Category: Travelling

Create your own little paradise

“Welcome you all, my name is Joan and this is my blessing: my little paradise”, so this wonderful old lady, named Joan, started to welcome us guests at her Christmas dinner. She is the owner of the guest house ‘Le petit paradis‘ in Wotten Waven on Dominica, where we spent the days around Christmas last year. “My husband Al, a former school principal now retired, and I started it with just one room. Now also my daughters are working with us”, continued Joan. As she spoke, you could really see the light in her eyes and the passion she invested in creating her little paradise.
I think this is what life is about: creating our own little paradise. Pondering about what we would like to be and to do with our time and moving in this direction. As Arthur C. Brooks, the Harvard Happiness Professor, says: “In order to build a happy life you need three things: enjoyment, satisfaction and meaning”. Nothing more and I think Joan definitely has them.

So full of colors: Le petit Paradis in Wotten Waven

Rely on each other

We are on Dominica since Sunday. This green island offers a lot of possibilities to hike. Yesterday we hiked all the way from Wotton Waven to the falls of Titou Gorge and this was a long hike. Therefore today we wanted to take it smoothly and decided to walk from Wotton Waven to the Trafalgar Falls which is about a one hour hike.

But there is a but: when we came to the falls one tourist guide approached us asking if we wanted to go to the warm pools with him. At first we weren’t sure but then we accepted. And soon he started to climb among the rocks in the falls. It was for me a big challenge to get to these warm pools. It was difficult to take big steps in order not to fall in the water and some of the rocks were so wet that I almost slipped. The view when we got there was amazing but I was already afraid about the way back that I could not even enjoy it.

Then another guide came to us and brought us back. He helped me all the way back, offering me his hands as a support and I was so grateful about it. He held me between the rocks and gave me advices about where to make the next step. I didn’t even know his name but I trusted him immediately. I came with his guide to the base: I was sweat but also proud of me.

This experience showed me how we can always rely on each other in life, even if we don’t know the other person. I also trust more my hands and feet that calmed down my mind showing me that I can even do difficult things.

The Trafalgar Falls

We lost our hearts on Saint Lucia

We got on Saint Lucia last Sunday and are about to leave this magical Caribbean island tomorrow to proceed our journey to Dominica. This week on Saint Lucia was fantastic: the people are really friendly and welcoming, the island is green and the sea is wonderful. For me it was the first time on this island, for Dominik the third.

We visited Castries, Soufriere and Gros Islet. We commuted between these three cities via public transport and everything went fine. We used the app MAPS.ME to get the information about where to find the bus stops.

I personally fell in love with Soufriere: the people there were really friendly. They greet you on the street and ask you how you are doing and if you need some help. From this small town we hiked to the Diamonds Falls, the Piton Falls and the Soulphure Springs.

We walked so much that my feet and legs hurt but it was all worth.

Tomorrow we are heading to Dominica, where we will spend about 10 days: I have already been there and I know that this is also a nice island but on Saint Lucia we definitely lost our hearts.

Feeling out of balance?

Sometimes, when you feel that your energy is low, the solution might not be resting. What you may need could be some quality time doing things that make you feel good.

Seeing a friend, doing sport, going for a walk or practicing self-care can bring your energy back faster than being lazy on the couch.

In the last few months my energy level was low, I couldn’t find peace and regenerate. I felt out of balance and I couldn’t help myself. I needed to do something good for my soul. I came to the conclusion that I was feeling homesickness. So I booked a flight to Milan because I needed time with my dearest friends and my mother.

Two weeks ago the day arrived and I flew for the weekend to Milan. I saw most of my oldest friends and my mother, I had good talks and loud laughs with them. This trip was exactly what I needed. On my way home I felt more energetic and I was so grateful for this time in Milan with my people.

In order to recharge, sometimes taking action works better than pure and classical rest. So, the next time you feel out of balance, ask yourself: “What do I need most?” Maybe spending time with your dearest friends is a better alternative to laying down on the couch.

Waiting to take off

A translation game on holiday

Yesterday night I arrived in my hometown in Italy and I had a nice idea. Since I have a background as a translator and I have a week holiday with no particular plans, I could play a translation game with you. I will post every day a sentence that I found inspiring and share with you the respective translations. So you will read the text in English, Italian, German and Spanish. The first three languages will be translated by me and when Spanish is not the source text I will translate the sentences using a Machine Translation Tool, because my Spanish is ok but not that good that I can translate and also because I would like to test the performance of these tools. Ready, steady, go!

Throwback: one night in a tree house

December 2016
Reserva Natural Tanimboca, Leticia – Amazonia (Colombia)

We are spending the night in the highest tree house of the Reserva Natural and are both very excited about it.

Our tree house in Tanimboca: such an amazing experience sleeping there for one night!

It is late afternoon, about one hour after our arrival.

Dominik: “Let’s make a deal, Angy – OK?!”
Me: “Yes!”
Dominik: “Tonight, before we go to bed, we don’t look at the floor. Is it clear?!”
Me: “OK, I’m in!”

After this brief conversation, we experienced a night walk with our tour guide Richard through the jungle and could appreciate the wild nightlife there. We had a delicious dinner and nice talks with a ‘Gringo’, a young man from the US working in Colombia as a teacher, and a Colombian family, whose 9 year old son was learning Chinese in the school. They were also spending the night in Tanimboca. Then Richard brought us back to the tree house and Dominik and I read a book together.
After a while, we were about going to bed…

Me: “I know we had a deal… but I… I just saw something… there…”
Dominik: “What? Where?”
Me: “Behind you: a giant cockroach!!!”

A giant cockroach, picture from the internet. The one we saw was a lot smaller, I like to exaggerate 😂

OK, OK… It was not as big as this one in the picture, but for me almost.

Happy ending: Dominik did something very brave and ‘accompanied’ (read here: kicked kindly) the cockroach out of the door. I kept the promise and didn’t look at the floor anymore. Finally we fell asleep lulled by the natural sounds of the jungle.

As currently none of us can travel, I thought it would be a good idea to share this memory with you.
I would always repeat this experience in the tree house in Tanimboca, if I had the chance. I really would, a little bit also because of the cockroach: I’m honest!
I’m also very grateful that Ronny of Kolumbien linda Tours helped us to organize our journey in Colombia giving us the possibility to enjoy a fantastic holiday there.