The Strength of our Weaknesses

I’m back in Switzerland after a wonderful stay in Brittany with Hervé Le Guillouzic, the opportunity for me to look back on the sequence of events that allowed this unexpected meeting. To do so, I have to go back in time a little… We are in April 1994. While I have just entered into existence,

La Fenice

“I no longer feared the darkness once I knew the phoenix in me would rise from the ashes.” — William C. Hannan Lately, I’ve been obsessed with the image of the phoenix rising from the ashes to emerge stronger and more beautiful than ever. 🔥 This metaphor resonates with me because I have been going through

Letters to Numan (6)

The following texts are the last of a series of letters I wrote while I was grieving my first true love, Numan, who passed away from cancer in 2017. You can find the previous ones here. 12.03.2022 Dear Numan, I didn’t exactly finish my series of letters in the best of ways, did I? I probably

Letters to Numan (5)

The following texts are part of a series of letters I wrote while I was grieving my first true love, Numan, who passed away from cancer in 2017. You can find the previous ones here. 15.09.2017 Hello, Numan. It’s been a while, again. Sorry I’ve stopped writing to you; I guess there’s still a lot I

Letters to Numan (4)

The following texts are part of a series of letters I wrote while I was grieving my first true love, Numan, who passed away from cancer in 2017. You can find the previous ones here. 05.07.2017 Dear Numan, I’ve surrendered. I’ve decided I cannot write to you everyday; it just takes too much from me. My

Letters to Numan (3)

The following texts are part of a series of letters I wrote while I was grieving my first true love, Numan, who passed away from cancer in 2017. You can find the previous ones here. 24.06.2017 Hello! So it has been less than a week and I’ve already missed a day; I’m not so sure about

Letters to Numan (2)

The following texts are part of a series of letters I wrote while I was grieving my first true love, Numan, who passed away from cancer in 2017. You can find the previous ones here. 21.06.2017 Hello Numan, I’m back at home, today, and it’s a weird feeling. I had only been gone for a

Letters to Numan

The following texts are part of a series of letters I wrote while I was grieving my first true love, Numan, who passed away from cancer in 2017. I met him during my stay in Palestine and he changed my life forever. I am posting them now to mark the 5th anniversary of his death.

How I earned a bachelor’s degree while travelling the world

Hello! As you may know, I have just started studying a master’s degree in international journalism at Cardiff University. The idea of being on campus is exciting for me, as I have spent the past five years studying remotely. (Even if it’s 2020 and I’m still going to end up having a lot of classes

The Blank Page Syndrome

Hi! It’s been a while, but as you can see, I have been busy preparing a complete make-over of my blog. I am thus super pleased to be able to share this post with you on my brand new website. I hope you like it! 🙂 Okay, if I’m totally honest with you, that’s not

The Privileges of Travelling

I first published this post on Medium under the title Travellers, Let’s Talk About Privilege, click here if you want to see the original. On the 9th of May 2020, I boarded a plane from Quito to Paris in the midst of a global pandemic. It was a ‘humanitarian’ flight organised by the French embassy.

Mother Ayahuasca

17.02 “I certainly didn’t expect to be in such a place to write these words, when my Ecuadorian journey had just begun, almost two weeks ago. I am in the Amazon jungle, surrounded by vegetation. In front of me is a very large tree, tens of meters high, whose leaves fall slowly every time the

My journey to health

Dear friends, I have decided to devote today’s article to a theme that is particularly topical these days: health. More precisely, I wanted to explore my personal journey, after being inspired by a very strong experience I had recently. To do so, I risk touching on subjects that are not unanimous or that are not

The Times, They Are Changing

Hey everyone! Just wanted to give some news, for those of you who might be wondering where on earth I could be in the midst of this pandemic. Unsurprisingly, I am where I have been for the past six months: Ecuador. More precisely, I am in Las Tunas, a small coastal village where, as you

Ecuadorian Explorations

Hello! I’m writing to you again from Onda, at the end of a one-month tour of Ecuador in very good company. I get to settle down a little again, which helps to gather my thoughts and sort out my photos. I don’t feel like I was gone very long, and yet, I had the opportunity

