Jun

Web-Footed Wanderlust

by Meredith Mullins on June 22, 2015

Single African blackfooted penguin showing his wanderlust iin a penguin parade. (Image © iStock.)

Getting out and about
© iStock

Five Travel Tips from a Penguin Parade

You can learn a lot of things from a jackass.

It’s not often that I get to start a story with a tribute to a jackass.

In this case, I’m talking about the jackass penguin, or African blackfooted penguin. (The unfortunate nickname of “jackass” comes from the honking sound they make, reminiscent of a donkey braying.)

I first learned of these penguins when I saw their penchant for curiosity and wanderlust in a whimsical YouTube video.

Meredith Mullins 6 Comments

Art of Travel/USA

May

From Colorful Guatemala to Post-Vacation Blues

by Sally Baho on May 11, 2015

Off-centered door in yellow stucco wall, a colorful memory recalled during post-vacation blues. (Image © Scott Kafer)

The flowers aren’t the only thing that provide color in Antigua, Guatemala,
the houses remind you of a painter’s palette. © Scott Kafer

Finding the Color Wherever You Are

Only yesterday, I had returned from Guatemala, surrounded by people, colors, smells, and noise—music, cars, crowds, conversation. Now here I was back in Pacific Grove, CA, known as “America’s last hometown,” waking to the low hum of my refrigerator. Looking around, my once beloved apartment seemed silent, cold, desolate.

I felt as if someone had pulled the plug on me—where was everyone? They had gone and left me with the post-vacation blues.

A Sense-sational Trip

Traveling—when done right—hits all your senses. My trip began in the streets of Antigua, a colonial town and UNESCO World Heritage Site, where old cobblestone streets crawl past colorful facades.

I continued to noisy Guatemala City where a walk through the crowded Mercado Central captivated my senses. The sharp smell of fresh fruit. The pots of simmering meat. The sound and smell and taste of the sizzling tortillas on the griddle.

Close up of a moronga (blood sausage) taco with tomatoes and onions, and a Gallo beer bottle in the background., a tasty memory recalled during the post-vacation blues. (Image © Sally Baho)

Moronga (blood sausage) taco
at the Mercado Central in Guatemala City
© Sally Baho

I thought back to the two old ladies who insisted on feeding the gringa (me) some of the moronga (blood sausage) taco they were eating . . . with their bare hands.

I relived my flight north from Guatemala City to Flores and how the vista of the Isla de Flores in Lake Petén Itzá opened my eyes wide to new wonders.

Aerial view of Isla de Flores in northern Guatemala, a beautiful memory recalled during post-Vacation blues. (Image © Rafael Amado Deras)

Isla de Flores, Guatemala, where the water is as inviting as the view!
© Rafael Amado Deras

The memory of all these sensory experiences, however, only heightened my sense of sadness.

New Friends in New Places

I missed the new friends I had made, too. And I missed how easy it feels when I’m traveling to make new friends.

Only three days ago, I had shared a canoe ride with a lady I had just met. We drank a cold beer as we leisurely rowed away from the vibrant Isla de Flores. I was on vacation: no watch, no alarm clock, no email, no desk, just me and my whims.

I met Ilse on the street. We were both looking to rent a canoe which happened to be only for two people, and we were both alone.

“OK, quiero ponerme el traje de baño,” (OK, I have to change into my bathing suit) I said, as we coordinated payment and logistics.

“Y yo voy a comprar la cerveza,” (And I’ll go buy the beer), she answered.

Three wooden canoes on a body of water, providing one of endless experiences whose memory can spark the post-vacation blues. (Image © frankdennerlein / Thinkstock)

Where can this canoe take you?
© frankdennerlein / Thinkstock

Ten minutes later, we were walking along the shore of the tiny island to a jerry-rigged “dock”—a few rusty canoes chained to a rotting post. Balancing oars, plastic bags, and sandals, we climbed in the canoe and started talking about life.

It’s amazing how travel works—you lose inhibitions, you’re open to life and all the experiences it has to offer. It’s so easy to share personal thoughts and stories, much more so than in your daily life.

Back to the Same Old Life in the Same Old Place

Here at home, life just wasn’t the same. To quell my loneliness and blues:

Bag of Guatemalan coffee in a Guatemalan textile bag with a worry doll, part of a strategy to get over the post-vacation blues. (Image © Sally Baho)

A cup of Guatemalan coffee and a worry doll didn’t get me over my post-vacation blues.
© Sally Baho

I put on some Latin music and made coffee from beans brought back from Guatemala.

I looked at my travel photos and researched cheap flights back to Guatemala.

I unwrapped my Guatemalan worry dolls and tried to pass off my big case of post-vacation blues to the tiny doll.

Blasting Away the Post-Vacation Blues

And then my phone buzzed. It was Saturday morning when my local running group meets for our long run.

“Are you coming? We want stories!”

I begrudgingly laced up my shoes and headed out to meet the group. We ran a route I had never run before.

One of the guys told me that we were approaching “The Window of the Bay” and, when we emerged from this clearing, there would be a beautiful view. He instructed me to yell, “we live here” as soon as I saw the view.

“How will I know?” I inquired.

“You’ll just know.”

So we continued our run, swapping stories, laughing, chatting when suddenly we came upon a clearing with a panoramic view of the ocean.

“WE LIVE HERE!” I screamed and did a jump for joy.

View of the Pacific Ocean, during a run designed to blast away the post-vacation blues. (Image © Sherry Long)

The view of the Pacific Ocean from the running path…
it’s hard to believe that the same waters touch Guatemala
© Sherry Long

Oh, I See

And like that, my post-vacation blues disappeared.

