Every month we interview another traveler in our Interview of the Month series. Indira Mejía is a journalist, digital nomad and traveler and we were lucky enough to question her about her experience as a journalist on the road, her view on traveling and more. She was also kind enough to share some of her best photos, which you can also find on her amazing Instagram account.
Lisanne from CHAPTERTRAVEL: Hi Indira, nice to have you as traveler of the month. Could you please give our readers an introduction about yourself?
My name is Indira Mejía and I’m from Nicaragua. I’m a traveler who is in love with the smells, colors and flavors of every corner of the world. I’m a Digital Journalist: a merge between content marketing, community manager and the lifelong journalist. For the moment I’m living in Madrid, but not for long. I’ve been living, working and traveling in so many countries and cities worldwide the past ten years.
Thank you for the introduction! What is it like to be a journalist on the road?
Times have clearly changed, so has the concept of journalism and the role of the journalist. I heard so many people say that the work for journalists has been greatly reduced. However, I truly believe that the world is now generating more contents than ever, and the right person to create those contents are journalists. To be a journalist on the road for me is definitely a dream. To be able to combine my two passions (journalism and traveling) make me feel the happiest person in the world.
What was your most recent travel destination? Tell us a bit about this destination.
Right now I’m answering this interview from Portugal. I’m traveling around Sintra and Lisbon. It is my second time in this amazing city and this place never fails to amaze me. Lisbon is interesting, attractive, full of history, different, slightly rough around the edges, definitely worth the visit. Sintra is the most popular day trip from Lisbon and is a fascinating town with a varity of historic monuments, lavish palaces and challenging hiking trails full of magic and mystery.
Give us your top five of destinations you have ever been!
I have no top five destinations. Every country I’ve have been give me something different, some of them surprise me with its nature or the culture of its people, others offers art, history, ruins. And other can also gather everything, but most important is to value the details of each place. All of them give me an immersion of a different culture and changed my perspective of life. I travel to meet and learn to enjoy all, I don’t care whether beautiful or ugly, rich or poor, because what counts for me is know how it is. Each trip allows you to expand the personal consciousness, the experience that transform and accompany you forever.
That’s a very fascinating perspective! Who do you travel with?
I used to travel with friends and family. But now I’m traveling alone most of the time and I love it. Traveling alone is something that I highly recommend, because it gives you the opportunity to gain valuable experience about the world, food, traditions and people. You become more of a listener rather than a speaker. You definitely open your heart, mind and eyes.
How would you describe your travel style?
I don’t have a defined travel style. I love to include different elements of every type of travel in my around the world experience. I like to hike down a volcano, skydive from 4.000 meters, watch the sunset on the beach, gondola rides in Venice, sleep in the desert in India, and so on. I also like days filled with museums and groundbreaking architecture. I enjoy all.
What is the best thing about traveling according to you?
Traveling fills my life with experiences, knowledge and resources to face my everyday situations with greater responsiveness and resolution. When you travel, you learn new things, and that helps you to enjoy life in a different way than you were used to. You are able to see life with a new perspective. Another positive aspect is that you learn to appreciate what you have. Sometimes people tend to look and focus on negative things, but what about the good and positive things? They are there, just waiting to be appreciated. When you are traveling, you meet other cultures and people with other experiences that make you look back and appreciate what you have.
What are some of the downsides to traveling frequently?
After few years of traveling/living/moving in so many places you get tired of it. When that happens you just need a few days or months to recharge your batteries so traveling become exciting again. The people used to think that what I do is the best thing ever, but travels offers you so many positives things but they also have downsides. When you travel you meet so many people on the road, but you keep in touch with few of them. You have to say more goodbyes than anyone should in their lifetime. Long-term travel presents you with a lonely existence sometimes. The relationships you build are ephemeral. At the end you develop a sense of detachment. Like anything in life, traveling is not perfect.
Do you have a story about your travels that you would like to share?
More than funny is special for me. When I was traveling alone in India, I meet an Indian family who spent afew days with me. I went to two weddings with them and my last day in the city they invited me to dinner. They made a special good bye party for me with their family. All the women brought me to a private room and they changed my outfit, make up and hair style. The women completely made me feel at home and one of them. I will never forget that moment.
Do you have some tips for people that would like to be a digital nomad, just like you?
I always said nothing is easy and everything is possible. First, you need to be concious what is to be a digital nomad. What you left behind and what you want to learn. There are different types of digital nomads and in reality not every one makes enough money to be able to live and work anywhere in the world. You also need to keep in mind that this lifestyle is not going to last forever. I will suggest to start become a freelancer in your free time, save money before you decide to move and look for companies online. Now, there are a lot of companies who are looking for people who want to work from home. In my case, I’m working in a company who is completely okay with it.
What is on top of your bucketlist?
I would love to visit South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Taiwan, Cambodia. The world offers so many amazing places that makes me hard to decide.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Hopefully traveling, traveling and traveling ;-).
We are sure that will be the case. Thank you for the interview and happy travels!
Are you interested to be traveler of the month? Please sent an e-mail to info@chaptertravel.com and tell us a bit about yourself and your travels.