30 traits that define the inveterate traveler
1. They talk about traveling as if it were the easiest thing in the world . You just grab a pair of pants, buy a ticket and go discover the world. The limits, they will tell you, are set by yourself.
two. Curious childhood. They have grown up looking at atlases and world maps, and have at times done that which is so typical of movies: turn a globe around the world and, with their finger, point to the next destination to visit.
3. They have a hard time making long-term plans. They are not good at calculating where they will be in two, five or ten years. In fact, the simple fact of bringing it up gives them hives.
Four. They don't talk much about their travels. The inveterate traveler has no need to recount his experiences at every sentence. Unless you ask him directly, of course.
5. They have no qualms with transportation. Thirty people in a ten-seat bus? Nothing happens. Two days to travel 100 km down the Mekong? Well better, that the journey also counts.
They have no qualms with transportation
6. They pick the right time. They study all the transport options and the cheapest prices –they take planes on Tuesdays at six in the morning-, making the most of the routes.
7. They sleep at the airport. In addition to taking the cheapest flights, they add experiences sleeping in transfer places.
8. They love to get lost. Why use a map, how nice it is to have no idea where we are, and thus discover places that are not in the guides?
9. They know how to speak different languages. They may not have brilliant grammar, but they can say "hello" in many languages and master the most important language of all: gestures.
10. They cannot choose a single destination. And their favorites are very different from each other; from the bustle of Lagos to the sunsets of Santorini, everywhere is lovable.
eleven. They are not afraid to travel alone. The desire to travel to remote places is stronger than the loneliness of the experience. Total, along the way they will surely meet someone interesting.
They have no qualms about traveling alone
12. They carry very small suitcases. There are only a couple of things you really need: a toothbrush and a change of clothes.
13. They talk to the stones. They love to meet, ask and learn from others. Actually, they have a little journalist inside.
14. They have met famous people. It's what you have to talk to everyone; that some of them are renowned painters, composers or writers.
fifteen. They accept all culinary challenges. It is one of the acid tests to know if you are an inveterate traveler. Brains, strangely thick soups or long-legged insects they can make us look like kings –or as inconsiderate- before our guests.
16. They make friends easily. Social networks are an example of this: they have friends from Indonesia, Colombia or France among their likes. Thanks to travel and the virtual world, there is no limit to your contacts.
17. They force escapes. Go to Barceloneta beach? Why not take a train and go to Sitges, which in total is only 40 minutes? Nothing is too far and any getaway is good for packing.
Accept all culinary challenges
18. They love long trips. Although they love weekend outings, where they really enjoy it is on long journeys, of at least one month. To finance it? Nothing better than working in the places they visit.
19. They identify with other authors. Kapuscinski, Thoreau or Goodall They are icons that they have once carried in their backpack and that, in a small worn notebook, they have tried to emulate.
twenty. They are environmentally conscious. Traveling to so many places has made them aware of the dangers of pollution, lack of resources and social inequalities. A solution? Repair CO2 emissions with other activities.
twenty-one. They buy products at the place of destination. They love to know strange foods and exotic names. They still remember the day they tasted durian.
22. They don't use guides. The only sections that interest them are history and culture. The others take interest away from what can be found out there.
They don't use guides
23. The world upside down. They like to question things, and McArthur's Universal Corrective Map is ideal for that. If you can't tell the difference between north and south from space, why do maps?
24. They limit the technology. Although they prefer to avoid electronic devices, they control the latest travel apps. Of course, they only use them when strictly necessary.
25. They are frequently bored. And that is not necessarily a bad thing: the boredom produced by long bus waits allows us to consider what we want to do –or not do- in the coming years.
26. They don't find what they're looking for. It seems contradictory, but great trips are like this: we hope to find something that we have seen in photos, guides or stories of others. But, the reality, what we find is always indescribable.
27. They hate photo slideshows. The thing about forcing someone to look at all the slides of a trip is no longer carried out; these travelers do not suffer in vain.
28. More photos of people. But of course, in social networks they do upload some image. And in them you see more people and cultural activities than well-served food or landscapes of sunrises.
29. They need to have a next destination . They get nervous if they don't have a ticket to go somewhere - even within a year - because they feed on the daydream of the future trip.
30. They never return the same from a trip. Because that is, ultimately, the essence of travel.
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The inveterate traveler: a being made of another paste