🤲 If you travel and don't do this, you're wasting golden opportunities
You can plant the seed for future trips even while traveling!
Welcome to Itchy Feet! Whether you’re new or been reading since day one, it’s great having you here. This newsletter combines my 16 years of travel experience with 38 years of being curious about the world. I hope you enjoy! Feel free to subscribe to join me each week ;).
Boy, has traveling certainly evolved.
When I started in 2009, Facebook was still a toddler. Instagram didn’t exist yet. The only smartphone was a Blackberry.
Compared to now, it was like the age of the dinosaurs.
You often needed an internet cafe to tell your parents you were still alive.
If you met an interesting person in a hostel, the odds were good you’d never see them again.
Back then, I remember exchanging emails with other travelers on pieces of paper.
At times, someone's handwriting was so bad I couldn't make out the letters, and a potential friendship was lost for forever.
In 2025, it’s now very easy to keep in touch. Almost everyone either uses Instagram or WhatsApp.
Despite how convenient it is, I've noticed few people actually do it.
For me, it's a travel tragedy when you lose touch with interesting people despite having all the tools to keep friendships alive.
Of course, communication isn't a one-way flight.
However, one of the best travel decisions I ever made was to try.
Rather than meet a cool human and let the friendship slowly fade, I made a conscious decision to keep in touch. It hasn't been a perfect practice, but overall, the decision has paid off.
For instance, I made new friends John and Nick in Quito, Ecuador back in 2012.
We kept in touch and have met up again in different parts of the world since then.
A little bit of effort turned one experience into many. I feel blessed we have a 13-year friendship and multiple trips under our belt.
With communication and travel more accessible than ever, why not make an effort to keep in touch?
In 2025, you actually could see people again.
Maybe they'll visit you, you'll visit them, or you'll choose an interesting place in the middle. It's very possible.
The biggest barriers aren't flights or technology.
They're desire and effort.
In my experience, it's a worthwhile investment.
You're planting the seed for future adventures and reunions in new places!
What about you? Do you have a good friend you met traveling? How’d you meet? Leave a comment!
🚀 Travel Quote of the Week
“There are no strangers in this world, only friends I haven’t met yet.”
– William Butler Yeats
🌍 Fun World Fact
Three weeks ago, a part of Brazil experienced something out of a horror movie. One day, it began raining spiders! In Sao Thome de Letras, among other rural areas, this isn’t new. From December to March this phenomenon is normal. Younger spiders release silk into the sky to let the wind carry them. This is called “ballooning” and isn’t a threat to humans. It makes for an amazing sight, though.
💡 Thank you to my wife Yesi for find this one!
🎏 Culture Corner
We're officially in Carnival season all around the world! Next week, the most famous Carnival starts in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The samba music becomes contagious as lively parades of dancing engulf the city.
But what is Carnaval? According to the Smithsonian, Carnival marks the end of pre-Lent season in the Christian faith. Carnival-like celebrations go even deeper into human history. The Sumerians, Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians all had feasts before times of restraint.
In the Catholic faith, people either fast or abstain some certain foods for 40 days during Lent. Like many festivities with a grand sense of finality, you can expect a big party.
Over 50 countries celebrate Carnival. Each blends their own history and culture into the celebration.
Besides Rio, here are a few examples:
🎉 Venice, Italy: Their Carnavale lasts for six weeks. Elaborate masks and costumes called bautas are widely popular. French masks called morettas are also common. Historically, wearing masks in Carnavale allowed people from all social statuses to celebrate together.
🎉 Tenerife, Spain: This is the second-most popular Carnival on earth. For 15 days, Santa Cruz de Tenerife transforms into a sea of rainbow colors. There’s a Carnival queen, a competition between music groups, and the ceremonies finish with a massive parade (el Coso) and the “Piñata Chica.”
🎉 Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago: This small Caribbean Island has one of the world’s most famous Carnivals. Nicknamed the “Greatest Show on Earth,” visitors flock to the Port of Spain for pulsating soca and calypso music street fetes. The festivities start with J’ouvert morning which means daybreak. There’s the Panorama steel-pan championship, “Dimanche Gras” (Kings and Queens competition), elaborate costumes, and lots of dancing.
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Thanks so much for reading. I hope you got some extra travel inspiration with this post. Another travel snack is cooking for next week. 🧑🏻🍳
See you again soon!
Much love,
-Daniel
Instagram / Bluesky / Travel Coaching
P.S. If you see any mistakes in this post, please let me know! I try my best to be as accurate as possible with the information I share.
Enjoy older Itchy Feet posts:
• 🌠 Bored with daytime activities? Try noctourism instead!
• 🧋 What an Ecuadorian milkshake taught me about solo travel
• 🧳 5 easy travel packing tips (to vastly improve your next trip)
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How fun! Love all the Carnivale stuff! And the photos, and the samba, and Rio!! It's coming up fast now! We were in Rio during Carnivale some years ago but didn't have tix. But it was still a blast!!!! Good one, Daniel. And yes, we actually met people we still stay in touch w/ during that trip. Not so much now, but still FB friends. It's cool to have a trip in common w/ someone.
The connections we make while traveling have a transcendence to them that does not exist at the 9-5. The memories we share with those on such a journey echo throughout time and have given me some of my most cherished reflections. Thanks for sharing!