I close my eyes. I can feel the sun beaming on my skin. I take notice of the warmth on my fingertips, my shoulders, my face. The ocean sounds like a distant chaos. I open my eyes. They adjust to the brightness. The flapping of a Macaw’s wings as it soars through the sky come from above. The distant thud as a coconut falls from a tree. I watch the waves rush to the shore and crash. Then peace as the water retreats in preparation for the next crash. I am in Costa Rica.
My shoes thud as I climb the cobblestone steps, taking two at once. The white walls in contrast with the dark blue ocean in the background makes me feel like I’m in a postcard. The feeling of serenity and peace overcomes me. I find a little nook in between two walls. I place my hand on the slightly worn surface to hoist myself up to sit. The sun starts to meet the moon as they pass. The sky is softly painted purple and pink. The wind blows gently, pushing my hair in front of my face. Suddenly, the ocean blends with the sky. It is dark. I am in Santorini, Greece.
In reality, I am sitting in my bed watching the Travel Channel, sick with what I would like to call the travel bug. I crave adventure. I crave trying new foods, meeting new people and exploring the wonders of what the world has to offer. I want to feel the joy and content of the people making a living fishing and cooking in Peru. I want to shop the markets of hand-made treasures in Morocco. I want my feet to ache and for exhaustion to hit because I have had a busy day of exploration. I don’t want my shoulders to ache and tiredness to hit because I am hunched over at my desk studying for an exam. I have the travel bug. Symptoms include intense desire to be anywhere but where I am. An intense desire to talk to people, try new foods and feel like I am living my life to the fullest. The intense desire to travel! I think about this often. I think about grabbing my passport, packing a carry-on and jetting off to tourist attractions like the floating markets in Thailand and the Blue Lagoon in Iceland or to not-so-known places even. In fact, the not-so-known places sound even more amazing! The only thing stopping me is money. Oh, the things I would do if I had the chance!
Instead of watching the Travel Channel, I want to be living it! I want all the messy things that come along with travel. I want the limited access to internet and phone calls. It’d be nice to have everything be magical and amazing, but more often than not, there will be complications. But I’d be content with it. It just adds to the adventure. Just give me a camera so I can freeze the memories and time in a picture I can add to a scrapbook. I want to forget about the evil things I hear about in the news, and I want a way to find beauty in the world. I just want to experience the world and to fall madly in love with what it has to offer.Â
HCXO!