The Invisible Souvenirs of Two Years with mucho mundo
Two years ago, I opened my laptop with the feeling you get before boarding a plane: excited, uncertain, full of possibility. I didn’t know if mucho mundo would turn into a long journey or just a weekend trip. I only knew that I wanted to create a space where travel and self-discovery could intersect, where the stories we collect on the road could teach us as much about ourselves as they do about the places we visit.
Having lived in many countries, I've come to see that the real journey is not about collecting passport stamps, but about using my experiences to understand myself and the world around me. This blog is my way of sharing how an inquisitive life is a full and well-examined one.
Over the past two years, I’ve shared my journey through travel articles on more than 50 destinations, along with essays on themes that resonate with anyone trying to navigate the beautiful mess of modern life. For example, I’ve written about finding optimism even when things go wrong, as well as the surprising lessons I’ve learned from career changes and eventful travel mishaps.
And speaking of eventful, a lot has happened in these two years: I started a new job, left a long-term relationship, took a sabbatical, began my master’s studies in psychology just for fun, traveled, redesigned and reorganized this website, learned the basics of salsa and bachata, and published 76 articles on this website read by thousands of people from 71 countries.
I have also collected plenty of souvenirs. A scarf from Istanbul? A bottle of wine from Tuscany? A notebook filled with ticket stubs? Not quite. The souvenirs I’ve collected through this blog are invisible. They don’t fit in a suitcase, but they have changed the way I go through my days.
Here are a few of them.
1. Boarding Pass to Anywhere
I once thought belonging meant staying in one place long enough to be known. But mucho mundo has revealed another version: one stitched together through words. When someone writes to tell me that a story reminded them of their own, or that they found joy in an article, or even when I reread a post and recognize myself more clearly, I feel the same warmth as walking into a café in a strange city and being greeted like an old friend. Community, it turns out, can be built (and gifted) through words.
2. A Snow Globe of Silence
Not every journey is loud. Some of the most important ones are quiet: a night in a small town, when the streets emptied and the bells echo; a long train ride with only the rhythm of wheels as company. These moments have taught me that silence has weight and that it’s worth carrying home. In silence, I’ve found clarity for both my writing and my life.
3. A Pocket Mirror (Found in Unexpected Places)
Every time I publish something, I think I’m sending it out into the world. But more often than not, it comes back like a mirror, reflecting parts of me I didn’t expect. A forgotten memory, a stubborn fear, a hidden hope. Writing on mucho mundo is like unwrapping a gift and discovering that it’s me again and again, albeit slightly changed.
4. Grandma’s Recipe Card with Smudged Ink
Not everything can be measured, calculated or foreseen. Some dishes taste better when you throw in a handful of herbs rather than counting the leaves. Some journeys are richer when you get lost instead of following the map. This blog has been my recipe without measurements: improvised, sometimes messy, often surprising … and much more flavorful that way.
5. A Compass That Points Inward
The greatest souvenir of all has been a compass I didn’t know I was carrying. I thought travel was about places; I thought writing was about stories. But both, I’ve learned, are ways of finding direction inside myself. The compass doesn’t always point north. Sometimes it points toward patience, sometimes toward courage, sometimes simply toward rest. But it always points me somewhere worth going.
Two years, many posts, and countless invisible souvenirs later, I realize that mucho mundo has been less about documenting the world and more about learning how to live in it. These treasures don’t take up space in my suitcase, but they make my life feel full.
And as I look ahead, I know the journey continues: with “such a lot of world to see”, wonderful people to meet, and rich lessons to learn, always accompanied by the sheer joy of singing at the top of my lungs.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
What would you like to see on mucho mundo in the next year?
You can search for all destinations currently featured on mucho mundo here and consult the blog articles here.
