The past twelve months have been a bit of a wild ride. Just over a year ago I lost the job that I had spent four years working towards. In February I was in hospital terrified that I might never be able to move the right hand side of my body again. And not long after that I broke up with the person who I thought I would be engaged to by now. Needless to say, things didn’t quite go to plan.
But without that chain of events, I wouldn’t be sat here writing this. That set of unfortunate circumstances coupled with a two-and-a-half-week trip to Eastern Europe reunited me with two of my passions – writing and travel. Thus, the creation of Away Fae Hame.
Not only that but it has taught me to prioritise what I love in life and to do away with the rest. My ultimate goal is to visit every country in the world. And whilst it’s incredibly unlikely I am going to achieve that next year, I do want travel to take centre stage in my life in 2017 and move me towards this goal. Not everything is about that, but here is a rundown of the main things I’d like to achieve next year….
- Cycle the Outer Hebrides
A lot of thoughts ran through my head before I set out on my first solo bike touring adventure in early October this year. “I’m going to be in a terrible road accident.” “I’m going to get a flat and not be able to fix it.” “I will be lonely.” “I will die.” Okay, maybe not the last one, but you get the point. A million different possibilities as to why I might not be able to or why I shouldn’t do it ran through my head.
What others might have thought also nearly kept me back from heading out to the Isle of Arran alone, only my bike and tent for company. Would they think I was strange? Was I weird for being more than happy to do this by myself?
In the end, I never asked anyone what they thought. By the time I came back I could not have cared less about their answer. Those three days and 60 miles were some of the most liberating and confidence boosting of the year. I do not think I have ever felt so capable of doing anything as I did after coming back from that trip. I did not expect to come back quite so inspired, but ever since I have been waiting for the temperatures to rise and the days to length so I can get back out there.
And having conquered Mull and Arran by bike already, why not work towards getting the full set of Scottish islands? (My ex-boyfriend and I did Mull back in September 2015). People have been singing the praises of the Outer Hebrides to me for years. “If you think Skye is beautiful, then you need to see Lewis and Harris.” “I named my son after the island of Harris, I love it that much!” The Outer Hebrides are an archipelago off Scotland’s north-west coast and consists of Lewis, Harris, North and South Uist, Barra and Benbencula, amongst other desolate islands. Photos of the islands can be deceptive – with their white, sandy beaches and crystal, clear blue water you could be fooled into thinking you were looking at someplace in the Caribbean. The locals chatter in the beautiful lilt of Gaelic and dance to traditional folk music in their pubs – two things that I love.
The trip will take about 8-10 days in total, so quite the step up from my three days on Arran. But VisitScotland have already been kind enough to plan my route out for me.
- Visit a new continent
Europe and Asia have become my firm friends over the years but their continental cousins have thus far been illusive to me. 2017 is the year when I am determined to change that.
Jaws often drop when I tell people that I haven’t been to any of the Americas. Frankly, it surprises me too. I work for a North American company, am in contact with Americans daily and have a fair few friends on the other side of the pond. I speak Spanish and Central & South America have both been on my travel wish list for as long as I can remember. Alas, an opportunity has never presented itself to visit either (probably not helped by the fact that I’m certain I left my heart somewhere in Asia and keep going back to look for it…).
Things are looking up for next year though. One of my closest friends and my best travel buddy is moving to South America in September, giving me the perfect excuse to visit. We have already talked about doing a bit of travel around the continent before he settles down there. Excited for the prospect of getting my groove on to some syncopated rhythms I must say.
- Go on a yachting trip
If you’ve read my about me you’ll know that I have two loves in life – cycling and whisky. But there is one other thing that brings unrivalled levels of happiness to me – being at sea. I have spent an unjustified amount of time sailing round the coast of the UK in the my short life. Sadly I don’t get quite so many opportunities to do so nowadays.
There’s a route I quite frequently cycle around the city which takes me down by the beach. Every time I am there I feel compelled to stop and take in the view. It’s almost as if my legs stop pedalling all by themselves to bring me to a halt on the often-bustling promenade. But regardless of how many people there are around me, looking at the water always brings me an overwhelming sense of calm. And yet it makes me feel so alive at the same time.
Being at sea for long periods of time can be physically and mentally exhausted. It also makes you forget literally all of your real-world problems. And although I could get that sensation in other ways, I’m yearning for it coupled with salty sea air and halyards in marinas clinking against their masts in the wind. And if I could get a few RYA qualifications and a decent tan out of it as well that would be just splendid.
- Visit two new countries
They can be any two – I’m not fussy. The only criteria is that I have never been there before (airport transfers don’t count of course). A stamp in my passport would be a bonus but I suppose I can’t be too picky.
I have been very fortunate and the travel gods seem to have shined on me. Every year since 2009 I have been abroad at least twice, and since 2011 at least two of those times have been to new countries. I started to get a bit flustered when it reached July this year and it didn’t seem like that trend was going to continue (I know – what first world problems eh?). Fortunately, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Transnistria and Ukraine swooped in to save the day giving me four and a half new countries in 2016*. Crossing two new borders a year is a trend that I would like to keep up for the rest of my days.
Although, if I was to continue only at the rate of two countries a year, it would still take me until I was 105 to visit all 193 official countries – by which I mean all UN member states. Firstly, I don’t bet on living that long. Secondly that still leaves me with a bounty of unofficial countries to visit – and they’re the exciting ones really, aren’t they? Better speed things up if I’m going to tick them all off my list.
What are your travel goals for the coming year? What is your main travel goal? What have you achieved in 2016?! Comment below with your answers or any comments or queries about this article!
*There is obviously a lot of debate as to what a country is. For these purposes I am counting the 193 UN member states as one point and anything questionable as half a point.