At times, life can start to feel a bit mundane. It might feel like we’re trapped, sucked into the same old routine day after day. The beauty of sunrises are lost as we rush out the door or stay glued to our bed, sunsets fade as we do dishes and homework. Our world is beautiful, yet we pass it by almost every day.
Our world is also filled with many wonders. Some of them are natural, others are crafted by man, many of them ancient. Yet most of these wonders are unknown to the average person. After all, who has time to learn about places they’ll never go? Yet these grand works of art are too amazing to allow them to slip by, especially in an era of technology so accessible many people just take it for granted.
What is life without a thirst for adventure? I’m an avid reader, and so I have tasted of different decades, traveled countless times, felt emotions on each end of the spectrum, and most of all, felt alive. I know I can not travel to all of these breathtaking places, but I do not want to ignore them. I want to gobble them up in any way I can.
This is why I would like to write about the places worthy of being second guessed as extravagant dreams. To find the beauty in something seemingly impossible, feel the eeriness of ancient stone, taste the salt air on my tongue as I see water glow, and touch the bark of trees with character. I want to look at a mountain silhouetted against the sky, and then feel the crisp air at the top. I want to make every beat of my heart mean something more.
While I have always loved the idea of travel and sights for sore eyes, I used to merely think of the exploration of them as an unattainable dream. Then, I found The Silent World by Jacques-Yves Cousteau. He was one of the first deep sea divers. I read his book and was fascinated by the complexity, and simplicity, of discovering the best methods for deep sea diving and the strange bits of information that are never thought of. I decided that I must read more of these unique non-fiction books. “These things are real!” My soul kept exclaiming.
Eventually I came across the non-fiction travel section where a delicious title caught my eye, The Royal Road to Romance by Richard Halliburton. It was an older book, in publication not condition, and so I deduced that the word “romance” was used in the captivating sense of a traveler in love with adventure. I was right, and I joined Halliburton in his love for travel. I was flabbergasted, he traveled so many places, and did so many crazy things, I was almost exhausted by his determination to persevere. He climbed to the tops of mountains nigh unscalable, snuck aboard trains, mingled in society, witnessed festivals only had specific times of the year, sailed on ships, snuck pictures, and reveled in the enchantment of stone palaces. He found beauty in things I’d never thought existed, and did things I didn’t believe could be done.
Since then I have been whisked into distraction by websites showing off a ‘certain number of places you won't believe are real.’ The funny thing is, a lot of the time they’re right. I didn’t know such places existed. Yet, they’re beautiful. They’re breathtaking. And they’re at our fingertips.
I wish that I could travel to all the places, but other than the problematic idea of time, is the completely unromantic fact of a lack of money and the difficulty of vagabond travel in our days. I am resolved though, to not let myself completely let these places go. They deserve to be seen, to have their history discovered, and their story shared with anyone who will read them.
I plan on pulling from Halliburton’s books and prominently from the internet. I would like to pick a place, find a picture (or more), and dig up some of the history about the place. Then, for the fun part, spin the words to attempt to captivate some of the majesty of these dreamlike, and yet very real, places. I will have a chance, in this small way, to live a part of my dream. To seek, discover, learn, see, and write. I don’t think I can come up with a more pleasurable pastime. … Except perhaps for reading.
