The World Travel Blog

Katie D.

August 26, 2011 - 7:11 PM

I was recently speaking with a friend of mine here in Colorado, comparing our travel histories. This is one of my favorite activities: chatting with someone else who has had the passion and good fortune to see a chunk of the world, and creating lists of favorite places, ridiculous stories, and our dreams of future travel.

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know by now that I am a traveler. When I can, I travel around the States, either close to home (hiking in Colorado this summer has been gorgeous), or by taking trips around the country. But my big travel passion is in the international scope, when you pack up everything you need for a long stretch, and head out of everything you know.

So here's what I would say to a fellow traveler:

I have been to Ireland (with my family when I was sixteen), Canada, and to considerable amounts of Central and South America. I went to Belize the summer after my freshman year of college, and that large-group trip was the first time I was really in Latin America. After that, I spent three weeks by myself in Guatemala, studying Spanish. Then I studied abroad in Chile during my sophomore year, and made side trips to Peru, Argentina, and Uruguay. I've spent several short trips in northern Mexico volunteering. This summer, I almost completed the list of Central American countries by spending time in Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica (as well as returning to Guatemala and Mexico). Someday I'll go to Panama, and that will round off the North American continent.

Looking at this list, I feel myself to be enormously lucky. This is so much more diversity of experience than many people will ever have. I have traveled to oceans and jungles; I have traveled to schools and organizations; I have fallen in love in a foreign country, and made friends I hope to keep forever. I know how to pack for a month on the road, and know how to barter in artisan markets. I have all kinds of beautiful and interesting souvenirs of my travels to keep in my Eugene home.

The second question I always ask fellow travelers is where they would want to go back to first. I feel strongly that there is too much of the world left to see to start repeating myself at this early stage. But if I was going to go back to someplace I've already been, it would probably be either Peru or Guatemala. My Peru trip was one of the most interesting and exciting of all my travels so far, complete with a visit to Machu Picchu. But I was only there one week, and I know there is enormous diversity of cultural opportunities, historical sites, natural beauty, and food left to explore. Guatemala captured my imagination because the indigenous culture is still so vibrant. I began to learn to weave while in Guatemala, and I would like to continue to do so. I loved the markets and the food in Guatemala, and the excitement of learning to recognize the embroidery the Mayan women would produce to identify themselves as living in different regions. Quetzaltenango, Guatemala is absolutely a place I would return to with great joy.

Then the ultimate question: where would you travel next. The truth is, I am currently very happy to be back in the States. My summer in Honduras was very intense, and I need a break to rest and recover. But I'm still plotting my next move. Maybe Europe, although my general opinion is that Europe will look similar if I wait ten years, while the developing world will change dramatically in that same time. Perhaps Australia and Indonesia, and scuba-ing the world's most glorious reefs should top the list. I must admit to some nervousness about traveling in a place where I do not speak the language. But someday I will get over this, and I would love to travel to different regions in Africa, perhaps combining volunteer work with ecotourism.

Despite the difficulties of this summer, I still consider myself to be a world traveler. I am often at my happiest while on the road and seeing new places. I love the experience of stepping off a train, plane, bus, or car and entering an entirely new culture. This is such an exciting and diverse world we live in. I hope to bring you stories of future travels, and I also hope to get back on the road soon.

World, here I come.