If I could be someone else for a day, I would pick Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890) who lived a super-adventurous life and at the same time was a superb scholar.
Daily writing prompt
If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be, and why?
Tarnmoor 
If I could be anyone, I’d be Basho in a different century, hemisphere, gender.
Basho is a good choice. I’ve read his haiku several times when traveling.