Swallows, the Birds That Feel at Home Everywhere
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Some Travelers Just Know How to Belong
Dear Travel Journal,
With the arrival of our muse Maggy, VAGMAG took on a new direction. We decided to become a quarterly travel magazine, designed to flow with the seasons.
Each quarter now carries a distinct theme: we start the year with Sports, then move through Culture and Gastronomy, and conclude the cycle with Nature.
When I took responsibility for the Nature Quarter, I never imagined I’d write about birds. Least of all, about swallows.
To truly understand this, I need to take you back to my childhood.
Born to Travel, Built to Belong
I grew up in a big city, but my early years unfolded in a much smaller town. It was shaped by tough weather, yes, but also by dedicated teachers and the best education I ever received.
Summers were spent at my grandmother’s countryside house or, later, at the beach in a coastal city where I’d spend my youth.
Perhaps that's where my deep admiration for nature truly began. I believe childhood is when we define what will feel "normal" for the rest of our lives. If long family tables and shared joy are normalized early, I believe our future selves or our children will recreate and protect them.
In those years, there were quiet companions around me. On long road trips. On the wide balcony where I watched cars go by. In the garden that once seemed endless as I ran and played. Back then, I didn't even notice them. They were simply there.
Little did I know, these quiet companions, the swallows, would one day become the very inspiration for VAGY, our brand of elegant and practical travel goods.
These fast, elegant marvels of agility used to nest on our balcony, keeping me company as I waited for the school bus in the mornings when I was a child.
Until today, while on an evening walk, one of them caught my eye mid-air with a sudden, breathtaking dive. I had also seen them during my morning runs, and each time, I felt the urge to look them up, to understand these nomadic birds that were, in truth, always with me. I just hadn't seen them so clearly before.
Not All Who Wander Are Lost, Some Just Fly South just like Swallow Birds
On a hot summer day, moved by that sudden dive, I finally sat down at my desk to learn more about swallows.
The first thing that fascinated me was their aerial agility. To catch insects mid-air, they perform sudden dives, lifts, and sharp turns. Always in motion, they seem to dance with the wind. As I reflected on this connection, another, more personal theory came to mind one I've quietly carried for years: Every human physically and spiritually resembles an animal. It's true. One friend of mine looks like a cat, and sure enough, behaves like one, too.
Over the years, I’ve observed others and refined this idea. More often than not, it works. Be warned, however: once you accept this theory, you’ll never see people the same way again.
Naturally, this made me curious about myself. Friends made bold guesses for me. It’s hard to be objective about oneself. But as someone more extroverted than introverted, someone deeply attached to her freedom, I’ve always admired birds. Their swift, elegant flight. Their constant motion. I was in awe.
I was amazed to discover that swallows are migratory birds that travel thousands of kilometers each year. These tiny, delicate creatures move between Europe and Africa, carrying only themselves. They felt like metaphors for patience, endurance, and the state of being in between. If there’s one bird that symbolizes the spirit of journeying, it’s the swallow.
Carried by the Wind, Guided by Instinct
They don’t stay long; they use mud and saliva to construct their homes in just eight days simple, graceful, and functional. They feed on insects mid-flight. They work while moving.
Just like us, in the VAG journey. Their flight reminds me that we, too, work while on the road. And that’s a beautiful thing. They know where they belong. And in motion, they remain themselves. The swallow decides its direction mid-air; there is no need to land.
As I dug deeper, I learned that they build their nests near water, on rooftops, in quiet places. Though they live in colonies, their nests are built side by side, not on top of each other. They preserve their individuality within community.
That’s us, too in V4GCLUB and in VAGMAG. We journey together, but each of us carries her own rhythm, her own room to breathe. They are symbols of loyalty, harbingers of spring, muses of literature.
Each new thing I learn about them deepens my admiration. They bring spring wherever they go but never stay anywhere forever.
Let me share with you a poem by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer inspired by them:
Volverán las Oscuras Golondrinas
by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
Volverán las oscuras golondrinas
De tu balcón sus nidos a colgar,
Y, otra vez, con el ala a sus cristales
Jugando llamarán;
Pero aquéllas que el vuelo refrenaban
Tu hermosura y mi dicha al contemplar,
Aquéllas que aprendieron nuestros nombres…
Ésas… ¡no volverán!
