Q: Sabela, you have a blog named “travelling, pictures and sensations” (viajandoimágenesysensaciones.com). That’s what you look for when you travel?
Yes, I try to summarize the pictures that I capture during my travels. Not only photographs, of course. I’m talking about my personal impressions and the feelings that I experience.
Q: And what concrete sensations do you seek during your travels?
It’s difficult to say, because every trip brings you different sensations. But for me travelling is a way to knowledge that also relaxes me a lot. Knowing people, new cultures… Travelling is a constant learning process. It’s not about visiting monuments, I learn a lot about life.
Q: About the pictures, is there some place that has left an special mark on your memories?
It’s very subjective, but a place that really moved me was Myanmar. Not only because of the impressive things you can see, it was about how I felt. It’s a very magic place.
Q: Looking at your travelling trajectory, it seems that you have a special preference for Asia…
I guess it’s because of the contrast. I also love Africa, but it’s a little more difficult to reach, it requires more planning work because of the transportation. But I’m certainly attracted by the cultural contrasts that I find at Asia.
Q: Now you are preparing a trip to Ghana on your own. What do you expect from this trip?
The truth is that I expect peace… I really want a peaceful and relaxed experience. I usually try to see a lot of things, but in Ghana there are not so many places to see, it’s all very close. I want to be at the beach, chat with the fisherman… I really look forward to the personal contact on this expedition. Of course, I’m also going to a natural park, I’m going to see elephants, giraffes… But my priority is to have a relaxed trip.
Q: With all your experience I assume that travelling alone is not a disadvantage…
I’ve always loved to travel alone, since I was 20 years old. When I don’t travel alone it’s because somebody has asked to come with me, but I always plan my travels on my own. When you travel alone you know more people. You travel with your own timetable, you talk more with the waiters, with the receptionists, with the people on the bus… I have a lot more contact with the local people. In addition, you have a complete freedom to decide what to do every second, you don’t have to reach an agreement with anybody. If I want to stay 3 days at some place, I stay. If I want to leave, I leave. It’s the supreme freedom.
Q: Do you have any project beyond Ghana?
At the end of July I’m going to Indonesia, I will stay forty days on my own. It’s another calm travel, I have the days more or less distributed but… There will not be any pressure, I will make decisions along the way.
Q: It seems that you don’t really get tired of travelling…
Of course, travelling it’s like a drug. The more you travel, the more conscious you are about how much you have to see. You can visit a country, but there are so many places in that country… You meet a new traveller and he says: “I was in Sri Lanka and it was great”. Suddenly you have to go to Sri Lanka! In December I plan to go to Madagascar, I really want to go there because of its impressive nature. My first big voyage was to Botswana and it was wonderful, I was really touched. To see the free animals, to be there… It’s something that I live very intensely, much more than visiting the Eiffel tower or something like that.
Q: Madagascar certainly sounds like an interesting destination, but also a challenging one!
When I was in Botswana I realized how much Africa has to offer. I can get to know Europe in my sixties or seventies! Because maybe it will be too late to visit this kind of unusual places, at least in the backpacker style that I enjoy. On this kind of travels, you have to be decided. If you enjoy nature, get your ticket and go for it!
The photos in this article are from the private collection of Sabela Montero, if you want to see more you can visit her blog www.viajandoimagenesysensaciones.com.
