It’s been a wee bit quiet around here lately. In fact, it’s the longest blogging break I think I’ve ever taken. I took some additional contracting work and my free time has been wrapped up in that (paid), rather than writing here (free). Then something happened at work that pretty much absorbed me for about 10 days. Now that things have once again quieted down, fortunately, I’m back. Though I’ve been doing some thinking on what direction I wanted the blog to go this year.
PS: I’m on Instagram!! I still haven’t totally figured out the lingo, but I do post occasionally! You can find me in my sidebar here too. You’ll also be fortunate enough to find a few too many pictures of the cute little dinosaur of a dog.
I’ve realized that I have–like many–grown tired of reading travel blogs “just for fun”. If it’s not somewhere I’m imminently interested in going (e.g., looking for reviews or restaurants or good info), I don’t really want to read about it. I also struggle to read those with a vastly different travel style than mine. The few travel blogs I read every day (or every post) weave every day life or fun stories into their travel tales. That, and a few bloggers with good fashion sense. Because, surprise surprise, I like to shop…a bit.
So what’s going on around here? We’ve been going somewhere tropical in January for the last few years, and I’m getting some itchy feet right now. We aren’t going anywhere this January, in large part because we are headed to the Galapagos Islands in March! I am going to practice my delayed gratification, and anxiously look forward to swimming, hiking, and kayaking then. We are both so excited to see all the animals and the islands (well, mostly the animals, who are we kidding). Need to do some work with the camera and get DH an appropriate pair (and by appropriate I really mean any pair) of water shoes to wear for wet landings on the volcanic rock.
On a totally different note: somehow I didn’t realize that adventure marathons were, like, a thing. Which is pretty awesome. Anyone ever done one? Bagan, perhaps, or South Africa? I think the Big Five Marathon is calling my name in 2017. Full or half…so many decisions. DH agreed to the journey (and my running), as long as he 1) didn’t have to run a full marathon and 2) was guaranteed some Tusker with the spectating. That’s an easy deal!
But we can’t just go to South Africa, of course. So, between the Seychelles, Comoros, and Mozambique, which would you do for a relaxing beach vacation? Post-marathon, of course, so it would be a lot of sitting and snorkeling. Activity with leg muscles not wanted. Massages appreciated, but $3000 villas not affordable.
I’m still itching to get back to Asia too. I get, totally, why people just go for a month or two and travel around. There are so many places I’d like to see, snorkel (avoiding sea snakes, obviously), and eat. We’ve been looking at Vietnam (I love war history), and also beaches. Bagan remains on my list. And Komodo Island is also calling my name…I mean, how cool are those dragons?? So many choices.
Lastly, China. Anyone been to Dujiangyan Panda Base? Reviews? Worth going from Chengdu (in addition to visiting the Chengdu Panda Base)? Yup, China is on the 2016 agenda–exciting, right?! We’ll be visiting Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, and Chengdu.
Off to tinker with the new camera lens so I can take excellent blue footed booby photos in a few months…
