articles

Paul Salopek: The Man Walking the World

/ Marie / Leave a comment

My husband has a genius ability for finding articles that are really interesting and off the beaten path. It matches his ability of finding off the beaten path travel locations. My husband is just pretty cool. His latest article discovery was this BBC article about Paul Salopek. He is a journalist/anthropologist who is walking the migratory path out of Africa taken by early migratory human groups into the rest of the world. He started in Ethiopia and is currently in the Republic of Georgia.

The article is a question and answer series that highlights some specific experiences, but also addresses why Paul Salopek is making this trek. He has a very interesting viewpoint about how walking creates connectivity between people and places. If you are interested in anthropology, psychology, and/or travel, you will probably enjoy the article.

I found it interesting that he disdains cars and planes as being devices that deprive us of really experiencing our surroundings. I have felt that on a very small scale moving from a community where my children and I could walk most places to a town where everything is a lengthy drive away. I miss the connection to the place we live that I had when we spent more time walking everywhere. And now with smart phones being so prevalent, I fear that connection is lost even more.

Someday my husband and I want to walk the Camino de Santiago across Northern Spain. How does an experience like that change you as a person? I don’t know yet, but someday I want to find out.

You can follow this link below to the article. Enjoy!

www.bbc.com/travel/paul-salopek

Safest Cities to Live

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The other day my husband showed my this BBC Article, about living in the world’s five safest cities. According to the BBC, they are Osaka (Tokyo), Amsterdam, Sydney, Singapore and Stockholm. What I like about the article is that it provides further information about what makes each city attractive to its citizens. Traveling with young children, the safety of the places we travel is more of a consideration in choosing locations than when we only had to worry about my husband and myself.

In looking at the list and reading about the cities, two thoughts came to mind. One, many of the safest cities are already on our list of desired travel destinations. Two, I felt a little sad that none of them are located inside the United States of America. Asia and Northern Europe seem to be doing the best job at creating safe havens for their citizens.

What travel destinations would you choose or possibly avoid based on their safety level? I’m curious to know your experiences.

Why Should You Travel? Why Do You Travel?

/ Marie / Leave a comment
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Xania Waterfront on Crete

My husband showed me this article on bbc.com a while ago. Several people share their perspectives on why they travel. Some people don’t travel. They think it is a waste of time and money. I think that the life experiences you gain while traveling are some of the richest and most memorable. Traveling with those you love is an incredible bonding experience. I have found that sharing travel is a glue that helps build and maintain relationships through more difficult times.

It is also such an enriching world experience. I remember visiting Athens and suddenly having a much clearer understanding of why the city states in ancient Greece were built the way they were. Or gaining an appreciation for trapezoidal shapes after visiting ancient Incan sites. Why do we use rectangular doorways? Trapezoids are much more interesting. And our children gain a much broader view of what is possible, that there are many different ways that people live their lives. They also learn to be grateful for what they have.

So, read this article that touts traveling more as sound life advice, and let me know what you think.

Why do you travel? What do you get out of it?