I was just going through my pics of our road trip to the North Cape and it got me thinking about travel enthusiasm. When we arrived to the North Cape I was like, OK it’s nice. And that was it. Of course I was happy and loved it so much, but didn’t really show it. Just then a group of tourists came to that globe that marks the northernmost point of continental Europe. They were all so excited and each had a small bottle of champagne. They opened the bottles and toasted to just simply being there. And there was me. Happy, but missing the enthusiasm. Seeing those people was a reminder to myself.

Midnight at North Cape (Norway).

Where did my enthusiasm go?

Traveling so much I became used to seeing beautiful places and yes, I loved seeing them all the time, but I missed my own enthusiasm. I should have been more excited about the North Cape. It’s not a place you see every day. It’s not a place everyone gets to see. I’m so lucky and should be grateful to be there. I was aware of that, but it got me thinking. How happy were those people with small champagne bottles. For them reaching North Cape meant so much. It was a milestone to be celebrated. It should be. Being able to travel is a privilege we should be happy about.

Is it just me?

Another story from Taj Mahal in India tells about a group of Slovenian people I was guiding. We visited the majestic Taj Mahal in the early morning, before sunrise. We were one of the first visitors there together with a group of Japanese tourists. Our group was like, ok, we see it, it’s the Taj Mahal. Very nice. And the Japanese were so excited, they were almost screaming and sighed over the stunning sunrise view of the Taj. It wasn’t my first time at the Taj and I was more excited then my group. My group was full of people who travel a lot. We had a talk about travel enthusiasm and we all agreed we should appreciate awesome places like Taj Mahal more.

This gentleman wanted to take a pic in front of the Taj with me (Taj Mahal, India)

Enthusiasm or euphoria? There’s a big difference.

I’m not talking about being euphoric when seeing beautiful places while traveling. That’s another thing and also might be worth discussing. It’s just good to remind ourselves to be happy about being able to see all these wonders. And showing it, why not! Another story goes back to my time in the Philippines. We were visiting the Puerto Princessa underground river, one of the Seven natural wonders of the world. There were hundreds of local tourists from the Philippines and they were so excited, happy, laughing, screaming, just enjoying the moment. And again, my group was like, oh, it’s just a river in the cave. Well, yes, but it’s beautiful. It’s amazing and special. We should see that! We had a talk, again.

Traveling is even better if we let ourselves be captivated by the beauty of the world.

I believe that. What happened at North Cape got me thinking and since then it’s a reminder to me. I’m always happy and excited to see new places and experience new things so I just have to let myself express what I feel. Why shouldn’t I? And so should all of you, reading this. Well we’re all different and show our enthusiasm in a different way, but let’s just enjoy the places we see when we travel, let their beauty captivate us. And we shouldn’t care what others think when they see us jumping out of pure excitment. Right?

So next time you (and I) feel excited when we see anything nice (while we travel or anytime), let’s just show it!

Thanks for reading. This might be a topic for some future posts too, there are so many stories to remind ourselves about the beauty of the world we live in.

Until next time,

Ajda