Meet Carter: A Travel Blogger in Portugal
Traveler • Storyteller • Filmmaker • Punk-Rock Vagabond
Atypical Vagabond is an independent travel channel for adventurers and travelers who want more than recycled lists of famous attractions.
Through practical guides, firsthand stories, travel videos, and photography, I explore Portugal, walk historic pilgrimage routes, uncover overlooked destinations, and document what travel actually feels like when the itinerary stops behaving.
Behind the channel, camera, questionable navigation decisions, and increasingly personal arguments with steep hills is me—Carter, an American travel blogger living in Portugal.
I built and sold a technology business, traded the conventional American script for life abroad, established residency in Portugal, walked the Camino Francés, and began documenting what happens when travel becomes more than an occasional escape.
To understand Atypical Vagabond, you need to understand three questions that continue to shape my journey:
And perhaps most importantly:
- How might that help you on your own journey?
Atypical Vagabond is where I share honest Portugal travel guides, overlooked destinations, Camino stories, digital nomad lessons, travel videos, and the occasional wrong turn that becomes a better story than the original plan.
This is not a website about racing through destinations or collecting countries like arcade tokens.
It is about traveling deeper, staying curious, and finding meaning in the places between the famous landmarks.
How I Became a Travel Blogger in Portugal
I grew up near the farmland surrounding Kansas City, but I never became particularly good at staying put.
My path eventually carried me through different parts of the United States, across multiple continents, and into the world of business and technology. I founded and operated technology companies, worked remotely, and learned that building a successful life does not necessarily mean following the standard blueprint.
Travel kept pulling at that blueprint.
What began as an interest in seeing unfamiliar places gradually became something deeper. Travel challenged my assumptions, forced me to become more adaptable, and made the world feel both larger and more connected.
Portugal eventually became more than another destination.
It became home.
Today, I live in Coimbra in Central Portugal. I study European Portuguese, navigate the mysteries of Portuguese bureaucracy, explore the country by train, car, and stubborn determination, and continue learning what daily life here actually looks like beyond the vacation photographs.
Fast Facts About Carter
| Fast fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Home base | Coimbra, Portugal |
| Originally from | Near Kansas City, Missouri |
| What I do | Travel blogger, filmmaker, and app creator |
| Background | Biology, bioinformatics, chemistry, and technology entrepreneurship |
| Travel style | Independent travel, slow travel, and overlooked places |
| Portugal focus | Coimbra, Central Portugal, itineraries, and hidden gems |
| Camino routes | Camino Português and Camino Francés |
| Current mission | Helping travelers reject the ordinary and travel deeper |
| Motto | A traveler in search of a home |
Living in Portugal gives me a different perspective from someone visiting for a few days. I experience the ordinary rhythms alongside the remarkable ones: neighborhood cafés, delayed trains, local festivals, residency appointments, regional foods, historic streets, and conversations that occasionally outrun my Portuguese vocabulary.
That lived experience shapes every Portugal guide I publish.
But life has a way of teaching lessons that don’t appear on résumés.
- I battled addiction.
- I experienced failures.
- I learned that money solves some problems but doesn’t necessarily create fulfillment.
Most importantly, I discovered that the most meaningful moments in life rarely come from things. They come from experiences. That realization changed everything.
- I became a digital nomad.
- An expat.
- A slow traveler.
- A pilgrim.
- A creator.
- A student of the world.
Today my wife Sage and I call Coimbra, Portugal home while continuing to explore what life abroad can teach us.
Why Portugal Became Home
Portugal first drew me in with its history, landscapes, architecture, and slower rhythm of daily life. What persuaded me to stay was something harder to capture in a postcard.
It was the feeling of possibility.
From the tiled streets of Lisbon and the riverfront neighborhoods of Porto to the medieval lanes of Coimbra, the villages of Central Portugal, and the open landscapes of the Alentejo, the country continually rewards curiosity.
Some of Portugal’s most memorable experiences are not its headline attractions. They are the overlooked viewpoints, neighborhood cafés, ruined castles, Roman roads, village festivals, and unexpected conversations encountered between them.
That is the Portugal I want Atypical Vagabond to help travelers discover.
My guides combine personal experience with practical information so you can build a trip around your own interests instead of blindly following another recycled bucket list.
Atypical Vagabond is built for travelers and adventurers who want more than a list of famous attractions.
Here you will find:
- Practical Portugal travel guides
- Central Portugal and Coimbra expertise
- Portugal itineraries and transportation advice
- Hidden gems and overlooked destinations
- Camino de Santiago planning resources
- Camino Francés stories and daily experiences
- Digital nomad and remote-work guidance
- Honest accounts of living abroad
- Travel videos, photography, and firsthand stories
- Tools such as Atypical Voyage that help you plan a more personal trip
My goal is simple: help you travel with greater confidence while leaving enough room for places to surprise you.
Travel Videos and Photography
Writing helps me explain a place. Video helps me bring you into it.
On the Atypical Vagabond YouTube channel, I document Portugal, the Camino de Santiago, life abroad, and the unpredictable moments that happen after the itinerary stops behaving.
My videos are not designed to pretend every journey is flawless. You will see beautiful landscapes and historic places, but you may also encounter aching feet, missed turns, questionable weather, and my increasingly personal disputes with steep hills.
