Travel diary
As a good explorer should, in addition to wearing good shoes and carrying a sturdy backpack, I have always had the tendency to keep small notebooks in my pocket on which to jot down all my thoughts, reflections, and curiosities regarding what I was discovering on my travels.
Over time, the number of these notebooks has gradually grown, becoming a small treasure trove of memories and buried experiences on which I may one day write a novel. However, since that moment has not yet arrived, I have decided in the meantime to write a brief "Logbook" of my main travel and life experiences.
I wish you a good read 😉
BEGINNING
➢February 2016: "I'm quitting everything!"
"Mum, Dad, I've decided! I'm leaving university and going away."
And with these words, amidst the dismay of my parents who had already envisioned a prolific banking career for me, I decided to quit everything that no longer sparked my passion.
In a stroke of genius or pure madness, I decided to leave Italy without a penny and become an Au-pair (i.e. a babysitter) traveling around Europe, living with different families. First in England, then in France, and finally in Germany, subsisting mostly on fish and chips, baguettes, and sausages.
➢ July 2016: First Camino de Santiago.
After finishing this strange "family" experience, I realized that watching other people's children was not at all easy, and I often wondered if I would ever want to become a parent myself.
Then, in what felt like a mystical and identity crisis, I decided to embark on my first Camino de Santiago, along the so-called French Way, which is actually located in Spain.
With a backpack on my back, I set off from Leon in the center of the Iberian Peninsula, arriving in Finisterre after about three weeks. The sight of the ocean, in all its boundless beauty, embraced me and gave me the greatest emotion of that intense and warm summer.
➢ Late 2017: Various odd jobs.
Several months later, back in Italy, I did some odd jobs to survive: unloading crates of fruits or vegetables at the market, zooming around on a scooter delivering pizzas, selling sim cards and promoting various phone gadgets. Last but not least, I also taught music at a middle school, a unique experience as I have to admit that it was strange to find myself on the other side of the classroom, as a teacher.
➢ July 2017: Second Pilgrimage.
After finishing my temporary job as a teacher, I decided to embark on my second pilgrimage, this time in Portugal, walking across the entire country from Lisbon, passing through Coimbra and Oporto, until I reached Vigo in Spain.
Never was a summer sweeter than that one, lost along various trails but with a new compass guiding my heart.
Enriched by this latest experience and as if struck by lightning on the road to Damascus, upon returning to Italy, I understood that I wanted to continue living these unique adventures, this time around the world.
➢ February 2018: Lufthansa
And so, at the beginning of the new year, I set off on my adventure, hoping to find some opportunities that would allow me to continue traveling.
Being a bit lucky, I found a job in the Czech Republic, in the charming city of Brno.
Here is where I have spent the last 4 and a half years of my life, working as a Quality Specialist in the Customer Service sector for Lufthansa, acquiring a deep knowledge of the aviation industry and the patience of a Shaolin monk in assisting passengers with their various requests.
If someone was wondering, "Luca, why on earth did you decide to work in such a stressful industry like air transportation?", well, the answer would be quite simple: working for a major airline brings many benefits, among which the most advantageous is certainly being able to travel with heavily discounted tickets to any part of the world.
➢ 2019: First travels.
Having discovered this Holy Grail of low-cost travel, I immediately took advantage of the numerous vacation periods from work to dive into solitary adventures around the globe.
My first real long-distance trip that I wanted to take was to South Africa in April 2019. Once I reached the Cape of Good Hope, I prayed that this first intercontinental adventure of mine would be a good omen for my future travels. And so it was. That same year, I visited Turkey, Romania, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Morocco, and Argentina in that order. Each of these trips was a unique experience, a whole new way of learning, wandering through various countries and having a lot of fun.
➢ End of 2019 - Beginning of 2020: "Around the World in 80 Days"
At the end of 2019, an email from my boss informed me that, based on my work merits, I had been selected to be sent to work in exile in the magnificent Philippines, between November and December of that year.
"Not content with the opportunity to live in Asia for a while, I immediately seized the opportunity of that trip to organize my around-the-world journey, a dream I had had since I was a child."
By combining all my work vacation days, I was able to travel to northern Thailand and the Golden Triangle before arriving in Manila.
