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PATI’S JOURNEY WITHIN A travel blog with extra flavor.
BY ELENA SCIALTIEL
A
travel blog designed to be an insight into the personal journey toward vegetarianism and veganism peppered with exoticism, Pati’s Journey Within has gained popularity since its inception in January - or as it is known nowadays amongst foodies, Veganuary. “The original concept for it was to predominantly be a travel blog,” says forty-something Patrycja Smietana, who relocated to Gibraltar five years ago. “Yet I didn't want to be just another travel blogger out there. My main idea was to share my personal journey, the one around the world and the one within, as well as sharing how passionate I am about and food and cooking.” She claims to be an ‘amateur traveller’, and a ‘hobbyist chef’ and to live by the teaching of Ibn Battuta. “Travelling leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller”, reads her motto in the ‘About’ page of this blog, below a candid shot of the blogger herself 60
perched on a rocky cliff. “We need to try our best and do what makes us happy and help us grow. I wanted to combine my passion for travel and food with my love for sharing stories,” she says, describing it as ‘emotional exhibitionism’. “I’d like to encourage all folks out there to and say that all dreams can come true. There’s a saying: success is when preparation meets opportunity. And I like this saying.” Pati dedicates her articles to ‘people who have dreams’, those who travel ‘respectfully’ and ‘consciously’, hungry for discovery and adventure. “I am a simple girl trying to travel the world within my means and I’d like to share my experience I am planning to provide tips on how to travel affordably, but in style, and still
see and do all the things the world has to offer.” A visitor and a frontier worker at the same time, Pati describes Gibraltar as “a bit odd, but magically odd”. A “land of sea, sun and general awesomeness”, Gibraltar strikes her for its unique airport whose runway can be crossed on foot, for its language and intricate architecture. “I fell in love with Gibraltarians’ passion for life, sense of humour and nononsense ways,” she divulges. Moving to Malta, she landed there with the trained eye to spot “hidden spots you will hardly read about in tourist guides”. So she features Chadwick Lakes, Dingly Cliffs, Buskett Woodlands, Ghajn Tuffieha Bay, red sands beach tucked away at the bottom of hundreds of steps, and some nightlife spots for the shrewd locals.
I didn't want to be just another travel blogger.
GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE MAY 2020