The Camino de Santiago became one of the most important chapters in my travel story.
My wife, Sage, and I walked the Camino Francés across northern Spain, covering roughly 500 miles before reaching Santiago de Compostela. We crossed mountains, farmland, medieval villages, crowded pilgrim routes, empty trails, and more than a few descents that made our knees question every decision leading up to them.
The Camino was not merely a long hike.
It was an extended lesson in patience, discomfort, community, vulnerability, and the surprising amount of emotional significance a person can attach to a dry pair of socks.
Walking day after day changes how you notice the world. The rush to arrive slowly gives way to attention: footsteps on gravel, conversations with strangers, weather moving across the landscape, and the quiet realization that progress does not always need to be fast.
I share practical Camino guides alongside the honest stories—the difficult days, absurd moments, physical setbacks, unexpected friendships, and lessons that only seem to arrive after several hundred kilometers.
Digital Nomad Life Without the Fantasy Brochure
Before settling in Portugal, technology and remote work gave me the ability to build a life less tied to one location.
That freedom was valuable, but digital nomad life is more complicated than a laptop balanced beside an infinity pool. It involves income, visas, taxes, insurance, accommodation, routines, loneliness, reliable internet, and the delicate art of looking professional while construction rattles the wall behind you.
My background in technology, business ownership, remote work, international relocation, and Portuguese residency allows me to discuss those realities from experience.
The digital nomad content on Atypical Vagabond is designed to help people make informed decisions—not sell them a permanent vacation that does not exist.
Latest Stories from the Road
From Atypical Vagabond to Atypical Voyage
Years of traveling, writing destination guides, and searching for overlooked places revealed a recurring problem: travelers are surrounded by information, but finding experiences that genuinely fit them can still be frustrating.
That idea led me to create Atypical Voyage, a travel discovery and trip-planning app designed to help travelers move beyond the obvious attractions.
Atypical Voyage helps you uncover hidden gems, save interesting places, and plan a journey that reflects how you actually like to travel. It extends the philosophy behind Atypical Vagabond into something travelers can carry with them on the road.
The goal is not to replace curiosity with an algorithm.
It is to point curiosity in a more interesting direction.
My Approach to Travel
I believe travel is most valuable when it encourages us to pay attention.
That means learning something about the history beneath our feet, respecting the people who call a destination home, supporting local businesses, and occasionally putting away the checklist long enough to notice what is happening around us.
I am not interested in pretending every destination is perfect.
Honest travel writing should include the inconveniences, mistakes, disappointments, cultural adjustments, and strange little moments that make a journey real.
Travel has repeatedly shown me that there is no single correct route through a country—or through life.
Sometimes the atypical path is where the good stuff is hiding.
My goal isn’t to present a picture-perfect version of travel. It’s to share the reality—the good, the bad, and the occasionally ridiculous.
Because that’s where the best stories come from.
Not just the highlights. The paperwork. The mistakes. The fears. The lessons. The reality.
If sharing my experiences helps someone take their first trip, move abroad, walk the Camino, or finally pursue a dream they’ve been postponing for years, then every article and video is worth it.
Atypical Vagabond exists because information changes lives. Travel changes lives. Stories change lives.
Helping You Plan a More Meaningful Journey
Atypical Vagabond provides firsthand Portugal guides, Camino resources, honest travel stories, and practical planning tools for travelers who want to look beyond the obvious route.
Have a question, collaboration idea, or just want to say hello?
I’d love to hear from you.
Feel free to reach out through the contact page or connect with me on social media.
See you somewhere on the road.
Work With Atypical Vagabond
I am interested in collaborations that genuinely benefit travelers and align with the values of Atypical Vagabond.
Potential partnerships include:
- Portugal tourism and destination campaigns
- Travel technology and trip-planning tools
- Outdoor and Camino equipment
- Hotels and locally rooted accommodations
- Cultural, historical, and culinary experiences
- Travel video and photography projects
- Interviews, podcasts, and media appearances
- Responsible brand partnerships
I do not promote something merely because a company offers to pay for it. Trust is far more difficult to replace than a pair of worn-out walking shoes.
Featured In
Interviews & Media
Expats Everywhere Interview
A conversation about life in Portugal, digital nomadism, building a new life abroad, and what happens when you choose an unconventional path.
Community Involvement
- Founder of Coimbra City Digital Nomads
- Attendee and participant at Web Summit
- Active member of Portugal expat and digital nomad communities
- Creator of Atypical Vagabond
Frequently Asked Questions
Atypical Last Thoughts
Atypical Vagabond began with a question: What does it mean to search for home?
Travel did not provide one neat answer.
Instead, it led me across unfamiliar countries, into a new life in Portugal, along the Camino de Santiago, behind a camera, and eventually toward building tools that help other travelers create their own journeys.
I am still searching, exploring, filming, writing, and getting Portuguese words slightly wrong.
That is part of the adventure.
If you prefer independent travel, honest stories, overlooked places, and routes that do not feel manufactured by a tourism committee, you are in the right place.
Welcome to Atypical Vagabond.
Now let’s reject the ordinary and find out where the less obvious road goes.
