Alta Vista de Boracay

Summer is almost here. Everybody, even introverts, adore the warm sun against the skin and the prospects of time-off from work. One of these days, your friends will be tagging you on Facebook: 101 Places To Go This Summer. You’ll get excited, until your BFF suggested backpacking. You’ve never done backpacking before. The prospects of putting up a tent, sleeping in the open, and slathering your body with insect repellant lotion have never appealed to you. Island hopping, sure. Backpacking? It’s just too “wild” for your taste.

Vacationing, especially near the water, resets the mood and promotes compassion, according to Dr. Wallace J. Nichols.

Backpacking, with its inconvenient spontaneity, may just double the benefits of traveling. Here’s a beginner backpacker guide for you.

Read more here.