My Story
Hello, hello! I am Ana Terra Azpilicueta, a Brazilian writer who swapped almost six years in England for Thailand, all in less than two months.
Almost a ‘caramel doguinho.‘
If you’re Brazilian, you know exactly what that means.
A caramel doguinho is a street dog of unknown origin. Affectionate, resilient and impossible to categorise.
You look at it and wonder where it came from, what it survived, and how it’s still standing with its tail wagging. That metaphor fits me uncomfortably well.
I come from many ethnicities, stories, and contradictions.
On paper, diversity sounds poetic. In real life, it can feel isolating, like never fully belonging anywhere, or like constantly negotiating who you are allowed to be.
I grew up in the hood. Not the romanticised version, but the real one, where survival teaches you things no book ever will.
Because of my background, my body learned fear before it learned safety. I had to hit rock bottom to understand what truly mattered and which direction I wanted my life to take.
At one point, I didn’t want to stay alive anymore.
Somehow, I did. And surviving forced me to confront something uncomfortable: beneath despair, fear, and depression lay a deep, stubborn love for humanity and the planet.
I couldn’t unsee it. I couldn’t ignore it.
So I made a promise: to stop merely surviving and start living with intention.
That’s when travel entered my life, not as escapism, but as medicine.
Travel taught me who I am when no one is watching. It stripped me of labels and forced me to listen, observe, and sit with discomfort. I learned from people whose realities are far from my own. So, I fell in love with perspective.
Over time, my path led me to Indigenous territories in Brazil: first to the Xingu, where I’ve worked alongside the Yawalapiti and Mehinaku peoples. I went there to learn (not to save and not to lead).
What I found was beauty, resilience, and unbearable injustice. Communities protecting forests that sustain the planet while lacking clean water, healthcare, education, and safety.
I left dehydrated, heartbroken, and changed.
Since then, my life has intertwined with sustainable, community-based tourism and Indigenous collaboration. I’ve helped promote their initiatives, support the circulation of their art, build ethical visibility, and (constantly!) learn how to show up without reproducing colonial harm.
This blog exists because I no longer believe in glamorous, Instagrammable travel disconnected from reality. The world is burning. People are hurting. We don’t get to travel without asking what it costs and who pays the price.
Here, I write about travel as transformation, not consumption.
About spirituality without dogma. About healing without pretending it’s linear, about moving through the world with curiosity, humility, and responsibility.
I don’t have all the answers, and I’m still figuring things out.
But if you’re a little lost too, if you come from the margins, if you question the narratives you’ve been sold, if you believe travel can be an act of care rather than extraction, then maybe we’re not that different after all.
Welcome. 💛

Ana Terra Azpilicueta
Writer & Content Creator
Cultural mediator & founder of Hdden Variable
Working alongside Indigenous communities and amplifying projects that genuinely drive social and environmental change around the world.



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Community-Based Tourism Advocate
Community-based tourism is my favourite way to travel. Immersing yourself in local communities fosters empathy, cultural awareness, curiosity, and meaningful human connection. Join us on this journey and experience travel that truly makes a difference.
Itineraries across Europe, Asia, and South America.

I’ve lived most of my life in Brazil, as well as three months in the Netherlands, almost six years in England, and two years in Thailand. In other words, I didn’t just pass through places; I lived, worked, and paid my bills there.
By combining my on-the-ground travel experience with my journalism training at the British College of Journalism, I share practical travel tips, interviews with locals, and stories of inspiring people who travel with purpose around the world, plus plenty of real-life travel hacks to make your journey smoother, brighter, and more meaningful.
Welcome to my beautiful mess, modafocas!
My Gallery
I travel because the world is beautiful, inspiring, and full of stories worth telling.
I write about travel because each journey helps me discover who I am and pushes me to challenge the limits I was taught to accept.




