It’s the Journey not the destination by Carl Honore
Author Carl Honore has written a blog based around travel in line with his book, It’s the Journey not the destination. Carl suggests travelling slowly so we can appreciate the world around us. His book has 40 adventures that families can take their time with!
Some of my fondest childhood memories come from travel.
Biting into a juicy peach plucked from a tree in the Okanagan Valley. Swimming in the clear, warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Racing my little brother up the Eiffel Tower.
Because travel is a form of magic.
It opens the mind. Makes you stronger and happier. Teaches you about the world and yourself. Brings you closer to other people.
Travel creates Proustian memories that last a lifetime.
I wrote It’s The Journey to introduce children to the joys of travelling slowly. To inspire them to see the world as a giant playground to explore and savour at a gentle pace.
Often travel is ruined by the four horsemen of the modern apocalypse: Stress. Impatience. Distraction. Busyness.
Instead of stopping and staring, we speed up, missing the small details and fine grain that make each place thrilling and unique. We visit places without really experiencing them – and then return home more tired than when we left.
Travelling slowly is the opposite of all that.
It means being present, curious and alive to the moment. Plugging into local culture. Treading lightly on the planet.
Travelling slowly lets you experience the world in all its richness and wonder.
That’s why the 40 voyages in It’s The Journey are all based on slower forms of transport: bike, boat, train, your own two feet. When you stop dashing to your destination, getting there becomes part of the adventure.
Like walking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Or gliding down the Mississippi River in a steamboat. Or cycling round the Baltic Sea en route to regal Riga.
I hope It’s The Journey will also show children that the best voyages often happen in your imagination, that you can travel anywhere on a magic carpet of words and pictures.
Even if you never cycle the Silk Road or paddle round the Galápagos Islands, reading about such adventures can drop you right in the middle of them.
Travelling slowly can even ennoble the most humble journey. Starting with your local park or even your own garden.
Because when you travel slowly, when you show up with a calm and curious mind, any journey can be a balm for the soul and a banquet for the senses.
In my own family, we are firm fans of travelling slowly. So many of our best memories are minted while spending time together in new places.
Slow down the pace, and you and your children can do the same.
It’s the Journey not the destination is published by Magic Cat Publishing.
Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Federation.
