More important than the fact that slowing down means cheap travel is the fact that when you go slower you discover things you would have missed. While at the hot springs mentioned above, for example, we befriended a Mayan Indian who brought us to an old Pony Express station in the desert hills. It still had parts of the old walls remaining.
He showed us areas where we could find old arrowheads, and we found some. Out in the middle of the desert, he showed us perfectly round holes that had been drilled into the rocks hundreds of years earlier. They were used for water storage. In our van, we followed him to an area where ancient pottery littered the desert, and where gemstones could be found as well.
We wouldn’t have found these things on our own. The experiences were also only possible because we didn’t rush from one park to another, trying to fit as many “sights” into a trip as possible. It may not be a secret that a slow trip can be more interesting, but not many people seem to want to try this more relaxing, slower pace.
Where we stayed a week for $120 in that mountain town, we discovered area waterfalls and secret mountain lakes that only the locals knew about. The town was our base as we made trips into the surrounding area. Talking to people in local bars lead us to a well-preserved ghost town that wasn’t on our map. Its streets were still full of buildings and foundations, but no tourists – one other car pulled in while we were there.
Sounds like you just need to recharge your batteries. for the past month, I too have felt unsettled and I think it is because I have got into a routine and being lazy. I need to gear myself up once again. Winston C was definitely ahead of his time with that quote.
Very good article, well written and very thought out.
Health food creates me sick.