How to find your travel inspiration?

Inspiration comes from the stories of the place I hear, from the stories of the elders that have been passed down from generation to generation. Thus we learned that Chefchaouen, the blue city of Morocco, began to be painted in this shade by Jews more than 8 decades ago as a symbol of heaven and Heaven. Changing the continent, I remember of the story of the tower of the Virgin in Istanbul. Before the Emperor of the Byzantine era, she was imprisoned there to be protected from the dangers that the cursers foresaw for her, but this was not enough, because the prophesied destiny was still fulfilled.

Inspiration comes from the philosophy of life of the locals, from the principles that underlie their happiness, from those things for which they live but which I would not have thought to mention. In northern Morocco I learned that the Bedouins do not want to leave the sandy lands of the desert, because the sky is their television, and every falling star is a show they watch. The Bedouin who guided us through the Sahara also told us with emotion “I know all the roads. I have the desert in my heart. I have sand in my heart” , a sign that Sahara is a “home” that he will never leave. But what do I have in my heart?.

I stay in the Arabic world,, but in another corner of the globe, I fondly remember Hassam, a young Palestinian who told us that for them every tourist is a blessing, so their hospitality is a kind of obligation. The traveler must leave this earth happily, satisfied with what he has seen, learned and tasted, in order to pass on the good treatment he has received.

Inspiration comes from stories I listen to in the evening by other travelers, free souls, without roots, or on the contrary, more attached hearts who can’t wait to get on the plane that would take them to that “home” that they miss so much. The bus that took me to New York, 4 years ago, also brought me a cheerful Jamaican, whose life was changed whenhe arrived in the dream land. At the moment, I was not inspired by his story, but a year later, leaving for Morocco, I understood that we all sometimes choose to go to places that change us, influence our human structure, in a way that I could not guess.

Changing the scenery, I was in a hostel in Spain when I met a young medical student from Dubai. He told me about his first marathon, his first encounter with the snow and how he set out to go to another continent every year. I thought for a long time after that. I always return to Italy and I avoid going outside Europe. But where is my plan to reach all continents by the age of 25? We remained friends and I stole some of his idea of ​​traveling. Feras was in the US this year, advised by me, and I got a ticket to an Asian island. I’ll tell you soon how it was.