09/19/2024
(from Marta)
It’s very hard to find the right words to express how happy I am with this change in my life.
I can’t find the words to respond individually to everyone who commented on Michael’s post – my heart is full with the love you all shared.
It feels like the culmination of a life dedicated to tourism: serving people, building bridges between businesses, friends, and countries. But it also feels like the beginning of something new, almost as if, “from now on, this is where it really starts!”
It feels as though destiny has taken charge of placing everything exactly where it needs to be. For me, serving, saying yes, working while others were having fun – that was my way of life, something I truly enjoyed. But because I studied the art of service, I was taught there was a wall between us and the “clients.”
Even though I always loved working, it was with the opening of Wild Douro, surrounded by the best colleagues I could ever have imagined, that I felt truly fulfilled, with the sense that we had no limits.
Our motto was simple: we love people, and we want them to be happy while traveling with us. And destiny is like cherries… one thing leads to another, and we started crossing paths with truly special people and partners.
Initially, friends from Israel adopted us immediately, opened doors for us, and above all, showed us that yes, it’s possible to tear down barriers and walls and become an integral part of the journey.
In 2019, through Sofia from Feel Viana, CDV came into our lives, first through Daniele (my Italian brother, who works just like me), in January, and then Rocky, Paola, and Michael in June.
The project they presented was truly exciting, full of brilliance. They already had a partially developed program, but various conversations with Daniele throughout the year and the dinner with the other three at my house completely changed our approach.
That’s when Fonseca joined in, who always says yes, as long as it involves cooking… and who agreed to host the dinner at home.
The best part of the project was: “Tell us what you do with your friends? We want to do the same.” And so, I was able to involve many of my friends in the “Americans' week.”
Then Covid hit, and everything stopped, but we were no longer alone. Zoom calls became regular, and the conversations of support and sharing continued – the “Americans” had become part of our lives. New friendships formed, even during the pandemic, and we all kept creating projects. Wild’s biggest project was with Gabo, an Israeli friend who will always be in our lives, and who, just like CDV, showed us what travelers seek above all else: human warmth.
All these friends – and there are many, far too many to thank individually – built my destiny, a destiny that led me to CDV. And why? Because we are alike. People, family, and friends are the foundation of everything.
I will never be able to thank my parents and my kids enough for the support they’ve always given me, Fonseca for always saying yes, my colleagues at Wild who have always stood by me and will continue to do so, and especially the four partners who adopted me so that we could be five. Giving to me, to all of the Portugal team, to my friends and to my family, the possibility to embrace Culture Discovery Vacations, and all its family, from USA, Italy, Croatia, pretty soon Spain, latter Uruguay and hopefully our biggest dream Israel, is a feeling that I can’t even explain. I am really happy, and this time, Daniele, with no “buts”, Michael, it will be with all the stars we can have”!
I know that together, we will have even more fun, continue “working,” continue building bridges, and do what tourism does best – make people happy.
