🎒 The Beginning of Everything

This is my travel story — how one chaotic backpacking trip turned into a life of exploration. Today I live in Iceland and help travelers discover both Mexico and Iceland in a deeper, more local way.

That trip was chaotic, hilarious, awkward, and absolutely life-changing. I didn’t have a fixed itinerary, or a return ticket. But I had curiosity, a backpack, and a dream.

Since then, I’ve never looked back. Traveling became my lifestyle, and helping others do the same became my passion, which led me here: to Iceland, where I now live, creating personalized trips that help people explore Mexico and Iceland in a meaningful, local way.

This is just the beginning. Want to travel deeper, not just farther? Come with me!

🌍 From Chihuahua to Couchsurfing – How My Travel Life Began

In 2017, I left my hometown of Chihuahua, Mexico, where I’d spent 24 years living with my parents. I had just graduated as an ecological engineer and was working as an engineer in American Industries, it was a good job, but I wasn’t completely happy. Something inside me craved more: more adventure, more freedom, more life.

After some time I decided to packed up and moved to Cancún with my best friend. We both found jobs in tourism, I was taking pictures for tourists while snorkeling , swimming all day, that was so amazing! Those first few weeks living together were pure magic. But after a month, she returned home. Suddenly, I was alone, figuring out life in a new city with no backup plan. It was scary, and exciting.

Eventually, I landed a better job in my field as an engineer in SEMARNAT, it was a great opportunity, I was so lucky and made new and good friends. Around that time, I discovered Couchsurfing, a travel app that would completely change my life. I started meeting travellers from around the world, hosting them, learning from them, and dreaming of seeing the world myself.

Inspired by their stories, I started saving. I gave up weekend getaways, moved in with roommates, and practiced English with my new international friends. I planned obsessively, joined travel groups, and made lists of countries I wanted to visit.

By mid-2018, I was ready. I told my family I was quitting my job to travel. I expected panic from them, but they supported me 100%.❤️ So I returned home for one last month with my loved ones… and then I was off.

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✈️ One-Way Ticket to the Unknown

My first stop? Belgium, where I stayed with the parents of the first traveler I had hosted back in Mexico. I felt like family from the moment I arrived in their tiny town of Durbuy. After that, things got… let’s say, interesting.

In Brussels, I got lost (twice), had no phone battery, and ended up getting dropped off at my host’s place by a police car (true story). I wandered through Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp, I was fascinated by the cobbled streets and Gothic charm.

Then came the Netherlands. I missed my bus to Amsterdam (because apparently buses leave on time in Europe), my rental bike was too big and broke down, and the magic muffin did worked, and I ended up riding out the high for 6 hours at the train station. Oops.

After that? Haarlem and relax close to the sea. Then a 20-hour bus ride to Warsaw, Poland, where almost no one spoke English and menus looked like encrypted codes. I ate at “milk bars” which are local Poland restaurants, I used the help of Google Translate and took chances on food I couldn’t pronounce. Some meals were hits. Others? Not so much.

✨ Mountains, Crutches & Motorbikes: My Travel Life

After Poland, I headed to Zakopane, a dreamy little mountain town on the Slovakian border. I hiked six hours through the Tatra Mountains for jaw-dropping views (and sore legs), then celebrated with soup and some Poland drinks, locals were amazed to meet someone from Mexico and even asked for a photo with me!

After two days, I rode off to Krakow, full of underground bars and haunting WWII history. Then it was off to Slovakia, where after the hiking on the Tatra Mountains an injury left me limping into Pezinok. A kind local couple took me in, nursed me back to health, and then fate struck: Bon Jovi was performing in Vienna, just 90 minutes away.

So yes, I bought a ticket.
Yes, I went on crutches.
Yes, I had to book a hostel after midnight and nearly slept on the street.
Totally worth it.

Once healed, I explored Banská Štiavnica, hosted by two lovely Mexican sisters. Then it was on to Budapest, where my host picked me up by motorbike, and we zoomed through the glowing city at night. I met new travel buddies from Panama, India, and the U.S., bonded over milkshakes at a quirky “milk bar,” and hiked up Citadella to watch the city sparkle below us.

Next stop: Prague, where I reunited with a German friend I’d met in Mexico. We wandered castles, neighborhoods, and the charming Loreta District before I jumped on a bus to Nuremberg, Germany. It was eerie and powerful full of deep WWII history, the kind that stays with you.

🚴‍♀️ I was lost in France (on a Bike, of Course)

France welcomed me with storybook charm. I stayed in Colmar, in the Alsace wine region, and biked through fairytale villages like Riquewihr and Ribeauvillé. Google Maps, however, decided I needed a thrill, and sent me onto the highway.

Yup. A woman on a bike, speeding traffic, nowhere to turn. The police stopped me (someone had to stop me 😅). I explained my situation and got lucky, they gave me a ride instead of a fine. Merci!

