Happy 2017 Wanderful Wednesday friends!!!!!!!! Sorry that my New Year’s wishes are coming a bit belated, but as promised, I was enjoying a bit of a blogging break for the last few weeks and it was glorrrrrrioussssss! Truth be told, I’m planning on continuing the “blogging break” a wee bit longer and am writing this post right now while on plane to Patagonia. AND by the time you’ll all be reading this, I’ll be wrapping up my 5-day W trek in Torres del Paine!!! So here’s to hoping I make it okay! 😛
I have to say 2017 has started off with quite a bang and so far I’ve constantly been on the move. I departed New Year’s Day on my first ever real backpacking adventure and have been exploring the South of Chile for the past 3 weeks. I started off my trip with 4 days in Southern Chile’s adventure capital, Pucón, where I kayaked in a glacial lake, went white water rafting for the first time, followed a hand-drawn map and hiked to a hidden waterfall, visited hot springs nestled into the side of a mountain and scaled Chile’s most active snow-covered volcano, Villarica! It was a crazy, amazing and action-packed 4 days!
I’ll be back in Santiago in a few days, where I’ll have a week to rest and recover, so I hope I’ll have some time to catch up with all your adventures from the past month then. Then my parents come to Chile and just like that I’m off again. Up on the docket- Viña del Mar, Valparaíso, Casablanca, Santiago and Patagonia round two!! :O
As for now, I’ve compiled a little list of New Year’s Travel-utions with help from, well a lot of you!! 😀 I’m hoping that sharing these goals for the new year can help stir up some inspiration for your new and exciting adventures to come in 2017!
My New Year’s Travel-ution: Find a way to continue prioritizing travel
Starting with my own 2017 travel-ution, my main goal for this year is to find a way to keep my adventure alive. In just a few short weeks I’ll be moving home to the US and I can’t say that I really have “a plan.” With so many question marks and uncertainties on the road ahead, the only thing I know for sure is that whatever I do, wherever I go and whatever ends up happening, travel needs to remain an important and significant part of my life. It may not be as easy to do in the future, but I will need to make a point to find time for it, prioritize it and never let it take a back burner. Experiencing this wonderful world and all that it has to offer is what truly makes me happy, it’s what I live for, it’s who I am. It keeps me going, gives me something to look forward to, and has become such a big part of my life. I know that I’m starting 2017 out strong, but I hope that this is only the beginning and that this year will continue on with many more exciting adventures!
Featured Travel-ution from Anna of Slightly Astray:
“For 2017, my biggest goal is to overcome my fears of being alone”
“Even though I’ve been on the road for almost 3 years now, I’ve never truly been alone. I either traveled with my (ex)partner, was with family, or had another boy in the background.
2016 was a very difficult year for me. It started with a breakup, and then unintentionally, I found myself in another relationship with a local boy in Kuala Lumpur, only for that to come to a heartbreaking end also. And now, for the first time on my journey, I’m truly by myself. And that terrifies me.
It’s scary to be thrust with the sole responsibility of planning everything and figuring out the best future path for myself. And perhaps most terrifying of all – the threat of aloneness. But I have learned that I’m much stronger and much more capable than I give myself credit for.
So for 2017, my biggest goal is to overcome my fears of being alone. It’s so easy to just stay somewhere I feel safe and comfortable. Or even to find someone else to lean on. But I want to learn to be there for myself. Get out of my comfort zone and experience new things. Take myself to all the places I want to see. I want to find contentment in my own company.
It’ll be an interesting journey and I’m looking forward to what the New Year brings!”
And some more awesome travel-utions:
“Become a tourist in my hometown”
A really popular resolution that I’d also like to make a point of focusing on this year is traveling and exploring close to home! It seems like as travel bloggers, we get so caught up checking off all of these new, exotic, faraway places from our lists, that we often forget to find the magic and beauty of what’s just in front of us!
“I want to get out and explore more of the province where I live, which is Ontario, Canada. To fulfill this resolution, we have already booked a week-long interior camping trip in Algonquin Park for June, which should be an exciting adventure. We can’t wait!”
Lindsay, The Flynnigans
“I realized we have spent a lot of time traveling to other countries, but I would really like to explore more of the USA and the natural wonders here. My resolution is to see as much of as many states as I can (the plan is to start checking them off with road trips in our travel trailer)!”
Melanie, Life’s Sweet Journey
“I’m planning to travel closer to home. I want to really get to know my new surroundings in the North West of England through my long-distance traveller eyes. There’s a lot to explore right on my doorstep!”
Ali, The Wandering Feline
“Print more travel photos”
“My travel resolution for 2017 is to print more of my travel photos so I can re-live those beautiful landscapes, jaw-dropping moments and unexpected happenings!”
–Marcella, What a Wonderful World
“Visit places I’d normally say “no” too.”
“I would like to visit/travel to at least 3 places I would have normally said ‘no’ to, take one solo trip, and go on one girl’s trip with friends.”
-Lillian, The Smalls Abroad
“Figure out life as an expat”
“To expat myself with the least amount of stress possible, and find my feet in my new home without chucking a wobbly and booking a plane ticket straight home again.”
Rachel, A Nesting Nomad
Thanks for all of your contributions ladies! Hope that all of these New Year’s Travel-resolutions from my fellow travel blogging babes provides some inspiration for your 2017 travels! A happy, healthy and adventure filled year to you all!
Time to get back to my travels!! Can’t wait to share more so soon! 😀
Although the service in the South of Chile is pretty spotty and average at best, if you’d like to follow along with my upcoming travels, you can usually find me here:
- Instagram: @laurenonlocation
- Snapchat: Lbonheim
It’s good to be BACK at Wanderful Wednesdays!
Consider yourself a wanderer?! Well then, this Blog Hop is for you!
Meet your hosts: Lauren of Lauren on Location, Van of Snow in Tromso, Isabel of The Sunny Side of This and Marcella of What a Wonderful World.
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Happy Hopping Friends!! 😀
great travelutions:)
These are great and such a variety of ideas. But yes, hats off to Anna! Such an inspiration 🙂
I really need to print more photos as well! Love this list!
These are great resolutions. I also have a goal to explore my home area more.There is so much to see and do in Chicago and in five years of living here we haven’t even scratched the surface. #wanderfulwednesday
Love that you featured other bloggers’ resolutions! Best of luck moving back home and keeping the adventure alive 🙂
First time stopping by and participating in Wanderful Wednesday. I need to make a few Resolutions myself! Thanks for hosting!
LOVE this post and your resolution! Excited to see all your fun back here in the states. It can be harder to fit travel in, but you will find ways to make it unique to you!!
Your winter vacation sounds amazing!! Can’t wait to read more! And I actually need some tips from you in regards to hiking. I’m the absolute worst couch potato and just booked an all day hike for when we’re visiting Svalbard this summer – ahhhh 😀
First time here! Thanks for the travelutions! Your photo in Chile looks amazinggggg!
angelichigo.blogspot.ca
WOW!! You have had a myriad of experiences in 2017 already!!! Can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for you – I’m sure there will be adventures!! I agree with the travelution to print more travel photos!!
Love these! A tourist in my hometown is always a great one 🙂
Hey – I just caught up on this now as I’ve also been away from blogging for a few weeks. What a great set of resolutions!! I love that you’re going to keep travelling as a big part of your life – it isn’t always easy once you head home but it is possible 🙂 Can’t wait to keep following along as you do. Good luck with your move back to the states.