Rest, Explore, Share

Hello, friends. The time has come once again for me to hit the road. I am leaving the beautiful place I’m at in order to discover more of the wonders of Ecuador. This is only a temporary departure. I’m not ready to say goodbye for good to Onda Hostel, yet. After a month on the

Buena Onda

I asked for it, a long time ago. I knew it was what I wanted, what I needed. But it somehow felt unattainable. The right place at the right time, somewhere I could find beautiful people, in a good environment where there is no active conflicts around (I still love you to death my Middle

Rough seas

The wave has hit me. It has hit pretty hard, once again. I guess that’s what you get for wanting to throw yourself in the water over and over again. Hello, friends. I am happy to write here today (finally!) to give you some news. I know that most people have no idea what I’ve

The Wave

Seguir – Gustavo Santaoalla 30.05.2015 I’m leaving. I’m finally leaving. I’ve been waiting for this for so long. And suddenly, it’s real. I am so full of so many emotions right now. The excitement, the fear, the sadness, the joy; all of this is making me feel so alive. I can’t wait to take that

The Road and me

That’s it, time to come home after over a month on the road. (technically, I came home a few weeks ago already, but I wrote this back then so let’s just pretend okay?) This time, my old companion took me to Italy, Denmark, Germany and Poland, the occasion for me to visit some friends we

Open Letter to My Friends

To all my friends: this letter is for you. To all of those dear to my heart that I have known in the past, Those who are part of my present And all of those I haven’t met yet. To my family, to the friends of my friends and my family’s friends, To the potential

On the way towards 2019

Hello everyone! I hope you embraced the joy of being with your loved ones for the holidays and that you survived the commercial fury of this period of the year. There’s no need to remind you that 2018 has come to an end and was replaced by 2019. I may be a bit late, but

Biking to the Pyrenees

Hello everybody! I hope that you’re all doing okay. It’s been a busy period for me, since I’m handling a few things at the same time. Good thing I just stocked up on energy during the little biking trip I just came back from. I’m ready for what’s next! And it’s going to be awesome!

Back on the road!

Hello everybody! The article that I am about to publish feels like an important step for me. I know that I don’t do much more than speak about myself a lot on here 🙂 , but if I am sharing so much, it’s because I’m hoping that my experiences will resonate with some of you.

The Art of Gratitude

I can feel the grass under my bare feet. I can feel the smooth caress of its freshly watered leaves crackling under my skin. It wakes me up and makes me feel energized. It makes me feel alive! I have two feet I can stand on. During all of these years, there is one thing

A Sunday in Paris

This morning, I walked the streets of Paris. It’s Sunday, and everything is quiet. The complete opposite of my arrival yesterday when, pushed around from all sides, I found myself regretting my decision to come. I don’t like overcrowded places… but I like Paris. I have changed my mind again. The waiter from the café

As if I believed

Hi everybody, It’s nice to be back. Sorry for not giving so many news lately; I’ve been figuring things out. While I have not been doing a very good job at it (for a change…), I am always trying my best not to give up and stay true to myself in midst of all of

Buen Camino :)

Do you believe in magic? I do. I always have, I only got a bit lost looking for it. Fortunately, I found some yellow arrows to guide me towards it again… The stars aligned, and the road opened before me. By learning to listen to myself, feel myself, understand myself little by little, I learned

Hola, Camino!

