Carlos: a traveler who’s living his adventure in 100%

This month, we met Carlos from Lota, Chile. He has been traveling around the world with his big backpack, monocycle, puppet, skateboard, ukulele, and juggling sticks for 5 years. He’s passing through Skopje for the third time and staying here for a few days. He told us about his way of life and his various experiences abroad.

WhenCarlos was young, nothing destined him for this way of life. He discovered juggling when he was around 10 years old. He learned juggling alone in his house with lemons. It was a serious hobby for him, and he considers himself an autodidact.

"When I was young it was different than now. There was no internet, no tutorial to learn juggling, I had to learn it by myself." . At this time, he never thought that one day he would make money by juggling.

Carlos always had a passion for traveling. When he was in Chile he had a job, and a “normal way of life”. However, he never missed an opportunity to travel when he had free time. He traveled extensively in South America, including Mexico and Brazil. During this time, he learned to trust his own desires and not let others discourage him from traveling abroad. "When I wanted to travel to Brazil, some people told me ”No, don’t go there, it’s not good, it’s dangerous.” And then when I went there, it was the total opposite. People were very happy to meet someone from Chile. They never tried to cheat me; they helped me, and they were very welcoming. And the funniest thing is that when I asked these people who tried to dissuade me if they had already visited Brazil, they said ‘no.’ Unfortunately, usually, it’s because they heard bad things in the media and then they have preconceptions.".

After traveling in South America, he took the leap in 2018 and decided with two of his best friends to travel around Europe with his savings. They wanted to do “workaway,” a way of traveling where you stay with families or communities for a few days for free and, in exchange, help them with their work, spend time with them, etc. It’s a real cultural exchange, and this way of traveling is becoming more and more popular, especially for people who don’t want to travel as tourists but be immersed in local life. Carlos and his friends made several of these projects during one and a half year, like ecobuilding “workaways”, for example. "I was welcomed into families who opened their doors to me. Local people can show you specific things about the culture, specific places that you cannot find if you just are a tourist. Also, when you are a tourist, you are always running everywhere, because you don’t have time. The “workaway” is a very different experience.". Workaway is also a very practical way of traveling because it allows you to stay how long you want and move from country to country regularly. You can have a lot of freedom with this way of traveling.

During these trips with his friends, Carlos also realized that he missed his juggling equipment and other materials he had left in Chile. He thought that he would not find time to practice during his trip but finally, he realized that he has a lot of free time. That’s why after one and a half year of “workaway” he decided to create his own project and make a living from his hobbies while traveling the world. Carlos traveled alone in all European countries, all Balkan countries, and Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and also Morocco. In Skopje, for example, you could find him in the main square playing with his puppets and bringing smiles to children’s faces.

After Macedonia, Carlos would like to go to Georgia to be closer to the seaside. He already has a community of friends there. Now, we can say that he has a community of friends in many different countries but for him, it’s important to stay independent. "I’m trying not to ask too much help from my friends. I’m trying to manage everything by myself and ask them only if I really need help." He’s managing to be independent in his own way and then be connected with new friends.

This way of thinking allows him to stay free and to be open to every new experience! "One day, I was in Slovenia and I met a guy who proposed me to join a project about ecology and permaculture. I was free and very interested in the topic so I directly accepted! Finally, I spent two weeks with them, and it was enriching for me. I even got an Erasmus certification at the end! » For Carlos, it’s important to seize all opportunities and not be stuck in a “traditional robot system”.

Carlos gave us some advice for every person who would like to live this kind of adventure. The most important thing is to believe in your dreams. If you have a goal, if you want to do something special in your life, do not hesitate, just do it! "When we will die we will take nothing with us so we have to live most of the things that we want to do. It’s life according to me." Don’t be afraid, don’t listen to people who will tell you that it’s not realizable, just try it and live your adventure in 100%.

Camélia Sghayare