I was irritated last week when I came upon someone’s comments judging another person’s travel style.
It was in regards to this fantastic guest post by Lina on How to spend 10 days in Peru. He complained that there’s a latest trend for travelers to check off as many things as they can in a short period of time – it’s like the new designer fashion.
He didn’t stop to think that most people don’t have the luxury of indefinite travel and wouldn’t want to even if they did. Most people only get two weeks paid leave a year, which is exactly why Lina wrote the post – to help these people.
If someone wants to go on the Amazing Race that’s their choice. Why can’t someone see as much as they can in a short period of time, if that is all they have?
It doesn’t matter how someone chooses to travel as long as they are traveling, are happy exploring what they want, and are creating incredible memories.
You can do that with 10 days in Peru, a weekend in Las Vegas, or a year trekking through Africa.
I decided to write an all encompassing post with my thoughts on what travel is.
No barriers or limitations – just a free flowing experience that can be enjoyed in multiple different ways.
How do you define travel?
For me:
It’s indefinite. It’s a mindset. It’s packing your life into a suitcase and wandering off into an unknown future for an unknown length of time.
It’s thrilling, it’s joyful, it’s awe-inspiring, it’s soul-searching, discovering, and enlightening.
It’s checking off bucket list items. Selfies from the Eiffel Tower and sunset picnics underneath with French champagne and cheese.
It’s raging waterfalls, serene rivers, ancient rainforests, and pristine beaches.
It’s flashing neon lights, hawking, and bartering.
It’s getting lost in laneways and going walkabouts on unmarked trails.
It’s returning home to places you’ve never seen before.
It’s wearing in a pair of your favourite shoes.
It’s meeting people who look different to you and not caring.
It’s smiles from strangers, and belly laughs with new friends.
It’s common connections and difference celebrations.
It’s samba drumming and moonlit skinny dips.
It’s sunset cocktails and sunrise ones—best viewed from a hammock.
Its’ throwing tomatoes, running with bulls, and prosting all night long.
It’s acoustic sessions in the forest and crowd surfing in the mosh pit.
It’s paying respect to your culture and new ones too.
It’s green frogs in your toilet, snakes slithering by, and cheetahs on the run.
It’s the pinch-me-I-must-be-sleeping dream.
It’s discovering new things in your backyard.
It’s walking every day with an open heart and mind. New explorations and discoveries.
It’s 2 weeks, a weekend, or a lifetime.
Surprises, memories, unfaltering joy.
It unites, it calms, it livens the vibration.
It’s total, divine love.
It’s cool when it’s cool to you.
It’s an expression of our authentic self. It’s the birthing of who we’ve tried to hide for too long.
It’s the unraveling of fear and the embracing of not giving a shit and doing it anyway.
It’s new horizons and unexpected gifts.
It’s liberating.
It’s all of these, it’s none of these, it is what it is to YOU.
Peace out.
Caz
xx
P.S. Join in on the fun. Write your own definition of what travel is in the comments. We want to see what it means to you.