I’m in a hostel in Toulouse. My pilgrimage starts in three days. In the bathroom of my dorm, I just observed myself for a long time in the mirror. My skin isn’t very healthy, I think it is marked by this winter’s stress. The corners of my eyes are used and reddened , and I

Time to reflect

Three years ago, my trip to Morocco had just come to an end. I spent three weeks there, three weeks that were about to shape my destiny. I had left on an impulse and landed there free from the weight of a daily life that was slowly starting to burn me from the inside, but

Letting go

This year is coming to an end and so should, slowly, the path I’ve been forced to follow, the path to letting go. I will burden my readers with the same topic, again, but this time most probably will be the last. Because many other things are going on in my life but grieving is

Home

Hello! It’s hard to find topics to talk about on here, since it’s a travel blog and I’m not currently wandering in another exotic country. That’s why I’ve decided to tell you about a side of travelling that’s not the most glamorous: going home to your country. Those of you who have travelled for some

Staying strong

Hello everybody! It’s been a while. Since the end of last year, I’ve been asked quite a few times where I was, what I was doing and why I hadn’t been posting any updates. I’m sorry for disconnecting so much, but sometimes you just need to switch the “off” button, you know what I mean?

Goodbye 2016!

Well, here we are. The first day of 2017. It’s a day like any other, there’s objectively nothing special about it; the sun has gone up and down, our planet is still turning at the same speed. But hey, if there’s anything I’ve understood this year, it’s that events and moments don’t have any other

Fresh start

Okay. I am facing a blank page on my computer, about to write the blog post that will get my website going once again, and wondering where to start. Last time I wrote something on here, I had just left Palestine, I had just arrived in Egypt and I was trying to figure out what

Heading south

After leaving Palestine, I have decided to go to Egypt, to travel there and clear my head for a while. I need to get a visa, which I could have done in Tel-Aviv, but after thinking a lot about it, I realize I’m not sure I would be able to handle it at this point;

Nablus: A home away from home

Time has come for me to leave my dear Nablus, to leave Palestine, my home for these last four months. It’s an opportunity for me to reflect on my experience. When I first arrived, I found it very difficult for a long time to write about it, because I received so much information all of

Travel teachings

Today is a symbolic day for me. It’s my first “travel anniversary”! On the 11th of June 2015, I left my home in Switzerland. And here I am, exactly one year and 23 countries later, reflecting on the journey I’ve accomplished since then. Most of all, I wanted to reflect on what I have learnt

Jamal

I know this is the first article I write since I came back to Palestine, and I am sorry that it is not going to be a very happy post. I do hope you won’t interpret this as Nablus being a very grim place, because it is not. I do plan on writing very soon

In between worlds

The past two days, I’ve been alone for the first time in weeks. I arrived in Madaba two days ago, after saying goodbye to my parents who came to visit me in Jordan. Before spending the past week with them, I did a roadtrip with my friends in the North of Israel and before that,

A trip into the Occupation

Ever since I arrived in the West Bank, I’ve been wanting to go to Hebron, sadly known for being the place where the occupation is the most visible and violent, because the settlements are in this case inside of the city (on the contrary to most of cities of the region, where the settlements are

Al-Quds

New week-end, new expedition. This time, some of us decide to go to Jerusalem, where we’re going to spend the night in an apartment found on Airbnb. I’m really excited to discover this city which I’ve heard so much about, that has such an old and chaotic history. So of course, I’m less excited to

Right for movement

This week end, there is a marathon in Bethlehem. As in every marathon, people have been training and are preparing themselves to run up to 42 kilometres. But this is not just any marathon. Far beyond the running, this is a call, a powerful message. This marathon is called ‘Right for movement’ and symbolises the

سلام و حب

Hello everybody! This post is going to be a bit different than usual. I realize that because of my situation and the things that I write, my words have a greater repercussion, whichever side my readers support in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I may easily say the wrong thing or hurt some feelings. What I always

Hello from the other side

Today, we are going to Nazareth, on the other side of the wall, with my friend Numan. It’s a big day, well, most of all for him; he has been trying to get a permit to go and spend a day there, just one, for two years. To get there, we have to take a

A day in Nablus

It’s a day like any other, probably Sunday or Tuesday, because I have a class in Balata camp this afternoon. I wake up in the morning with the alarm of my local phone, that is at least 10 years old. After having shared a cardamom coffee with my roommates, I go up the few steps

That night

Tonight, we are in a very festive mood. Sitting on our terrace, in the girls apartment, we are enjoying our week-end, carefree. It’s thursday, because for us, thursday and friday are our week-end days. We’re all chatting and laughing, having a great time. Then, Georgia receives a message. Apparently, there is a reunion at the

