Taking on our Five Travel Questions is Erin from 10 Miles Behind Me. She’s based in New York City but she’s exploring the rest of the world a little bit at a time and has been blogging about her adventures for five years. The perfect candidate then!
Why do you love travel?
When looking back at my most favorite days, they’re days that are out of the ordinary – weddings, holidays, days when I did something new for the first time, saw something amazing, ate something that keeps my mouth watering to this day, or met some awesome people. The best way I found to put more of these types of days in my life is to get out of my daily routine and location, so that’s what I’ve tried to do as much as I can over the past few years. Even if I can’t hop on a plane when I want to have an out-of-the-ordinary day, I am lucky to live in New York City so I am able to explore new neighborhoods, foods, and meet new people easily.
What destination is at the top of your bucket list?
I’ve been wanting to go to Eastern/Southern Africa for years and I have some ideas to make it happen soon. I haven’t even set foot on the continent so I’m very open to suggestions if you want to get in touch! Be sure to keep up with my blog to find out plans as they unhatch!
Where is your most favourite place you have travelled to?
This question is always asked of me and I have a hard time answering it. I honestly have loved or at least found things I love about every place I’ve gone. With that said, this time last year I was in Portugal and the pictures that are showing up on my Timehop app are making me very jealous of 2015 Erin. I loved the people, the food (especially the pasteis de nata), the tiles, the neighborhoods, the views, the music, the beer, and the spirit in Lisbon and Porto. I also just returned from a volunteer trip in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. It was a powerful experience for me and I’m already planning to return later this year. This is the first time I’m returning somewhere within the same year, so that says something about how much I loved it.
What is your most favourite memory or experience whilst travelling?
One thing I’ve noticed lately that I love about traveling is being able to communicate in other languages. When I was in South America in college, Spain last year, and in the Dominican Republic recently, I absolutely LOVED speaking Spanish as much as I could with whoever I could. I’ve started taking French classes this year for fun and I’m so excited to travel to some French-speaking countries to see if I’m any better than I think I am. The first test will be my trip to the Guadeloupe Islands this spring. Wish me luck!
What is your favourite photo from your travels?
This picture of me in Kauai, Hawaii might be one of my favorites because I was actually kinda miserable while on this hike but threw on that huge smile for the camera. It was about 90 degrees out and I was very sweaty, out-of-shape, and without a bottle of water. I can’t remember if this was before or after I fell in the spring and had to finish the rest of the hike with wet sneakers. But from this picture, you can’t tell I was in a bad mood and I shouldn’t have been, because look at that view! Since then, when I’ve found myself getting in a bad mood when traveling, I try to put myself in place by remembering how lucky I am to be experiencing whatever I’m in the middle of.
