Time To Call it a Day
3 years ago I started this blog to document our 3 year adventure. The well thought out plan was for 2 years teaching and living in Scotland, followed by one year of travel, while having a 3 year rental lease of our Gabriola home. There were tears when we moved out, and more tears when we said good bye to family, but we were off on a once in a life time adventure. Part of the plan was that we lived in our 24’ travel trailer for July, 2017, probably July 2019, and again for June, 2020. A month before we left, a month after finishing living in Scotland and before traveling so we could see everyone, and for a month before getting our house back so we could look at and purchase paints, new carpet, etc for upgrades we wanted to do when we returned home.
As John Steinbeck once wrote, “the best laid plans of mice and men...” After only one year in Scotland, followed by one year piecing together places to stay back in B.C., we thought we were back on track when we set out on August 3rd, (one year tomorrow), for our year of travel. Below is a BC sunset 2 nights before we left, beside the view from our apartment in Crete.
The 8.5 months we had of travel definitely provided a lifetime of memories. From in Morocco riding a camel out into the Sahara Desert to see the Milky Way and spending the night in a tent, hiking again the Samaria Gorge on Crete 14 years after our first time, hiking to the amazing monataries at the top of the stone pillars in Meteora, enjoying the fun of the mineral baths in Budapest, being kissed by a 2 year old elephant, sleeping on a raft hotel room on the River Kwai, cruising down the Mekong River in Laos, visiting the early morning floating markets in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam,...these experiences and so many more we have been so fortunate to have. This blog became a bit of a travelogue and it was fun to write it.
What I rarely mentioned was that instead of 3 months in our trailer, we have spent 14 months in it. 4 months when we returned from Scotland early, 3 more before we left to go traveling and then there’s now. Returning in mid-March due to COVID-19 instead of the end of May, then having to extend our lease by 2 more months again due to COVID-19 has been challenging. As we are now in our last few weeks before we reclaim our home, I think it is time to end this blog.
Having said that, I’ve discovered that I actually really enjoy writing, so I will be starting a new blog. I’m going to call it “A Wandering Canadian” from the tagline I used throughout this blog. This time it will be both my mind and body that wander. If you’re interested, here’s the link to my latest post: https://awanderingcanadian.tumblr.com/post/625399246603091968/welcome
I started this blog quite a few years ago and I was going to document my work travels. I just didn’t do it, but when I started writing regul
Many people have commented that they have felt badly for us as we definitely hit some snags, (that’s putting it mildly), throughout our trip. Despite the challenges, including some travel ones, (like the time I thought I had a worm specific to the Mekong River...didn’t, and the time I jammed and really messed up my toenail in Laos...that I’m still dealing with), I still think that we have had the adventure of a lifetime. I feel blessed to have spent more time, (although not as much as hope for), with my family in Scotland, overwhelmed beyond words at the places we have seen, the people we have met, the experiences we have had. Travel WILL be back, and I’ll be back out there.
Meanwhile, thanks for following along. I have loved sharing our adventures with you, and equally I have enjoyed your comments and support. Caio for now! Dawn












