwanted dogs and puppies are simply dumped.
I found three abandoned dogs within three weeks. Fortunately, the first one, a hunting dog, quickly found a new home. However, now I have two super cute three-month-old puppies that are still looking for a forever home. I would like to keep them, we are really in love with each other, but I travel so much that it is really impossible.
They are two brothers about three months old. The brown one is called Latte (macchiato) and I named the white one Coco(nut). They are deflead, dewormed, vaccinated, and almost potty trained.
I can ‘deliver’ them anywhere in Europe, or you can pick them up in Puglia. Perhaps the concept of ‘dog-sharing’ or ‘part-time puppies’ is also a solution; if you want to take care of them temporarily at your home (a kind of cuddle holiday in Italy or NL), you can do that too. With a nice club of co-parents we also have a good solution for these cuties 🐾

Where is Esther?

Due to my eye problems, I had to stay in Puglia longer than planned. I’m really starting to settle in. For example, I was invited to a diplomatic dinner by the Consul of Puglia / Lithuania (see photo) where I was the only guest who wasn’t from Lithuania or Italy 😂.
The idea of ‘bonding’ or ‘rooting’ was reinforced by my retinal detachment – and by the puppies of course. Everything goes back to ‘being’ instead of ‘doing’.
Now I am very carefully picking up my planning again. I am now on a kind of yoga retreat in Cyprus, to challenge myself to ‘land’ even more in myself.
At the end of the month, I will be back in Puglia for a week for a private writing retreat. Then I will leave for a month to, among other things, the Curaçao writing retreat and for a visit to my father in Miami.
I will be back in Puglia at the end of March, just in time for the co-working and co-living month: ‘Workation Village Italy’. I would really love to do that with you and welcome you here in my village!

Inspiration in your inbox

Join 14,ooo people in 42 countries and receive inspiration and surprises every month. You can sign up for my free ‘inspiration shots’ in the footer of my website.