Many people ask us, in one way or another, what drove us into the world. What a force has led us to explore it. Even leaving behind a lucrative profession as professionals in Actuarial Sciences.

Well, like all true and permanent history, it all starts in childhood.

As children we loved to travel. We start with short walks in our native Venezuela. We had that thorn of knowing new places, living new experiences different from what we were used to seeing and living in our daily lives.

Madrid, Spain

As we came out of adolescence, we began to hear the voices of “experts” telling us that traveling abroad, visiting exotic and distant countries was only available to people with high budgets. Perhaps it would be better to worry about getting housing and, if possible, a vehicle

We must confess that for a while there were times when we thought that, after all, perhaps people would be right. But our longing was still there, in the form of a dream.

We made a more or less conventional life: we studied Actuarial Sciences at the University. We got corporate jobs.

For professional reasons, we decided to study a Master’s degree abroad. We saved as much as we could but we knew that this would only be enough for us to pay for our studies and meet our most pressing needs.

The city chosen was Madrid.

 

We knew we would have to do without “superfluous” expenses. And not even think about knowing places beyond the limits of Madrid!

So after selling our meager belongings, we headed for Madrid.

The experience in that beautiful city opened our eyes and rekindled our old yearning to know the world.

                                         Malaga, Spain

Two things came together for this:

• Get in touch with people, not only from Spain, but from different parts of the world, with all their peculiarities.
• Take cognizance that there are very inexpensive ways to travel, as well as taking sides from geopolitical circumstances such as the Schengen Area.

 

We start, obviously, knowing the tourist landmarks of Madrid. Then we started venturing around.

Trips to other regions of Spain followed. Finally we started visiting other countries, such as France or the United Kingdom.

We found that pre-planning the trip gave us almost as much pleasure as the trip itself. And this is a point that was revealed to us fundamental to make unforgettable trips.

Paris, France

Choosing pleasant inns and inns instead of hotels, the opportunities for cheaper air or train tickets, the seasonal offers and the hundreds of tips and secrets that we have been discovering through these years of globetrotting.

We also discovered another fundamental fact: when you go out to travel, you don’t just make an “external” trip. You also take an internal journey.

Traveling you don’t just know other people, other cultures. You also know yourself better. You realize that you are able to solve situations in environments that are unfamiliar to you.Your five senses are at their top. Your situational awareness develops.

You discover along the way facets that had been dormant and that begin to manifest. Facets that may never have been revealed to you if you hadn’t started traveling.

It makes you grow as a person, makes you more understanding, torelative and sensitive to global problems.

Although you already knew it in an “intellectual” way, it is by traveling that you really internalize the fact that we share one and only one planet that we must protect at all costs.

For us to travel is a form of meditation, of philosophy.

The first thing we find is that you don’t need (and it’s not recommended) to collect, to gather objects. That does not enrich the human being, not in a transcendent way.

What enriches us are the life experiences. Those are the ones that make us grow, to be better human beings. Detachment from the material develops naturally. And you become more adept at discerning what is essential in your life and what is not.

Another aspect, which we compare with meditation, is that traveling makes you live a permanent present. At least in our case, we don’t care about the future or the past. We live in the present because it is our only reality. And this is how we live travel: a perpetual present full of possibilities and teachings.                                                                                                                Prague, Czech Republic

A memorable trip doesn’t have to be just something like visiting the Great Wall of China or the Eiffel Tower. A weekend on a local beach with friends can be too.

Homs, Syria

Some take a life of nomads. Others settle at a point they call home and from there plan and travel frequently. But they all share that inner voice that calls on them not to stay long in a place.

It’s that excited curiosity to know all the wonderfulness our world has to offer that ultimately drives us out of our comfort zone.

There is a thought of Paulo Coelho that quite reflects our notion of travel: You don’t need to have a lot of money. It only takes the courage to dare.