Thursday, April 23, 2015

A Long Walk, A Deep-Sea Swim and a Journey to one of the Most Remote Islands in the World - These are my Top 3 Bucket List Destinations

Almost everyone has a bucket list- a list of places they want to visit and things they want to experience. While some people only dream of making seeing their list realized, I have been slowly but surely making my way through mine...and it's lengthy. It was hard to narrow that list down to my top three destinations and experiences but I did it, I put it to paper, edited it and posted it for all of you to see. Now I just have to work on making them a reality!

The Camino de Santiago

I've recently taken an interest in the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. Traditionally, it was a religious pilgrimage but it seems that, today, thousands of people each year are doing this long trek for various reasons both religious and non-religious. I personally would love to set out on this pilgrimage for a number of reasons.
1) Endurance and accomplishment. I must say, I would be quite proud of myself if I could complete a 791-kilometre trek through all kinds of weather and terrain. Throwing myself into an unfamiliar place and walking into the unknown would be the ultimate mental and physical test.
2) The experience. I'm imagining the interesting places where I would spend the night, the people from all over the world I would meet, the stories I would hear, the things I would see, the languages I would try to converse in, the things I would learn, the new foods I would eat...
3) The memories. Completing such a trek would be something I'd never forget as long as I live and it would provide me with endless things to write about and share with others.
4) The escape. What better way to escape the mundane. I'd be immersing myself into a new adventure that would provide me with a complete change of scenery for an extended period of time and allow me to see life from a new perspective.
5) A way to clear my head and start out fresh. Some people head to their local pub and slam back a few dozen beers, some people change careers and some people do a walkabout in the Australian Outback. One day, I will trek the Camino de Santiago. I've taken in a lot the last few years. I lost my mom, I lost a job I loved, I made a big move to another location away from a place I loved, I had to readjust to a lot of new things and frankly, at times, it was hard. I need to regroup, think long and hard about the next step, rediscover myself and set some new goals...a long walk should do the trick!

Swimming with Whale Sharks

I can't think of a better way to become one with the natural world than to share such a close encounter with one of the largest creatures on the planet. They look so peaceful and graceful despite their size and it would be an honor to share the same space with them for even a short time. I love to swim, I love the ocean, I love animals and I love a good one-of-a-kind adventure. Since whale sharks are not a threat to humans like some of their other more dangerous cousins, I think a trip to the Caribbean Coast of Mexico is in order for the near future!

Easter Island

I once thought this island was just a rock in the middle of the ocean with a bunch of ancient statues on it. It still intrigued me but once I learned more about it, I became more intrigued and now I want to go there more than anything! The remoteness of the island, the isolation of the people and their almost untouched culture and way of life, the history behind the Moai statues...all of it is so intriguing to me. I'm picturing myself venturing out to explore the island and its mysteries. I would hear stories passed down from generation to generation, I would sleep under the stars, I would visit remote and almost untouched beaches, I would sit in silence with my eyes closed in the fresh, clean air and try to picture what it was like hundreds of years ago. To me, traveling to Easter Island would be the trip to end all trips...well not really. I will never stop traveling but it would be hard to top off a trip to one of the world's most remote places and one that has so much culture and history despite the fact that only 5700 people live there.

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