Volverán las tupidas madreselvas
De tu jardín las tapias a escalar,
Y otra vez a la tarde, aun más hermosas,
Sus flores se abrirán;
Pero aquéllas, cuajadas de rocío,
Cuyas gotas mirábamos temblar
Y caer, como lágrimas del día…
Ésas… ¡no volverán!
Volverán del amor en tus oídos
Las palabras ardientes a sonar;
Tu corazón, de su profundo sueño
Tal vez despertará;
Pero mudo y absorto y de rodillas,
Como se adora a Dios ante un altar,
Como yo te he querido…, desengáñate:
¡Así no te querrán!
Thanks to Marcos for sharing this poem and inspiring this story about swallows.
The Swallow's Way: Feel at Home, Everywhere
We’re all shaped by things we were exposed to in childhood. We define VAGMAG as a gender-aware travel journal with timeless stories, and VAGY as our brand of elegant and practical travel goods.
A travel magazine needs a travel companion, doesn't it?
This is also why swallows are the most fitting symbol to represent us.
Mostly monogamous, each with an aesthetic appearance, swallows build their nests together with a partner, protect their eggs, and feed their young. While our inspiration for VAGY products, focused on being aesthetic and functional, might not have explicitly come from swallows at first, now, everything feels like it's exactly where it should be.
Their partnership is more than romantic loyalty, this signifies a collaborative partnership. They exemplify a shared division of labor.
VAGY's enigma of "being everywhere and nowhere" actually stems purely from our collaborations. We don't have a physical store or production network anywhere, yet we distribute worldwide, making us truly everywhere.
What do swallows teach us?
Love is something built together.
Functional beauty always leads the way.
Loyalty can coexist with the right to choose.
Equality begins with sharing.
So let me ask you this:
Have you ever wondered how migratory birds manage to travel thousands of kilometers every year, almost always following the same route with astonishing precision?
Behind this natural wonder lies an awe-inspiring biological navigation system.
Scientists have discovered that migratory birds use several sensory mechanisms together to find their way:
1. Sun Compass
Birds can determine their direction based on the position of the sun in the sky. By following the sun’s movement throughout the day, they adjust their position using an internal clock. This “sun compass” is especially effective for daytime migration.
2. Star Compass
Species that migrate at night rely on star patterns. In the Northern Hemisphere, the North Star (Polaris) and the surrounding constellations serve as reference points.
Some birds, such as swallows who migrate by day, rely mostly on sun position, magnetic fields, and visual landscapes. Others, who migrate at night, read the stars.
3. Magnetic Field Detection
Perhaps their most fascinating ability and the one that moves me the most is their capacity to sense Earth’s magnetic field. Special proteins in their eyes and iron-based cells in their beaks act like a built-in compass. This allows them to stay on course even when the sun or stars aren’t visible.
In a way, they are drawn toward where they’re meant to go.
4. Scent Map (Olfactory Navigation)
Recent research shows that some birds also rely on smells to navigate. Especially when returning home, familiar scent profiles and the chemical makeup of the air play a key role.
5. Landmark Recognition (Visual Mapping)
As they approach their destination, birds use landforms—mountains, rivers, coastlines—to recognize their path. Some species are even thought to memorize urban skylines.
So, if you see something that feels familiar, something you’re drawn to as a free-spirited person maybe it’s worth paying attention.
And if we ever meet one day, I’ll tell you which animal you remind me of. Who knows, maybe you resemble a migratory bird yourself.
Now, back to the swallows.
When migrating from Europe to Africa, swallows travel thousands of kilometers and often return to the exact same village, even the same nest year after year.
Some studies show that the routes they learn as fledglings are deeply internalized and used for life, suggesting a powerful migration memory.
Swallows trust the sky, the earth, and their own bodies all at once.
Anything can happen during migration, just like in life.
But they choose to become who they truly are small bodies with brave hearts.
That’s why, as I said in the fifth edition of our VAGMAG Sunday postcards sent at 11 a.m. each week:
“Don’t be with someone who makes you feel nothing. Don’t stay where you feel nothing.”
Maybe what pulls you toward someone or somewhere has everything to do with your own magnetic field.
Behind all these definitions lies something simple: We just want to be ourselves. To fulfill ourselves. To share what we once saw as “normal” in childhood. To live our kind of normal. What we truly long for is simply to feel at home, wherever we belong. Just like the swallows.
That’s why we chose the swallow as VAGY’s logo. We couldn’t have found a better character to reflect ourselves, our journey, and our lifestyle.
With care,
Idalia
