Now that we’re home, I am pausing before becoming too consumed with everyday life, to reflect on this journey. I am awed by its scope – we circled the globe, traveled more than 32,000 miles, visited twelve countries (yes, I am counting the Azores) on six continents, toured eleven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, three Wonders of the World and one Wonder of the Natural World.
We experienced ‘thin places’ where the physical and spiritual meet (thanks to fellow traveler and author Eric Weiner for introducing this concept) – Machu Picchu, the Easter Island maoi, Angor Wat, Taj Mahal, Petra – and were awestruck by the vision, creativity and tenacity of ancient peoples as they built magnificent stone monuments to spiritually connect to their gods.
We immersed ourselves in some of the most beautiful places in the natural world and experienced its splendors –walking a Samoan beach at sunset , swimming with sharks, sea turtles and multi-colored fish on the Great Barrier Reef, observing prides of lions and herd of elephants on the Serengeti, hiking the red rocks of Wadi Rum.
We sampled new and exotic foods – grilled guinea pig and alpaca in Peru, spinach with creamed coconut in Samoa, banana and beef soup in Tanzania, kanafa in Jordan, fried silkworms and crickets with lemongrass rice wine in Cambodia and lots of fresh locally grown fruits, vegetables and nuts.
We were inspired by people’s stories – resurrecting the Andean art of weaving to create a center to teach these skills to future generations, helping the very poor in India earn new livelihoods so as to eradicate the brutal dancing bear business, surviving the Khmer Rouge – and marveled at people’s commitment, capacity to forgive and determination to keep their heritage alive.
We experienceced how proud people were to share their cultures with us – not just their music, food and dance steps but their history, their way of life and the values that make them who they are.
We got out of our comfort zones, experienced so many things and learned so much. ‘Travel changes the rhythm of your life’, says Eric Weiner. Traveling around the world in twenty four days changed our rhythms and gave us a much better appreciation of the diversity, beauty, creativity and culture of the people we share this planet with!
Stay tuned for my next adventure – my family and I will be hiking in Bhutan next month. Look forward to sharing another amazing experience!!!