During the two months I spent in the Philippines, I traveled far and wide, visiting dozens of fantastic islands in that part of Asia that seemed more like paradise on earth than in heaven. Later, I continued my journey passing through Australia, unfortunately devastated by fires that year, and Chile, shaken by popular uprisings, finally arriving in Argentina. Here, I took a road trip from Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego, through the vast Patagonia with its perennial glaciers, all the way to the magnificent Iguazu Falls on the border between Paraguay and Brazil.
My around the world trip ended in January 2020 exactly 80 days after I started, just like in the famous book by Jules Verne.
The stories about my around the world trip are numerous and one page wouldn't be enough to tell them all. I'll mention only a few: getting tattooed in the Philippines by Whang-od, the oldest Kalinga warrior in the world (105 years old); dislocating my shoulder while swimming with whale sharks in the middle of the Indian Ocean; being stranded for several days on the island of Coron due to a typhoon; finding myself in the middle of armed clashes between police and civilians in Santiago de Chile.
➢ 2020: Covid
With the arrival of the pandemic in 2020, unfortunately, traveling remained only a dream for a while, but I never stopped thinking about it.
➢ Second half of 2021: Let's go again!
➢ 2022: Last trips
With the fear of new lockdowns and driven by an uncontainable desire to explore, this year I took advantage of every opportunity I had to travel, visiting in order: Mexico, Jordan, Canary Island, Armenia e Brasil and the western part of the United States.
At the end of October, I left my job at Lufthansa to come back to Italy and try to build a new future there.
➢ January 2023: Israel
After a quick yet pleasant New Year's getaway to Denmark, I decided to start the new year with a long-awaited adventure: going to Israel,a holy and promised land to various religions, and a sadly notorious stage of bloody conflicts, I had the opportunity to observe up close the four main realities that make up the country (Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Armenian), walking among the modern streets of Tel Aviv and the ancient alleys of Jerusalem. Despite coexisting closely with each other, they demonstrate that peaceful coexistence may be possible, but perhaps it is only an illusion.
➢July 2023: Cycling South
"Every name is a man.""And every man is only what he is.""He will discover by chasing the distances within himself."
"After years of long procrastination and with the opening lines of the song 'Rotolando verso Sud' by Negrita drumming in my head, I finally decide that the time has come to embark on my first cycling adventure, exploring my roots and, above all, my country, to finally accomplish my very own Giro d'Italia (a 1000-kilometer journey across the entire Boot)."
"The idea of getting on the bike and starting from scratch for this new adventure dates back many years ago when one summer day, while goofing around on YouTube, I stumbled upon a video by the then relatively unknown Gabriele Saluci. He was recounting, in his usual imaginative and humorous style, his first experience as a cycle tourist, starting from Turin and reaching all the way to the remote Iceland."
"Just a few minutes of that entertaining documentary were enough to spark in me the burning desire to replicate such wild exploits, like a valiant Don Quixote galloping on his fearless two-wheeled steed."
"And so, in July of this year, I found myself finally on the road, pedaling through remote bike paths and sun-drenched gravel roads, with the distinct feeling that, despite the sweat and fatigue, descent after ascent, I was getting closer, one turn after another, not only to the final destination of the journey but above all to that enormous treasure of hidden inner resources right under my nose. Because very often, it doesn't take going to the other side of the world to rediscover oneself, but just a beach to lie on, to feel free from every fear, a bit like clouds pushed by the wind."
➢ November 2023: Ireland
As the year draws to a close, I seize the opportunity to embark on one last journey, one of those that had long been forgotten at the bottom of my bucket list.
Taking advantage of an enticing offer from Ryanair, I swiftly board from Trieste, bound for Dublin, in search of a greenery, that of Irish meadows, which can rebalance my mind after months of frenzied work.
Basing myself in the capital, I travel far and wide across this enchanted island, still shrouded in mystery, amidst myths and legends of those who swear it was once inhabited by a thousand giants, fairies, and kings.
On the third day, seated on a rock, I gaze upon the steep cliffs of Moher. For a moment, I hear a song, perhaps that of a magical sprite, whose mischievous flatteries seem to want to show me the shortest path to reach the pot of gold hidden at the end of the rainbow. I snap out of it, realizing I was daydreaming, and soon recognize the familiar voice of the wind, sighing loudly from the Ocean, its inseparable playmate. It whispers forgotten words, verses from a Cranberries song ("Oh my life is changing everyday, in every possible way"). Whether it's a dream or reality, it matters little; I find myself smiling, grateful to see everything around me.
THE END?