Travel with Rick Steves · Saturday, September 5, 2026
Nikos Hadjicostas proposes that our interactions with people during travel create lasting connections, even if we never meet them again. He encourages mindfulness in these encounters, as both positive and negative connections shape our lives and contribute to the collective human experience.
“We think that when we meet someone, and we travel, and we have a meaningful interaction with him, that when we depart and we probably not going to visit again, a country, let's say Papua New Guinea, that our connection with this person dissipates or vanishes.”
“But this is untrue. Because that interaction molded our being and his being, and it stays with us.”
“So when you are mindful of that, you try to avoid it. You try to avoid creating a negative connection because then you know you will carry this negative connection for many, many years.”