The travelling bug

Often when I'm in a caffeine infused state, or stuck on a long distance bus journey with only my thoughts to entertain me, there are several reoccurring themes that occupy my head space and I usually find myself returning to the same old question, why do I love traveling so much?

When I was a child two large frames hung from my dining room wall, one contained a photo depicting my parents on a deserted beach, each with an ore in their hand, taken I imagine, moments before embarking on an afternoon of kayaking. The other had been snapped whilst travelling through Egypt. It captured them on horse back in the foreground whilst in the distance a pyramid punctured a perfect blue sky. When I was very small my mother told me that on that very same horse trek her and my father were held up by knife point by bandits who insisted they buy a Persian rug. Now I'm sure recounting this story was my mother’s way of warning me of the very real dangers there are in this world, but much like children love tales of pirates and treasure, I was quite thrilled with the idea of such an adventure. So I guess that's where it began, with a small child whose imagination could consume her for hours at a time, and whose curiosity never left her.

I suppose it was inevitable that at some point in my life I would be lured away from my home by a deep desire for discovery, thrill seeking and adventure. Daydreams of doing things that could be deemed dangerous still enchant me just as much as they did all those many years ago. I know in my heart that this love affair was never going to be sustainable as ultimately it would reek havoc with my relationships with loved ones and would make putting roots down quite impossible, but for a little while at least, I lived the dream.

It’s always been important to me to justify this life choice, which I believe is largely because I feel a certain amount of guilt towards acting so self indulgently. Still it doesn't take me long to think of a hundred different reasons to justify taking time out to see the world. However if there is one thing I am sure of in this life it’s that balance is the key to happiness. To breath we must inhale and exhale, this sets the basic rhythm to our lives. Equally to live we must both consume and exert energy and without self discipline it’s far too easy to off set this balance and consume too much. Though I worked hard in preparation for this trip I now feel satisfied that I've consumed quite enough for now and its definitely time for me to start exerting myself once more... both physically and mentally! I have learnt immeasurable amounts during my time away, but the fatigue I feel from living out of a bag is beginning to show as I find myself opting for home comforts more and more often. If you're not careful the life of a backpacker can become very similar to that of a fresher at university, particularly when travelling through a big city. I feel as though I have been inhaling for 11 months. I have tasted exhilaration, and I have smelt freedom, but now it is time for me to exhale once more.

In truth there have been times on this trip where I have been tired, dirty, disillusioned and dare I say it, even a little bored. But there have also been many occasions filled with the most luxurious madness in all the world, and just occasionally I get a feeling that is so sublime its worth a hundred days of boredom and more. This feeling comes at the strangest of times, naturally watching a sunset or swimming in the crystal blue sea leave you feeling quite ecstatic but I get that same feeling when sitting on a chicken bus or fighting my way through a busy market, its the most alive I've ever felt. It’s the purest form of excitement, the sort that makes your heart race and your finger tips tingle, the sort you see on the faces of children all the time, yet rarely in the eyes of an adult.

To be captivated, enchanted even, by a person or a place is truly one of the most wonderful emotions a person can feel and although as a traveller I've become burnt out with enthusiasm from time to time, when I reflect on my experiences it is the feeling of wonder that I remember most vividly. While I love to listen to stories I also love to tell them and although I often relive them with exaggerated exuberance, I believe the best life stories are told with a pinch of fiction. Perhaps the fruit I ate in Central America was the tastiest, richest fruit I've ever eaten, or perhaps it was in fact just the setting in which it was consumed, likewise perhaps that sunrise I saw from a top of a volcano really was the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen, or perhaps it was enhanced by the work that I had to put in to getting there to see it. Either way what's important is that, in the end, the way we remember things becomes more relevant than the actual moment in which the memory is created, so to romanticize a little when reminiscing can only be a good thing as it makes life that little bit sweeter.

Like a lot of people, I am a sucker for things that are slightly forbidden to me, probably because of the mystery that shrouds them and also because there is great thrill to be found in striving for things in life that you perceive to be unobtainable. A song I once loved as a teenager captivated me with the line 'do one thing every day that scares you' and although this is a near impossible task, I still firmly believe that we all have the potential to be better people if we take ourselves out of our comfort zones more and shake things up a little. For me this has been in trying to learn a foreign language or decision making without the reassurance of anybody else, but challenging ourselves can be achieved in all stages of our lives, we just have to have the courage and the motivation to do it, and perhaps the insight to acknowledge what our fears actually are in the first place.

Taking myself out of my natural habitat if you will, has highlighted just how much my environment shapes who I am. National identity is definitely a theme that has come into debate time and time again throughout this trip. There are many stereotypical British traits that I hold close to my heart, queuing for example! But there are also many from alternatives cultures I'd quite like us to adopt. In my opinion people freely expressing themselves is something we don't see enough of in England. Unfortunately we seem to be so preoccupied with the desire not to embarrass ourselves that we've ended up losing the free spirit that seems to embody Latin American culture. One thing is for sure, the world we inhabit is spectacular in its diversity and bearing witness to such a huge range of cultures and lives has certainly given me a better understanding as to how I'd like to live mine.

Travelling is based on two optimums, life chances and life choices. For being given the opportunity to take this time I feel like the luckiest girl in the world, and for making the decision to actually use it is something I will never regret.

No matter where we are in the world, may curiosity always live in our minds, and may excitement always live in our hearts.