It’s okay to change your mind when you’re traveling. Sometimes when I travel, I have a certain idea in my mind of what I want to do. Each place that I travel to is fulfilling some type of purpose, whether it’s to learn, experience a particular culture, or just relax, my trips have a purpose. Once I get somewhere, if I don’t feel like that purpose is being fulfilled or if I don’t really like the location, I’m in, I’ll be gone in a second. Travel is about flexibility and being able to adapt to the situation that I’m in. Sometimes, that will require a change in location.
A few years ago, I traveled to Valencia, Spain. I hadn’t really heard much about it but decided to go as it was only a short train ride from Barcelona, Spain. I’d planned to stay for a month and then I was going to relax and explore the surrounding region. Once there, I found a lovely cafe near where I was staying where I met a family of Afro-Spaniards and would frequent in the evening. I booked a lovely tour to some hot springs. I visited the local farmers market and saw the surrounding area’s architecture. I did this in a few days’ time and found myself overwhelmingly bored. It felt like what I’d gone there to do was just not matching and happening. I cut my trip three weeks short and went on to Alicante, Spain.
While studying abroad in France, I wanted to travel to Western Africa and ended up going to Northern African instead. Part of the reason was financial reasons, but the other part of it was a chance encounter I’d had with a Moroccan man while I was in France. He was extremely interesting and started talking about Tupac and reciting his whole biography but in French. I decided that night that I was going to visit Morocco. It turned out to be a great decision. It was only a two-hour flight from the south of France. It was nice and toasty and warm whereas France at the time was cold. I enjoyed my time there immensely. I was able to go right before COVID spread globally and I was eventually able to get to West Africa as originally planned a year and a half later.
When I traveled to Martinique, I had a whole itinerary planned. I was going to go to all the places I had researched, the Jardin de Balata and to see slave statues. It all got tossed out the window once I met locals and other people that were visiting the island. I immediately began to join people on their day trips, which was great because they had cars to get around the island, I was going to be ion the bus. I was able to see places I never would have believed and had I not joined people on these trips; I wouldn’t have been able to see these amazing places.
Changing my mind helped me to not waste my time, my money, or my energy while traveling. It’s just a part of traveling and something that leads to greater experiences and adventures.