Travel

When the World is Your Oyster: Where I Want to Go in 2023

Globetrotters January Monthly Challenge

Globetrotters is a publication dedicated to the telling of travel stories and experiences. Its moderators and editors do a great job of providing a vibrant and engaging place to write and publish, and read and comment about adventures both global and local.

Each month, one or more of them provides a writing prompt that often produces some interesting responses. This month, Anne Bonfert asks “where do you want to go in 2023 and why?”

2022 was a great year of travel for me. It started in Puerto Rico, went back to Jamaica, included a month in Guatemala in April, then Minneapolis and Vancouver in July, then Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Portugal in August and September, back to Jamaica and then New York City in late September and then back to Vancouver.

I really have nothing to complain about.

I am currently on Roatán, an island off the north coast of Honduras in the Caribbean. This trip was originally intended to be part of a longer one, but as always, the initial plans change and morph into something a little bit more realistic. I had thought about flying into Cancún, spending about five minutes there and getting on a bus south down the Yucatán Peninsula, hanging around for a few days in any small town not called Tulúm, making my way into Belize for a bit and then eventually ending up in Roatán.

It could still happen, I guess. Next time.

It’s been a great time here, laid back and safe with beautiful weather. The only reason I’m ok with the trip coming to an end in a few days is that it means that I can start thinking about the next one.

Here’s an article from a few days ago on a part of my experience here:

And without further ado, here is my list of travel hopes, dreams and plans for the coming year. And probably for quite a few years ahead, if I am being realistic. Of course, this all assumes that there will be no need to work and time and money are no objects. But really, who has time for sense and logic when it comes to think about where in the world they want to go next?

February — Trinidad and Tobago / Guyana / Suriname / French Guiana

Three relatively small countries and one territory in a relatively small geographic area. I chose February as a month to start this because of my fascination with taking part in Carnival. From what I understand, the one in Trinidad takes a back seat only to the Brazilian version. Additionally, I’ve always been curious about travel in a part of South America that I’ve never been to and what travel would be like in a place that probably doesn’t get that many travelers, all with different colonial histories as outposts of empire.

April / May — New Zealand Hiking Trip

I’ve always thought that New Zealand would be exactly my speed, with a relaxed attitude and a mix of small big cities and big small towns as well as rural areas and those that are just wide open nature, kind of like British Columbia, where I come from. The opportunity to do some multi-day hikes from hut to hut, drinking in the surrounding wilderness really appeals to me.

June / July — Norway / Finland in a van

It seems like the right time of year to be there, as the further north you get, the longer the days are until you are above the Arctic Circle and it’s 24 hours of daylight. Starting in Oslo and being mobile enough to follow the road along the coast north, taking side detours into fjords and getting into the towns at the heads of inlets sounds great. All the way to the top and the Arctic Ocean and then all the way south through Finland, ending in Helsinki.

August — Vancouver

The best month to be home. A vibrant, open city with beaches not too far away and towering nature in the other direction.

September — Romania / Bulgaria

Two other parts of Europe I’ve never been to. I think this one would be a combination of trains and buses to get around. I’m interested in cities like Bucharest and Sofia, but also in regions like Transylvania in Romania and the Black Sea Coast of Bulgaria. I want to believe this is a different kind of Europe than the one I’ve spent time in.

October / November — Chilean Patagonia

I’ve spent time in the Atacama Desert in Chile’s Far North and it is nothing short of stunning. I’ve also been to a few cities; Iquique and Antofagasta on the north coast and Valparaiso and Santiago in the central area. Now it is time to head south, into unspoiled wilderness as the population gets sparser and the paved road eventually dissipates into the towering mountains and hiking and camping opportunities of the southernmost part of South America.

Christmas / New Year’s — Philippines

I get the feeling that the Philippines are a place that really knows how to do Christmas and New Year’s. Stunning beaches, late nights, friendly people and a vibrant culture are what I imagine there.

And there it is. If I get to do one or two of these, then 2023 will be a hell of a travel year. It’s anyone’s guess which one it will be, but these travel dreams have to start somewhere.

Speaking of which, here are a some other articles by great writers that I have found inspiring lately:

One by JoAnn Ryan on a topic that fascinates me:

A short read by Rhys Sydney about all that can be gained from living elsewhere for a while: