When I reflect on the beginnings of my journey, I am reminded of the place of my birth, the places where I grew up, the different people I’ve met, and the many languages I’ve had the privilege to learn. Whether from living in specific countries for a long time or from traveling, I’ve had the chance to immerse myself in different cultures and languages.
Initially, I was taught three languages due to my background, but over time, this expanded to five. To varying degrees, I am proficient in all of these languages. Living in different countries and engaging with their cultures and languages has significantly broadened my perspective and contributed to my personal growth, allowing me to gain deeper insights into diverse situations and scenarios. It’s important to note that these experiences were not without challenges. However, overcoming numerous setbacks has only fueled my determination, and I have emerged with a profound and unshakable appreciation for life, despite grappling with the reasons behind these challenges at the onset.
I also must mention that in many difficult situations, I had the support of important people, who, in many cases, I’ve also met while travelling and whom I consider friends, real friends with whom I may not be in constant communication, but who are always there to help you no matter where you are. I consider myself very lucky to have good people around me and I appreciate it very much.
From a very young age, my parents (especially my mother) introduced me to travel and to live in different places while I was growing up, so I think that from that early age, I began to have this immense desire to see the world. After living in countries like Sweden, Brazil and Peru, I took the decision to move to Australia in 2015 to study at a university on the Gold Coast. Before this move, I travelled South America, working as a bartender in different bars, hotels, and restaurants. Having worked as a bartender was helpful once I got to the Gold Coast, as it is a multicultural city and hospitality is a highly demanded area workwise, which made it easy for me to find a job and stability while studying. But we’ll talk more about my life on the land “down under” in the future.
If there is something worth mentioning, it is that when you travel, you always have “that” special place, it varies from person to person, depending on the experience that each one lived at a given moment, perhaps due to the landscapes, the people you met and that make the experience more incredible, or maybe the season in which you went to visit that place, perhaps the culture, its food or maybe something that cannot be explained but that ties you in an indescribable way to “that” beautiful place. The reason why I reflected on this is because that happened to me in Cusco-Peru many years ago, when I was on my first backpacking adventure around the world.
Since I was little, I always marvelled at the incredible way the Incas shaped their architecture hundreds of years ago, so we can be impressed when we see their imposing constructions when we arrive in this magical city. On the other hand, their advanced technology (considering the time and the resources at hand), which allowed them to work around the valleys and mountains and make them “their own” regardless of the difficulties that geography itself posed, allowing them to create irrigation channels, imposing fortresses, experimentation centres and the most impressive citadel in that part of the world: Machu Picchu.
All these things made me have a connection (without knowing it yet) with that land, but Cusco is not only ceremonial centres, fortresses and hikes. Upon arriving in Cusco for the first time, I felt an indescribable energy when I observed those green mountains and valleys from the plane before landing, so when I finally left the airport, I was able to breathe its pure air. As I approached the centre of the city, I was struck by the contrast between the city’s infrastructure and the ability of people to make their homes on the bases of the hills that surround the city. After leaving my bags at my lodging I decided to go to the main square, I stopped next to the fountain and began to observe everything around me, from the cathedral, the convent, the mountains illuminated with the lights of the houses and the various restaurants around the square, I could see how cosmopolitan it was, mixing citizens from all over the world with local people who had this spectacular place in their daily lives. At that moment, I decided to change my plan to continue travelling continuously, to stay in Cusco for the next 8 months in which I made that city my home.
After this time, I continued my journey, but always returning to Cusco to “recharge my energy” for a while and must confess that every time I return to Cusco, I always leave with that feeling of sadness, but joy at the same time because I know it won’t be the last time. That is why I have not stopped returning to Cusco, and I don’t think I ever will. But for now, I will dedicate myself to sharing my experiences and knowledge about Cusco with everyone and I’ll add information from other journeys in the future.