Welcome to Palestine

I’ve been in Nablus for almost two weeks now. It’s funny, I feel like it as only been a few days, I don’t really know where the time went. I’ve done a lot. I wanted to write earlier, but I found it difficult. To be honest, I still find it difficult ; I still haven’t had

First impressions

I’m on the plane that is going to Tel Aviv. I am stressed. I am about to spend three months in Palestine. Yes, yes, in Palestine. Some people think I’m crazy. Maybe they are right, I don’t know. In fact, I don’t really realize what’s waiting for me, I prefer not to think about it.

On the road again

Here’s another condensed summary in images of a great trip through Europe, starting in Lyon, then Paris, Belgrade, Plovdiv and Istanbul. Thank you all of my dear friends <3

Nihao

Good morning, everybody! First of all, my apologies for this extended absence. I’ve been back in Switzerland for the past few weeks and have been quite busy! I’m on the road again, and as I have a lot to catch up on, here is a condensed summary (in pictures) of the rest of my trip

England

Welcome to China

01.12 “That’s it, Korea is behind me now. I think I’ve come a long way, in almost two months. A little weakened when I arrived, physically and mentally, I left stronger and more confident. Ideas whose scope I had no idea have sprouted in me, and I see them going far. At least, I’ll do

Busan!

Everything is already better when I arrive at Haeundae, the famous beach of Busan, and watch a nice sunset from a platform, where I have a very nice view on one of the city’s bridges. It’s a wonderful moment, and I’m taking the opportunity to reconnect with myself: it’s not so bad to be alone

Goodbye Jeju, Hello Busan!

07.11.2015 “Today, I decide to let go. I refuse to continue to let my ego dictate how I should feel in the face of this or that situation. There are so many things I can do, so many things I can become. I will never let my demons stop me on this path again. There

South of Jeju

No need for many words in today’s article, I hope you enjoy the pictures! The first thing we discover in Seogwipo, after having found a cheap little motel to spend a few nights in, is its big market in the middle of the city. Markets are so lively! The main attractions here are the waterfalls.

Lava tubes, a maze, beaches and an island

These dark and a blurry images are taken from the inside of a fascinating lava tube, a few kilometers west from Seongsan. As its name indicates, this long cave was created millions of years ago by the lava of the then active volcano in the middle of the island. Over time, it cooled down, and

Jeju Island

We have now left the peaceful temple of Hwaeomsa, and are heading towards the famous Jeju Island, number one holiday destination for Koreans. Most people take the plane there, but we chose to take a boat. We thus stop first in Mokpo, where we spend a night while waiting for the next ferry, and which

Inside a Buddhist temple

18.10 It is not random that I copy my texts on my blog. I didn’t want to do something too ordinary, where I only expose what I do every day in a superficial way. I wanted to show that travelling happens also inside and that my thoughts and emotions are as important as my actions.

Korean halts

14.10 “I should sleep a bit more, at night. I should also eat less junk food and more fruit. I shouldn’t have had so much beer yesterday, while I’m on antibiotics. It’s already not easy to live in a healthy way in a routine; on travels, it’s so much worse. There are also things that

Leaving the capital

Seoul is a wonderful city, but Luke and I are both excited to see more of the country. After some time reading through his guide book of South Korea, we agree on a route down to the south, heading to Jeju island and stopping in a few cities on the way. We also decide to

Back in Asia

My parents left Budapest for Switzerland. The city seems suddenly very lonely without them, but fortunately, I’m only staying one more day before flying to Seoul, South Korea. Yes, you read me, South Korea. You’re maybe thinking: “What?! That’s not close to Budapest” Let me explain: in my initial plan, I was never supposed to

Budapest, second part

After this exhausting journey, I arrive once again in Budapest; the city is starting to feel familiar. I am very excited: I am going to see my parents again! I arrived early in the morning, and I only have a few hours left before I meet up with them. As my health has been worrying

One love

Has anyone been kind to you today? A few weeks ago, I had to take a night train from Belgrade to Budapest. Once I got to the station, after getting lost in the city and counting on the kindness of locals to guide me there, I was confirmed what two friendly guys from my hostel

Belgrade

Time has gone by, it is now time for me to leave this sweet country, not without a hint of sadness. Maxim drives me to the bus station. I hope to see him again one day. 26.09.2015 “New departure. It’s difficult for me to find the words to describe what I feel in those moments.

