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Over at Flyover America, the old traveler’s conundrum was brought up. Do you go back to a place you know and love, or do you continue your exploration of the world? With limited time and money, it seems you have to make a choice. But when you find a place that affects you in a very powerful way, that choice becomes even harder.
It seems every traveler has one – that place that you would move to in a heartbeat, that place that all future destinations will forever be measured against, that place that, immediately upon arrival, just felt like home. For me, that place is Iceland.
I can never quite put my finger on why I loved Iceland so much. Was it the sight of the brightly-colored aluminum-sided houses set against the backdrop of the snowy grey bay? Was it the small-town feel of Reykjavik, with its few hundred thousand inhabitants? The furry, friendly, ubiquitous Icelandic horses that could melt any heart? The ridiculously overpriced alcohol? (Okay, maybe not that last one.) There was just something about the country. On the flight over, when I woke up from my Ambian-induced haze just in time to see the lights of Keflavik airport appear in the darkness of the Atlantic Ocean, I just felt like I was coming home.
Since my trip last year, I’ve dreamed of going back. And though I’ve loved other destinations, none felt quite so instantly familiar and comfortable as Iceland. But there are too many other places waiting to be explored that I can’t justify a return trip just yet, especially not for the cost of getting there. So for now, I dream about going back, plan trips to other exciting destinations….and keep an eye out for Icelandicair fare sales.
Do you have a special place that you felt connected to as soon as you arrived? Do you choose to go back to visit often or do you prefer to continue exploring new destinations?
Photo credit: taivasalla via Flickr
January 13th, 2010 at 12:35 am
New Orleans, Honduras, Cuba. As much as I do visit new destinations, these three places lure me back and feel, as you mentioned, like home.
January 13th, 2010 at 1:06 am
First of all, WOW! What a picture. I have this great attraction with Icelannd, even though I have never been there. The name, the language, the IDEA of it. Like having a crush over some cool actor.
I face somewhat the same kind of pain that you feel, in my case every year. Being an immigrant in Canada, I usually don’t have the time or the money to go both home (in Brazil) AND to travel somewhere else abroad. If I don’t go home, I don’t see my dad, my sister, my baby cousins, I don’t reconnect with the sounds and smells and places and friends that are also part of me.
If I don’t go abroad I long and wish and suffer and hurt!
How did I solve this problem? I decided to do a 1 year RTW. So I can accumulate some “credits”, and maybe be satisfied going to my home country for the next years.
BTW this site is great. Congrats to all of you!
January 13th, 2010 at 1:42 am
I quite often choose to move on with the intent of returning to my favorite place (anywhere in Mexico). I don’t know if this is the right choice overall, but I figure that its easier to keep a mobile lifestyle if I keep going. Once I’m older and I want to settle down a bit, I can then go back to my favorite(s).
January 13th, 2010 at 11:10 am
Most travelers and travel writers have a favorite place. Some will return over and over again to their comfort destination, while others will keep pushing the exploration envelope. Even though you have a favorite place, you may want to explore other ares of the world while you can. Once you’ve exhausted your travels, you can always go back to your favorite place either permanently or semi-permanently.
January 13th, 2010 at 11:28 am
Rolf — Thanks for linking to Flyover America. I love your description of landing in Iceland–that it felt like “coming home.” That’s exactly how I felt the first time I visited Alaska. Really, it made no sense. I grew up in the NE U.S. and didn’t know a soul in Alaska. But I just felt right there. (Ireland, too — sort of. But I think that was mostly because I’d read so much Irish literature in the years before my first visit there.) Anyway, here’s to more home comings…and more travels to places that feel totally other.
January 13th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Katie! So sorry. I didn’t realize you had posted this. Ack. So, please airbrush Rolf’s name off the above and swap yours in.
January 13th, 2010 at 11:43 am
I moved to Texas more than 20 years ago on the basis of that feeling and still dream of Maine for the same reason. The perfect life would be dividing my year … winters in Texas, summers in Maine. I can dream, can’t I?
January 13th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
I deal with this conundrum by changing the question from “forward or back?” to “broader or deeper?”
January 13th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
[...] Potts posed a dilemma today. What do you do when a place really captures your heart and you want to go back? Do you keep going back or keep seeing the world? My initial reaction was, come on people stop going [...]
January 14th, 2010 at 12:56 am
For my wife and I, Morocco will always have our hearts. Our two nights spent camping in the Sahara were magical. The Moroccan people were friendly. It felt like home.
We got home from that trip over two years ago, and yet it still comes up in conversation every week. The feeling we have for the country is a palpable aching.
And yet, as we look forward to our next destinations, we still look ahead to the vast world we’ve yet to visit. But we know we’ll be back more sooner than later.
January 14th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
It’s a good conundrum though, isn’t it? Today, one really can have your cake and eat it too as more and more of us can work & school ANY where.
I don’t know if there is any *one* place for us (loved your description about Iceland, Katie) as we have fallen in love with sooo many places on our open ended world tour, but we’re really fond of Europe and the better quality of life here. We enjoy discovering new places while also continuing to go back to and immersing in fave spots.
I have friends who have been living the permanent travel lifestyle for over 25 years, dividing their time between Chang Mai, Thailand and Buenos Aires while continuing to explore new places around the world and doing return visits to other favorites.
I think technology & this economy will make this kind of slow travel more & more popular, thus less of a conundrum for the fast growing 4HWW types.
January 16th, 2010 at 7:33 pm
I constantly use Barcelona as my standard of measure for which all other cities are measured. I have yet to find a city that I like more. although I have high hopes for Brazil and Argentina, both countries that I want to visit.
January 17th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Quite the good conundrum! Since at all stages in life, no matter how far we travel, the stepping stones of growing up reach us. Finding true happiness each day is a skill…. I’ve been ushered into communities with welcoming arms and often been persuaded to stay for a while. So I did! Met amazing individuals and happened upon dreams in my waking reality. The power is in the fact you have a choice…
If you fight who you truly are too much… it never turns out well.
Soulstravelers3- what you and your family are doing is inspiring! It is the essence of what creates a global village, rather than a segregation of differences.
January 17th, 2010 at 7:41 pm
Always loved Sydney so much so that I lived there for years.Left in 2001 never been back as I want to see other places now.But I think of the Emerald City often.
January 18th, 2010 at 12:02 am
Mongolia’s got me hard and fast and I’ve gotten involved in helping set up a women’s crafts coop, so I have ties there now, too. I’ll go back at least once a year until I physically can’t anymore. Funny when you consider I grew up and live in Redwood Country and have always loved trees. I do want to get back to Kenya at least once more though, for the wildlife and to learn more about the people. And I hope to get back to England. But Mongolia’s it for me. July can’t come too soon.
January 19th, 2010 at 7:59 am
Two places that have seared my heart but for different reasons. . . Firstly, the magic and mystery of St Petersburg, Russia and secondly, the fragile saltbush and freedom of Nevada. I know I will return to both as both places are strange, as it may seem, home to me.