Do you remember your favourite trip ? Can you describe what made it your ‘favourite’? Maybe, like me, you have many - but can you think if there is anything that is shared between them all? For me there is. In terms of the travelling, it was always somewhat ‘slow’.
My favpourite trips ? West coast of France. Ok, i ‘fast’ arrived there with a plane but then I stayed a whole week just in the area, moving without a clear direction, looking for waves or surf rentals open, neither of which materialised, but instead I have ended up learning some french, meeting some cool people, seeing one of the most beautiful kite festivals .. no checklists, no timetables ( only my flight back to catch). Another trip I loved was Morocco, again a surf trip with little surf materialising (strong onshore winds seem to be my thing) and one of the most memorable things was probably the bus to the surf city , of course I didn’t take the tourist option that went straight point to point, but I took the local one, and aside from enjoying the changes in the landscape I also got to experience and observe the local life, the chickens in the luggage area, the different appearances between people in the cities and people in the country, the stopover at the ‘service area’ (which I didn’t understand, and was a bit panicky about being stopped for so long) - one of the most greasy local fast food on the side of the road.. If I am thinking about travelling to the destination in itself, I have to say like many I nearly always fly. Not that I like it necessarily, and particularly I detest the time that one needs to spend in airports, closed up in anonymous spaces, with air conditioning and white lights, overcrowded with less than polite people and screaming kids. But I do it anyway, out of habit mostly and convenience. I try to avoid it for short distances, and I am getting better at thinking about alternatives and weighing those in. I have also taken many ferries in my life, in part out of having the boat on some island, in part out of the romanticism of island hopping and rough sleeping. Ferries are by excellence slow travel. Even though they go at a much faster speed than a sailboat, they can still take forever to get you to destination. If you get seasick they may be a nightmare, but if like me you are mostly always fine, then there is something very enjoyable about being in the middle of the sea, and then starting to see land. Even in the middle of the Adriatic Sea, which is quite narrow, land disappears. My longest travel time was 27 hours. And I decided to have a full disconnect , and didn’t buy the ‘on board internet connection’. It was also winter time, and aside from a few others van dwellers the ferry was only occupied by some truck drivers. I have to say, I couldn’t imagine doing that trip regularly. But I’d definitely do it again, even the waiting in the car to board with 3 degrees outside, wrapped in a blanket. Trains are also a fantastic option, actually the one I like the most. No check in, no ‘arrive x hours before’. And most importantly stations are right there in the middle of the city, so no ‘having-to-make-your-way-there-at-impossibile -times’ type of thing.. you can look out the window, and be inspired looking for next places to go, seeing architectural differences or changes in the landscape, colour of the land, type of agricultural crops.. you can observe people, or you know you can immerse yourself in a book not having to check gates.. I recently rediscovered the idea of night trains. I love the idea and they work well, think of not having to waste a day or vacation, leaving right after work and being able to already have a swim in the morning... they pollute much less, and sleeper cabins allow you to actually sleep (I took a few night trains without and it was much less comfortable). And seeing sunrise as you go past new territories is a great feeling...
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