Huanchaco, Trujillo and the Festival de la Marinera
Welcome to Trujillo, the city of everlasting spring. 32ºC, it feels like the hottest of summers here. The bus from Naranjos arrived at 11 AM after making a stop in Chiclayo. My nostrils got...
Welcome to Trujillo, the city of everlasting spring. 32ºC, it feels like the hottest of summers here. The bus from Naranjos arrived at 11 AM after making a stop in Chiclayo. My nostrils got...
Lying in my hammock, I look at two kids swinging in theirs. He’s just a toddler and is wearing a funny overall; his older sister’s long black pony tails are moving following the rhythm...
I thought I had come to Yurimaguas only to spend a night before catching the boat to Iquitos and, again, I was wrong. We made a cool group here. Maruan, Edera and Leonardo from...
The department of San Martín welcomed me with muggy weather. There is a sudden change you can’t help but notice when traveling from sierra (the mountains) to selva (the jungle), and it’s not only the weather....
The cricket sang last night. They say it’s a sign of departure, and here I am, getting ready to leave. Ready to wear my backpack again, and to leave the region of Cajamarca after...
Waiting for the already half an hour late 8.30 AM combi from Celendín to Leymebamba, I was feeling sorry for the three chickens unmercifully zipped inside a bag and placed on the roof of the bus....
Here comes that time of the year when my Facebook home page starts to get filled with pictures of Christmas trees, red Santa hats, and the first snow. I see you’re all flying back home to...
With the Land Reform Act of 1969, the Peruvian government sought to transform the country’s land-tenure structure by redistributing the rural land. The Decree Law 17716 by General Juan Velasco Alvarado established that the...
The colectivo from Cajamarca to Chachapoyas plays a movie starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, “The Bucket List”. Sitting next to me, Chris asks what I have in my bucket list. I couldn’t think of...
Yesterday I accompanied the volunteers on a trip to Cumbemayo. 3550 MASL and 20 km Southwest of Cajamarca, Cumbemayo is thought to be one of the oldest man-made structures in South America. Its name,...
Elena Sabella
I was born in Florence (Italy) thirty-two years ago.
I have been many versions of me, but today I am a wandering soul, a honest heart in a countinous search for revolution. I carry my home with me, but I never forget where my roots are. I fill my belly with colorful plants, because animals are our friends and the Earth our mother. I fly high with my purple and green dreams. I travel the world because I am thirsty for knowledge, because I want to catch all the beauties of the Pachamama with my short-sighted eyes and smell freedom. I travel to share with those human beings that cross my path, to learn from them and take a small piece of every place and every person with me.
I love photography, foreign languages, maps, the smell of old books, of recently cut grass and filtered coffee. I love people who laugh loud and spontanously and fill you with happiness, those long and deep conversations, and sisterhood.
This blog started in 2016, when I decided that I was not going to look at my life pass by while sitting behind a desk, planning and saving up for my next trip. If what I loved the most was traveling, then I wanted to spend my days doing that! My adventure started with a one-way ticket to Lima and a plan-less plan. Two years later, I am far from being the person that jumped on that plane: it is a journey of transformation.
After over three years of traveling in South America, I had to return home in Italy due to the Covid-19 pantemic.
In spite of all, I take this as an opportunity to get to explore my own region and country.
Traveling is on hold, but not for long 🙂
The journey is not only made of places, but
mainly of the people we meet on the way. And neither my trip nor me would be the same hadn’t I crossed paths with Joel, with whom I shared ten wonderful months hitchhiking in South America. Don’t miss his blog Buenas Rutas!
Not only do I work onsite, but I do a lot of online jobs to finance my trip.
I am also a freelance translator, travel writer and photographer. Would you like to work with me?