I love to travel. Although so far, my travel has been mostly confined to the U.S. and Mexico, with only a short visit to each of Canada, Guatemala, and India. I’m preparing to embark on a long-term journey around the world. Here I intend to document my Travel “bucket list”–the places I want to see before I die. These are not necessarily listed in any particular order, and the list will grow as I hear of new and interesting places or things to see. And as I mark them off my list, I will try to write about each experience in its own article.

The list:

• Montecristi, Ecuador

  Where all of the finest quality Panama Hats in the world are hand-woven. And perhaps more importantly, where my own Panama Hat was woven. I bought mine from Brent Black. Learn more than you ever wanted to know about Panama Hats, their history, how they are made… and why I want to visit Montecristi, at his Hat Lore & Tales page.

• Jon Bon Jovi Soul Kitchen — Red Bank, NJ

  I’m not a big Bon Jovi fan… but I do love good food. And I like the clever concept of JBJ’s pay-what-you-can Soul Kitchen restaurant, as a community service.

• Capetown, South Africa

  I have a dear friend who lives in Capetown. She has invited me to come visit her family, and see her country. We met two years ago when I was living in Guadalajara, Mexico, and I had the pleasure of showing her my home town of Wichita, Kansas, in the summer of 2011. Now she owes me the favor!

• Cancún, México

  I really hate tourist traps. So this is a bit of an unlikely location to put on my list. I have been to Puerto Vallarta, México many times, and I really don’t like that place. I don’t like the types of tourists it attracts–right white folks with nothing better to do–and I don’t like the kind of Mexicans it attracts–vendors who are all to eager to take advantage of rich white folks with nothing better to do. But, Cancún is said to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. So I’ll go, if only for that. There are also a number of near by places I do want to visit, so Cancún will make for a good homebase/airport while visiting surrounding attractions, such as…

• Chichen Itza

  Only about a two hours’ drive west of Cancún, Chichen Itza is probably the most famous Mayan site in the world; and one I have not yet seen! I always enjoy visiting historic locations, as well as prehistoric ones. This will be a fun experience–even if it is a tourist trap.
  

• Acapulco, Guerrero, México

  I don’t know why this is on my list… it just sounds like a fun place to go. And it’s always nice to see a new beach! I’ve also made a few friends over the Internet from Acapulco, so I’ll have someone to meet and grab dinner with.

• Zijuatanejo, Guerrero, México

  I first learned of this city in one of my favorite movies. It’s probably one of your favorite movies, too, as I have yet to meet anyone who has seen it, but not loved it. The final scene of The Shawshank Redemption shows Red walking up the beach to meet Andy restoring an old boat–realizing his dream come true. Well, I don’t expect to meet Andy Dufresne there, running his hotel (if he were real, he would be long since dead by now!). But I still have a lingering interest to go see this small town, which Stephen King thought was worthy of mention in his story (I don’t actually know if Stephen King mentioned it in the novel version, as I haven’t read the novel–perhaps I should).

• Kopi Luwak Coffee — Indonesia (probably)

  This isn’t really a place, so much as a thing. I want to try some of this coffee. One cup will be sufficient. It’s the most expensive coffee in the world, and it comes from Indonesia. I may be able to find it in some other places, though.

Do you know of any other must-see places I should add to my list? Leave a comment below and let me know!