Ummm quick question: Do you believe in miracles?
Full disclosure, I totally do... that said I also have a fiercely skeptical streak. Why is this relevant? Well, it sort of sets the stage for what I am about to tell you next. This story is a bit long winded but I promise it is worth it in the end!
Let me back it up a bit...
I took a last minute international trip this year for the first time in my life… and it was game-changing, bordering on miraculous in fact.
My life for the previous 2 years has been fairly structured: vacation time at work had to be requested in advance and my partner and I had small, pre-determined windows of travel opportunity. So how on earth did we make a last minute trip happen? The answer, in a nutshell, is divine intervention.
So I'm kinda A type... I was planning an epic road trip across the Southern USA for my husband and I, down to the very last detail. We booked our time off work, secured the most beautiful and inspiring hotels, and spent months researching honky-tonk joints, dive bars, roadside attractions, vintage stores and hole in the wall record shops. We meticulously planned every detail of the trip, we just didn’t go on that trip... We went on a totally different one!
Between record-breaking, chilly winter temperatures across North America, a canceled flight and a series of cascading missed connection, things were not shaping up for a smooth start to our adventure. That is when my husband and I looked at each other and wondered out loud in unison: Pivot?!?
The answer was clear, the heart wants what the heart wants and who was I to argue! I didn't miss a beat: I got online and started looking at flights to Mexico, my true love and the place I was secretly dreaming of going anyways. Now this was high season, between Christmas and New Years, so most of the boutique hotels I was after were fully booked or showing up at a super inflated rate... but I persisted.
Half an hour later I had canceled our US hotels and rental car, switched our flights to Cancun and secured THIS stunning adults-only boutique oasis hotel in Playa Del Carmen... at an incredibly discounted rate!
We had 16 hours to go home, unpack our parkas, replace them with swimsuits, get a good night's rest, and be back at YVR for check-in. I found the entire ordeal exhilarating! It is moments like these that I truly feel alive. When something unexpected pulls me out of the regular script of life and gives me a dose of the unknown.
The truth is I am an extremely orderly person and this can keep me from experiencing the spontaneity that I crave in life. I couldn't help but think that perhaps some divine force was guiding me in this new direction and that perhaps, something truly transformational awaited. Sure I could chalk it up to it bad weather or faulty wiring but, when all is said and done, the trip I took was the trip my soul needed and I am so thrilled that the force of miracle made it so.
The next 10 days were pure bliss, we spent them going with the flow completely free of expectations. We did what we wanted to do, not what we had planned months ago to do. We made life-long friends, consumed dubious amounts of mezcal, explored secret cenotes, visited enchanting colonial villages, climbed hidden ruins, bought textiles direct from artisan makers, and ate, oh how we ate!
Do you want to see some photos from our trip? Go over to my Folklore Travel page...
The true gift of this unexpected adventure was that it ignited a fire in my soul and subsequently, under my butt. It reminded me of my long-standing love affair with Mexico, it's culture, folklore, people, and way of life. It reinforced an existing belief that a truly exceptional vacation can be transformational, life-changing even, when it is infused with connection, meaning, and adventure.
On that plane ride home a seed was planted, a seed that tugged gently at my heart. It said, "Get creative, take the stuff that matters to you and that makes time stand still for you, and give it a leading role in your life. Better yet, share it with the world in a way that makes it a better place."
And with that, Folklore travel was born and shortly thereafter my career as a travel advisor was hatched. This trip made me into an expert at finding the sweet spot between expert research, due preparation, and sweet spontaneity.
I'd love to put this expertise and passion to work for you on your next trip. Reach out HERE and we'll get to work imagining the possibilities and making space for spontaneity in your next adventure.
XO - KT!