Making Up for Lost Travel Time

I recently returned from 6 weeks of travel throughout Europe, visiting many places for the first time (medieval Carcassonne in southwestern France; the Basque country in France and Spain; Portugal’s Douro Valley; the Adriatic coast of Italy, all the way down to the heel of the boot; the Republic of San Marino; and finally, Malta) and revisiting a few favorites (Porto, Venice, and Sicily). 

 

I accomplished this by taking back to back OAT trips, which meant non-stop days of discovery and adventure, often from early morning until bedtime. It was an ambitious plan, to say the least. Since I’d taken several OAT trips before, the pacing wasn’t a surprise. So why did I choose to pair two trips? Blame the pandemic. It wrecked my travel plans for 2020, 2021, and part of 2022. And once I felt comfortable traveling again, I was determined to make up for lost travel time. Like many people my age, I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to travel, so I’d better do it now. (It was encouraging, however, to find travelers in their upper 70s and early 80s on both of my trips.)

 

There’s a real challenge for me in doing back to back trips. My modus operandi when it comes to travel is generally multi-phase. I do a lot of research for several weeks before leaving home. Once the actual trip begins, I soak up as much as possible from what I see, hear, and experience, all the while taking notes in a little notebook that I carry constantly. Once I return home, I give myself time to go through my notes, along with any brochures and maps I’ve brought back, and do further research. And of course, I study and edit my photos. This helps me relive the adventure in my mind and, in this reflective process, a narrative takes shape. Then it’s time to sit down at the computer and put the story into words. 

 

It’s a good thing my next trip isn’t until the fall. With six weeks of travel to digest, I imagine that I’ll be busy writing for a couple of months, at least. I’m eager to get started, so you can expect to see multiple blog posts over the course of the summer. Just as a preview, I've included a photo at the top of this post. It was taken on San Domino, one of the Tremiti Islands off the Adriatic coast of Italy. J