This is a story of a woman seeking to see the world.
She is smart, kind, a hard worker, a good friend and a loving asset to her family.
She takes in the world around her. She wants to be part of it. She wants to explore more of it. She wants to experience new things that will change her, enrich her, help her, move her. She has looked through the pictures and tales of others who have gone ahead of her. Now, she wants to see the world with her own eyes, to paint her own story with her own images and words.
As much as she wants to follow this dream, there are things that keep her from doing it. Resources like time and money can be tight. The idea of leaving the comfortable and the familiar can be daunting and scary. She fears that doing something for herself could be perceived as extravagant, maybe a little selfish. She dreams of going but puts it off. Worse, she sometimes doubt whether she can actually pull it off. She wonders if she has what it takes to do it.
Then she meets a guide. Someone who is on the same journey of discovery. Someone who has had the same concerns, fears and hesitations. Someone who has taken the first step forward. A traveler who has gone out and has seen the world, or at least parts of it. And she’s come back to say that it can be done. That the world is waiting.
The viajera, or female traveler, learns from the guide and others like her. She seeks advice, gains information, empowers herself with a plan.
Now the viajera needs to act, to decide, to go and see the world. Because she wants to. Because she can.
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This is my story as much as it is your story.
My travel story began with family summer vacations to Baguio. My first airplane ride ever took me from my home in Manila to my new home in Atlanta, Georgia where I came to work as a physical therapist. A few years later, I met and married my husband, who happens to be a history and travel nerd. We started to travel to places near and far. We haven’t stopped yet and we have no immediate plans to. He is the planner and organizer, I am the troubleshooter.
I can’t pick a favorite city or place – there’s always so much to savor wherever we go. Somehow, I often end up in places where they film Game of Thrones. #nerd
I write postcards to our cat Mimzy.
The whole world is on my To-Go list.
I try to travel light (carry-on only, at least inbound) but I’m not always successful.
My most treasured gadget, next to my iPhone, is my travel bidet (yep, TMI).
Seeing the world, writing about it, taking photographs of it, talking about it with like-minded people make me happy. That’s why I started Viajera Filipina.
This is a place where travelers meet to interact, share stories, exchange information, make plans, bounce ideas, and look out for each other.
So welcome, fellow viajeras (and viajeros too). Make yourself at home. Sign up for the newsletter so you won’t miss a thing. Connect with me on social media so we can interact.
– Tessa
Tessa and the banana peel by the Aegean Sea