“Can I manage alone?” (Yes you can!)
Travelling alone at any age can be daunting especially for women.
Obviously, this goes for men too, I don’t want to be accused of being sexist and you guys can join the old birds in this life lesson if suits! When you hit your mid-fifties, anxiety creeps in as you become aware of fitness issues. And, if you have lost a partner, you probably didn’t really have to consider all the aspects of a more adventurous trip while he or she was around. YOU ONLY HAVE ONE LIFE. Get out there and live it before you really are too old.
COUNT IT AS YOUR BUCKET GRANDIOSE!
Travelling solo means all the decisions are up to you. If you love a place you can stay longer, if you hate it you can leave straight away. No arguments and protracted discussions into the small hours. You can suddenly decide you had enough of one country and jump on a plane or bus or train and leave to fresh pastures. Going alone is a breath of fresh air, a stimulation to your cobwebbed brain and soul. Scary yes, dull no.
Fear not! I am here as evidence that it’s much easier than you think and a fantastic experience that bolsters your confidence as a woman (or man indeed) and will enrich your life. I will try to hint heavily on do and don’t in each blog which has merited different things to consider. Be brave, take the first step and do it the old fashioned way and go to the library. Take out a mountain of travel books and peruse them at your leisure. Places you’ve always fancied going, wonders you must see, activities that you’ve never tried and generally things to breathe fresh life into you. Scary? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely!
On the other pages, I will make suggestions on planning for different climates. My luggage rules are one carry on suitcase and a small under-seat rucksack for ALL trips. I will explain how to make this adjustment in your set thinking of how much to take. I went from minus 40 to plus 40 degrees on my last trip and managed with this small luggage allowance. This takes a huge amount of stress out of the equation and the only way an old bird can manage without freaking, overtiring herself, making things unmanageable and possibly having things nicked. Trust me it’s much better and liberating.
“There is freedom waiting for you, On the breezes of the sky, And you ask “What if I fall?“, Oh but my darling, What if you fly?” Erin Hanson.
Inspiring Quotes of Women.
“Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere” – Mae West
“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the most pleasant sensations in the whole world. You are surrounded by adventure ” Freya Stark
“I’ve not ceased being fearful, I’ve gone ahead despite the pounding in my heart that says: turn back, turn back, you’ll die if you go too far” –
Erica Jong
“You can’t control the past, but you can control where you go next” – Kirsten Hubbard
“Wanderer, there is no road, the road is made by walking” – Martha Barron Barrett
“As a woman I have no country. As a woman my country is the whole world.” Virginia Woolf
“I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.” Emily Dickinson
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” Helen Keller
“Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively, unless you can choose a challenge instead of a competence.” Eleanor Roosevelt
OVER AND OUT FROM A BOSSY OLD BIRD.
Unless you have any quotes you’d like to add, otherwise BACK TO BLOGS.
Old Bird Travels Solo! 