‘The Taliban ambassador told me I’d be the first woman to enter Afghanistan alone’

At 29 years old, Nataly Castro has already filled six passports with visas and stamps long before their expiration dates. After visiting 180 countries in the last 16 months, she returned home to São Paulo suffering from severe anemia. Castro is a journalist, and the daughter of a teacher and a cabinetmaker, who aims to visit 200 countries and territories in 18 months to set a Guinness World Record. Nataly’s grandmother sold her car to help pay for her granddaughter’s travels, and remembers her as curious child fascinated with her globe of the world. Nataly funds her adventures with sponsorships and shares them on Instagram with 200,000 followers (@viajesemlimites).

Question. You can do a lot of traveling in a big country like Brazil. When did you first go abroad?

Answer. On October 29, 2013, I headed to Ireland with a scholarship from the State of São Paulo to learn English for a year. Those medieval settings were like something out of a movie. So fascinating!

Q. If it weren’t for a storm, you’d be in the Falkland [Malvinas] Islands right now.

A. Yes. The bad weather delayed my first flight and then another one. So I missed my connection to the sole weekly flight to the islands. The British Embassy in Brazil invited me there to promote tourism. I was in Brazil recovering from an illness, so I decided to grab the opportunity. I only have 20 countries left to visit.

Q. Have you read Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne?

A. No, but I’ve read stories by people who have.

Q. Does getting a Guinness World Record involve a lot of red tape?

A. Yes. The record I aim to beat is traveling around the world in 18 months. I’ve been at it for 16 months, so time’s running out. I have to document my journey daily with photos and videos. I carry six passports and all my plane tickets. In each country, I need two witnesses to fill out a form for Guinness.

Q. It sounds stressful.

A. Yeah, it’s a lot! You need to handle all the logistics, study maps, plan routes, and make sure you pack appropriate clothing for local customs.

Q. When are you leaving again?

A. As soon as possible. I need to recover from my anemia and secure funding and sponsors to complete my goal of visiting all 193 U.N.-recognized countries, including the two non-member observers (the Holy See and Palestine), Taiwan, and the four countries of the United Kingdom [England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland], which are counted separately. This brings the total to 200, including territories.

Q. What was Afghanistan like?

A. Epic. I applied for a visa in Pakistan since it’s cheaper there. But I had lots of misgivings. After waiting for an hour, I met the ambassador who said, “Nataly, we like what you’re doing and we’re going to give you the visa. But tell the world that there is more than war in Afghanistan. We have history, culture… You are the first woman authorized to enter and travel alone in Afghanistan.”

Q. What was it like?

A. Many curious women and men approached me. Others angrily told me to call my [male] guardian. But I didn’t have one, of course. I was there for 19 days, staying with a local family. I tried to leave the country by land and traveled to the border with Uzbekistan, but the crossing was closed. I started pleading for them to let me cross the border, but I had to return to Mazar-i-Sharif [northern Afghanistan] where the Taliban said, “Welcome back, sister.” I disagree with the Taliban’s ideas, but they didn’t give me any trouble — maybe because I was a foreigner. When I went to take a bus back to Kabul, they were surprised by a woman traveling alone. They called a Taliban leader who eventually made a video authorizing my safe conduct. I was seated next to a woman on the bus and four male passengers were assigned to protect me. It seemed like they saw it as an opportunity to showcase the positive aspects of Afghanistan.

Q. It’s uncommon for a woman to travel alone in many places.

A. Yes, it’s still considered taboo in many places. I arouse a lot of curiosity, but I also aim to inspire people. You learn to appreciate being alone and it’s an opportunity to make friends along the way. The visa for Kuwait involved five months of paperwork and a pregnancy test.

Q. A what?

A. A pregnancy test. They said it was because I’m single. I guess it’s so you don’t end up giving birth in the country.

Q. The Brazilian passport opens a lot of doors, right?

A. It’s impressive. You can enter 170 countries without a visa. Sometimes I sleep in five-star hotels thanks to sponsorships, and sometimes I sleep on a mat on an airport floor.

Q. Why did you embark on this adventure?

A. Travel around the world? Before this, I had lived in five countries and visited about 20. I wanted to be a digital nomad, so I started researching how to do this in 2019. I want to be the first Brazilian to go around the world.

Q. Perhaps you’re so resilient because you had problems in school.

A. Problems? It was racism! In school, there were only a few other Black kids. Despite being a good student, I faced constant rejection. It was tough — I even had to eat lunch in the bathroom to avoid bullying. It was relentless, and I felt like there was no way out. I attempted suicide three times — the last time when I was 14. But then I thought, “Imagine if I could go somewhere and nobody’s judging me for my class, money or skin color.” That’s when I began dreaming of studying abroad. When I finally got the scholarship, I was working in telemarketing.

Q. What do you carry in your backpack?

A. I used to carry more baggage than I do now. I wash my clothes every other day. I have a sponsored GoPro camera, a mobile phone and a computer. I also had a compact camera that was stolen from me in Oman, which ironically is one of the safest countries.

Q. You said that going to Africa felt like coming home.

A. It was like returning to a house I’ve never been to. Millions of Africans were brought to Brazil on slave ships. I deeply wanted to reconnect with my roots in Angola and Portugal, and to uncover our hidden history.

Q. Brazil is a mestizo country, but did you encounter racism in other countries?

A. During my first visit to Poland in 2019, people who cross to the other side of the street to avoid me. My most recent trip to Poland went well. However, in a hostel I had booked in Belarus, I faced blatant racism. The owner demanded more money because of my race, and when I refused, he insulted me and kicked me out. My hands were trembling as I typed those awful insults into Google Translate. I left the hostel and recorded a video to expose his racism in online reviews.

Q. In some countries of Africa’s Sahel region you didn’t leave the airport. Does that count?

A. Yes, it was in this final stretch of the journey — and it does count. I left the Burkina Faso airport for about 20 hours, but I couldn’t in Niger, Sudan and Chad due to security concerns.

Q. After traveling around the world, where would you return to without any reservations?

A. Iran, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Ghana, Vanuatu…

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