About 5 years ago, Bill and Nancy Vrettos showed me pictures of their world travels, and I remember being struck by one photo in particular; it was of Nancy on a camel in the desert. I remember thinking, “THAT is so cool. What a special memory! I want that picture for me and my future children.” I have this photo now- there’s me, on a camel, in the Sahara desert, with the Pyramids in the background. This photo is special to me because it represents a part of my life that is very important to me, adventure travel.
Traveling has shaped my world view: my political viewpoints, my philosophies about the universal nature of people, God, poverty, wealth, family, fear, security, equality, justice, possibilities, persistence, and joy. Travel has given me a knowledge that I am beyond fortunate to have been born in one of the most financially accessible countries in the world, with access to education and a passport that allows me to go nearly anywhere I choose to. More than ever before, travel has given me a feeling of connection to my home (America), where things are familiar. But that feeling of home now stretches beyond the borders of my little homeland of the United States. I see the U.S. as a small stretch on a full globe with an impact that ripples and touches the farthest corners. As I see the globe, there are faces and landscapes and culture attached to each place that I’ve been and it doesn’t allow me to think in terms of “those people,” because we’re all just people, born where-ever we’re born and living the only way that makes sense to us at this particular point in history. And what makes sense to me right now is experiential travel, the kind where Mark and I show up at a place and figure it out for ourselves, without a tour package, with the help of locals, some broken English, and a bit of pantomiming.
Experiential travel isn’t for everybody. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable. The opportunity costs are high, but in the end, for me, it’s totally worth it. And I guess that’s what I saw in the photo of Nancy on the camel... I saw the work that Bill and Nancy had gone through to save up and take a year off to travel, the lengths to which they pushed themselves to tackle the uncomfortable, and the uniquely rewarding experiences they obtained as a result. And it makes me proud that Mark and I have been able to achieve this for ourselves. We’re not so unique; we see other backpackers everywhere we go. They’re doing the same thing that we are, delighting in these gems around the world, but it makes me a little sad to see that so few of them are Americans. Why do so few Americans take these adventures? I think it might be because we are scared of what it might cost us. We might have to give up our slice of the American Dream of a debt-obtained house, 2 cars, and a “secure” job. It might seem like planning a trip is overwhelming, or the location is just too far away, so we put it off into the future. But we’re not promised any days beyond the one we’re living, so my suggestion is, if you see something that excites you, don’t sell yourself short. Get out there and find a way to make it happen. Go find the joy in life. And if you happen upon a camel in the Sahara, ride it through the pyramids, because it may well be one of the most delightful experiences of your life.
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| Riding toward the Pyramids |
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Our caravan- just me, Mark, our guide, 2 camels, and 1 horse... and of course,
the guy on his donkey selling Coca Cola :-) |
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| Mark giving kisses to his ornery camel |
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| Climbing #2 Pyramid |
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| Sphinx |
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| Our Photographer- thanks for the great pose ideas! |
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| Add caption |
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| These guys were laughing at, then copying, our poses |
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