Ella Maillart's Quotes

The usual channels of university studies or secretarial work did not appeal to me. I cherished difficult dreams through confidence in myself.

The wideness of the horizon has to be inside us, cannot be anywhere but inside us, otherwise what we speak about is geographic distances.

There is only one valid species of voyage, which is walk towards the men.

Travel can also be the spirit of adventure somewhat tamed, for those who desire to do something they are a bit afraid of.

We want to feel that this earth is all ours, like our parents' house when we were children.

Words are impotent to describe certain emotions.

I can see now that a concept or even a feeling makes no sense unless out of our substance we spin around it a web of references, of relationships, of values.

Not only does travel give us a new system of reckoning, it also brings to the fore unknown aspects of our own self. Our consciousness being broadened and enriched, we shall judge ourselves more correctly.

One travels so as to learn once more how to marvel at life in the way a child does. And blessed be the poet, the artist who knows how to keep alive his sense of wonder.

Others are keen to see if natives other than us live better than we do, without heat in pipes, ice in boxes, sunshine in bulbs, music on disks, or images gliding over a pale screen.

Shall we ever see the 10 million things of the universe simultaneously in order to be the all? I am convinced that to live is to travel towards the world's end.

We must develop a deeper interest and greater understanding of the people we meet here or abroad. Like us, they are passengers on board that mysterious ship called life.

When I crossed Asia with my friend Peter Fleming, we spoke to no one but each other during many months, and we covered exactly the same ground. Nevertheless my journey differed completely from his.

You can feel as brave as Columbus starting for the unknown the first time you enter a Chinese lane full of boys laughing at you, or when you risk climbing down in a Tibetan pub for a meal of rotten meat.

I did not want to be depressed by the gap existing between my weakness and my ambition.

I had to live in the desert before I could understand the full value of grass in a green ditch.

When I look at something, it is certain that for an instant I am one with what I see.

The benefits of the accomplished journey cannot be weighed in terms of perfect moments, but in terms of how this journey affects and changes our character.

The sooner we learn to be jointly responsible, the easier the sailing will be.

Certain travellers give the impression that they keep moving because only then do they feel fully alive.

Humanity is made up of an infinity of different individuals. Each of us travels for motives exclusively his own.

One travels to run away from routine, that dreadful routine that kills all imagination and all our capacity for enthusiasm.

Those who appreciate the ways of simple tribes, where every activity is direct and immediately understandable, are able to live among them.

When the heart speaks, its language is the same under all latitudes.

You do not travel if you are afraid of the unknown, you travel for the unknown, that reveals you with yourself.

Every time I took a long leave from home, I felt as if I were going to conquer the world. Or rather, take possession of what is my birthright, my inheritance.