ShareBy Faten Omar
KUWAIT: A mix of spontaneity, love and craziness were the key ingredients to create a perfect life for Italian Aldo Giaquinto and his Moldovan wife Vera Kozlovskaia. Giaquinto and Kozlovskaia's passion for traveling made them leave England to travel the world in a Land Cruiser.
Love at first sight was the reason behind their childhood dream come true. "We meet at Christmas in Italy. We had a connection that made us start the trip of our dream. Weeks after our first date, Aldo drew a contract to sign that we should share our dream of traveling the world. I wanted to explore cultures and nature," Kozlovskaia told Kuwait Times.
Canada - Camping overlooking a glacier.Giaquinto pointed out they were seeing each other once a week due to their work in the UK, but in different areas. "I asked her to inform her workplace that she will be one hour late due to signing bank papers. One of the points she agreed on in the contract was to start saving money for our dream trip. We opened a joint bank account that day and started planning. Each one of us had a list of places to visit and things to do," he said.
In 2016, the couple left Europe on a round-the-world trip, to chase a dream they always had. Aldo is a chef, while Vera used to work in IT. They started saving for almost three years to start their non-stop journey on the road. "Choosing a car to roam the world was a choice to make our traveling easier and not controlled by bus timings. The more comfortable you are, the more you tend to stay in the country to explore and interact with people," Kozlovskaia noted.
Canada - Crossing the Arctic Circle.During their visit to Kuwait, the couple told Kuwait Times that Kuwait was a surprise to them, where they enjoyed the friendly, generous and kind people. "Kuwait's border was the most perfect experience. The customs man was very friendly, and his friend invited us over to his farm. We spent hours chatting and drinking tea and coffee," Kozlovskaia said. "We received many invitations from people and hotels to stay for free. The Kuwaiti people are so welcoming! We ate machboos, it was good! People eat it with their hands, and we did the same. For us, we embrace the culture when we go anywhere. We try to dress and eat like locals," she said.
"We love Kuwait - it's a small country with educated people. It is different - you can see how clean the streets and malls are, and it is safe here. People are smiling and happy. The sad thing is that people leave trash behind, even if they are educated and aware. They have mini water bottles everywhere and children eat and throw," Giaquinto remarked.
Traveling made Giaquinto and Kozlovskaia fulfill their dream, but they also discovered an ugly side of the world, where they found themselves obligated to change as much as they can, spread awareness and help other communities understand. "During traveling, we realized that the world is more polluted and there are a lot of environmental issues, more than people realize, because they are busy chasing after money. We have seen how people are throwing garbage and bags of plastics in the oceans and rivers. So we founded the 'Try to give back' campaign," Kozlovskaia said.
Their nonprofit organization was created to bring awareness about environmental problems and sustainability. "From our revenues from our videos on YouTube, we planted over 6,000 trees. We help communities and children. We find a case and help them with money or food or environmental help. We are overfishing and produce too many cattle. The next generation will not find a healthy environment to live in. We overuse, consume and pollute. Our home is our planet. Money will not save us, a healthy planet will. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we decided to show the beautiful side of the world, but it is also fragile," Giaquinto said.
The dream is to travel the six continents, in the same car they bought years ago. Over the past six years, Giaquinto and Kozlovskaia have traveled across five continents and through 60 countries. "The best investment is to invest in ourselves, by exploring the world and investing in knowledge. But the pandemic stopped us and we lived for a while in our car in a shopping center's parking lot north of Miami in the US," she said.
Guatemala - Watching an erupting volcano looking through our tent.As a parting message, they said: "Do not wait; money you can make, but time is irreversible. There will never be a perfect time. Do not live a life with regrets. Fulfill your dream and be more environmentally aware. Do not be afraid to live your life. See what is more important. Make more experiences and more happy moments."
Instagram account: Alvetoexpedition
