Discover Soulful Travel - Series Kickoff: From Tourist to Explorer
While tourism checks off places, Soulful Travel checks in—with yourself, the energy of a place, and the journey’s lessons. From the vibrant streets of Miami’s Little Havana to the humble adobe homes of Mexico, each experience colors who I am and invigorates my soul.
Hello, Janelle here, the creator of Freequency.
I am excited to launch, from my heart to your eyes, this new platform to share insights on pathways for better living and kick off our first inspiring topic.
To start this expansive blog, we’ll first journey into this Soulful Travel Series in Mexico. But before we dive in, here I share with you how and why I began to explore the world this way!
Photo of JG - "Wonderlust in Oaxaca de Juárez" - Mexico August 2024 | Generative Image created with DALL-E 3 2024
I live in Miami’s vibrant Little Havana neighborhood on a street frequented by tours. One morning I was dressed in a robe when I cracked open my door to let my dog out, just as a group of tourists walked up and proceeded to stare.
Even when I’m walking down the street, dressed properly at least, I still feel like the chickens that roam my streets with tourists chasing them with cameras—we’re all part of the native petting zoo.
Tourism, I observe, is often like this. The communities we visit are unintentionally made to feel like they are there for us to peer at for our pleasure. With the best of intentions, we travel within the bubble of our family or friends from back home, glancing around us only during quick breaths in our conversations. We observe our surroundings with arms outstretched, keeping the world largely at bay.
Generative Image created with DALL-E 3 2024 | Photo of J: "American Dreams Project" by Ian Brown – Little Havana, FL USA 2017
Soulful travel is the opposite. It’s inviting the world in to pierce, bounce, and ricochet within us. It’s engaging the world around us with curiosity.
Tourism is about checking off a list of places. Soulful travel is about checking in—with yourself, with the energy of the place, and with the lessons the journey offers. It’s waving, smiling, asking questions, connecting, and reflecting. It’s reaching out to the world around you to learn about local history, culture, social issues, world perspectives, concerns, talents, and hope.
When I do, I feel synapses in my brain connect, my heart expand, and my soul come alive.
Miami Herald Article by Joe Cardona | Photo of Gorki Águila and JG by Tony Jimenez - Havana, Cuba 2007
I was first exposed to the powerful potential of human exchange during travels with friends to support youth in Cuba in 2004. Energy, ideas, and beauty were dramatically magnified by the rarity of the moment, as we held our breath to dodge danger. The young people we visited would recount every still frame we had preciously shared. Our intention was to support them through dire life circumstances, yet their richness of spirit, in turn, enriched my mind-heart-soul in ways I never thought possible.
Later, on my first solo trip to Thailand in 2017, I investigated happiness through the lens of Buddhism in everyday interactions. I learned to release expectations that create suffering and to pierce the bubble of conditioning in my Western life. I discovered what an incredible gift it is to drop into a new reality and understand what it means to be a foreigner and a minority in a distant land.
Similarly, in Guatemala in 2022, I was deeply moved by the country’s 5,000-year history and the rich tapestry of their handwoven culture. Like their bursting colors and the 44 derivative Mayan languages spoken today, I find that global cultures are each uniquely rich beyond measure.
Photo from "Chat with a Monk" at Wat Suan Dok – Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2017 | Photo of JG, Tzutu Kan, and Ani Budhir – Lake Atitlán, Guatemala, 2022
Now, in Mexico in 2024, as a "guera" (fair-skinned lady) and an American, it’s easy to seek out "fresa" (high-end) comforts, overlook poverty, and pursue only self-fulfilling adventures.
But the truth is, I slept best in two humble adobe homes, not in the overpriced hotel. I felt like a baby sleeping in a womb inside these earthen, handmade homes that are warm and cool, while the fancy hotel felt cold and impersonal.
It was in the moments when I hugged a stranger, took photos for a family business, and sat in a tiny Temazcal [temasˈkal], joining prayers for women and children lost in wars, that again my soul felt truly ALIVE.
Back home, as I walk past tourists in Miami, I often wear handcrafted hats from my global travels to shade me from the beating sun. I love wearing them because they remind me of the places that have colored my spirit, the streets I’ve walked, and the soulful places I can’t wait to explore.
In a world where we’re constantly seeking more—more destinations, more experiences—soulful travel reminds us to seek more in less. Less haste, less noise, and more of what truly matters: presence, connection, and self-discovery.
In the upcoming posts, I'll share more layers of this first Soulful Travel Series coming to you from Mexico with my Nuvo Chicas! I invite you to embark on this adventure with me, as I share the soulfulness that energizes my life.
Stay tuned and subscribe for the next exciting topic: Futuristic Wellness. Behind the scenes, we have been following our joy to create a wild wellness product in the California, only to face wildfire... There's so much to tell!
Other exciting things to come include inviting awesome people I admire to share their "aha moments" and sources of FREEQUENCY. If you feel inspired to share yours experiences, write to us anytime at info@vikara.agency to submit content.
If you're feeling that hero calling, you can also opt to be an early Freequency Supporter or Maker and gain access to future exclusive content.
Now, go you wild animals and explore!!
@#soulfultravel #adventure #mind-heart-soul #journey #humanexchange #handcraftedhats #nochickenpics #futurefwdtourism #cuba #thailand #guatemala #mexico
Janelle Gueits