But the drama didn’t end there. My bike chain snapped. A sweet family helped fix it… until it broke again. I had to message my host with 5% phone battery, push my bike through a forest at dusk, and full-on run through the woods to reach the pickup point before dark.

When I finally made it to Kaysersberg, met my host, and had dinner back in Colmar, I slept like a log. The next morning, I wrapped up my French adventure in Strasbourg, I was tired, grateful, and totally in love with the life adventure I was building.

💫 From Missed Buses to Northern Lights – My Epic Ride Through Europe

Berlin welcomed me the same way many cities had: with a missed bus. Long story short delays, confusion, and bad luck struck again. But I made it! Fun fact: Berlin doesn’t love credit cards. But it does love spicy kebabs Mustafa’s blew my taste buds away!

I met up with a friend from Budapest and ended up salsa dancing with an Asian teacher. I thought, “A Mexican girl learning salsa from an Asian guy in Germany? YouTube, save me!” Spoiler: It worked.

From Berlin, I zigzagged north to Bremen, then hopped to Odense, Denmark. There, I was amazed by the honesty system fruit stands with no one watching, just a box to leave your money. Trust like that warms your heart.

In Assens, I met Ana and her family strangers turned instant friends from a Facebook backpacker group. I stayed with them and then in Hvidbjerg. Beautiful people. Then: Copenhagen. Christiana blew my mind, no police, no rules, just vibes. From there, I had to exit the Schengen zone after 90 days, so… hello UK!

I flew to London for a quick stop and then went to Inverness, Scotland, where I did my first HelpX volunteer gig. I met some amazing people, went swimming in Loch Ness (freezing!), and realized… I wasn’t loving the volunteer experience. So I left with the friends I made in that place, we all hitchhiked to the Isle of Skye, and we all volunteered in a place surrounded by mountains, mist, and sheep. Heaven.

After two weeks, I hitchhiked solo for the first time to Edinburgh (with help from two Russian girls and a stop at the Harry Potter bridge!). I fell in love with Edinburgh and stayed longer than planned. More hiking, volunteering in Cairngorms National Park, Halloween madness, and then… Ireland!

I celebrated my birthday at Temple Bar in Dublin with two strangers who didn’t even know it was my birthday. Then I volunteered at a horse farm in Templemore, met fellow travelers in Dingle, and even stayed in a camper powered by a sustainable garden. In Galway, more friends, more hitchhiking.

Of course, I missed another flight because I put on too many clothes to save space in my bag. Classic me. That led to a night at the airport and a long ferry-bus trek back to Glasgow. I locked myself in an Airbnb for 3 days, watched movies, and finally sleep and sleep.

Back in Edinburgh for the Christmas markets and meet my friends, that I made on my first visit to Edinburgh, I danced my heart out at my favorite bar Stramash! Then it was off to Germany again: Munich, Augsburg, Garmisch (think: fairytale snowy mountains), and Kaufbeuren to visit an old travel buddy.

Christmas and New Year were magical in Munich. I finally saw snow in Europe and visited the Neuschwanstein Castle, yes, the Disney one! After more mountain towns and reunions, I hitchhiked my way up through Germany to Denmark and Sweden, slowly making my way to Norway.

In Lillehammer, I found my dream volunteer gig: dog-sledding with huskies at a ski resort. Every day, I walked the dogs, skied, hit the sauna, heaven! I stayed two months. After that, I went camping in the snow (terrifying and amazing), tried ice fishing, snowboarding, and even more sledding in Beitostølen.

I made it to Narvik and met Cecilia from Hong Kong. We played board games with our host crew and chased the Northern Lights every night until finally, in Tromsø, we saw them. Glowing skies that stole my breath.

We road-tripped to Alta with Cecilia’s new German friends. There, I saw the brightest auroras of my life and visited the Ice Hotel, where everything is carved from ice, even the chapel. I even got a surprise job translating for a horseback tour. I made a new friend, Lorena from Argentina, and we bonded so hard we stayed in touch for a year.

My final stop was Oslo, where I caught my breath and visited the stunning Viking stave church before heading off to Iceland…

🌋 Iceland, Uncertainty & A World on Pause

My final destination before the world shut down was Iceland. I had plans to volunteer in the Faroe Islands, but the COVID-19 had other ideas. Borders closed, ferries were canceled, and uncertainty hung heavy in the air. I faced the challenge of navigating a world in lockdown. I was stranded but reflective, I realized how far I had come, not just in miles, but in mindset.

The second part of this life adventure starts here in Iceland, where I live now.. (to be continued) !

✨ What This Journey Taught Me

I left home to see the world. From Couchsurfing in Cancun to hitchhiking across Scandinavia, this journey taught me that the world is full of kindness, resilience, and magic, if you’re brave enough to seek it.

Every wrong turn, missed bus, and weird meal was worth it. Because somewhere in those messy, beautiful moments, became a story. And every story brought me closer to the fearless, curious, endlessly growing person I didn’t know I was becoming.

I chased freedom and found connection. I searched for adventure and found myself..