Meeting up in Bulgaria

Here I am, after a long night on the bus (a night on the bus can decidedly not be restful). I arrive in Sofia, in Bulgaria – nice name for a capital, don’t you think? My friend Maxim meets me at the station, before taking me explore the place for a while. It is a

Roadtrip to lake Balaton

Revfülop! That’s the name of the village in which we arrive, Matei and me, by the very big lake Balaton, after a road trip of several hours (a bit more than planned, that’s what happens when you trust your GPS too much). It’s a charming place, though a bit empty, due to the low season.

Slovakia

After a very, very long night trying to get some sleep on that truck (I won’t forget that one anytime soon), we finally leave that gas station at 4 am, as planned. Luckily, the driver is going in my direction, further than Bratislava. Okay, maybe not so luckily because a truck drives very slowly… I

Czech Republic

I wake up that day feeling really bad. I go down to the kitchen of the hostel to have a tea. I’m looking things up on my computer, I have to take a decision: where will I go next? I can’t decide between going down to Bulgaria to see my friend or work in a

Budapest, first part

“It’s all about the people you meet, isn’t it? Goodbye Mongolia.” 29.08 “I don’t even know where to start. A lot of intense and contradictory emotions went through me the last few days. I am exhausted, I am emotionally empty. I have lost a friend. Romantic love can hurt but we expect it to do

Exploring the Gobi Desert

Hello! I am back after a few weeks of absence, sorry! Many things have happened since I left Mongolia, at the beginning of the month. I’ll tell you all about it soon. But first, I wanted to talk to you about my last days there. So, I go back to Ulaan-Bataar a few days later,

Happy Birthday!

17.08.2015 “It’s my birthday in a few hours. I know, it doesn’t much in the end, but for me, it matters. It makes me emotional. I have to say also that the last hours have been full of twists and now, by a combination of circumstances, I have to leave for Budapest in ten days

Horse trek in Mongolia

In the MS guesthouse of Khatgal, I have the incredible luck to meet two really great French couples. One of them lives in Sweden, the other has been travelling the world for 10 months. For the next few days, they have planned to separate because the women want to go horse riding, and the men

Let’s go North

The Mongolian adventure continues! Returning from Terelj, we are left at the black market. They sell yurts there, it’s interesting to see their structure. With my chinese visa in the pocket, I am waiting for one thing only, to leave this city again. I thus decide to take a bus to Mörön, from where I

Welcome to Mongolia

Finally, finally!!! I am in Mongolia… the bus journey that takes us there from Russia is already exceptional. My eyes glued to the window, I finally discover for myself those huge green plains of which I’ve heard so much about, all those horses everywhere, those yurts… I am only in the bus, and it is

Ulan-Ude

I am now in Ulan-Ude, the very last of my Russian stops. I meet up with Atle, a Finnish guy I met in Irkutsk and who was nice enough to warn me that bus tickets for Mongolia were running out very fast. He even booked one for me (fortunately, because I left the day my

Baikal

My Life as a Duck – Charlie Winston In the train, after my morning coffee, I have fun exploring other cars of the train despite my faulty knee. I go through 5 or 6 platzkarts (third class) before arriving in koupe (second class). There’s a boring vibe here. I prefer mine. I nonetheless go through

Krasnoïarsk

24.07 “Sometimes, I wonder what I am doing here. The darkness catches up with me, I look for meaning, I feel a bit distraught. But I put things into perspective: I have felt that way for months before leaving, it is normal that it comes out from time to time. It’s part of the process.

