How Traveling To Spain As A Black Woman Changed Me

Everything changed when the pandemic hit. As we were forced inside indefinitely, an unfamiliar itch started to materialize: I wanted to explore (OK, it was more like I felt trapped and needed to get out). In 2021, for the first time in five years, I left the country. Like many green travelers, I gravitated towards the Tulums and San Juans of the world with friends, and for good reason! Destinations like Mexico, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and even Miami are some of the most accessible for US travelers without sacrificing fun and culture. I was having a blast. Yes, I’d missed the “wanderlust” themed Pinterest-board era by about a decade, but it was finally moving full-steam ahead. I started to see traveling as pure joy and a way to spend time with friends in a (usually) tropical destination. But it was my trip in June 2022 to Mallorca, Spain that completely transformed my perspective on travel.