How to focus on the positives during your trip.

One thing I’ve learned from being a travel writer is to play up what I love about a place.

Sure, I sometimes acknowledge negatives, but only if I think the information will be helpful for other travelers. Otherwise, why waste my time on something I didn’t like?

The things I enjoy about the trip are what I want to remember anyway.

I take the photos I want to look back on. I write little anecdotes in my journal that I want to remember. I post photos on social media of the highlights I want to share. I tell the people who work at the restaurant how much I love the food. All of this adds to my enjoyment of the trip. Focusing on the positives makes everything better for me.

Case in point: Here’s some of the positives from my first cruise.

I loved so many parts of the Delfín III cruise, despite my initial reservations. We saw much more wildlife than I expected, from pink Amazonian dolphins to sloths. We saw bright yellow clown frogs, giant bulldog fishing bats, and lots and lots of birds. 

The food was some of the best I’ve had in Peru.

The Amazonian ingredients added to traditional Peruvian food were creative and delicious. We had Amazonian fish baked in bijao leaves, which come from heliconia plants like bird of paradise. There was sorbet and juice from camu camu fruit. We snacked on macambo seeds and plantains in a dozen different forms. The Delfín chef knew exactly what to do with a pescatarian and my meals were always beautifully presented.

The Delfín III was better than some 5* hotels I’ve stayed in.

The spa was wonderful, the pool was perfect for hot afternoons and the bar was great. The bartenders were fun to talk to, good at all the classic drinks and happy to try making experimental cocktails. The staff made up my room several times a day, and during dinner left chocolates and bedtime stories on my bed.

It wasn’t perfect.

I felt awkward being part of a group visiting a village, the inevitable chatter of others in the boat wasn’t optimal for bird watching and a few people in the group used so much insect repellant that it made me cough. None of that ruined any of the things I loved on the cruise.

After so much travel, I’ve learned to let things go.

I invest too much time and effort in my trips to let the little things ruin them. I know that travel involves risk and I’m willing to risk quite a bit to see the world. Stomach bugs, missed connections, hotels that don’t look like the pictures online and getting lost are routine and not enough to ruin a trip for me.

I focus on the positives.

I enjoy my trips so much more when I focus on how many birds I saw and how good the food was. Whether I’m traveling for work or for pleasure (or both), I’ve gone somewhere to have a good time. I don’t let the inevitable inconveniences and discomforts of travel ruin all the things that I enjoy about a trip. I take pictures of the birds, tell the staff how much I love the food, write in my journal about the friendly people I meet and post photos of beautiful sunsets.

Posting your favorite parts of the trip on social media might seem like a small thing, but if that’s what you see when you look back, you’ll be remembering the positives.

Blog

Cruising the Amazon on the Delfín III

You knew a Delfín blog was coming! It’s about what I loved and why - mostly the positives. It also has more food and more bird photos!

Article

New Ways of Visiting Cusco & Machu Picchu

They’re not new ways of visiting for me, but this is what I think most tours are missing. Click on the image above to pop it out big enough to read.

I’m always surprised when something I write is printed on paper. I was even more surprised that they sent me a copy in Peru! You can read the full magazine online here.