Ana

WHY I TRAVEL

Hi, Ana here. I was born in a small town in the south of Portugal. I was a busy kid who loved to play outside (to be fair, I didn’t really have a TV so my house was boring). My town was my playground and a real palace, my swing set.

I would wrap a slice of bread with butter and cheese in a paper towel and shove it in a bag, a packed lunch for my day of exploring. I would take off in the morning and through the sweltering mid-afternoon sun, I played my hardest. Everyone in town knew me and invited me in for shade and food but not me, I had to adventure. I eventually made my way home hours later, still carrying the bag with that open-faced cheese sandwich. Those were the glory days.

I was almost eight years old when my parents told me we were getting on a plane to go live far away. In my class, I became a celebrity because none of my friends had ever been on a plane. In fact, no one called me out when I promised my little boyfriend that I’d bring him back a piece of cloud. No one called me out when I talked about opening the window to let my face feel the cool air. *palm to face*

Anyway, when we landed in Toronto, Canada it was magical. Literally, nothing was the same as I’d known it. 

A limo picked us up at the airport. I had only ever seen small European cars.

We weaved in and out of traffic along highway 401 that spans longer than all of Portugal.

I caught a glimpse of downtown with towers so high, I woke new neck muscles to look up at them.

But the best of all, Toronto is home to so many nationalities. I had only ever seen two people with brown skin in my entire life so everyone else was new to me. 

It was over then, I was bitten. Since then, I’ve wanted to see the world. All of it. I’ll go anywhere.

I have since found a life partner that is into it as much as I am. Having kids was also a priority but we decided not to let that stop us. And here we are, the TraveLaings - a family of 4 Adventure Buddies!