Episode 5: Why Travel?

1925 - Traveling, a quest for peace

" I travel to find those who still know how to live in peace. "

Ella Maillart, 2001, "La voie cruelle", p.34 Editions Payot & Rivages, Paris

Original edition: 1947, William Heinemann Ltd

Little anecdote:

Photo Carinne Bertola

This famous quote is actually the response Ella Maillart gave to C.G. Jung — the renowned psychologist himself — during a visit to Zürich.

E. Maillart: “I visited C.G. Jung with the rather naïve hope that, in just a few words, he would hand me the key to understanding the mindset of so-called ‘primitive’ peoples.”

She was referring to the communities she planned to study during her journey through the Middle East with Anne-Marie Schwarzenbach.

E.M: “I offered him one of my books. He looked at it and asked:

‘Why do you travel?’”

“To find those who still know how to live in peace.”

That was the first answer that came to her lips.

“The great psychologist looked at me with a suspicious eye — did I seem afflicted by St. Vitus’ dance, coming to him in search of a cure?”

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2025 - Trusting life

Ukraine, Gaza, Israel, Iran, the rise of extremism...

Ella Maillart’s words, spoken a century ago, echo powerfully in today’s world.

Just as in 1925 and again in 1947, travel remains a refuge — a way to trust life, to slow down and savor it. To travel is to embrace the privilege of living in a different rhythm, in a different context. It’s also a way to cultivate openness to others and turn that into a source of richness.

Valérie