Save it For Later

When it comes to traveling, I put forth a great effort into full exploration of a culture. Whether I am trying out a local instrument in a village, hiking up a mountain, kayaking down a famous river, visiting museums, or famous restaurants-there full immersion and exploration. It feels excited to visit a new city and it's natural to want to visit things and explore. This is wonderful for tourists to get excited about their trip and their scheduled itinerary they may have.  The average tourist comes with a list of things to do after looking on trip advisor or google. They are prepared to be busy with all the top things to see.

Although, sometimes this need to explore truly takes over understanding a culture.  There is intention to check it off the list and feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.  There is a rush to accomplish everything where sometimes you get home and feel like you didn't have a vacation.

As an avid traveler, I believe in taking in the sights and new food, but sometimes it doesn't need to be all taken in one dose. If you are 25 visiting London, you don't have to see it all at one time.  If there are 10 museums in the city, you pick and choose a few you would like to see. You don't spend spend 15 minutes in each one to say you have seen them all. 

It took 30 years for me to realize, that it is Okay to save some things for later.  With a love for traveling, it's definitely not going anywhere.  When or if I'm married with kids, I would like to explore places with family. I would like to revisit and show friends or family a place. I would like to be able to have something new to try instead of saying, "I've already done that." This need to conquer a city is redefining itself with the ability to wait until next time. The city will not disappear. Of course, one should explore to their fullest and live life like the present, but this doesn't mean that you have to check off everything on that list.  You lived going to Rome and seeing the main sites. You lived paragliding in New Zealand. You lived swimming with sharks in Indonesia. This is living and you should be proud, but not relying on the next activity to keep you busy and going.   This strong need to accomplish fades away a bit when you realize that you have time.  You may or may not visit a destination again, but take the time to enjoy without rushing through a list.

The reality is that it’s much better to spend the time getting to know the real culture than just checking off a bucket list.  This rush to do everything in Iceland does not need to be completed all in one trip. Maybe one day you will revisit the country and you will have the time to do these things.  You will also have more time instead of running from one thing to the next. 

 Those wonders through tours can be seen with your own eyes and no empty pockets. PRIS