At 29, he has his sixth passport because he fills it with visas and stamps long before it expires. Brazilian Nataly Castro arrived home in São Paulo a few days ago to treat severe anemia after traveling to 180 countries in the last 16 months and embarking on a quick trip around the world. The journalist, daughter of a teacher and a carpenter, wants to travel to 200 countries and territories to conquer Guinness records. Her grandmother, who sold the car to help her, remembers her childhood studying a globe. Welcome with a coffee in the house where three generations of the family live together. More than 200,000 people follow @viajesemlimites on Instagram for some adventures financed by sponsorship.
Questions. Brazil allows you to travel widely without changing languages or currencies. When did you go abroad for the first time?
Answer. On October 29, 2013, I traveled to Ireland to study English for a year on a scholarship from the State of São Paulo. These medieval settings were like a movie. Fascinating.
Q If there wasn't a storm I would be in the Falkland Islands right now.
R. That, but the storms delayed my flight, then another came and I missed the connection to the only weekly flight to the islands. It was an invitation from the British Embassy in Brazil to promote tourism. I took advantage of the fact that I went back to Brazil because I got sick when I only had 20 countries left.
Q It's the Brazilian Willy Fog. Have you read “Around the World in 80 Days”?
R. No, but I have read stories from people who have read it.
Q Does this Guinness thing involve a lot of bureaucracy?
R. Yes, the record I want to break is to circumnavigate the world in 18 months, I've been doing it for 16. I have to hurry. I document my trip daily with photos and videos, I have six passports, tickets and in each country I need two witnesses to fill out a Guinness form.
Q What stress.
R. A lot! You have to take care of the logistical details. Study the map, organize the route, dress according to local customs…
Q When does it start again?
R. Earlier. I need to treat my anemia and get money and sponsors to cope. I want to visit the 193 countries recognized by the UN, the two observers (Vatican and Palestine), Taiwan, the four countries of the United Kingdom, I count them one by one… so up to 200, including territories.
Q What was Afghanistan like under the Taliban?
R. Epos. I applied for a visa in Pakistan, which is cheaper. I had concerns. After waiting for an hour, the ambassador received me and said: “Nataly, we like your project, we will give you the visa, but tell the world that there is not only war here.” We have history, culture… They are the first woman to be allowed to enter Afghanistan and travel alone.”
Q And once there?
R. Many women and men came to me curious, others said, “Call your guardian.” But I didn’t have that. I was there for 19 days. A family accommodated me. I tried to leave Uzbekistan via the land border, but it was closed. I started crying: “For God's sake, let me pass.” I had to return to Mazar-i-Sharif. “Welcome back, sister,” the Taliban told me. I don't agree with his ideas but I had no problems, I think because he was a foreigner. I took the bus to Kabul and, surprised that I was alone, they called a Taliban leader. They put me in the middle of everyone while I conferred. In the end, the boss filmed an escort video, sat me next to a woman on the bus and asked four male passengers to protect me. I think they saw it as an opportunity to show what was good about Afghanistan.
Q Even in other places it is surprising that she travels alone.
R. Yes, it is still taboo in many places. I arouse curiosity but also hope to be an inspiration. You learn to love your own company. And it's a chance to make friends along the way. The Kuwait visa required five months of paperwork and a pregnancy test.
Q How do you say?
R. They said because I'm single. I guess it's because you don't give birth there.
R. The Brazilian passport opens many doors, right?
R. Impressively. You can enter 170 countries without a visa. One day I'm sleeping in a five-star hotel thanks to a sponsorship and another day I'm picking up my mat at the airport.
Q Why did you embark on this adventure?
R. Around the world? I had lived in five countries, visited about 20, and wanted to be a digital nomad. I started looking for opportunities in 2019. I want to be the first Brazilian to circumnavigate the world.
Q I think he had problems at school and that's why he's so resilient.
R. Problems? Racism! There were two or three black people in the class. He was a good student and they didn't accept him. It was systematic since I was about 11 years old. I ate in the bathroom so they didn't bother me. Very difficult, because whoever hits forgets, but whoever receives forgets. I tried to commit suicide three times. The last time, when I was 14, I was about to drop out of third grade up here, but I saw a plane and thought: What if I go to a place where they don't know me and nobody judges me for it? my social class, my money or the color of my skin?' I started dreaming about studying abroad. When I got the scholarship, I was working in telemarketing.
Q What do you have in your backpack?
R. At first more luggage than now. I wash every other day and every other day. A GoPro camera, which is a sponsor, a cell phone, a computer and I had a compact camera that was stolen from me in Oman, one of the safest countries.
Q He says arriving in Africa is a return home.
R. Returning to a house I was never physically in. Brazil received millions of Africans brought on slave ships. I really wanted to connect to these roots that I have in Angola and Portugal. I wanted to learn because our history was very hidden.
Q Brazil is a mixed race country. What is the racism like outside here?
R. Now I was fine in Poland, but on my first visit, in Poznan in 2019, people changed the sidewalk. One man apologized: “You are not used to tourists like you.” I learned to search the Internet to find out the extent of racial discrimination in each country. They kicked me out of a hostel I booked in Belarus. “You’ll pay more for being black,” the owner said when he saw me. I refused. He called me a monkey, a slave, a black idiot… His hand shook as he typed the insults into Google Translate. He kicked my backpack, I was afraid he would hit me, so I went to record a video and say, “This hostel is racist.”
Q In some countries in the Sahel region he did not leave the airport. Does that count?
R. Yes, it was in that final phase. Yes, it will be charged. I left the airport in Burkina Faso for about 20 hours, but not for security reasons in Niger, Sudan and Chad.
Q Where will you return quietly after a trip around the world?
R. To Iran, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Ghana, Vanuatu…
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