A Q&A with Race Across the world-er Jenna Lambra -Stokes on her RATW experience!
Race Across the World was a BBC programme that me and my boyfriend couldn’t help but binge watch. I loved the first and second season and I cant wait for the 3rd season… hopefully coming in 2021!
On the second season I was rooting for Jen and Robbie from the start as I found them so relatable! Additionally, every pair of contestants were all worthy winners! (Don’t worry if you haven’t seen it I won’t give any spoilers!)
I contacted Jenna as I thought she could give some insights into her experience on the show and some general travel tips for visiting South America! Here is what Jenna had to say:
Having ‘Raced across the world’ what item did you not take that you now feel is an essential item for travelling?
Oohh great question … So we were really sad because we took a camera but when we went to take our first photo, we realised it was broken! So we visited the best places in the world and don’t have a single photo. I mean, that would only happen to us! So I wished we had taken a camera to capture our adventures but I mean, normal people will do this haha.
Also a guide book/phrase book for the local area, this would have really helped us ! You saw how awful at languages we were so absolutely next time that will be on my list ! Oh and also loads of pants ,you can never have enough pants !
Did you find it difficult to keep to a budget on such a long trip?
Yes yes yes, we had to be very strict when it came to the budget. We had £1450 ish each to travel the length of South America and some days our travel costs were higher than our daily budget. We worked out what we had per day roughly and tried our very best to stick to it, working several times a leg to earn extra funds.
We would have loved to have eaten fancy foods and taken advantage of the incredible wines but we were desperate to finish and knew that our only chance was to be quite savvy with the cash!
What are your top beauty products for travelling?
Ooh my top beauty or skin care items, this is a good question !Umm well 100% Batiste Dry Shampoo, I mean this saved my life on numerous occasions, I love the stuff so absolutely dry shampoo!
My second would have to be my Carmex lip balm. My lips get so dry so this is another god send … the sun, the air con on the buses, a skin nightmare !
My third would be my L’Oreal Calcium Night Cream, because your skin gets so dry !! So it’s important to hydrate your skin, especially when you’re not getting enough sleep or drinking enough water. My other travel must were the humble face wipe. I like Superdrug own brand ones, a really good shower alternative haha, just to wipe away the days grime when you can’t shower. You only get 1 face, look after it!
If you were to RATW again, would you change anything?
Oh my gosh, absolutely nothing, it was the most perfect experience ever !
‘But.. if I HAD to pick something, I wish I had relaxed a little more, allowed myself to have more fun and be less stressed but it was such a challenge, I had such a fear of the unknown. In terms of our strategy and route etc, I think we did our best and have no regrets. We are very proud, still to this day of what we achieved, we are so very normal so to have shared that incredible moment with the winners, gosh, we feel like winners!’
(No Spoilers!)
What are your main pieces of advice for travelling through South America?
‘Stay with locals whenever you can! Not only are they an incredible source of knowledge, but the kindest people in the world! What you gain from sitting and speaking with these people is invaluable, they teach you so much about yourself, about life. If you have the opportunity to have a home stay do, what an experience !! We will never forget the people who took us in ❤️’
Quickfire q’s
Favourite country or place you visited?
A: Belize! Its a paradise island with all the rum you could shake a stick at!
What was the most used beauty product on RATW?
A: Batiste Dry Shampoo! I did not take enough, it was an actual life saving device! I love it!
Which place are you most excited to visit again?
A: Buenos Aires, it just felt special to me. It felt exciting, familiar and humble, I can’t wait to re-visit for a holiday!
Thank you to Jenna Lambra-Stokes for this incredibly detailed Q&A!
