In 2022-2023, I took a sabbatical year to travel through Africa. This was a project I had had for a long time, but with successive positions I never found the time to do it. So when my postdoctoral contract in Torun (Poland) ended, I refrained from applying to any further position so I could have enough time to accomplish this goal. I took a one-way trip to Cape Town, South Africa, and backpacked my way through South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius and Tanzania, for a total of 9 months.

This was the most amazing experience of my life. Having ample time to explore different countries completely changed my approach to traveling. Because I had no time constraint, I could arrive in one place and decide how much time I wanted to spend there. Some places turned out not to be so interesting and I left after a few days. Some places made such a strong impression on me that I decided to stay several weeks. This freedom while traveling made all the difference. There were tough times of course, but the overall experience was overwhelmingly beautiful.

I met incredible people, got to know the locals, I learned a lot about the countries, their history, and their culture. I really hope to be able to do such a trip again in the future! If you'd like to see or learn more, I actually wrote a blog about my trip, even though I never finished it.