For The Love Of...Travel

Published:Sunday | February 15, 2015 | The Jamaica Gleaner

Travel opens the eyes, broadens perspectives and teaches humility - as it forces us to look outside ourselves and see and appreciate the larger world in which we live. To explore the world near or far gives us more tolerance for our differences and a renewed appreciation for that which makes us the same.

Travel for some is an escape from the mold of everyday life, it allows us to learn new cultures- travel is the ultimate teacher.

The beauty of travel is best described, by George Santayana in 'The Philosophy of Travel' "We need sometimes, to escape into open solitudes, into aimlessness, into the moral holiday of running some pure hazard, in order to sharpen the edge of life, to taste hardship, and to be compelled to work desperately for a moment no matter what."

No matter what you've read in books, seen on the big screen or heard, there is nothing like experiencing a new place first hand. What you take back from your ventures has a lot to do with what you brought. A historian visits Rome and appreciates it differently than a culinary chef would.

Here's what others had to say about the Love Of Travel...

Nickie Myers

Spa and Activities Manager,

Kittian Hill - Luxury Resort St Kitts

I heard a beautiful quote a while ago that has stayed with me ever since I heard it " Where you are is indeed your point of arrival". I firmly believe that.

What do I love about travelling? Immediately I think of how expansive it is. But it expands my mind body and soul. For me it's a complete sensory experience. There is something that is so nourishing and humbling about travelling to new places and learning new cultures and meeting new people, the knowledge gained from that cannot be gained from any book or video, or second hand experience. The opportunity to eat food from another place, another culture that can either be totally new or prepared in a different way is divine and delightful.

To walk the streets and interact with the people, to take the bus or the train to be in a country with people you don't know and who don't know you (yet) gives you perspective and calls your compassion into being as I realise that what I get out of the experience is directly linked to what I bring to it.

It keeps me in the present and I know for sure that no matter where you are, everyone understands the language of a smile. Whether I am in Germany, North India, Indonesia, Timor Leste, Australia, Turkey, Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Greece, Singapore, Malaysia, United States or England, a smile is a smile.

My love for travelling was fostered from an early age where I spent lots of time with my paternal grandmother reading Readers Digest and National Geographic and from my parents who made sure that my voracious reading appetite, was always fed. So many places I first visited was in my childhood imagination. Travelling has taken me to five star hotels, small villages and bed and breakfasts, but travelling has also taken me to the point of always moving to realise the best me while learning and appreciating the amazement that this world that has so much to offer in people, culture and experiences. Travel has at the moment taken me to the island of St Kitts where I am inspired challenged and humbled to be part of an amazing project called Kittitian Hill, described as "An agent of social change with the little wrapping of a hotel around it". I currently find that with all I have experienced in my life at home and away, where I am is indeed my point of arrival, how joyful!.

Alando Terrelonge

Attorney-at-Law at Bailey Terrelonge Allen

What I love most about travelling is that it gives me an opportunity to see the rest of the world, to discover new cultures, new places and meet new people. I have learnt so much about people from my travels, and no matter where I go, I am reminded that no matter where we come from, people are the same wherever you go.

I studied history and foreign languages when I was in high school and that got me thinking, why not discover the ancient cities and different cultures that you have studied about for yourself? I wanted to see the pyramids for myself, to visit the great wall of china, to stand before the seven wonders of the world. I wanted to be able to communicate with people in their own language and learn more about them without leaving anything lost in translation.

My favourite travel destination is Europe. From the ruins of ancient Rome, to the museums, churches and grand boulevards of Paris, I have a love for Europe, its culture, languages and peoples, second only to my love for Jamaica.

Pauline Edie

Executive Administrative Manager,

Selective Homes Ltd

Travel is quite liberating to know that you have that option. Every time the opportunity presents itself to travel, whether to some new place or one frequently visited, I grasp it with both hands, my passport and luggage.

From as young as I can remember I literally dreamt of flying. In fact, some of the places I have been I feel like I have been there before. So I knew I was going to see the world.

There is something about visiting another country, another place with it's culture, food, music, night life, art and people that opens all your senses and makes you come alive. Haven't been to all the continents, but of those I have visited; Europe is my absolute favourite. When I travel to Europe, everything I studied in history classes just comes alive. Venice is my favorite so far. There is something about being surrounded by water that seems to calm the senses. Hopefully I will be able to add Greece to the list this summer. So pack a bag and go nuh!