Starting at the end of my second visit to Peru, I started hearing about this thing called “The Camino.” It is an ancient pilgrimage route that culminates in Northern Spain. More details about this remarkable path later. Suffice it to say, in 2015 I realized that my next trip would be to Europe. At first, I thought I would just go to Spain, spend five or six weeks walking the Camino, and then return home.
But then I started thinking—a dangerous occupation for me. At the time I was becoming passionate about knitting lace. As I learned of its origins, I discovered that one hotbed of famous lace knitters was Estonia.
As long as I was in Europe, I should go to Estonia! Now this is kind of like saying, as long as I am in Florida, I should just drop in on Seattle. But I could not ignore this idea.
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Example of fine Haapsalu lace from Estonia.
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But not only that, I kept doing the same thing. “Oh, there are lots of knitters in Scotland, I should go there as well.”
“And how about the Netherlands?”
“Oh, and I would love to go to…..”
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| Departing my remote hostel in the Outer Hebrides (Scotland) in winter. |
Well, you see where this was going. Before long I had an itinerary that had expanded from six weeks to six months.
I worked out a budget and itinerary. But life “happened” and my plans were set back a year. I would leave for the United Kingdom on June 21, 2017
As I traveled, one thing led to another, as you will see in the coming pages. I kept adding more and more time in each country. I could only stay in Europe’s Schengen Zone for 90 days at a time (visa rules). So, after spending almost 90 days in Spain, I went back to the UK to wait until it was legal to return to Europe. Over the winter of 2017-18, I visited Ireland and Scotland embracing low-season travel. Then I used another 90 days visiting Spain and Portugal (again!), the Netherlands, Denmark, and Estonia. (Yes, I did make it to Estonia.)
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| Exploring lace knitting with new friends in Haapsalu, Estonia. |
But now my Schengen Zone visa was expiring once again and I wasn’t ready to go home.
While I was in Europe, I read a blog post by my travel insurance company: “Five Reasons Kyrgyzstan is the Ultimate Nomads Destination.”
“Where the heck is Kyrgyzstan?” I wondered. I did a little research. Then I thought, “Well, it must be safe if my travel insurance company recommends it.” On July 3, 2018, I bought a Turkish Airlines ticket to Biskek, Kyrgyzstan.
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| The yurt camp in Kyrgyzstan where I stayed for five weeks. |
From there I just kept adding Asian countries.
Someone in a hostel somewhere had suggested I visit their homeland, Sri Lanka.
Okay, but how could I possibly fly over India and not stop?
Then, I agreed to meet my daughter in Malaysia for a few weeks.
I got this romantic idea of living on an island in Indonesia, and I found one that does not allow any cars (or dogs)! Onto the itinerary went the tiny isle of Gili Air.
Before I knew it, I had been gone for almost two years. Then I made a huge detour to Ecuador and Peru before finally returning home in June of 2019.
And that, dear readers, is how six months magically becomes two years.
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