It dawned on me that it’s not about where you are; it’s about your attitude. It’s about finding the things that make your heart race where you live (or moving to the place that fulfills you, if that’s an option).

It’s about bringing back the openness to other people that you feel when you travel—the kind that makes you head down to the tourist trap in your area, chat with some travelers, and maybe even invite them for a canoe ride.

Airplane ticket from Flores to</br>Guatemala City, a scrapbook item that turns post-vacation blues into a good memory of the trip. (Image © Sally Baho)

I’m learning to see “goodbyes”
as “until next adventures”
© Sally Baho

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Sally Baho Comments

Art of Travel/Guatemala

Apr

A Virtual Vacation in Southeast Asia

by Meredith Mullins on April 6, 2015

Snorkeler in water, part of the virtual vacation in Southeast of Zilla van den Born, inspired by wanderlust. (Image © Zilla van den Born)

Wanderlust inspires the perfect vacation.
© Zilla van den Born

When Wanderlust and Imagination Meet

Zilla van den Born had always wanted to see Southeast Asia—the crystal blue waters of the Indian Ocean, the vine-encrusted temples, and the bustling streets bursting with color and the energy of daily life. Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos called. Her wanderlust answered.

She set off on a 42-day adventure—a vacation of a lifetime—the envy of her friends and family.

The Dutch graphic designer was soaking up the sun on pristine beaches, snorkeling eye to eye with exotic fish, sampling spicy Asian food, visiting ancient monuments, and traveling in rickety rickshaws.

Zilla van den Born eating with chopsticks on her virtual vacation in Southeast Asia, inspired by wanderlust. (Image © Zilla van den Born)

A taste of Thai
© Zilla van den Born

Like any good friend and family member, she was letting the folks back home experience her adventures—providing photos and updates so that they could travel with her via social media and texts.

The only catch—none of it was real. She never left her home city of Amsterdam. The trip was an invention . . . of the most imaginative kind.

Illusions of Reality

Her goal was to prove “how common and easy it is to distort reality.” She wanted to show that we all most likely stretch the truth for our social media persona and that, with the right media manipulation tools, we can make anything seem real.

Zilla van den Born on a pristine beach during her virtual vacation in Southeast Asia, inspired by wanderlust. (Image © Zilla van den Born)

Don’t We All Want An Awesome Life?

The project seeds were sown as she scrolled through her own Facebook timeline.

“I was feeling jealous of the apparently awesome lives others live in comparison with mine,” she admitted.

“I realized that we tend to forget that people filter what they show on social media. We’re creating some sort of ideal world that reality can no longer meet.”

Zilla van den Born leaves on her virtual vacation in Southeast Asia, inspired by wanderlust. (Image © Zilla van den Born)

Let the Adventures Begin

Zilla set out to create a virtual vacation—the ideal adventure—keeping the secret from everyone but her boyfriend.

She researched meticulously. “I read blogs of other travelers so I knew what problems others run into and how to fix them,” she explained. “I even looked up train and flight schedules so that I wouldn’t make any mistake in my fake story.”

A Master of the Virtual

Zilla photoshopped herself into travel photos she found on the Internet, texted the day’s highlights based on her research (cleverly timed to reflect her fake time zone), and posted Facebook updates according to her phony itinerary.

She created some of her “alternate” realities by photographing herself at the Buddhist temple in Amsterdam, jumping into her apartment swimming pool with her snorkeling gear, buying Asian souvenirs to place in the background of her Skype calls, and cooking (and photographing) Thai meals in her own kitchen.

Zilla van den Born at a Buddhist Temple on her virtual vacation in Southeast Asia, inspired by wanderlust. (Image © Zilla van den Born)

She completed the deception by getting her “beach tan” at the neighborhood tanning booth.

When asked which “distortion” was the most fun, Zilla answered thoughtfully. “Honestly, I didn’t have a lot of fun. It was much more difficult than I had thought to have to lie to all the people I care about. It was a very stressful experience. I enjoyed the ‘coming home’ part most. That was such a relief.”

Zilla van den Born with child at an ancient ruin on her virtual vacation in Southeast Asia, inspired by wanderlust. (Image © Zilla van den Born

The Deception Revealed

How did people respond when they learned the truth?

“They were shocked at first, confused and angry that they were worried for nothing,” Zilla admits. “My mother stopped speaking to me for a week. In the end, everyone understood why I did it, and I have won their trust back.”

Zilla van den Born at her computer on her virtual vacation in Southeast Asia, inspired by wanderlust (Image © Zilla van den Born)

Oh, I See: The Real Thing

What’s better than a virtual vacation? The real thing of course. Zilla did finally make the trip to Southeast Asia.

“Even though I got to ‘see’ the highlights and landmarks by searching online, nothing beat the experience of really going there,” Zilla said upon returning from her real journey. “It was amazing.”

A palm tree beach with and without Zilla van den Born on her virtual vacation to Southeast Asia, inspired by wanderlust. (Image © Zilla van den Born)

Zilla proved several points in her wanderlust experiment, but the lasting lessons for her were:

It’s a good idea to be cautious about believing what you see online (or in photographs) and
A real adventure trumps a virtual vacation 100% of the time.

“Oh, I see” moments of the best kind.

To see more of Zilla van den Born’s work and her book “Sjezus zeg, Zilla” (“Oh God, Zilla”), visit her website. To see her new project “Ctrl Alt Repeat,” where she manipulates her own self-portrait in post processing in as many different ways as her imagination will take her, visit her Facebook page or view ctrl_alt_repeat on Instagram.

Comment on this post, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Meredith Mullins 1 Comment

Adventure Travel/Art of Travel/Southeast Asia

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