Mary and I went to Barcelona, Spain, in October before starting on a transatlantic cruise that ended in Tampa. During this trip we met Cathy and Mike and Sheila and John. Today the six of us met to keep in contact and to talk about travel. What a great day!
That is one of the greatest things I have experienced while traveling -- meeting people, great people. Cathy and Mike started traveling a few years back and go on one big trip a year with smaller ones throughout the year. Sheila and John are different. They started traveling 30 years ago and haven't stopped. They are older, a young 80 and 90, and have seen over 50 countries. Sheila explained that in the beginning of their travels they did not have a lot of money and were physically fit and hiked a lot, slept in hostels, went on the cheap.
One of my desires is to visit China, but I know I must have more stamina than I do now so I am working on that. I asked Sheila if they have been to China, and she said yes. She handed me a scrapbook of their China trip nearly 20 years ago. Oh, I want to go.... I asked her if the trip was what I have researched where the person is on the go all the time during the trip, and she said yes. She told me for her to get ready for the trip, she walked everyday for one year. When she could walk 2 miles comfortably without stopping she said she knew she was ready.
I used to walk 4 miles in less than one hour, so I am starting my regimen again. Gotta go....
There were so many people I met while on this trip. On the cruise ship, one day I sat next to a lady from Georgia who said that she was retired military, and after staying home for a bit and then losing her husband to death, she knew she had to change her life. She wanted to give something back, so she started teaching -- teaching the kids that act out in class and go to the alternative school. That is a tough job. She said she loves it. She took a couple weeks off when a friend invited her to join her on that transatlantic crossing. Do not remember her name, but I will never forget our conversation.
Then, on the shuttle back to home, there was this couple in their 70s who completed 9 weeks in England on a genealogy hunt. They are originally from Texas, sold their house to their son where they have a room when they go back to Texas, and set out to see the world. They stay with friends across the country, and travel the four corners of this earth. In their genealogy search they found that a past relative was an Earl or Baron and the manor is still in use where you can rent a room for the night. They told the present Earl that they were distant relatives, and he told them that many people have come to visit the manor stating the same. They spent the night, of course, for a fee. And they told me how they visited China for $999 including airfare with China Spree. After I got home and settled back in, I looked at China Spree and they actually have fares quite cheap. It's not $999 any longer, but still a good bargain considering the airfare is included. We never exchanged names, but I will never forget those few brief moments we spent in the shuttle together.
What I have learned through meeting these travel people is that people live all different ways in order to have the money to travel. They are not monetarily rich, they dress in comfortable clothes, and after traveling for hours on end they really don't care if there is a hair out of place. But what they are is rich in experiences, comfortable in their own skin, and know that tomorrow their hair will be combed. They are living.
It is what I am doing, too. Maybe not as fast as I want to. I don't want to miss a thing. The travel bug is stirring. And the older I get, the more I know I don't need all this "stuff", I just need to have a bare place to hang my hat and a comfortable bed to go home to once in awhile. Other than that, I just gotta do, and gotta go....
Until Monday....Have a great weekend!
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