Prologue (2019)

The most subversive thing a woman can do is talk about her life as if it really matters. It does.
- Mona Eltahawy

To this day, I vividly remember the sensations of my overland journey in southern Africa six years ago: freedom, fear, excitement, stress, happiness, adrenaline. I was only 20 years old. It was not my first trip alone, nor my last, but it was the one that has left the biggest mark on me so far. It taught me the limits of the body, how vulnerable the mind is and how valuable our communities are, both the ones we build on the road and the ones waiting for us at home. Travel, no matter why we undertake it, always teaches us something, not only about the world but also about our inner world.

First I will tell you how and why this project was born. A year ago I lost my dream job. It was a job that allowed me to make an impact, collaborate with other women, travel and learn about social justice around the global south. It was everything I was always looking for (at least I thought it was). I am the kind of person who values herself for what she does through her social, academic and professional work, so when I lost the job I got after many years of hard work, and after a deep crisis, I realised it was time to rethink and rebuild the ways in which I saw myself. I knew it was time to take a break but at the same time I had to continue to mobilise myself with social, creative and feminist projects.

I started researching initiatives that work at the intersection of travel and gender, two topics that have interested me for a long time. I found Wanderful (www.sheswanderful.com) and founded the Wanderful Quito chapter with the aim of bringing together local and foreign women who are interested in travelling.

In March, for International Women's Day, Wanderful organised a series of talks about women who have travelled alone and invited local chapters to join the initiative. I wanted to try to organise one in Quito, so I put out a call on social media. In less than a day, more than 20 women showed interest in participating. I realised that a single event would not be enough to open the space to everyone, so I decided to prepare several events each month and turn it into something bigger than a simple conversation. I asked women interested in participating to fill out a form with their information, with their story, and that's how I started organising these meetings, which I called #YoViajoSola.

The hashtag #YoViajoSola has been used regionally and globally for some years now to claim our right to travel alone without prejudice or violence. It has gone viral after violent, sexist and misogynist responses to the feminicides of women travellers in Latin America, such as the cases of Marina and Maria José in Ecuador, and Mar in Costa Rica. Many media and society in general blame the victims for ‘travelling alone’ instead of holding their aggressors responsible.

In total we organised nine meetings, each with a thematic or geographical focus. In the women's directory on page # you can see a summary of the meetings with their respective participants. Each of them was organised in a participatory way, above all to allow space for the stories and personal perspectives that each woman had on her travels. The process was relatively simple: the participants and I met over coffee a few days before the event and instead of imposing the themes, we constructed them together. As a result of these meetings and encounters, I realised that many of us have many commonalities when we travel: mental health, harassment, sisterhood, motherhood, racism, class privilege or disadvantage, economic obstacles, activism, self-awareness, social struggles, prejudice, folklorisation. I realised how powerful, therapeutic and important it is to build spaces to share our stories in community from our own voices. I wanted from the beginning to document all that was shared in order to reach more women. Now I realise that if the personal is political, the journey is also political, and that is what I want to show with this notebook and the experiences of more than 30 women.

Travelling for pleasure is not the same as travelling out of necessity. Migrant women's journeys are important and that is why we also want to accompany migrant women inside and outside the country so that they know that they can count on our support and friendship. At the same time it is important to recognise that many people cannot travel (or migrate) for economic, family, psychological and physical reasons. This project has given me the opportunity to become more aware of my privileges. I invite you to do the same.

Me Voy de Casa, the fruit of this great experience, is my way of confronting and responding to the accusations and prejudices surrounding our travels; of paying homage to all those women who, in their right to exercise their freedom and curiosity about the world, have been murdered or violated in any way during their journey; of assuring those who follow their instinct to travel or those who have no other alternative, that there is a group of women ready to help them wherever they are.

We want to accompany you BEFORE, DURING and AFTER your journey through our experiences and advice. Most of the writing, photography and drawing exercises were inspired by questions we asked ourselves in the meetings. I hope you find them practical, healing and fun. Feel free to use this notebook to reflect on your experiences, internalise your emotions and document your journeys. Remember that you can use it in whatever way works best for you. It is a very Quito-focused travelogue, however, it can be used by women travellers and migrants inside and outside of Ecuador.

The journal you have in your hands is just the beginning. I plan to translate it into English in 2020 and bring out a second edition in 2021. If you want to participate in the project in any way, you can contact me.

One is never alone, in fact, one is with oneself. Often that is the best company we can ask for. But for those moments when you need a hand, an advice, a companion (as I know I needed six years ago)... well, here we are.

Have a lovely trip!

Hugs,

Ely