About Me
Late 30s | Solo Traveller | Slow Living
Hola! Shwmae? Hiiii! Salut! 你好!
I'm Azul! Great to have you here, welcome!
Born and raised in Argentina, I have called Wales (UK) home for the last 20 years.
In August 2023, I set off travelling, starting in the Balkans, then Southeast Asia. I’ve since spent two years living in Australia, and now I’m back exploring Southeast Asia.
Keen foodie, avid podcast listener, sunset chaser, amateur scuba diver, language lover, thrill seeker, culture enthusiast, eternal learner.
Grunas Waterfall, Theth, Albania
Supetar, Brač, Croatia
How I travel
I’ve always loved travelling: absorbing new cultures, learning new languages, meeting new people and gaining new perspectives on the world we live in. I’m endlessly curious, and I love expanding my comfort zone, shifting my mindset and growing as I go.
Five things bring me joy and fulfilment when I travel: adventures that expand my comfort zone, sunsets worth chasing, nature that slows me down, food that tells me where I am, and culture I can feel, not just see. Not every trip has all five, but every trip I’ve taken, from short getaways to long-term travel, has been shaped by at least one or two of them.
Before I go anywhere, I ask: where’s the adventure, where does the sun go down, where can I get outside, what do locals eat, and what can I learn? The answers shape where I stay, how long I linger and what I skip.
It’s slow, budget-conscious, sustainable travel that puts experiences ahead of ticking off sights.
Seeking Adventures
For the last few years, rather than stepping out of my comfort zone, I’ve been working on expanding it.
I’ve always loved the thrill of adrenaline pumping through my veins, but I never imagined I’d end up doing some of the things I’ve done since I started travelling!
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My Open Water licence in Koh Chang, Thailand
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My Advanced Open Water licence in Bali, Indonesia
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My first skydive in Cairns, Australia (definitely not my last!)
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Learning to ride a motorbike in Hanoi, Vietnam, of all places!
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A solo motorbike day trip around Bohol, Philippines
Motorbike Ride, Near Pangas Falls, Bohol Island, Philippines
Chasing Sunsets
When I started travelling, I was close to complete burnout. It was the height of summer 2023, and my first stop was Croatia.
No word of a lie, Croatia has some of the best sunsets in the world. You can see them from any beach, or from almost anywhere really, and they were always perfect.
I spent weeks filling my pupils with sunsets every day, and I can’t explain with words just how healing it felt.
Sunset at Kašjuni Beach, Marjan Park, Split, Croatia
Embracing Nature
Grounding myself in nature was just as important in healing from burnout.
For weeks, I spent every day walking through woods, swimming in the sea, and reading or listening to podcasts while soaking up the sun. Sometimes I simply sat in silence, watching people and animals go about their lives.
Ever since, my travels have always involved some of those things.
I’m happiest with my hammock hung between two trees, a sea view in front of me, sleeping under the moon and the stars.
Malo Jezero (Small Lake), Mljet National Park, Croatia
Savouring Cuisines
I have Italian heritage, so food has always been a big part of my life. I grew up watching my grandma and grandpa make pasta, and learning to make it with them.
On rainy days, my grandma taught me to bake cakes and Argentinian treats like pastelitos and buñuelos. And then there was my great-grandma’s (la bisnonna) Neapolitan sauce. She always made it “by eye”, so I’ve only managed to recreate it once!
For me, food isn’t just fuel. I savour every bite, and there are dishes I tried years ago that I can still taste. Just thinking about them makes my mouth water!
So my travels always revolve around finding and tasting the most delicious local food.
Bún chả, one of Hanoi's famous local dishes
Absorbing Culture
To me, language is part of a place’s cultural identity, and a key to new worlds.
My curiosity about other cultures started young. I grew up reading about the Aztecs, the Maya and the Incas, ancient Rome and Greece, the Sumerians, Babylon and Egypt, and travelling the world through Marco Polo’s adventures and Captain Cook’s journals.
I grew up speaking Spanish, Welsh and English, I speak French fluently, and I’m a beginner in Mandarin Chinese.
Wherever I travel or call home, I try to learn at least a little of the local language. Since 2023, I’ve picked up some:
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Croatian, which also got me by in Bosnia and Montenegro
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Albanian, my favourite so far
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Italian, which I understand far better than I speak
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Turkish
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Thai
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Vietnamese (those tones!)
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Indonesian
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Cebuano / Bisaya
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Malay
New cultures mean new ways of seeing, understanding and moving through the world. That’s why I’ll always choose local life over tourist traps.
Berat, Albania
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