It’s that time of the year again! It’s time to say goodbye to 2022 and take My Wild Path on to 2023! I hope you all had a wonderful year full of joy, happiness and great things. On my side, it’s been a quite “normal” but positive year, with some highlights that definitely made it better. This post will not only be a recap of what happened in 2022 (in fact, I’ll make it fast!). It will be part of “The Journey”, the story of my own path into discovering nature. The journey goes on through 2023!
Yes, because this is a never ending journey for me. Every day, every month, every year that passes brings me a step forward on this path. Everything that I experience makes me grow a bit somehow, it gives me something new that I always carry with me. It simply makes me who I am. So every year actually makes me richer somehow. My knowledge is richer, my curiosity is richer, my love for nature and wildlife is richer. And I’m very thankful for all the amazing moments that conveys me all of this.
On the photography side, this has probably been the first year that I went for quality over quantity! Well, I still have thousands of photos taken this year! But comparing to before, this time I went out only to take some specific kind of photos and I focused on the quality of them. Even though I have to admit it, when I have an animal in front of me, I can’t avoid pressing the shutter button over and over again for all the time it decides to show up! But this was a target that I wanted to reach a long time ago, so I just have to stick with it from now on.
As I already wrote in my previous post “Wildlife, wildlife and more wildlife”, this year I experienced the deer rut season in Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National park, a beautiful area in the centre of Italy rich of wildlife and beautiful mountain landscapes. Here I could admire the rut of the deer from some very close distances, as I never did before. And what a show it was! At some point I was literally surrounded by deer roaring everywhere around the surrounding valleys and mountains.
I spent only two days there, but they’ve been really intense, looking for deer everywhere I could from the early morning to the late evening. I also found some time for a very nice hike, that led me to another group of deer up on the mountains. It was amazing to watch all the behaviors of these beautiful animals during this particular time of their life. Honestly I didn’t want to come back from that paradise! And defiitely I’ll be back soon for sure, perhaps for the next rut season. Can’t wait for that!
But let’s go back to “The Journey”. There’s another thing that plays a major role into it. And that’s traveling. I love traveling, I need to travel. I always feel something inside me that tells me to go and discover new places. New countries, new cultures, new landscapes. I’m lucky that I’ve already been able to visit some amazing places in the world, but you know, it’s never enough! That’s how I spend my vacation whenever I can. I never liked the “only relax” vacation at the seaside just resting and doing nothing all day long, like most people do here. I’m definitely not that kind of person. I like adventure, I like exploring, I’m curious to see other parts of the world that are completely different comparing to the world I’m seeing everyday.
This year I visited Finland, and what a beautiful country it is. Forests and woods everywhere, so many national parks to visit, endless wilderness areas where it’s just you in the middle of wild nature, lots of wildlife, the Arctic Circle, Lapland region. There’s so much to experience there. Not to mention the beautiful cottages on the lake with the traditional sauna, that’s part of the Finnish experience too! Yes, because when I visit another country, I like to experience in first person their traditions and culture. And I invite you all to do the same, whenever you go somewhere abroad. Don’t be picky and just try everything. You’ll find out some great things that otherwise you would never have the chance to experience. Plus, you will have some great memories that you will always carry with you.
So just do like me, go to Jordan and sleep under the stars in the desert in a bedouin tent. Discover the island of Sumatra in Indonesia and sleep in a small open shelter in the middle of the rainforest far away from the civilization. Explore Tanzania and sleep in the savannah surrounded by lions and hyenas, and visit a local village to meet the so welcoming African people. Visit Patagonia in Argentina and ride a horse along the Andes, drinking the local “mate”. Go back in time and go for a horseriding in the iconic Monument Valley or make a camping trip to Yellowstone National Park in the USA. These are just some examples, but I promise that you will collect some unique and non-fading memories like this. Try this yourself and you definitely won’t regret!
The world is so big, the Earth is so beautiful, and there’s so much to see and experience. Why put some limits? We shouldn’t have any. If today I’m the person that I actually am, it’s thanks to all these things I experienced in my life. I came back home from every trip with something new inside me, and I mean for every trip that I made so far. My consciousness is somehow elevated to another level. Live every trip like this, see it from another and deeper perspective. A beautiful journey that will increase your knowledge on our world and fulfill your spirit and soul. An unforgettable part of your life, a moment that you “truly” live.
My plans for other trips? Of course, I have hundreds of plans! The Alaskan wilderness is at the top of my list; I would like to visit Peru with its ancient history and get lost in the vastness of the Amazon rainforest. I would like to visit Iceland, I would like to go back to Africa, to Tanzania where I left my heart but also to other African countries, I would like to explore Canada and its wonderful nature and wildlife. The list is just endless! I don’t know if I will be able to go or when, but the only thing I know is that whatever I will do, this will make me take more steps further into the journey. Not only the journey of My Wild Path, but also the journey of life.
Other plans for the upcoming year? Except traveling, I’m planning to take thousands more photos, re-design my website from scratch (I know, I already said this last year!) and much more. One thing I really would like to do, is to organize my own first exhibition. And together with that, a small fundraising event for a charity that I support (you guess which one! 😀). I would really love to do it, let’s see if this will be the year for that! Finally, I would like to thank everyone of you for your support, for your friendship, or even for just taking the time to read this. This time I leave you with a reel that I shared on my social network profiles some time ago. By the way, don’t forget to follow me also there (Facebook, Instagram). Let’s Rock&Deer!
My best wishes to you all for a Happy New Year! May you have a year full of health, joy, happiness and fun! See you on My Wild Path in 2023!
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