What’s the point of travel?

Hidden, Hudson Highlands State Park, NY

Anne Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters:

The point of going somewhere like the Napo River in Ecuador is not to see the most spectacular anything. It is simply to see what is there. We are here on the planet only once, and we might as well get a feel for the place.

This is how I think about travel and exploration; often times, the point of going is simply to see what’s there, to experience it with our own eyes, heart, mind and soul, to add to our perspective and knowledge about the world. Sometimes, as long as we bring the right perspective, that’s all the reason we need.