What motivates me to travel (genesis of a trip)

Travel motivations in general is not an easy topic since there are so many factors that can influence choices and behaviors of a traveler that an entire essay wouldn’t be enough to cover it properly. Focusing on the personal aspects, the topic is much more manageable instead so let’s talk about why my bag is always ready to get on the next flight when possible, how I choose my destinations and the amount of planning behind every trip.

Wanderlust

First of all wanderlust is probably in my DNA since my parents were (and still are actually) passionate travelers that, as soon as I got old enough to get a grasp of what was around me, included me in their adventures…and I never complained! With them I’ve discovered almost all the beauties of my home country, Italy, and have traveled across Europe to several other places. Road trips were the usual choice since for them the balance between planning and some degree of freedom was the rule, while the destination when I was with them, usually during Summers, always included something that could or should be of interest to me like a topic of the past or following school year, a book or something I simply liked. I always felt enriched when I was back from a trip and I loved to share the experience with others already imagining what the next one could be. And I was probably reading too much Verne at the time…

Travel motivations

Now that I make my own plans and pick my destinations, my main driver is basically still the same: I want to experience first hand things that sparkle my interest and the beauty the world has to offer, get to know people and places for real and not only on paper (or well…screen) and most of all without the filters or wrong info applied by media. Of course my love for nature and landscape photography, hiking, sports, culture, history and too many other things plays a big role in my choice of a place over another but, while I do have a kind of to do list with a preference order, I’m always ready to make changes and add something new as the next destination if I feel like it or the time is just right for it.

Another thing I like to do is to link travels together, even when non consecutive, in order to have a kind of narrative thread that spans during time until it reaches a satisfying end even if after years. It is not a must, there are plenty of exceptions like my first time outside Europe going to Toronto mainly to see the Blue Jays play with the Niagara falls as an added bonus, but planning with a bigger goal in mind adds something to the whole experience and the planning process becomes part of the pleasure related to each trip.

Travel planning

Talking about planning, again the travels with my parents have had an influence for sure, but I think I’m more for planning than pure freedom. I like to be flexible, but maybe because of modern technology that makes it easier, maybe because landscape photography has “its own rules” or simply because I honestly like it, I usually prefer having options ready at hand instead of just having time to look for the available one. In some rare cases I do have days with an almost hourly schedule when I feel it is needed. Furthermore, If you have read my previous posts on this blog about the last pre-covid trips, you already know that I hate crowds or super inflated tourist traps, but with proper planning it is possible to enjoy popular places that are really worth the effort. It takes more time for sure and sometimes prevents “compulsive” traveling; I enjoy it though, so I’m not going to change the process anytime soon.

With everything said so far, it should come to no surprise that traveling is a personal experience to me, where I want to have full control over most of the whole process. This makes me a so called solo traveler (my parents being still the only exception), I do enjoy my moments and don’t really feel the need to share the experience on site with a group. Anyway, rephrasing a title of my favorite author Ray Bradbury, “traveling is not a lonely business”, meeting locals (no, bears are not included in the definition) and other like minded travelers is part of the fun so you’re never really alone.

Open projects

Before closing I’d like to give a little more context to the content already on this site and maybe possible future entries. The two trips on this blog are both actually part of a series: one that finally reached the end (“simply” visit all North European countries on the road with my parents) and one that is a long time running but still needs a little work. Years ago, a friend of mine, back from a visit to the Grand Canyon NP, gifted me a 16 months calendar featuring beautiful and iconic pictures of North American National Parks and I just decided to visit them all, including other notable ones in the process. I still have one to tick off that list, no spoilers, and I hope to be able to do that sooner or later. Be sure to check the NPS official site if you want more info on the single parks listed in the image below: https://www.nps.gov

The other open thread I’m working on can be called Marco Polo and the Silk Roads in Asia, since it all started after reading his diaries and then discovering the evolution through the centuries of the silk and spices routes until the modern era. This still requires a lot of work and unfortunately some regions are not always easily accessible, but it has been rewarding so far.