14 for 2014: A Year-end Review

…supposed to be. And as I usually do.

But this year has been a bit different, I guess. I haven’t done a mid-year review on my bucketlist; I was too lazy to do it, plus I felt that (which is true) there was not much accomplishment, so I let it pass. Things changed, and plans were messed up at some point. So I kept silent (lalala!) But now, I am feeling obliged to do a yearend assessment as to my 2014 bucketlist. So here it goes!

1. Chase Aurora Borealis in Iceland or in any Nordic country
Done! Yey! This was a birthday gift to myself—celebrating my being 30! How cool is that! Haha! After 5 hours of waiting in the freezing cold during the night before my birthday, the heavens finally made a show, just in time for my birthday! Happy.

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Scotland at Last! …minus the tent and the campsite

“Wait for me, let’s go together to Scotland…let’s pitch a tent, let’s camp…” I’m sure he might have already forgotten about what he said. But yeah, I waited—okay, part of the waiting was really because I didn’t want to go to Scotland alone last year—I think it’s too pretty to be admiring it by myself and it’s a bit of a loser of me to be camping alone!

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2013 SPAINtastic Trip (2 of 3): Valencia and the La Tomatina Festival

…So we found a perfect spot in one of the corners; we were against the wall, and tall people were in front of us, which turned out to be effective shields against the flying tomatoes! :p And then we heard the sound. We saw the trucks pass by. And then there were tomatoes flying from all over the place, the rain adding to the excitement.

The fight lasted for an hour, and then all I saw was red–bloody red. I loved it, although the smell of too many mashed tomatoes was kind of awful. I love red. And then O-Tough’s battery went dead.

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Mt. Pico de Loro Day Hiking (and some Random Musings)

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That moment at the Monolith was all worth the scare and nervousness that I felt while climbing to be on top of it! It was an accomplishment, I believe. And as usual, being on top gave me a sense of fulfillment—that kind of feeling that I can’t explain to my mom everytime she asks me what I get when I travel, especially when I climb the mountains… that I always end up saying “happiness!” (full stop!) :)

**An entry to the 2014 Inspiration Travel Contest by WeSaidGoTravel.com.**