True to my slacker nature, may I present the second blog post of 2016. Mainly I’ll just be yammering about my international travel of the year so far. What else do I talk about?
Yeah, about that overseas travel. It’s addicting, for me. I’m barely home before I start thinking of my next trip, planning where I can go and what excuse I’ll have to do so (typically work – thank you, NASA).
Why is it so damn necessary. Had a chat about that recently. Adrenaline? Possibly. Since I’m usually cruising around only half knowing where I’m going and how to get there, with only a tenuous link to anyone who knows for sure where I am. But I think it’s more nuanced than a simple adrenaline rush. It’s something about the hundreds of little experiences that happen while traveling – they sort of stitch my soul together in unexpected ways. Not just the people – I really don’t care for people in a general sense – but certain people, and don’t forget the animals, the sweeping landscapes; the connections I make between a certain sand dune in South Africa, and a moment long ago on the beaches of Thailand. That’s maybe the most significant part: the interconnectedness feeling that rushes up suddenly between thousands of miles and years of time. It’s a crazy, beautiful thing and I crave that feeling over and over again.
Another point: something about traveling makes you learn more about yourself and get that new perspective that sitting at home in your comfy routine does not. Everyone knows this – it’s nothing new – but I’m just trying to put random feels into words here.
The most startlingly real memories in my past are from trips & adventures. I draw on them when I want to feel (happy?) content and good about life. Watching aurora from the frozen shores of the North slope of Alaska outside in the 40 below arctic wind. Silent minutes spent staring at the night ocean in a foreign country – no need to talk, the waves crashing are saying basically everything. The ancient stones that the Inca laid to walk on, and how it feels to actually be walking that same bizarre path through the forests to some far-off holy spectacle. These are the great moments of my life. Words don’t work so well, but I know some of you hear exactly what I’m saying.
So this year: Peru, Switzerland, Meow Wolf (yeah I’m counting that as travel to another place [planet?]), South Africa. Next year: Hawaii, Galapagos, who knows where else.
For the most recent travel to S. Africa, I refer you to this photographic evidence. Those other trips have yet to be documented. Someday. If I stop traveling for long enough to catch up.