Marcello (also known as the Wandering Trader) has always taken extended vacations, but eventually he decided to get away from it all more permanently and left for Sicily. He now travels the world by spending 2-5 months by creating a base and then taking weekend excursions to all the tourist attractions in the area. His current mission is to complete all of South America by mid 2011. Curiously, he supports himself and his travels with internet day trading online. Please enjoy this week-in-the-life of Marcello of Wandering Trader while living in Sicily!
This post was originally published in 2010. It has since been updated for accuracy of links and content.
There are two different types of nomads, those that have internet work and those that find physical work. An internet (or digital) nomad would be a travel blogger or webmaster, whereas a nomad that finds physical work would be a bartender or the most common, an English teacher.
See also: 7 Ways to Make Money While Traveling
I find myself right in-between, being closer to an internet nomad as I day trade online; a wandering trader of sorts. The only difference is I have to be available when the stock market is open no matter where I am in the world. I trade the American markets exclusively which means I have to be ready to work at 9.30am Eastern time. What does that mean? I would rather travel in the east where I don’t have to wake up as early. I generally tend to work the mornings and if I don’t have too much work, I sightsee in the afternoon with long weekends reserved for excursions. This was my first move overseas to the mysterious island of Sicily and here is a typical week:
Day One: Wednesday
12pm: Wake up, open the French glass doors, step out on the patio and take a deep breath. This is my morning ritual since I love the cool air seeping into my lungs on top of Mount Etna (For future days we will consider this: “Morning Ritual”). I always take a second to stop whatever I’m doing and enjoy the view (which is quite spectacular) and be thankful for the opportunity.
12.30p: Get back in bed and lop for a while until I actually have to get some work done. What always gets me out of bed is the smell of fresh bread in the morning.
1.00p: Walk to bakery to get fresh bread and milk for breakfast. Get some prosciutto and cheese to make toast. I’ve never gotten out of the habit of eating café con leche y tostados (coffee with milk with toast).
1.30p – 10.30p: Great day in the stock market so I spend extra time to make sure that I maximize my trading to take days off (Eat while trading).
10.30p: Close up shop and call some friends to head out for dinner. We meet at our usual café and tell jokes while they try to teach me more Italian.
3.30a: After a great night of dancing and hanging out with friends, I head home and get ready for the next day. I promised my mother I would finish school so I managed to changed my major and fortunately find a study abroad program to continue my studies
Day Two: Thursday
10.00a: Wake up and complete morning ritual. Head to the bakery to get my café con leche and tostado with prosciutto. This time it’s to go because I have to catch the bus to go to school.
11.30a: Arrive at school in Siracusa for class: History of art and architecture in Sicily.
1.30p: Finish class, stay a bit to hang out with friends and head home to work
2.00p – 10.30p: Day trade in the stock market and get in bed early as this weekend will be packed with several excursions.
Day Three: Friday
9.00a: Wake up (morning ritual) and drive to Palermo.
12.00p: Arrive in Palermo and find a place to park near the center of the city. A great thing to love about all the things to do in Sicily is that there is so much diversity. As you will see below I’m able to see parts of Byzantine (art in the cathedrals), Roman, Greek, and even Arabic culture all in one weekend.
12.30p: Sightsee around Palermo, incredible cathedral, and other great sites. I like to wander around the city as I love architecture.
3.30p: Catch the bus to Monreale and to the Catacombs. Sightsee around Monreale and literally have a conversation at the catacombs with a guy who has clothes on from the 1920’s it seems (I think it was all in my head). The cathedral in Monreale has a very distinct Arabic aspect to it and is very impressive as the walls inside are lined with real gold.
6.30p: Check into hostel, power up the 18.4 inch laptop and see what I missed in the market. Catch up with some friends on Facebook and convince them to come visit me.
Day Four: Saturday
10.00a: Wake up (no morning ritual, sad face) eat breakfast and head to Segesta Greek Complex.
12.00p: Spend the day at the Segesta seeing the Greek Temple and the Greek Theater which provides an incredible view of the countryside. Even though it’s a simple view the interstates are elevated in Sicily. You can see the winding Interstate and the mountains in the countryside… speechless.
5.00p: Start driving to Caltanisetta.
7.00p – 9.00p: Check into hostel, eat dinner, and catch up with friends.
10.00p: Get ready for a night out with people from the hostel. Turns out Sicilians like all kinds of music and we dance salsa and meringue at a Spanish club.
3.00a: SLEEP.
Day Five: Sunday
12.00p: Wake up, eat breakfast, and start wandering around the city to see all the sights.
2.00p: Get to the Roman Villa in Caltanissetta. There are mosaics all over the ground that show what life was like back in Roman times. We see Roman baths and how women even wore bikini’s like they do today (except without Armani written on the side).
5.00p: Start driving home. Stop at a gas station and get blown away at the gourmet café they have there. This isn’t like a little shop at a gas station in the States. This a full-blown gourmet complete with real premium coffee and my personal fav: prosciutto sandwiches.
7.00p: Arrive home and catch up on what the stock market is doing. Have to get in bed early for school in the morning. I have my Italian class and my history of art and architecture in Sicily class.
Day Six: Monday
9.00a: Wake up, complete morning ritual, and head to my favorite café to have my café con leche and tostados. One thing about this café is that they specially make the coffee for me as Italians are used drinking espresso’s, or (as I like to call them) coffee shots.
9.30a: Catch the bus to Siracusa to go to school.
10.00a – 1.30p: Arrive in Siracusa and go to class. One of the most fascinating things that I love about school in Sicily is the fact that they take you out of the classroom to show you the history of the art and architecture. We go out to churches nearby and the instructors point out the additions that were made over time that the normal eye would have never noticed.
1.45p – 3.00p: Catch the bus back home to get ready for work.
3.30p – 10.30p: Day trade in the stock market until market close.
Day Seven (& Eight): Tuesday & Wednesday
These are typical work and school days where I attend school in the morning and work at night. I typically wake up go to school and then return home. My fun is had on the weekends.
Marcello is in Argentina now as part of his mission to complete South America by mid-2011, and he’s looking for the best travel places as well as the best way to find accommodation and sharing it all on his blog, The Wandering Trader.
Dolce vida!!!!!!!! What an enviable life. 😉
How long have you been leading this kind of life?
Are you hired by someone to do day trading or are you self-employed?
I enjoyed this peak into life on the road. Looking forward to meeting up with you in Buenos Aires, Marcello.
Dear, Marcello, you are badass. That is all. 🙂
@Slava: I trade for my own account. One of my definitions of success is freedom, so i dont like to have someone tell me what to do or have to be responsible for sometone elses acct. I do trade for a company which I own and several retirement accts.
@Aj – thanks my man lol
Marcelo,
That’s a nice lifepath u took. I do trade US equities too via options, either daytrade or swingtrade. Hope to crosspath with u sometime.
Goodluck to us 🙂
keep safe