About me

Ana’s story

Hi! I’m Ana-Maria Lupu! I am a Romanian travel and adventure enthusiast, living in Bucharest, and I created this blog to share with you my passion for the outdoors. My job as a sales rep in different industries taught me that adventure comes in many forms. Even though I can say now that I have much experience in this field, I initially started this career because I was terrible at it. I wanted to learn how to sell.

Being an introvert and shy, selling or talking to strangers was causing me enormous levels of anxiety and stress. Today, I can proudly say that I overcame all these, and I managed to create a successful career out of what I thought back then to be one of my most significant weaknesses. With this experience in mind, I believe that with the correct attitude, every aspect of our lives can bring up the best in us. Even those that we consider as weaknesses.

“Adventure isn’t hanging on a rope off the side of a mountain. Adventure is an attitude that we must apply to the day to day obstacles of life – facing new challenges, seizing new opportunities, testing our resources against the unknown and in the process, discovering our own unique potential.”―John Amatt 

When I think about travel and adventures, even though these activities always have been somehow on my mind, I didn’t pay much attention to it until recent years. Why? Well, because I had this idea that my life has to be in a certain way for me to be happy and prosperous. Sometimes I was just staying hypnotized in front of the TV when there was a film about outdoor adventures, but I never took it too seriously.

How did it all start?

It started with me being a kid and having a loving relationship with my grandfather. He was the one who taught me how to take risks and had a massive contribution to my love for nature, mountains, and adventures.

I was going to the countryside during the summer holiday. There, I could develop a much closer connection with the natural environment than in the small city I was living in. I remember the rainy days and the storms when nature was entirely taking control, and the streets of the small village were suddenly empty. I ran to the terrace of the house to feel the scent of the wet earth, to hear the thunders and the sound of the heavy raindrops hitting the ground. Then I could feel life happening everywhere, even with the empty streets and no people around.

I remember the hot summer nights when I was standing with my grandfather in the garden watching the fireflies. When it was completely dark outside, he would show me the Milky Way in the night sky and explain the constellations. I was mesmerized, with no city lights I could see so clearly the stars. It was magical for me to see this spectacle of lights in the sky and around me as a kid.

There were also Friday evening gatherings happening in the meadow next to our house. There was this colossal bonfire, and people were laughing and dancing, enjoying themselves. Kids (myself included at that time) were running around the fire. We ate roasted corn and greaves, and we were playing until late at night. I have these memories so vivid in my mind. I didn’t have a care in the world!

Years passed by, I grew up into a young woman and forgot about the fireflies, night sky, and storms in nature. Somehow I let all this slip away from me.

Rediscovering the love for the outdoors

Some of us are educated or taught that things should be done in a certain way to have a fulfilled life. And usually, that does not include listening to your voice, your intuition. This is how I grew up, at least. Having my own insecurities and needing to fit in, I tried my best to build my life around all those things: having a successful carrier, getting married, a house, a 9 to 5 job, and so on.

Let me get one thing straight: there is nothing wrong with doing all of the above. Why you do them is, in fact, the question you should be asking yourself. 

After my marriage ended, I had this moment of incredible relief! It was like taking a deep breath after staying too long underwater. Then I started to question the status quo. What if there is something else out there for me? What if all these elements: a meaningful relationship, friendships, professional life, could manifest in a different, more personal way into my life?

Then, while these questions flowed through my mind, somehow, it all came back to me.: the starry nights, the movies I was watching so captivated while I was a teenager, the stories that caught my attention, my grandad, and his immense love for the mountains. 

And this is the story of how I started this blog.

I wish it will bring you a spark of inspiration in this busy, fast forward world. So you will try that new activity you always wanted to or travel to that far away destination, or just end it all as it is now and start fresh all over again (the job, the relationship, whatever it is).

There is this quote that I like very much, and I believe also to be true:

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller

Maybe that’s not everybody’s cup of tea. But for some of us, experiences and the people we share them with value a lot more than possessions. So, make it memorable, in that unique way that brings you joy and happiness.

If you like the blog and wish to stay in contact with me, subscribe to my newsletter. 🙂