I admit, this trip is a little long, at two months. The only time we’ve gone for longer was when we ended up living in Barbados— our first stay was 11 months, and after that usually 6 months at a time, with a month or two somewhere else. However our long stays then were usually at my home in Canada, not travelling. We were moving between homes, not on the road.
We have done two weeks, or even less, with a quick trip to, say, Hawaii or Mexico. Most of our travels, however, are at least 3 weeks, and 5 is the norm. If you’re going to pay for and go through the misery of a trans-oceanic flight, you might as well make it worthwhile! Of course, being retired means there is no time pressure to return to work or school.
We used to travel with only carry-on, even if our ticket allowed checked bags. It was just so much easier to move around! This trip, however, we are doing a via ferrata in Switzerland, so had to bring our hiking boots, and since Scott has taken up music again we also bring his travel guitar. We can still walk 20 minutes with all our luggage, over cobblestones, but it is not as easy as when all we had was two carry-on bags and our day packs. We now have that, one more suitcase, and a guitar. Sometimes we even opt for an Uber between the train station and the hotel.
I think that people who find it hard to comprehend are thinking of being on holiday, rather than travelling. We’re not just stretching out what you would do on a 10 day vacation to 60 days.
For one, we do laundry!
We sometimes stay in regular hotels, but try to alternate that with longer stays of about a week, in a place that has a kitchen and laundry facilities. Even if we are in a hotel and eat dinner out we have our first coffee in the room. We carry Nespresso pods with us, or make do with what is in the room, adding MCT, creatine, and butter or cream, to make our normal “bullet” coffee. That time just sitting before the start of our day grounds us, as well.
Over the years, I’ve discovered that I need way less clothes than I am tempted to pack. When I first started returning to all my “stuff” in Canada, I thought it would be a delightful change to wear clothes I hadn’t seen for a while. Instead, I found myself mostly wearing my travel wardrobe, and every year my closet at home gets winnowed out even more.
We’ve also learned not to try and do it all. The pace you can keep up on a week long trip is not sustainable over a month or two.
We’re not on holiday, we’re living our life.
I thought this would be a more pragmatic post: advice about packing cubes, backpack versus rolling bag, essentials to bring. But really, it’s more about bringing an attitude.
Relax. Be open to possibilities— book ahead for essentials but leave some flexibility. (We didn’t plan to go to Italy, but here we are!) On trips I used to have a spreadsheet with every hotel, every flight or train ride, every event charted. Now, I sometimes don’t know exactly what town I’m heading to until a day ahead. Don’t think of it as a travel interlude, but as part of living your life, just in an unfamiliar place. Think of a theme as you go to make your travels more meaningful. (I once by chance tracked the history of Japanese internment camps across North America. Another trip was a search for the best pastries in Europe!)
There will always be challenges. A missed connection, someone getting ill, a hotel that can’t find your reservation, a museum closed for renovations. Roll with it. A year from now, even a month from now, it will just be an amusing story.
Go on. Have some brave travels.
Brave Travels 