Wanna go and travel the world with me?

The right call at the right time

The break of 2015 and 2016 was not the best for me. In a short period of time, I lost my father and broke up with a man I thought I would spend rest of my life with. Living in a foreign country already, I wasn't able to be home with my family to offer support and receive it as well. I was looking for a way out of my misery and traveling became one of my ways to get out. I did several solo trips, as far and as often as my budget allowed me, but I knew it is not enough to soothe my itchy feet.

One day, just in the beginning of 2016, I was walking down the streets of my beloved Ljubljana, thinking about the meaning of life. Suddenly, a phone call – my friend who has just moved to Britain, coping with the lonely life of a fresh expat, seeking a kind word of fellow emigrant:

„Hey, wanna go and travel the world with me?“ (he really wasn’t quite happy there)

„Yeah, sure, I absolutely have money to do that...“ (I really didn’t have the money)

To go or not to go (alone)?

I knew it was just another crazy idea of his, but the thought got stuck in my head. Eventually, I said, ´why the hell not´. We talked about it for several months, making plans where to go first. I moved to a cheaper apartment, sometimes working as much as 12 hours/day and weekends. Besides my full-time job, my translation business was getting better, so I was actually able to save several hundred euros each month. And the Plan was getting more and more specific shape. But one day, everything has changed: he has found a girl, and I have found a boy...

To many people, this would be the end of it, but I was determined not to let any man screw with what has already become my Plan. I told my boyfriend-to-be: „We can be together, but keep in mind, that by end of 2017 I am quitting my job and packing my bags. You can go with me if you want, or I will go alone...“ Only 8 months later, he said „darling, count me in“, and so I could start planning the trip for 2 again.

Why I chose Peru to start our trip?

The original plan was to go to New Zealand first, then spent the rest of the budget in Asia, so how I ended on the other side of the world? The ‘advantage‘of moving to the cheaper flat was having flatmates. And one of my flatmates was a Peruvian boy, whom I first met in Ljubljana 5 years ago. It was a nice reunion, we went to some jam session together, and he was telling me about his beautiful country. One day I came home from one of my hiking adventures, and he is telling me: „Tereza, you have to come to Peru, I live right under Machu Picchu, you gonna love hiking there.“ And I said, „OK, I‘m coming“, and started looking for plane tickets to Peru :)

At this point, I would like to thank my colleague from work, for creating this wonderful picture for us. I cannot stop laughing every time I look at it, you are the best!