Discovery of Magic Through Search for Meaning

By Véro Arseneau  (Travel mate from Canada, we met in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Check out @vero.arseneau for more incredible pics from Véro’s travels).

Bonjour dear travel enthusiast!

Véro here :D, a little French Canadian gal who around this time last year reached her goal to one day go on a solo backpacking trip abroad, for which her chosen destination was Croatia :). On her last night in the country, she made friends with a wicked crew of backpackers from all around the globe as they were all staying in the same hostel in downtown Dubrovnik (aka Kings Landing for any GOT fans). This is how she came to meet Tanner, for he was part of this wicked crew of backpackers!

I remember that night so fondly; the food, the sunset, the drinks, the laughs, the great company, the charming streets of the city (which I never failed to get lost in). The feeling of freedom, peace, magic and pure joy, mixed with the pang of grief for I knew I had a plane to catch the next day. I had to remind myself to embrace and be thankful for every part of the journey (the fun AND less fun parts), for if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that travel makes you experience highs and lows in all their forms and there is great wisdom to be gained from all of it <3.

Meeting like-minded and free-spirited fellow humans will forever be one of my favourite things in the world, especially when it happens on my adventures exploring new corners of the world <3.

Though I parted ways with my fellow backpackers the next day, we kept in touch through the year. As synchronicity would have it, Tanner reached out to me on the EXACT day marking a year since our meet up, asking me if I would share one of my favourite travel stories or memories! Of course I accepted :).

Now here I am, unable to decide which story to share!…

My journey with international travel began 10 years ago, when after going through (and growing through) some very difficult life experiences and essentially fighting for my life, I followed my heart, which told me rather stubbornly that I needed a drastic change of scenery and a life changing experience (a “reset” button if you will) to kick off what I now consider to have been a time of rebirth in my life <3<3.

Many things have happened following that first trip (which was in Thailand) and through that decade. I healed important inner wounds, faced lots of life lessons head on, committed deeply to a journey of self-love and balance (which I’m still working on btw), developed many meaningful friendships and relationships, completed my post-secondary studies, and started a career I’m deeply passionate for.

Though not all this happened while traveling, I feel I have my travels to thank for a lot of it, as it is through these that I discovered new strength and resilience, broadened my understanding and idea of life, and realized that there is a lot of beauty, diversity, and magic out there waiting to be experienced for those willing to see it.

May the Forces of Nature be With You…and Not Against You

It may not be my most epic travel story, but I’d like to share an adventure I had when in Iceland that makes me smile every time I think of it :). The year was 2017, and by this time in my life, I had been to Thailand, Honduras, Germany, France, and of course explored parts of my own country Canada, and its neighbouring United-States. So I liked to think I was getting better at handling the unexpected, rolling with the punches, and keeping my cool whenever faced with a stressful situation. Yet life never fails to surprise you!

Now, anyone who has been to magical Iceland knows it’s not the cheapest destination, and that the biggest expense is often your car rental if you wish to have the freedom to explore at your own pace and desire. They also know that mighty Iceland is a freaking force of nature, and therefore isn’t always easy on its vehicles, or anything for that matter. As luck would have it, our humble hatchback rental decided it had had about enough of us 14 days into our road trip around the country. Something was clearly wrong with the car and so we stopped at the nearest town we could find, and went into a craft shop asking locals if they could direct us to the nearest garage. They very kindly directed us a few blocks down, which is where we met our mechanic Karl Helgi! Karl told us we needed to call the insurance company and rental car company to let them we needed a switch of cars, but very clearly and kindly showed us that what had happened to the car was not our doing. He told us the insurance was likely going to try and pin the blame on us though and so offered to stay by our side as we made that call.

I think we can agree that dealing with car insurance in general can be a stressful experience… well dealing with car insurance in a foreign land is no different haha. As I was taking this call, Karl noticed the insurance employee on the other line trying to get me to go back out on the road with the car and trying to twist my words to put the blame on us. After a few minutes, he gestured to me to pass him the phone.

I never knew what he said in Icelandic to the insurance employee, but I will tell you this… he made it clear we were not getting back in that car and were not to be held responsible or billed for the repair needed! After this was all settled, he handed the phone back to me, and the insurance employee very kindly told me they were going to organize a vehicle transfer within the next few hours and we were not to worry about anything. I never forgot that act of kindness from our mechanic and felt so thankful he had our back! It’s true that you’ll have all sorts of encounters when traveling (just as you would anywhere), and yes not all of them will be pleasant. But sometimes, you’ll just experience this awesome act of kindness from a stranger, and your hope in humanity will be restored <3. I’ve had a many lovely encounters with locals and travellers from all around the world, and let me tell you that there is nothing more moving then seeing people come together and support one another no matter their different backgrounds or realities.

Thank you Karl Helgi, dear Iceland mechanic and angel for having a fellow backpacker’s back! And may the Iceland forces be with you!!

And to any one reading this:

May you follow your heart
May you honour your truth
May you find the courage to turn your dreams into reality
May you trust your journey

<3<3 Véro