I’m taking a chance with the non-English (Spanish) title here but ever since I saw the film Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About my Mother), I think of it’s title whenever I say that ANYTHING is ‘all about’ SOMETHING. It’s a good movie.

When I was 7 years old my parents asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I said that I wanted an atlas. A big, glossy atlas. I remember my father then questioning me for a few minutes until he was satisfied that I knew exactly what I was asking for. Then, I think he ran all the way to the store to buy the best one he could find. He was THIRLLED that I was so keen to learn about the world at a young age. When my birthday rolled around I too was thrilled with my new atlas. Now I could explore all of the places I had heard of and so many more I hadn’t known existed. I would lay on my bed and scour over the pages. I remember there was a section at the front that had beautiful satellite images – Naples, the Dead Sea, the Great Barrier Reef, Karachi, the Bonaparte Archipelago. Images that I was reminded of when viewing blogger Katerina’s Gift’s post earlier this week.

I still have that atlas and it’s still the starting place for most trips that my husband and I decide to plan. We pull it out, search for a place and then look to see what cities or countries are neighbouring our destination. Are there any notable seas or mountain ranges? Any islands we should check out? Of course some of the information is now quite outdated. Populations have risen, borders have changed. But it still gives us what we need most. Inspiration and anticipation. It’s our official starting place and it gets us excited about our next adventure. Maybe its ‘old school’ but it works for us.

When we return from a trip, we return to the map. Only this time it’s the map hanging on our wall. We place a pin in the map where we’ve just returned from.

Our pin map

We have one pin colour representing my travels, one for my husband’s, another for our trips together and a final pin colour for our family trips. Our map isn’t out where others can see it; its not meant to be a trophy or even a conversation piece. For us it’s a reminder of our own personal experiences. We stand back to look at the colours and note where there are gaps, places we’ve neglected and then add them to our wish list.

We start with the atlas and finish with the pin map. It’s ‘todo sobre el mapa’.

Do you still use an atlas? Are you working on your own pin map?