Our trips can jumpstart that leap of faith you’ve always wanted to take. Don’t just take our word for it. Meet Jolyn, who, on an El Camino trip to Oaxaca, gained the clarity and inspiration she needed to make a big life decision—opening a restaurant with her partner, Louis.

By Katherine Harrison, El Camino Travel contributor. Originally published April 13, 2023

Jolyn’s El Camino trip to Oaxaca started with a decision. She and her partner Louis could either buy the cute little Victorian house they recently toured, or they could take the leap of faith they had long talked about and open a restaurant. They couldn’t do both. 

In a new city, surrounded by stunning architecture, vibrant colors, delicious cuisine, and a creative cohort of fresh, friendly faces, Jolyn and Louis decided to take the plunge—say goodbye to the Victorian home, and move forward with their dream to open a restaurant. “It felt like we finally had direction,” Louis recalls. “From that moment on, when anyone asked what I did, I responded, ‘I’m opening a restaurant.’”

Though the topic of opening a restaurant had been floating around for years, Jolyn and Louis were finally able to see the vision come to life while they were traveling with El Camino. “What’s great about traveling is that it can bring you out of life’s monotony,” observes Jolyn. “What’s magical about traveling with El Camino are the people who go on the trips. Somehow the company attracts early adopters, entrepreneurs, and creatives who are open to human connection and deeply empathetic.” 

El Camino fosters that sense of community and makes meaningful connections easy. “On the first night, we were greeted with a welcome mezcal cocktail and an icebreaker question: ‘What is the best praise or advice you have received?’” recalls Jolyn. “It’s interesting how such a simple question encouraged us to share and how, sometimes, it’s easier to be vulnerable with complete strangers than with your closest friends. From then on, every morning, our local host would greet our small group with another question.”

These daily questions kicked off deep conversations that continued throughout each day, and with each enlightening exchange, Jolyn and Louis became more confident in their decision. 

“The crazy thing about all this is that it only took a few days for me to go from unsure and scared about this project to completely stoked for it,” confirms Louis. “Every little conversation pushed me further; every idea was met with resounding support and enthusiasm.”

The magic of their Oaxaca trip isn’t just a one-off event—not even for Jolyn. She credits her two biggest pivotal realizations to trips with El Camino: first on a trip to Nicaragua, when she decided to transition from hospitality to interior design, and most recently on her trip to Oaxaca, when she and Louis decided to take a leap of faith and open the restaurant they always dreamed of opening. 

Since their 2021 trip to Oaxaca, Jolyn has left what she thought was her dream interior design job to focus on opening their restaurant. She started a weekly newsletter, Super Junior Designer, to document what it is like to open a restaurant, especially with your partner. Jolyn and Louis have signed a lease for the restaurant space in Portland OR’s Hollywood District, determined their restaurant name, made huge design decisions, and much more. They’ve even been featured in Eater, celebrating their plans to serve first-generation American bites. They expect to open their restaurant, Xiao Ye, in the summer of 2023.

To connect with El Camino Travel alum and hear more stories about how traveling with ECT inspired big shifts in our travelers’ lives, join the ECT Clubhouse. 

To follow along in their restaurateur journey, subscribe to Jolyn’s newsletter Super Junior Designer where you will find behind-the-scenes info about opening a restaurant, including interior design, hospitality, and entrepreneurship tips, tricks, and tough decisions.