The school bell rings and jerks me back to reality from my daydream. I sit at my desk with my students in front of me, waiting to learn this Spanish language. I look to my right and my big map stares back at me, begging me to leave my classroom and join the Hispanic world. I desperately try to make my students understand how awesome it would be if one day they get to travel to all of these countries.
“You could actually use this language you’re being forced to learn! That’s why you should get excited! “
I am such a fan of experiencing new cultures, a big reason why I wanted to study a second language and become a teacher. I have so many places I want to visit. Is it just me or did you think that we’d have a teleportation device invented by now…it is 2022 right? For now I’ll just have to do it the old fashion way. Save save save money. Plan the trip. Save some more. And some more. Although I do have a hack by using Scott’s Cheap Flights but we’ll save those details for another blog.
Teaching Spanish day in and day out makes me daydream of all the places in this world where I can use this language. My students get so much more excited when I can share firsthand experiences with them about where I use my bilingualism. A big bucket list item for me is to visit all 21 Spanish-speaking countries and so far I’ve checked off 5. Pretty good I think! But I wanted to walk you through my Top 10 Hispanic Places to Visit so you can add it to your travel bucket list!
1. Take a 3-week road trip through Spain!
My suggestion is to take this route but click HERE if you have any suggestions or questions!
-Barcelona—Explore the entire city!
-Zaragoza—Main focus of Sos del Rey Católico
-Pamplona—Running of the Bulls Festival
-San Sebastián—Beach Spot!
-Bilbao—Learn about the history of Spain.
-Segovia—Segovia Aqueduct & Alcazar de Segovia
-Madrid—Museums, Monuments, and Rio Madrid
-Toledo—Mirador de Valle and Castillo La Mancha
-Valencia—Valencia Cathedral
-Cartagena—Horseback riding tour of the city and ruins
-Lanjarón—White Villages and The Sierra Nevada
-Granada—The Alhambra
-Córdoba—Mezquita Cathedral de Córdoba
-Seville—Cathedral de Seville
-Take the ferry to Tarifa and Tangier to finish with more beach time!
2. Visit Tikal in Guatemala.
3. See the Laguna Colorada in Bolivia.
4. Explore the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
5. Walk through the Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia, Argentina.
6. Visit the oldest city in the new world, Granada, Nicaragua.
7. Climb to the top of Machu Picchu in Peru.
8. See Laguna Miscanti in Chile.
9. Visit Willemstad in Curacao, Venezuela.
10.See the beauty of nature in Tortuguero National Park in Costa Rica.
So to quote Susan Sontag, “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” I love to travel. Ask anyone of my family, my friends, or my students. Traveling does something to your soul, to your spirit. It does something to you that I just can’t put into words. I have seen people who haven’t ever spoken two words to each other become deep friends because of traveling together. I have seen students from different backgrounds, different cliques come together when they travel with a purpose of helping someone in need. I can’t put it into words. But Deborah Lloyd stated it well.
“Travel sparks our imagination, feeds our curiosity, & reminds us how much we all have in common.”
¡Ve! ¡No miedo! So go! No fear! And most importantly…
DON’T
LOOK
BACK.