My 1st trip to the North

There’s a moment in the life of a traveler that marks the beginning of their journey.
For me, that moment happened in northern Norway, between Tromsø and the Lofoten Islands, in 2022.

Something had always attracted me to the far North, to what I define as “the edges of the world.”
I had just started traveling with some friends before booking this trip with a tour operator, but only to “normal” destinations, like Europe’s capitals or well-known places.

But then, something started stirring inside me, and I decided to book a trip with strangers from all over Italy.
Some were from the south, some from the center, and others from northern Italy.

Obviously, at the beginning, we were all a little shy, but at some point, the whole group opened up.
And the best thing was that it was a natural process: our souls just found the right frequency, some might say.

Once we landed in Tromsø, we picked up three cars for the whole squad and started driving to our first destination: a wonderful cabin with a bathtub outside that we used to relax at night (as it was not too cold).
The next day was an exploration day through Norway.

We drove through amazing roads, witnessed wonderful scenery, and visited a wildlife sanctuary where we managed to see some beautiful animals.

And then, that night, during the trip to Svolvær, for the first time in my life, I saw the Northern Lights.
It was a short moment, and we only noticed them while driving.
They were not very strong, but the emotion was indescribable.

Unfortunately, I didn’t bring a tripod with me, so the only photo I have was taken with my phone.

The next few days, we just wandered through the Lofoten Islands, searching for epic landscapes… and I think we found them!

We stayed in an amazing cabin at night (actually, there were two, but one was just for sleeping), and the morning after, we finally experienced a true winter landscape at this latitude.

SToo soon, it was all coming to an end.
But hey! All good things must end, don’t they?
And this was an amazing trip.
Not only because of northern Norway, which is breathtaking (and I will come back as soon as possible), but mostly because of my travel buddies.

They were all special people, each in their own way.
I loved every one of them, I learned from their lives, and I enjoyed every moment—every joke, every laugh, every hug, and every tear.

I’m extremely grateful to have been on this journey, because this is where I discovered my love for lands “at the edges of the world.”
Here, I discovered that a group of strangers can become friends in a very short period of time when the right circumstances align, and when you truly connect.

I still travel with some of them (in fact, I just landed from a Lapland tour with two of them two days ago), and I’m planning to keep traveling with them.

I hope you enjoyed this little story of mine, and I wish you a life full of travel—but most importantly, I hope you find great travel buddies and friends.
They are essential, and happiness is always better when shared.

Always.

Andrea