Get out there and EXPLORE!

By TravelGirl:

Last night I was thinking to myself, "What good is a travel blog if you're not traveling?" Then, my brain reminded me that half the fun in actually experiencing travel is in the planning of the adventure. A fair amount of planning goes into our travels, but that's not to say that we don't leave opportunities for impulsive decisions.

For example, we're planning a full transit of the Panama Canal in March with some good friends. We'll call them Jessie and Devin to protect their innocence (I just wanted to say that, as it reminds me of Dragnet). We plan to fly to Acapulco, and then embark on a 10-day sail that will take us south to Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama before spending time at sea in the canal itself and crossing over into the Caribbean to Jamaica, and finally up to the Atlantic waters of Ft. Lauderdale. This little journey has been on our calendars for just about a year and while we plan to leave some time to just explore and spontaneously run about (or is that 'run amuk'?), we are making plans to see some of the natural wonders of Central America.

For example, in Guatemala, how cool would it be to explore Antigua and visit the old churches and museums? Or, what about experiencing Lake Nicaragua and the centuries-old Spanish churches, convents and homes? Nothing really floats my boat more than the thought of seeing monkeys swinging through trees or just hanging out in Costa Rica, and buying some good ol' Costa Rican coffee. Can you say, "Yum. If I drink 2 cups in the morning and 2 cups at night, I hope to have some left over to bring home and share?" Share really isn't a word that most only children know about, but I have learned over the years that giving is WAY more fulfilling than receiving. So, I think I'll plan to bring some of that good java back and let others experience what we did through the essence of some good Central American joe. And if that's not enough, perhaps we can pick up a little mini bobsled ornament when we visit the new Mystic Mountain Jamaica bobsled park. Can you just visualize yourself zoom, zoom, zooming down a Jamaican mountain with no snow? Imagine it. It could be you. I sure hope it will be me.

While we live and breathe travel every day of our lives, it's in the planning and the research we do for travel clients, and in the anticipation of our own upcoming travels. Remember this -- "The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page." ~Saint Augustine