Siberian life lessons

20.07 “Those many hours spent in the train are favourable for introspection, it is thus naturally that I take my notebook out rather often. Today, I still have in mind the marking events of the day before. I left both of my accomplices of the hostel where I stayed in Kazan, a young woman from

Kazan

Bob Dylan – Blowin’ in the wind I thus embark for Kazan, capital of Tatarstan known for being a major meeting place between the Muslim and Christian religions. The ride is rather long (as usual), but time always goes by faster when we make beautiful encounters. Those two sisters from Moscow know for one a

Beginning of the Trans-Siberian journey

Finally! I can breathe once again. I arrive in Suzdal, much smaller than Moscow and St-Petersbourg and where there aren’t tourists on every street corner (though there are some). It is much more surrounded by nature which I enjoy, I feel like I can be with myself again. First picture. I really like Suzdal, one

Moscow

Hello! It is time for me to talk to you a bit about Russia’s famous capital: Moscow. I had the chance to stay there with my friend Hadrien’s great-aunt Maricha, who is an extremely kind and generous woman. She grew up in France before she moved to Russia, many years ago, and she has travelled

First steps in Russia

06.07.2015 ‘It’s 05:16. About forty minutes already that I have made my first steps on the immense Russian territory. Crossing the border took a lot of time, as I was warned. I abandoned the idea of going back to sleep; the bus isn’t very comfortable, the sun has come up a long time ago already

Wandering the Baltics

Hello ! Excuse me for the delay, it’s not so easy to find a computer and a good connection in the country of vodka ! Before I tell you everything about my Russian journey, I wanted to come back on the two other Baltic countries I have visited : Latvia & Estonia. I didn’t have much time before

Lithuanian Countryside

Hello! I just arrived in Riga after hitch-hiking from Lithuania. So far I love this city!! But I wanted to talk to you about the wonderful stay I’ve just had in an ‘Ecofarm’ and camper’s place in Pajiesmeniai, in the north of Lithuania, very close to the Latvian border, where I’ve had my first ‘HelpX’

Kaunas

Hello! Here are a few pictures of my short stay in Kaunas 🙂 That’s my buddy Matei, whom I met in the hostel where I was staying. We sympathized after deciding to go to a concert together. We were at first both supposed to stay only one night, but I wanted to stay

First weeks

Labas! I have now been in Lithuania for a few days. I keep a small travel notebook, here’s a first extract: ‘I choose to inaugurate this notebook marked by the friendship I feel towards the person who gave it to me, on a beautiful summer afternoon, in a lovely park of Vilnius. It’s been almost

Family reunion in London

Hello everyone! I’ve just spent four fantastic days in London. I was visiting my brother, who lives with his girlfriend Sophie (:P) and their three roommates in Chilton Street, in East London near Brick Lane. All of them are so great and super welcoming, I felt at home immediately. I finally got to see a

D-day

This time, I’m really doing it. It’s not a joke. In a few hours, I will board the plane. Then, there will be no going back. But before I leave, before facing the wave that’s waiting for me, I give a last glance behind me. A few hours ago, before I fell a sleep for

I’m leaving.

I’m leaving. I’m finally leaving. I’ve been waiting for this for so long. And suddenly, it’s real. I am so full of so many emotions right now. The excitement, the fear, the sadness, the joy; all of this is making me feel so alive. I can’t wait to take that big step, to throw myself

It’s real !

That’s it, my tickets are booked. This time, I can’t turn back anymore. I am on my way to a new journey! The fateful date is getting close: the 11 of June. I will start with a small excursion of a few days to see my brother in London, before flying to Vilnius, Lithuania. That

Hi there!

My name is Sophie, and I’m a writer and documentary filmmaker.

I’ve been travelling around the globe in search for meaning ever since I graduated from high school. Over the years, I have documented my explorations of the wonderful places I got to see while navigating the challenges of becoming an adult.

On this website, you will find the many testimonies of my experiences on the road, and all the things they have taught me about myself and the world.

You can also see a selection of my best pictures, and find out more about my journey as well as my other projects.

Thanks for passing by!

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