CIt’s those who want to disconnect from everyday life, those who try to start over, those who also make it a work choice. In common, female travelers have a great desire for freedom. As they tell us here
«The diversity you encounter in the world helps you understand yourself»
Valentina Miozzo40 years old, Modena
Environmental hiking guide and travel blogger, Valentina Miozzo has seen many places, from her first study abroad experiences to Ecuador and the Arctic tundra. At the base, a constant: travel alone following her inspiration and learn about local cultures. «I often stay with indigenous populations, like when I spent three months in an Andean village; I slept in their huts and spoke with gestures. I remember the amazement of the inhabitants in front of a world map, they were shocked by the fact that there was so much water: for them the world was limited to Ecuador and the United States because before me they had only met one American.”
Travel as learning, therefore, but not only to enrich one’s cultural background. «Coming into contact with diversity means connecting with yourself, that’s what counts, as well as of course seeing with my own eyes what happens: deforestation in Borneo, for example, where orangutans are burned to death to make room for palm cultivation from oil, the indigenous populations who no longer have anywhere to live, the poverty of India, where a child is sold for 30 euros. They are experiences that reduce things that we consider problems, and make us notice others that we didn’t notice before. I have learned to put aside judgement, to observe and to question myself.”
«I got there gradually after the divorce»
Giacinta Tulli65 years old, Milan
From Maremma transplanted to Lombardy, Giacinta Tulli discovered the beauty of starting out alone after a divorce, and has never stopped. «It was 2006, I started taking weekend trips to try my hand at hotels or traveling by car» she explains. Only later, however, did she decide to take the plunge, becoming a faithful follower of iO Donna’s travels. “The arrival of the pandemic stopped me, but then it made me explode with more impetus.” A decision that came little by little.
«It was a choice of maturity. When I was young it was unthinkable for a woman to travel without a man, or for her to show up alone in a hotel, so much so that after the divorce I thought the world had ended. Finally I tried, with more and more confidence. For the new generations it is natural, but I had to conquer it.” From this new awareness there is no turning back. «Once you get used to traveling alone it becomes more difficult to share, even emotions: you experience them for yourself, the image that remains is yours and becomes very personal».
Women travelling: «Leave the children at home and go? Of course you can”
Paola Scaccabarozzi, 52 years old, Vimercate (MB)
Traveling alone with two kids at home? For Paola Scaccabarozzi, journalist and author of Guys, mommy’s leaving! (Giraldi Editore), you can. «Today my children are 17 and 20 years old and it is certainly easier, but I have been traveling alone since they were 8-10, just get organized». For Paola it’s fine to go even not far from home, what matters is that it is a slow journey. «In India I can stay in the same place for a week, so I can learn more about what interests me. This is better than tight stages that give you no way to understand the places you are in.”
Guys, mommy’s leaving! by Paola Scaccabarozzi, Giraldi Publisher224 pages, €16
The most beautiful thing is freedom. «The real one, of deciding times and ways, of changing your mind, of not bargaining with anyone and choosing how long to stay in a place». The first step is always organization. «I read a lot and I try to get in touch with expert people». Reviews and references are essential, especially in more “difficult” places. «Unfortunately, we happen to meet people who don’t behave in the correct way. It’s all about knowing the place and being able to perceive the risks.”
«My five months hitchhiking to Canada»
Linda Campostrini30 years old, Morciano di Romagna (RN)
Digital creator, Linda Campostrini has under her belt four solo trips around the world. The first trip at 19, when Australia changed her life. «I worked on farms to pay for university in Paris, then I did my first on the road. Enrolled and graduated in Psychology, I spent the third and final year at Quebec: I arrived there from Cancún, traveling for five months across the United States. The adventure made me understand that we women are no less than men and that we know how to shine just as much as them.”
Linda has never experienced potentially dangerous situations, the first prejudice to dispel when talking about women who travel alone. «Solo travel is a mix of skills. We are the creators of what surrounds us and our mentality is decisive because it makes us interpret reality in a certain way. The experiences I have accumulated have enriched me and made me understand a lot about others and my limits. I felt guilty for the prejudices I discovered I had about the people who were helping me.” The responsibility lies with cultural legacies that die hard, assures Linda, who takes lifts, but without stopping on the side of the road to hitchhike. «I don’t leave the choice to chance, I’m the one who, perhaps at a service station, “studies” the driver and proposes myself». The most important achievements he has made? «Awareness and gratitude, as well as openness towards everything that happens, without the obsession of wanting to control everything».
«I started when I felt ready, certain that I was not realizing a dream but living my life»
Anna Chiara Rubino31 years old, San Severo (FG)
Raised in Puglia, the world is the true home of Anna Chiara Rubino, visual storyteller and content creator who is I am leaving alone. Traveling since 2019, he has been in Husavk, Iceland for four months, where he will remain until September. «I worked on a farm and now I manage the kitchen of a bar. After Christmas, however, I will leave for Australia. It’s time for sacrifice, because 2025 will be the year of the Pan-American, in a camper from Canada to Patagonia. My remote working business has taken off, I save what I earn when I’m off.”It all started after graduating from the Photography Academy.
«I felt something inside, like this I bought a one-way ticket to Bali and never stopped». No escape. «I left when I felt ready, with full awareness of my personal path, there were no doubts, I didn’t even need courage, it was a natural thing». After Indonesia and India, the meeting with Sunshine, his yellow camper. «A 1981 Iveco Daily took me to Spain, Portugal and then to the Canary Islands, where I stayed until November 2022».
There are moments of discouragement. «We must not shine the light only on the beautiful. Even life in a camper is romanticized on social media, but the truth is that you live in four square meters and face an unexpected event every day.” There is something, however, that pushes further. «Mine is not a dream come true, it is a choice. I went into a life that I always knew was right for me. The real dream is listening to myself and understanding that it was what I wanted.”
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