When you finish school and university, dear reader, there is one way to continue your education: to get out of your comfort zone. To leave the couch and grab a backpack, hiking boots, and your passport. To love ports, airports, unfamiliar words, sleeping in tents, strange faces, and unexpected meetings.

To reach the explosive Venezuela of the dying Chávez, the sexy Cuba where everything is changing except for the worship of Che, the pre-industrial Ethiopia of circumcised women, in Vietnam where dog is a delicacy, in the Land of Fire where Darwin was inspired to develop his theory, in New Zealand of the Maoris where water flows backward, to see the world upside down: not just cities, which are mere showcases – to see the whole truth, you must also go to villages and mountains.

Don't be scared; you don't need to be an athlete. Whoever wants to climb can climb. I first did it sixteen years ago – you will see how and why. I decided to write a book containing the funniest, darkest, and most unexpected stories that encountered me while I walked through the mountains and cities of the world. I thought I would share with you what happened to me and what I learned, so that maybe next time you will join too.