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august 14, 2001
For the last four weeks, I have been traveling with another person. It was lovely to travel with someone after being on my own for so long. There was someone with whom to cook dinner and have evening chats. There was also - and this is incredibly important - someone with whom to share and appreciate wondrous and beautiful places. However, this morning we said our good-byes and went separate ways, not due to personal conflicts but because of differing schedules, itineraries, and other more intangible things related to our personal experiences of travel.
The truth is that it was time for me to go back on my own. As I have mentioned, traveling with another person has many positive aspects but the primary problem is that these are really often pleasant distractions. I don't necessarily mean to connote something negative, especially since I did truly enjoy the time we traveled together. It didn't feel right for me in the long run though, since I think my being alone is a very important part of my year away. I need time to think, something that I finally felt was being diminished by pleasant idle conversations.
I guess the question is still related to why I want to travel and what I expect to get out of this trip. I have to be honest and say that, seven months into my journey, I'm still not quite sure how to answer these questions. Other travelers volunteer their own personal answers to me all the time - telling me their reasons for travel - but, to me, many of the answers seem light and sort of weightless. Although I don't doubt that those answers are real for the people who profess them, none of them seem right for me. At the moment, I am questioning the whole culture of travel, something which possesses the burden of collective myths about travel, movement, choice and independence.
Anyhow, here I am, alone again and free from distraction. Where to next?
posted by tina 8/14/2001 09:25:36 PM
august 6, 2001
I am alive. I am well. I have the scars of close to a 100 mosquito and sandfly bites on my legs, residual effects of hiking for five days around Fraser Island and a further five days in Carnarvon Gorge in Queensland. I have hundreds of things I want to write about but haven't the time, due to the cost and the unbelievable slowness of this computer's internet connection.
Digital photos are on the way, as my current travel companion has a decent digital camera. When I get to Airlie Beach or Townsville, I expect I will be able to create a more dignified entry. I also got in on a cancellation to hike the east coast trail on Hinchinbrook Island (only 40 people allowed on the trail at any one time). I will try to avoid the crocs.
Finally, my car needs a name. It's a 1987 white Toyota Camry. Submissions?
posted by tina 8/6/2001 11:20:06 AM
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