Odysway: experience the unexpected!
Imagine coming face to face with a jaguar deep in the Amazonian jungle in the middle of the night!
That’s what happened to Romain Masina in 2015, but that moment — which will stay with him for the rest of his life — was the result of an unexpected series of opportunities that he grabbed with both hands.
The point of no return
It all began in 2015 when, having completed his work-study programme at Societe Generale, Romain decided to spend four months travelling around South America with a female friend.
The journey was entirely prepared beforehand. They had a detailed list of countries, each stage of the trip and all the key sites to visit.
However, they couldn’t have foreseen their encounter with Julio, who lives in the Amazonian jungle and was passing through a village in northern Bolivia to do some shopping for his tribe.
After an evening chatting together, he suggested they go and live immersed with him in the jungle for a few days. Romain accepted this unexpected challenge, whilst his friend chose to stay behind. The two men agreed to meet at 7 the following morning for a 3-hour trip in a dugout canoe to Julio’s village.
This was the middle of the rainy season, and Romain wasn’t really equipped to immerse himself in the Amazonian jungle. He brought some cereal bars, bottled water and mosquito repellent… what he considered to be sufficient to survive a few days in the jungle.
Julio then announced that he’d have to leave everything behind.
“The forest will provide you with everything you need.”
Romain thus found himself with a loincloth as his only luggage and attire. It was the point of no return! He was anxious, frightened, but he was there for five days and therefore had little choice but to follow Julio.
Hunting wild pigs or small birds with a blowpipe, fishing piranhas, drinking water from the river filtered through a bamboo stem… Romain was experiencing total immersion!
One evening, Julio told him about the rite of passage for boys in his tribe, who must choose a totem animal they then have to kill. In Julio’s case, it was an alligator — he still wears one of its teeth as a pendant.
What came to Romain’s mind was a legendary animal he’d always wanted to meet: the jaguar. Julio told him that he only very rarely sees these animals (once or twice a year) because they sleep at day and hunt at night.
Romain insisted and negotiated hard with Julio to be able to go and wander through the jungle at night on the lookout for a jaguar. Julio gave in. At 3 in the morning, they headed out into the jungle with a torch and a machete to clear a path.
“Weirdly, in the jungle you see more at night than during the day.”
In the river, pairs of alligator eyes followed them, up on branches monkeys threw leaves at them for fun. Julio suddenly froze and signalled to Romain to stop, alerted by a noise behind them.
And there, just 15 metres behind them, appeared a very different pair of eyes from the others. Julio said to him: “it’s the jaguar”. He then told him to not take his eyes of it, to maintain eye contact at all costs.
Time seemed to stop. “In my mind it seemed to last an hour, but it was actually only 20 seconds”. The jaguar then resumed its route and moved away from them.
Romain ran into Julio’s arms and burst into tears. A combination of the joy of having experienced that unique moment and the tiredness that had returned after the excitement of this expedition.
Julio later explained to him that if they hadn’t stared right into the jaguar’s eyes, motionless, the animal would certainly have killed them.
When he got back to France, everybody asked him about his trip to South America. They asked questions about Machu Picchu, the temples, etc.
But the only real memory Romain has of his journey is those 20 seconds face to face with the jaguar.
That was the starting point of his entrepreneurial adventure that prompted him to create Odysway.
Travelling: a vector of transformation
By founding Odysway in 2018, Romain made it his mission to enable as many people as possible to enjoy life-changing experiences during their travels, experiences that would transform them.
Odysway is a new generation of travel agency that helps you fully experience your passion for travelling and discover yourself by discovering the world. Their objective is to produce the right conditions for you to enjoy a truly unique experience, your own personal experience.
“Everybody should be able to travel. You can enjoy amazing experiences just hours from home or on the other side of the planet! What you need is to not create any expectations!”
Leave your daily routine behind, take a break. Have sensational experiences that will become lasting and unforgettable memories.
Whether it be wandering through the deepest Brazilian jungle, climbing a mountain in Nepal, sharing a meal with a community in Ethiopia or meditating with a shaman in Peru, Odysway offers all kinds of trips that will fill your senses. Experiences that will enable you to grow personally and help you define who you are.
Choose activities that correspond to your passions and personal aspirations from a choice of three themes: sport, adventure and personal development.
Experiences for a change of scenery, to search for your true nature, far from everyday worries. Enjoy a life of experiences that allow you to see things in a different light and make you happy.
