Friday, January 3, 2014

Interview (14) - let me introduce you to Guiselaine

Name: Guiselaine Capella 
Nationality: Dutch 
Occupation: Travelling data analysis entrepreneur 
You can learn more about me here: www.guiselaine.nl or www.databeet.nl/en/ 

Me and my laptop will be my base for a while. I am intended to go wander the world fulltime as of half November, because traveling for just a few weeks a year wasn’t enough for me anymore. I am an introvert who likes to explore the world thru books, traveling and daring myself into doing things on my bucket list. 
I was borne on Curaçao, a small Island in the Caribbean. The weather and architecture on Curaçao are very beautiful. At 19 I went off to the Netherlands to study. It was my base till recently. But now I am intended to become a world citizen, not bound by country boundaries. I am a digital nomad who will work from everywhere in the world on her laptop to sustain my travel life. 

What was your inspiration or the event/idea that made you want to travel? 
I just grew up dreaming about seeing the world and wanting to travel as much as possible. I always started planning my next trip on the way back from a trip. 

What was your first travel experience? 
My first travel experience was when I was a baby, but I can’t remember that just have the pictures to prove how small I was on my first trip. I love the feeling of sitting in the plane and watching the world pass by below you and dreaming of visiting those places one day while you’re on your way to another destination. 

Have you ever felt lonely travelling solo? 
I never felt lonely on a solo trip, because when you travel alone people tend to talk to you more often. But I have felt lonely on a group trip. I think loneliness depends on yourself and the company you are in. 

Do you have any fun stories of things that happened to you that you realized even at the time, “This never would have happened if I had been traveling with someone else?”
I think the funniest thing that happened to me was being proposed to in the jungle of Ecuador by one of the jungle guides. I was staying there for a few days and decided to participate in a workshop making wooden rings. But I sucked at it even though I was the only one there who understood what they were explaining in Spanish. So at some point I just gave up making a ring and went to bed. The next day I was getting to the bus to leave when one of the guides approached me and started talking to me and then gave me the ring and said he wanted to marry me. I think he never saw a more clumsy women or was happy that there was someone who could speak Spanish. I still have the wooden ring.

What was your best travel experience? 
Sorry have to go with Ecuador again. I fell in love with the mountains over there. So I went on a half day horseback riding trip through the mountains without prior horse experience. The first half hour I was for sure I was gone fall off the horse, but as the scenery grew more and more intense. I relaxed and was in heaven on the horse going thru the mountains with the spectacular views of valleys and small cities. 

Is there anything you would have done differently/ any regrets, if you could do it over again? The only thing I regret is not traveling more. I guess I am gone make up for that now. 

What was your worst travel experience? 
My worst travel experience is definitely becoming psychotic on a trip with the trans Siberia Express and through Mongolia. Being hospitalized there is an experience I am never gone forget in my entire life and hope to never experience again. 

What’s the strangest situation you have found yourself in? 
Two stories qualify for this question the double date in Petra, Jordan and not being able to open my suitcase lock anymore in Barcelona. I will narrate the last one. I was on a city trip with a friend and on the last day we decided to put all documents in one suitcase and go explore the city one last time as we were flying late at night. But to our horror, when we came back we couldn’t open the suitcase anymore. So we decided to go with the suitcase to the airport and ask there if they would open it for us. But nobody wanted to do that. So we went to the police office at the airport. I remember the police looking at us not believing our story and after that they were making jokes about shooting the suitcase etc. At that moment nothing was funny to me. After a while they decided to open it for us and let us get everything we needed on the flight out and close it. Back at home after the flight it took me hours picking locks and ultimately just smashing the suitcase to open it.

Where will you never return to? 
I haven’t been to a place jet I would go at all anymore, but Camaguay in Cuba would be on my not soon to visit again list. I loved Cuba but that city I didn’t like the atmosphere at all. It didn’t feel like the rest of Cuba to me. 

What advice would you give women traveling solo to your home country? 
I don’t know if there are country specific advice, but what you definitely should do is trust your instinct when you travel and be careful when your instincts tell you to be. 

What are your future travel plans? 
I am gone be traveling full time with no and data as a digital nomad. Working everywhere and nowhere. Experiencing the world. I am starting in Australia and slowly make my way to Asia. And after Asia I hope to travel further around the world to the next continent. 

What are your top three tips for women traveling solo? 
Be aware of local way of doing things. 
If you don’t feel comfortable somewhere or with someone just leave the scenery. 
If you want to chat with locals go sit on a square and you will end up having the most beautiful chat of your lifetime about conversation even though you sometimes don’t speak the same language. 

What would you tell women who are looking to travel alone but worry about their safety? 
Be caution, but just relax and enjoy yourself. As long as you follow your instinct you will be ok. 

Couchsurfing..what do you think about that? 
I am starting to experience it now. Don’t think it fits my character well, because I like to have lots of alone time. 

How do you pay for a life of travel? 
I used to work a lot and save to travel. But now I am just gone travel and earn money on my way or swap my way through the world. 

Tell us about the best food you have ever eaten on your travels? 
I am a fresh fruit juice addict so in every country I want to taste all kinds of different fresh juices. I loved the way they make lemon juice in Jordan with a little bit of mint. 

What is the most breathtaking view you have ever witnessed on your travels 
I think the sunrise in Jordan dessert on the back of a camel definitely qualifies as one of the best. Although sunset at the beach is also one of my favorites. 

What item will you always carry in your backpack? 
My camera, something to write my thoughts on and my passport. I am totally obsessed about where my passport is all the time. 

Who was the kindest or most generous person you met on your travels, and what did they do? 
I think I have to go with Marc in Cuba for putting up with me climbing El Yunque. And afterwards for lending me his flip-flops, because mine broke and walking himself bare feed.

What have you learned from travelling? 
Traveling open possibilities for me. I get inspiration from traveling and seeing and meeting on the road. That’s how I get inspired and refreshed to work and built my life. 

Who inspires you? What other travellers do you look up to? 
I get inspired by photos I love to see pictures of far away places and hear stories about what people experienced on the travel. That’s the reason I think I am addicted to travel blogs.

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