The difference between travel and tourism

The shelter has fallen into a bit of a lull again, this isn't surprising as Autumn and Winter are the quieter months for the shelter. The four bears currently here are all settling in well and have been moved into the same pen, they have also been named. The single bear is now Bennie while the triplets are Pumpkin, Rascal and Shawn. Only Shawn turned out to actually be a girl, we've kept the name however as Angelika's son-in-law is also called Shawn and we find it quite hilarious that his namesake turned out to be a shy, female bear. The two moose are growing at an alarming rate, I have to stand on tip toes to give them their bottles now. The cats are doing well and Cricket the owl is as demonic as ever so everything is normal and work continues at a steady rate. With this in mind coming up with a topic to write about has been quite difficult and I turned to the conversations I have had with the other people here for inspiration and quite conveniently I was presented with the perfect topic earlier on in the week.

I was asked this week if I have travelled a lot in my life. I had to really think about my answer to this question as in a technical sense, yes I have been to a fair few countries, mostly in Europe, but also to Africa and now Canada. However I went to a lot of these countries as a tourist and to me personally there is a huge difference between travel and tourism. My definition of tourism is going to a place or country to see the tourist sights, to do the touristy things that everyone does when visiting that particular country. Travel is going to a destination to see the country for what it is. For example going to Paris to see the Eiffel tower - Tourist. Going to Paris to explore the city and find those hidden little gems of places - traveller. There is often a lot of crossover and don't get me wrong I very much enjoy being a tourist, when it's something new and different, but my real passion is travel. I want to see and experience the world. I want to see the beauty that each country has to offer. Beauty that comes in many different forms. In nature, in buildings, in people and in the history of the destination. I want adventures that only come from going off the beaten path. So to answer the original question, have I travelled a lot in my life? Not yet. But ask me again in twenty years time and I am sure that answer will have changed.