Missing adventure? Let’s share our favorite travel memories as we stay home in Centre County
These past two months have been a roller coaster of emotions and thoughts. With sorrow, I canceled my upcoming escapades to Iceland, Japan and Peru. When I finally realized COVID-19 was real, I went through a phase I called peripatetic withdrawal.
But this past week was a bit different — I adopted an optimistic approach and concluded the spread is not the apocalypse. Then, I implored from the Divine Light some sanity and I decided to evoke my most fascinating recollections of previous years.
I mourn my liberty to meet people and to get on an airplane. But it is time to take a break and reconcile with the present we are living in.
As I relieve my top five travel memories below, I invite you to share your favorite travel memory or adventure as well. Some may be published in an upcoming travel column in the Centre Daily Times.
Let us uphold the good.
Here are my top 5 memories:
5. Not my kind of vacationland — Bad Homburg
One of my best friends from Colombia got married last year in one of the richest towns of Germany, Bad Homburg. A picturesque and luxurious small enclave chock-full of newly launched shophouses with mostly local products at excessive prices. The town is overflowing with art and spas although is not exactly a vacationland. The main celebration took place at an antique mansion and every minor detail was the height of sophistication. Since Colombian weddings last at least three days, I got to stroll around and eat local food in between events with the other worldly guests.
4. Iftar at a Bedouin camp in Petra, Jordan
I flew into Jordan on a solo trip during the sacred month of Ramadan. Upon arrival in Amman, I took a taxi to Wadi Musa, eager to watch a sunrise in Petra. Early in the morning, I walked from the entrance to The Treasury. Then, I hiked 55 stories from that monument to the top. On my way, I met Ali, a Bedouin who became my guardian angel as he walked me all around until sunset and invited to an iftar (break-the-fast) in his home to meet his oldest wife.
3. Defying heights in Frioul Island near Marseille
It was a girls’ trip organized to celebrate my warm relationship with my sisters. Nora, my adventurous kid, also traveled with us and decided to jump off a 5-meter cliff on Frioul Island into the water. Although my sisters and I fear heights, we discovered we only needed a couple glasses of champagne to follow suit. I empowered myself to do things of which I thought I was not capable.
2. A trip of total relaxation in Papallacta, Ecuador
After a few days of trekking the green Ecuadorian Amazon, my husband and I visited Papallacta in January. This village is known for its hot springs that are camouflaged at an altitude 11,500 feet in the Andes Mountains. We spent two days submerged in the water for a redundant period of relaxation before taking off to cold State College.
1. Swimming with a whale shark in the Indian Ocean
It was Thanksgiving 2018, and we rented a boat looking for a whale shark, a common activity in that part of the world. I knew from the very beginning I was not going to swim with the shark. However, after a few hours of frustrated search, I was hungry, thirsty and bored. When the captain announced the shark sighting, I did not think and jumped. Seeing its massive polka-dot back beneath me, I realized it was the closest encounter with nature I have ever experienced.
Now, I want to hear your favorite adventure. If you decide so, please send an email to skamerow@culozunga.com by May 8 with your favorite travel memory in 200 words. Your story may be published in the CDT. Let us convert our restlessness into happiness.
If you want to see more photos, visit www.culozunga.com.
This story was originally published April 28, 2020 at 9:01 AM.