I studied geography when I was at school.
At primary school, I learnt about the boundaries of my region, the most important mountains, rivers, and lakes of my country, and I met for the first time a geographic atlas.
That was not all: with years, I got more curious to know more about this vaste and misterious thing called planet Earth and I discovered many new things.
I found out that countries far away from Europe have very difficult names for their capital cities; that Hawaii, Indonesia, Philippines, have an astonishingly high number of active volcanoes; I learnt that the Andes are in South America, the Alps in Europe, and the Ural mountains create a phisical barreer between Europe and Asia.
Everything I discovered, was in my mind. I read a lot of books in the comfort of my room. Theoretically, I knew a lot about geography, but actually, I never went further than my country.
Back then, I was not actually interested in knowing more. When I got a bit older, I started travelling: I did a couple of journeys abroad - I still remember an amazing sensation of freedom when I took my first plane, to Dublin, at 16.
The following journeys still smelled like freedom, adventure, and fun.
When I got older (and wiser?! :-p), I started to consciously travel - that's when I learnt the most about that thing called geography.
I discovered that in Bulgaria there are stunning mountains, and that the north coast of Spain is very green, wild, and beautiful. I learnt that Castilla and León is the land of "tierra de campos y campos de tierra", and that the weather in Spain is not as hot as they say.
I learnt that you can never catch a whole sunrise in the mountains, but you still can enjoy its beauty, the colours and the awakening of nature at dawn.
Pictures. Top: sunrise in Plovdiv. Bottom, left: View of the Ribeira Sacra, Galicia (Spain). Bottom, right: View of the Pirin mountains, Razlog (Bulgaria).
I learnt that the water of a river in the mountains could be very, very cold, despite of what's the temperature outside, and that the vegetation and the fauna in Pirin and Rhodope mountains are really different.
I learnt where Belgrade, Zagreb, Mostar, Zadar, Sarajevo are located with respect to each other... no map could have worked better than stepping on a bus and starting to discover.
In the picture: Zadar (Croatia) one of the stops of our trip through Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
I discovered that hitchhiking is not about low-budget travelling - it is, indeed, a great opportunity to meet new people, learn interesting facts about the country you're in, and have funny experiences.
I know how to do 1000 km in a weekend without feeling tired - find a place you want to see, some friends you want to visit, and step on a night train!
In the pictures: I spent one day on a train - and got 5 hours delay - just to do 500 km, spend the day in the city of Varna, meet some friends, take a picture of its beautiful cathedral and then come back by night train. It was really worth it!
I clearly remember how to go from Burgos to Ourense, and then to reach A Guardia, Bayona, Vigo and Finisterra (in the picture below). I know, because I have done it.
I learnt that in Jordan there are a lot of beautiful landscapes - deserts, red rocks, and the beautiful Dead Sea. I touched the desert sand, and discovered that it is different from the sea sand.
In the pictures. Top: me in the desert of Wadi Rum (Jordan). Bottom: a view from above of the ancient city of Petra (Jordan).
I learnt that the facial traits of people all over the world differ a lot. The width of their eyes, the way they smile, how they pronounce a word... these and many other things are really different, according to the place people come from.
I knew that, but I could have never learned it better than by exploring the world, and meeting people from many different countries.
Without travelling, I would have known this, but I wouldn't have experienced it. And there comes the difference.
When I was a child, I could remember the capital cities of many exotic and far-away countries, but now I have forgotten about them. But I will not forget all the things I have learned in my journeys - all the things listed before, and many more.
At the same time, I know that there's still much more to discover. I feel so lucky because I had the opportunity to travel, explore, and challenge myself. That's a huge opportunity to learn.