Awakening the passion for trave

by Gabriela da Silva de Andrade (Brazil)

A leap into the unknown Brazil

Gabriela, a young university student who at 22 had never traveled by plane, not for lack of desire, but for lack of money and, consequently, for believing that she would never travel. The young woman lives about 15 minutes from the International Airport of the city of Recife, because her house is on the aircraft landing route, she and the whole family spend the whole day listening to the sound of the great flying machines. Little did she know that her first time on a plane was about to arrive, because in early 2019, Gabi's best friend, Dhiego (who had never traveled by plane before), gave the brilliant idea that they were going to Rock in Rio that year. . . . For the first time in her life, the anxious girl who always thinks about the consequences and is afraid of jumping into the unknown took a big step without thinking straight: she bought the festival's much-disputed ticket in the pre-sale. Undoubtedly, this was the initiative that Gabriela needed to finally travel by plane, know the city of Rio de Janeiro and will enjoy for visit your relatives who live there. The months that followed were devoted to: Saving as much money as possible, finding tickets at a good price and organizing a tour of the sights to be visited. All of this left the two friends very excited and anxious, and they thought: "We should enjoy and spend a week in the" wonderful city ". Certainly the seven days in Rio were the best days of their lives, those days yielded in addition to beautiful photos (which allowed them to believe that everything they experienced there really happened), wonderful memories and a desire for more. When the trip was coming to an end, they understood the passion that some people have for traveling. They didn't know how addictive it is to remember several times about the places they explored, the moments they lived in, the different people they met, everything they loved but had to leave behind. For the new travelers, the most memorable moments of the trip were: the plane's climb, which awoke the sensation of riding a roller coaster, the sound of the aircraft unloading that seemed more like a portal to another reality opening (or that the floor the plane would fall). Walked through the streets of the 'Urca' neighborhood and see the huge houses, applauded the beautiful sunset on Urca beach, try Starbucks 'Mocha' for the first time. Take an underground subway, bought a huge amount of gigantic cheese bread at the frantic Central do Brasil train station. Receive complimentary desserts at the restaurant, because the accent showed that they are from another state, the beautiful view of Christ the Redeemer, heard different languages at the same time at the Sugarloaf Mountain. Spent almost six hours standing at Rock in Rio to watch favorite bands' shows and then not feeling their feet, guiding themselves on Google Maps and getting lost for a few minutes, but then they learn a little more about Ipanema neighborhood. Almost had their return flight canceled due to heavy rains, having the flight delayed an hour because of this rain, having to make a stop in the city of Minas Gerais and having the boarding gate changed three times. After returning to their hometown, sometimes young people are lost in a deep moment of nostalgia, with their minds away, remembering everything that was experienced in the first trip of their lives. “Because, in the end, you won't remember the time you spent in the office or mowing the lawn. Climb that damn mountain, ”as American writer Jack Kerouac said. Dhiego and Gabriela, friends born in Recife, realized that the best way to make life worthwhile, build good memories, live beautiful moments is to visit new places, allowing yourself to travel. In fact, all they want most is to be able to return to Rio, take new routes and plan new adventures.