For the first time in years I’ve spent a full Christmas in the UK. I’ve eaten my body weight in cheese, consumed a lot of wine and watched an abundance of film classics on ‘the box’.
In Central America there’s a well established ‘Gringo’ trail for good reason. The Maya ruins, colonial cities and tropical coastline that make up the isthmus draw backpackers, holiday makers and expats from around the world.
As I sit here in flip-flops reading about snowfall in the UK, I can’t help but feel whimsical. While we Brits love to share photos of our adventures in sunnier climes, at home, we’re also blessed with four distinct seasons.
In my mission statement for Central America I laid out some guidance for my travels and have been lucky enough to slip back into my Spanish speaking, meet local people and learn about the history, politics and local customs of the places I’ve travelled through.
From the 1620s Italy has attracted and rewarded the inquisitive. The Grand Tour, as it later became known, saw British youngsters of the upper classes travelling slowly into southern Italy from London. They often encountered treacherous alpine passes, terrible weather and disease on route.
I thought I was hallucinating when I arrived in Bicheno. In the middle of the campsite sat another vehicle exactly like mine: A compact campervan covered in purple and yellow flowers.
If you’re anything like me, travel isn’t just something you do but a way of life. The enjoyment I get out of researching, planning and generally letting others inspire me to travel is often on a par with the trips I end up taking.