I love to travel. My father believed travel was as important as an education, so every year from an early age, my brother and I left England to visit Europe with our parents. We usually drove, camping on route and trailing our sailing dinghy, though France into Spanish Costa Brava coast.
During the winter we skied in Austria, staying in a small family run hotel just outside of Innsbruck. Here we learned to ski and skate.
Not until I was an adult did I fully appreciate that Dad did this as much for himself as for us, he was an avid and skilled skier and loved sailing, so both trips gave him a break from the stress of running a small engineering business, with activities he enjoyed.
It was a privilege few could afford; we were very fortunate, but at the time took it for granted.
For me it instilled a life- time love of travel. My choice for spending my money would always be travel rather than a new car, clothing, or household furnishings.
Some people are perfectly happy to stay put and not travel, they feel safe and find contentment in their familiar surroundings. Others are unable to travel for various reasons, physical or financial. We each have our preferences.
My late husband, Stuart, preferred to return to places already visited rather than trying new ones. At heart he was a home body. For almost forty years our travel was pretty much restricted to Barbados and England.
Not me, I really enjoy visiting previously unknown areas, new countries, seeing how different cultures interact. Recognizing how topography is interconnected globally; understanding how people have more similarities than differences. It teaches me so much about the world.
We all eat, sleep, laugh and smile. We all listen to music, appreciate creativity, we show affection, anger and sadness, contentment, and happiness.
Since meeting and marrying David, I’ve travelled more than I ever expected in my later years and loved it. We like cruises our most recent trip in January was to the Caribbean and Cartagena in Columbia.
A city favourite of mine, full of flavour, colourful characters with an exuberance for life, busy traffic jams and busting streets radiate from the city.
The harbour entrance is one of the prettiest I’ve seen. The historic old town of Cartagena walled and beautifully preserved, with its rich history is located beside the more recent modern city amid imposing white high-rise buildings, marking the skyline as you enter the harbour.
Part of this trip included an excursion to the Embera Native Village, hidden within the depths of the Panama rainforest. They welcome small groups of tourists. We had been so enamoured of this trip in 2019 we wished to repeat it.
It takes about 40 mins to reach their island, after a half hour bus trip from the ship to Alajuela Lake where we boarded a ¨piragua,” a traditional indigenous boat, an eight-seater dug out canoe, carved by the tribe.
This small traditional village located on the bank of the Chagres River is in the middle of the rainforest.
This tribe, who adhere to their simple way of life, grow their own food and sleep under thatched roofs on open floors raised on stilts above the ground.
Their sleeping mats patterned and colourful are hand woven. Their lifestyle and beliefs are based on the idea that everything, both animal and human has their own spirit. Their bodies are painted with a variety of patterns from the dye of the jagua plant which reputedly keeps away bugs and acts as a sunscreen.
As we landed the children helped us disembark and climb the steep stairs to their village. The men play a musical welcoming melody. The Emberas showed their traditions, their way of dressing and how they elaborate their handcrafts. They performed their traditional dances and music.
We were served a lunch of freshly caught tilapia, cooked over an open fire, attractively wrapped in banana leaves with fresh tropical fruit to follow.
Another delightful visit to a tribe who are so happy to live simply. Materialism has no place here, equality rules the day.
But no matter how good a trip away from home, to us, the joy of returning to the comfort of our own space, and routine, is welcome. Returning to Cambridge and my community always makes me smile. We have so much for which to be to be thankful in our community.
While still able, travel will always be on my agenda, as will returning to Cambridge.
