Next week we will be heading back to Virginia, bringing our adventures in Colombia to a close. I will not be putting up a blog post next week so we can get ready to leave, and get settled in back home. I will resume the blog the following week. When we get home we will not be going back to the real world of 9-5pm jobs immediately. We plan on doing some local travel in Virginia, hiking, going to see family in friends in North Carolina, West Virginia, and maybe even go see the Grand Canyon. We have seen so many great things while we have been on our journey here, and now we hope to explore some areas in the Untied States to share with our readers.
Four months has flown by, it seems like just yesterday that we were barely sleeping, jumping at the slightest bump in the night in this new foreign place. I encourage all of my readers to travel, to do something out of your comfort zone, do something that scares the living shit out of you, because when you’re done you will realize that you can do anything. Travel is a great cure for ignorance. You learn more traveling than you can in any book, or in any school for that matter.
Traveling breaks down walls. Entire cultures and groups of people can not be summed up in soundbites and cherry picked news stories. Those soundbites can’t convey a smile from a person on the street, the smell of a hard working bakers bread wafting into your window, the kindness of strangers that lend a hand when you are lost. If we only associated soundbites with Colombia we would be like so many others that only associate Colombia with is cocaine, kidnapping and violence. Yes those things do exist here, but they also exist all over the globe. Be careful not to let what you hear become what you know, it will pigeonhole you and others into very closed off groups.
Making our travel dreams come true wasn’t easy. It came with a lot of self doubt, but once our dream came to fruition we realized if you want something bad enough you can make it happen. There will be bumps along the road, at times you will trip and fall, but with each stumble comes more determination to achieve your goals. Whatever your dreams may be, never stop chasing them, and keep your head in the clouds.
Though this journey is ending, we know that a new journey will soon begin. We don’t know what lies ahead, but we know that we will face it together. Each day is a new opportunity to work towards building the life of which you’ve always dreamed.