– Wander (verb, via) to walk around slowly in a relaxed way or without any clear purpose or direction –

Traveling is one of the things I love the most. The reason? I like to discover new places and have adventures, but I think the main reason is that I enjoy life more when I travel. There is a mindset that turns on almost automatically when I start a trip. I am more open to stepping out of my comfort zone, being spontaneous, exploring, and connecting with people. Also, I am more ludic and I approach things with more curiosity. It feels as if I squeezed life and fully absorbed it.

I love to walk around and go after something that calls my attention: music in the background, a narrow street, an activity advertised at the public library, and the smell of coffee or freshly baked bread. A question I regularly pose to myself is: do we need to leave our hometowns to adopt this mindset?

Rituals and preparation before journeys

Do you follow rituals before starting a trip? And with how much detail do you plan your trips?

After choosing the place to visit, I usually don’t book activities in advance nor do I read a lot about the city or town. There is too much information out there and I tend to get overwhelmed. I may google the typical “ten things you should do in [insert your destination here]” or ask friends about their experiences to have a general idea but no more than that. Preparing lists or tagging locations on Google Maps is not my favorite thing to do. So, generally, I pick up a few places or activities I’d like to pursue and leave the rest up to chance.

On one of my trips to Copenhagen, I visited Gammel Strand, an art gallery in Copenhagen that supports young artists through modern art exhibitions. At the souvenir shop, I found Ways of Traveling, a deck of cards to change our perspectives about traveling. With fun and unusual suggestions, each card invites you to rediscover the surroundings. Before leaving home, I take one card randomly and the message guides part of my journey.

A month ago, I got “Diary of Magic Journeys” (my translation to “Diario de viajes mágicos“) written by Aniko Villalba. By proposing creative activities to do before, during the trip, and after coming back, the book helps you connect with yourself and the things that matter to you. Then, the trip is aligned with you instead of getting obsessed with all those things you MUST/CANNOT MISS. That is so refreshing! (If you want to know more about Aniko and her projects, here I wrote more about them).

Travel Journals – an excellent excuse to let your creativity fly

For several years, I have been capturing my adventures in travel journals. In these spaces, I describe the places I’ve visited and keep the memories and feelings I’ve had while traveling. There is something magic about writing, doodling, cutting, and gluing. I feel I travel back to those memories every time I go through the pages of my journals.

I am a stationary huuuugeee fan. By the way, did you know that there is a term for someone who is addicted to stationery and paper products? Yes, there is! Are you also a papyrophiliac? My travel journals – or my journals in general- are spaces where I can express myself freely. It is a beautiful world where I combine washi tapes, papers, stickers, photos, tickets, city maps, flyers, and experiment with mixed media collages while reflecting on my experiences. Would you like to explore the great world of travel journals? This post gives nice tips on how to start your own.

Travel mindset everywhere: beating routines

Sometimes it gets hard to remain spontaneous and curious, and there is a biological explanation. Our brain wants to minimize the energy it expends on any particular activity. Routines help our brains conserve energy and reduce risks. Because of this, our brain strives to turn everything into a routine making it very difficult to detach from them. So, moving through our hometowns with a renewed sense of curiosity requires intentionality, which translates to energy and purpose.

How do we keep ourselves motivated and curious, keeping the travel mindset? I try to behave as a tourist in my own town. For instance, I ask for recommendations for good coffee places and restaurants and check out community bulletin boards for cultural activities. Sometimes I pick up a neighborhood I am unfamiliar with and after a quick Google search, I take my bike and see where the wind takes me. I collect museum brochures and maps from the tourist office to decorate my journals.

And you? Do you keep travel journals? Do you have any favorite Trip planner/Vacation journal/Travel notebook? What are your strategies to keep yourself curious? Please share in the comments, I’d love to hear about them!