TO GO OR LET GO

Traveling is an adventure where the destination is not the journey. It's all about enjoying the journey. But how do we choose our travel destinations? Is it because there's a flight sale, or a particular tour; perhaps it holds a special meaning for us, or you have a preference for a certain area of the world? Or does the place choose us?  

A friend has decided that she wants to travel to all the Wonders of the World. What are they? To my friend's way of thinking they include The Great Pyramid of Giza; Temple of Artemis (Ephesus, Turkey); Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italy); Eiffel Tower (France); Taj Mahal (India); ruins of Petra (Jordan); Alhambra (Spain); stone sculptures of Easter Island; Michelangelo's David (Italy); Mont-Saint-Michel (France); Mayan pyramids (Mexico & Guatemala); and Machu Picchu (Peru). Of course, there are many more.…

Which Wonders of the World are on your Bucket List?

My friend has been to five on her list already. But this year she decided on the Egyptian Pyramids and the Jordanian ruins at Petra, both are World Heritage Sites. So she booked a tour to Egypt/Jordan for September through Peregrine Adventures. And then the country started a revolution! [The two are not related ;o)]

So what should she do? Wait and see what will happen by September and still go? Or cancel her trip altogether? The revolution and riots are in full swing and the Canadian government has told tourists to leave the country immediately. What would you do?

I was in a similar predicament; however, I was already in the country! In 1974 Greece erupted in a coup d'état. I was sitting at a café in Syntagma or Constitution Square when the army from the north drove their tanks and jeeps into Athens and, then, walked up the steps of the Parliament Buildings, and peacefully took over the government.

The citizens of Athens were ecstatic because for twenty years they had lived under a suppressive dictatorship. The President was ousted and the people rejoiced. Syntagma Square exploded into a wild party. Men took off their shirts in public for the first time in 20 years—it had been illegal. Musicians started to play the Bouzouki in public—it had been illegal to play it for 20 years. Melina Mercouri (Μελίνα Μερκούρη), the famous Greek female actor in such films as 'Never on Sunday,' had been a political exile for ten years. Mercouri returned the following day and waved from the balcony of the Hotel Grande Bretagne. The Greeks were ecstatic. She later became the Greek Minister of Culture. For a few moments in history, these modern day Greeks had experienced freedom.

So will the Egyptian military turn and side with the people and perform a coup d'état? Possibly. 

And will my friend get to see the Pyramids?

"Not this year," she said. I think it's a wise choice, don't you?

Traveling is a pilgrimage within to grow the garden of the soul. It stretches us and teaches us great lessons of life. Only we can decide whether to go or to let go.

—M. J. Milne

(Photo of David by M. J. Milne; Copyright© 2011 M. J. Milne)