TRAVEL

My Top 10 Travel Bucket List

My wanderlust is overflowing

As I head into my tenth year of being disabled and unable to travel, my thoughts turn to the places I long to go. My favorite Medium travel writers have whetted my appetite!

Here are ten places on my travel bucket list, and why I put them on the list.

#10 New Zealand

I was so jealous when a friend of mine spent six months climbing the mountains of New Zealand. Those are the breathtaking scenes from Lord of the Rings — epic mountain ridges, gorgeous valleys, rolling green hills.

Not long ago, I read a series of historical fiction books about white immigrants from northern Europe colonizing New Zealand. The books focused on the struggles of women and the Maori culture. I was so enchanted by the descriptions of New Zealand landscapes and history that I wrote drafts of a few New Zealand stories myself. I’d love to go there in person and take some spectacular photos.

#9 Croatia

I’ve done several online virtual tours of medieval villages in Croatia. One was built with the streets winding at odd angles so that the mighty wind that afflicts the hill doesn’t whoosh through the town and make everyone cold.

I had no idea what Croatia looked like before doing these tours, and was surprised to find that it looked so Mediterranean — well, of course, since it’s on a sea coast! The towns have the red tile roofs that I love so much and are surrounded by clear turquoise water.

#8 Spain

Spain is so close to France and Portugal, both of which I’ve visited. I want to go there to check off another country on my list. When you fill in global maps, coloring in the countries you’ve been to, Spain is a huge part of Europe and would be a special part of my map.

I’d like to see Don Quixote country — the flat, dry plains Miguel de Cervantes’ errant knight tilted at windmills and rode his bony horse, Rocinante, in search of adventures. I loved that book, and I’m sure I’d love Spain!

#7 Antarctica

Antarctica would be a trip of a lifetime! I’ve seen stunning travel photos by people who went there, of penguins, icebergs, and huge plains of ice and snow.

If I ever have the money, I’ll fly to the southern tip of South America and take a cruise ship. Not only do you get to see the sights, these ships have the Polar Plunge — a challenge to dip in the freezing waters of Antarctica! That’s just the type of wild and crazy thing I want to tell stories about later.

#6 Tanzania, Botswana, or Kenya

Africa was never on my bucket list until I read some articles by Medium authors about driving through the continent by jeep and car. Now I’m hooked! Not only do I want to go on safari, I want to see the vast landscapes where the human race was born.

I remember a story my dad’s cousin told us about when she and her teenage sons went on safari. They were staying in raised tents, and during the night a pride of lions came and slept right under them! I don’t know if I want quite that close an encounter with predators, but seeing African wildlife would be magical.

#5 Madeira

Madeira wasn’t on my list until recently, because I’d pictured it as a dry, flat island — flat because soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo is from there, and you need flat fields to practice kicking soccer balls!

But recently, I read some travel articles about an author’s adventures in Madeira and found that it’s a spectacularly green, mountainous island, with harrowing drops off the sides of roads. Spectacular cliffs overhang the sea. It would be neat to go to a place just off the coast of Africa, because I’ve never been to that continent and don’t know when I’ll be able to get there.

#4 Lisbon and surroundings

I became obsessed with Portugal after I visited the north of the country in 2008. The north is blessed with a variety of landscapes, from mountains and river valleys to deserts with scraggly vineyards, as well as charming villages of white houses with red tile roofs.

Now I want to see Lisbon. It’s a hilly city of winding, chaotic streets, castles and monasteries nearly 1,000 years old, and buildings constructed after the 1755 earthquake.

I’d also like to go to the nearby medieval town of Obidos and travel to a beach town like Cascais, Peniche, or Nazare to be right on the edge of Europe, staring out across the Atlantic in the direction of North America.

#3 Austria and Switzerland

Every weekend of every winter when I was growing up, my dad and I would go skiing. Riding up the chairlift, we’d sit and dream about skiing the Alps. I’m afraid that the window has passed to go together because my dad injured his knee ten years ago, but I still want to see the soaring beauty of the Austrian and Swiss Alps, which I’ve only seen from an airplane.

There are also so many beautiful medieval villages in those two countries. The landscape is somewhat similar to where I live in Montana, but with ancient history to boot. I long to see it.

#2 Florence and Venice

I’ve wanted to go to Florence ever since I read a book about the Renaissance that featured Brunelleschi’s dome — the spectacular crown on the Florence cathedral that was the largest dome built since ancient Roman times. It’s a great feat of engineering and human imagination.

Florence is also home to medieval “skyscrapers” and to Michelangelo’s statue of David. Venice is beautiful, too, and I want to go there before sea levels rise too much due to climate change and put some of the most beautiful attractions under water.

#1 Greece

Ancient Greece has captivated me since my sixth grade class studied Greek mythology and did a dress-up party of an ancient Greek feast (I was the bard). The glorious Parthenon is at the top of my list, but I’d also like to see Olympia, the Temple of Zeus at Delphi, and the many other gorgeous temples that dot the country.

I also want to visit the sites of ancient battles that I studied in college and take ferries to some of the islands, which have ancient histories in their own right. Like countless writers and artists before me, I’m sure Greece will nourish me with enough creative ideas to last a lifetime.

Ultimately, I’d like to make travel a lifestyle and see many more places around the world than these ten, but I think I could count myself lucky if I made it to just a few of the places on my bucket list.

How about you? Do you have a list of places you’d like to visit?

Thanks for reading! Here’s a link to more of my travel stories: