Just Slowing Down a Bit…
I’ve been at this “travel” thing now for more than a half-century: Ever solo. Always DIY. Often for weeks/months on end. IOW, not your easy-breezy cruisette hopping off a gigantic 200,000-ton cruise ship, nor sipping mai tai’s around the pool at gated luxury resorts ’round the globe. Shoot, not even navigating around Europe behind the tinted windshield of my private rental car. We’re talkin ever PUBLIC transportation (where better to meet the locals – which is the primary reason I travel at all), modest 3-star hotels (or more often – even better: a private room in a hostel w/ a shared kitchen, not to mention tons of like-minded traveler camaraderie).
Rare (Bali) luxury for the TravelnLass
In short, with rare exceptions (e.g. a week’s stay at that stunning 5-star hotel on Bali – thanks to an uber-cheap Travelzoo package deal for less than the usual cost of the round trip air from Seattle alone), my personal travel M.O. has long been – by deliberate choice – ever rough-around-the-edges off-the-beaten youknowwhat.
Starting w/ a summer’s backpack through Mexico via plane, train and chicken-bus – at 30, single mom with my two dds (age 5 and 8) in tow. Followed 3 years later by more than 6 months in Europe – studying in France and Italy and backpacking between terms on buses, trains and ferries through Switzerland, Greece, Amsterdam and London – likewise with my young dds tagging along.
Early bunch of “Imagine Belize” intrepids w/ their fearless leader – moi!
Then there were the two decades of hopping to and fro Central America, running small group tours to Belize, Guatemala and Costa Rica – along w/ plenty of “fam” trips (familiarization tours offered to those of us in the “biz” for peanuts by tourist boards in China, the Portuguese Azores, etc.)
And most recently – a full-on jump off the U.S. of A. ship permanently – first with 2+ years in Asia (based in Vietnam and skipping to most every country on that side of the globe, including Mongolia), followed by a dozen years now in my personal “Happy Place” on a mountain-top in the South American Andes (Cuenca, Ecuador).
Definitely All. Good. Fun. And trust that I’m uber-grateful every blessed day that I’ve been able to live such an extraordinary life.
As the years add up to ever higher dodderin’ however, I’ve necessarily slowed down some. A combination of simple physical stamina, combined with my dismay with the vast changes in both the numbers and the way folks travel these days. Plus… tbh – though I’ve verily scratched the surface of the 200+ sovereign countries on the Planet (I stopped counting at 50 as there didn’t seem to be much point) – I’ve nonetheless managed to explore pretty much all of my personal “gotta sees”, and honestly have difficulty coming up w/ a new destination that makes my wanderlust heart go pitty-pat in anticipation for more than a week, tops.
That’s not sayin’ some stray corner of the globe won’t suddenly catch my fancy tomorrow though. After all, I’ve always played this travel thing “by ear”, so I never know what might next prompt me to head to the other side of the World. But the truth is – I’m honestly so very content here on this lovely mountain-top in Ecuador, that going to the trouble of hopping on a cramped, over-sized cigar-tube-with-wings, and navigating the crowds (even in “off-season” 😒) of tourists (with newly minted passports hell-bent on seemingly a singular goal: getting “likes” on their fetching pose in front of the Taj for “the Gram”), um… just doesn’t seem appealing.
My personal “Goldilocks” place on the Planet…
Besides, even after more than a dozen years here in this stunningly beautiful “Goldilocks” city of 600,000 (not too big, nor too small, but “just right”) of Cuenca, there’s still plenty of surprises around every cobbled corner (not to mention happy language challenges even as I inch my “poco a poco” way from B1 to B2 level Spanish) to keep me on my foreign travel toes.
In short – traveling to ever new corners of the globe is all well and good. And that particular M.O. has happily sustained me for five decades now. But there’s also something to be said for sitting-tight in a foreign “home-base” that allows for more stationary pursuits like hobbies, sustained friendships, and being part of true community.
BUT…
Of course no way am I hanging up my satin wanderlust slippers for good and ever. Even as a dodderin’ it’s just a matter of slowing down and being more selective in where and how I explore this wondrous “Pale Blue Dot”.
Indeed – even as I peck here – I’ve already got another new boarding pass in my pocket. A new adventure to witness a most extraordinary festival come March/April. So do stay tuned to see where the TravelnLass is headed next. HINT:
About the Author
Dyanne Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion,and I’ve always lived life “like-a-kid-in-a-candy-store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been: This ain’t a dress rehearsal, folks!
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Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion, and I’ve always lived life “like a kid in a candy store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been:
