A letter.








And off I go into the open road.


Solo Journey in Morocco // Many Faces Many Places

Nando takes solo, spontaneous trips, with little to no planning and will often find a way to specifically challenge himself in a new and exciting way. In his first trip to Morocco, he vowed to go completely on his own and figure out his journey, one step at a time.

Arriving late at night, he decided that there would be no harm in sleeping on a park bench. He met a local who informed him that it would not be a good idea.

The local took him to the city center in order for Nando to find a guesthouse to sleep in.  The moment, he stepped out of the car he understood why the local said he needed to find a place to sleep. There were homeless men, following him, asking him for money and he noticed it was odd that he did not notice a single woman on the street. He finally found a guesthouse and stayed the night.

The next day, he was exploring the city with only a camera and a backpack. Eventually, he noticed that someone was following him. He felt uneasy, a sense of danger and knew that he had to get himself out of this situation fast. Based on his past experiences from traveling to dangerous countries, he adapted quickly. He crossed the street and took a taxi back to his hostel.

The locals at the hostel said that given his camera and backpack he was an obvious tourist – an easy target. It was then that he realized that this challenge was not the greatest idea. He went out a bought a SIM card for his phone, switched to speaking French and learned a few Arabic words and began mingling with local people. The situation turned around completely.

He met locals and expats living in Morocco. He started going out and discovering the local culture.

He learned to rely on his past experience and was able to recognize a dangerous situation.  He adapted and turned the situation from negative to positive. He also learned that maybe Morocco was not the best country to travel to without a local guide.

When I was speaking with Nando, he was back home in Aruba but now he has officially moved to Barcelona! You can follow his journey – @Smulldiaz & @mundusurfer that is a platform for young international talent to share their content with the world!