Go to Local and get a deeper experience. As I mentioned above, my desire to travel has now morphed from seeing the places I visit to experiencing and looking for activities or tours or ways to immerse in the local culture.
Nobody knows the place you’re visiting better than locals do. Imagine spending a few hours with a local, showing you the local scene and telling you stories about the places you are visiting that perhaps some professional tour guides don’t even know.
Hanging out at the Gunks in New Paltz, NY
Somebody’s pet snake in Thailand. Petrified, I was holding the snake’s head away from me. What I will do for a photo op.
Cobwebs in my brain: One of those can’t remember where but I know this is in Mexico. Can’t recall the pyramid name nor what I am doing with a bike.
In Morocco, trying to ride on a camel. Not as easy as it may seem.
Riding on an elephant taken years ago. I wouldn’t do this now because of the cruelty involved in training the elephants to “behave”.
Up, Up & Away
Paragliding in Medellin
No, I wasn’t on my own. There was an instructor with 20 years experience steering behind me. I had to hold on for dear life so I wasn’t able to take a selfie. Another one of those feel the fear but do it anyway. It was so affordable (merely $25), I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. And it’s actually run, run and away as we had to run downhill until we’re airborne. Just like that. It was an exhilarating experience and would definitely do it again.
© 2020
ALONG THE WAY
January 2016
January 2016
Ecuador: Republic of the Equator
May 2010
BETWEEN DESTINATIONS
The Layover
Something Borrowed …
This is a post by a solo woman traveler which somewhat brings home what I realized about making travel more than just bouncing from place to place and changing the way I see the world:
The Eagle Has Landed …
Now What?
connects travelers with local hosts in three different ways: through Activities, Tours, and Eating.
is a time worn adage, the meaning of which eluded me when I first started my quest to see the world. As I tried to recall my past travels in preparation for the next chapter in my now unstructured lifestyle, I realized I couldn’t remember a lot of the places I have been to and most of the snippets of memories I have had nothing to do with the sights. I planned my entire trip to Europe, from the schedules of trains I took to the bed & breakfast places I stayed in. Everything went well, without a hitch. In a way, therein lies the problem.
My focus at the time were the cities I came to visit. As I look back, however, memories of most of what I saw seemed to remain in the background and were overshadowed with events or activities that required overcoming some kind of dilemma. It seems that surmounting predicaments seem to foster rich memories in me. It could be something as simple as trying to decipher a menu in a foreign language to make sure I am not ordering brain, appreciating the kindness of a stranger or getting into a snafu like boarding the wrong bus. I suppose it is in navigating such quandaries that result in wisdom and lessons learned that truly gets buried in my psyche.
So it is that I now embrace travel more as the doing rather than the seeing. It could start by just determining which road to take. The journey continues … but unlike my past explorations, I am now mindful of the realities and expectations that come with traveling and would like to end with another adage: discovery consists not in seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes.
The Journey
is the Destination …