Collecting Moments

When I first started traveling alone, one of my initial destinations was Venice . As I wandered through the city’s intricate maze of canals, I often wondered what lay behind those red brick walls and arched windows. I wasn’t curious about the exquisite palazzi converted into luxury hotels. I wanted to know how Venetians lived: what their apartments looked like, where they ran their daily chores, and when they ate breakfast and dinner. Without living with the locals, the city seemed to lack a human touch. Fortunately, I have since discovered several hospitality exchange platforms and began traveling for people, not places. Sightseeing has almost completely lost its appeal for me and my partner. We’ve seen Petra and Angkor Wat , but our most memorable moments come from staying with locals and hitchhiking . That day in Norway, we were on the way to meet our couchsurfing host. Her address mentioned a place called Vidaråsen, which seemed too small for anyone to know. We decided to wri

When we first started planning our hitchhiking and couchsurfing trip through southern Norway, we encountered a chorus of advice from our potential hosts. "You like hiking?" they'd say. "Head west and north!" One even remarked, "Only go south if you like boats." But time constraints and my sprained ankle led us in a different direction. We decided to take the coastal route for two weeks. Luck was on our side and we found hosts who lived just off the E18 highway, which would make hitchhiking easier (or so we thought). Landscapes lacking towering peaks revealed a different magic. Forests, lakes and fjords held an unspoiled beauty that did not need grand summits. Water, abundant and mesmerizing, painted the canvas in shades of blue embraced by green. Wherever we stayed in Norway, nature beckoned from every doorstep. In the tiny village of Høvåg, perched on the edge of a fjord, deer and sheep grazed on lush slopes. We walked to the tip of the peninsul

We woke up in a sleepy fishing village on the north-east coast of Lanzarote. Our couchsurfing host had kindly offered us a cozy room in his house in Punta Mujeres. We thanked him for his hospitality and packed our bags. Our destination for the day was Famara, a surfers' paradise on the opposite side of the island. There we had found a host on Trustroots, a hospitality exchange website that reminded us of the old days of couchsurfing, when it was more about community than business. As we always do, we chose our favorite means of transportation - hitchhiking . It's not only faster sometimes than public transport, but also more adventurous. You never know how your day will unfold, who you'll meet on the road and what stories you'll get out of the experience. Our first ride was with a familiar face. We had seen that guy the day before in the harbor, walking his white fluffy dog. She was so popular among the kids in town, we could tell her owner was a kind person. He was

For quite some time, I had lost the spark of adventure and the thirst for exploration. I had grown hesitant and indecisive, even in simple things like venturing out into nature and following hidden paths. But yesterday, something stirred in me. I felt a sudden urge to face the unknown and savor freedom again. It was a short walk in the nearby forest, our first mushroom hunt of the season. We had two young energetic couchsurfers staying with us. When I told them we were going to look for wild mushroom spots, their eyes sparkled. “Finally, we’ll learn how to forage for our food when we camp!” — they exclaimed. There were a few hardly visible trails in the woods that I had noticed before but never got around to tracing them. We waded through thick undergrowth and thorny vines, until we reached a clearing where oily brown caps glistened under the pine needles and grass. Gradually making our way across the dense greenery, we filled the bags with Slippery Jack fungi, a delicious treat.

Day 4 Before our boots touched Terceira’s soil, we sought our host’s advice on the island’s best hikes. Without any hesitation, she suggested Alagoa da Fajãzinha ( Baías da Agualva ) and Rocha do Chambre . We decided to hike to Rocha do Chambre on our last day, despite the cloudy and humid weather. We grabbed some sandwiches, put on waterproof socks and trail runners, and headed for an adventure. Little did we know how tough a challenge that would be! We definitely don’t recommend this trail after rainfall, as it can be quite risky. Not as dangerous as Arbel mountain in Israel , but still unwise. The trail was circular and could be walked either clockwise or counterclockwise. We chose the latter, following numbered signs. Our journey began gently — a flat dirt road, volcanic formations, and a valley adorned with green peaks. Then the trail climbed up to 700 meters and we reached the Miradouro da Rocha do Chambre , the highlight of the hike. In front of us stood a colossal cliff

Day 2 Our host kindly offered to drive us to Angra do Heroismo on her way to work. We left the house at eight, armed with sandwiches, fruits, and water, for a long hike on Monte Brasil . This extinct volcano dominates the landscape of the city, and offers spectacular views of the bay and the ocean. She dropped us off at a viewpoint called Miradouro do Pico das Cruzinhas. The sun was just rising, and everything around us was sparkling with golden light. We could see the whole city below us, with its colorful houses and churches. From there, we followed the trail to all the peaks of Monte Brasil, discovering its natural and historical treasures. We walked around an emerald-green caldera of an ancient dormant volcano. Along the forest path we noticed a family of timid deer who ran away as soon as they saw us. We climbed up to a whale lookout, where a sign informed us of all the marine life that can be spotted around the island. We scanned the horizon, hoping to catch a glimpse of a blue