In July of last year, my boyfriend and I set out on a slow travel adventure around the world. We had one rule – no flying. Overland, we had many options – walking, cycling, riding buses, taking a train – but what about crossing the oceans? Many people are simply not aware that numerous cargo ships offer passenger cabins.

Yes, we did use spirits while making small delicious cheese pies, called ‘kalitsounia,’ in a traditional hillside village of western Crete, Greece. Koula Barydakis, our ebullient chef instructor, began our local cooking lessons by pouring a shot of raki for herself and her students as we toasted the traditional Cretan diet, one of the healthiest in the world.

Willie Gordon is likely simply to ask a traveller on one of his Guurrbi Tours “When was the Beginning for you?” I’ve yet to hear someone able to answer him. It is quite humbling to be in the presence of someone who is still in touch with his Beginning. I’ve seen rock paintings of animals that have been extinct for thousands of years, but in far too many magnificent rock art sites, the full story has been lost. Willie, however, learned what he knows directly from elders and grandparents.

An elderly woman wearing traditional dress accosts me as I focus my camera on the exterior of the church. She wags her bony finger at me and ominously hisses “No…no…no….” She unnerves me so much I quickly hide my camera. We are near San Cristóbal de las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico, in a town called Chamula, where the indigenous Tzotzil people earnestly protect their society and way of life.

My chance encounter with Sadriddin occurred in a local coffee shop in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. What started as an inquisitive chat between tables ended with an invitation to join him and a musician friend for a jam session in his living room. After three or four songs, he suggested that, later that night, I attend a local wedding reception at which he was performing.