Ever since I was a little whipper I’ve always loved the idea of exploring new places. Growing up, those new places were anything from forbidden spots in my hometown, too far to venture away from a parents beck and call, (before cell phones donned the hands of minors) or a family holiday in the Lake District, Peak District, even to new and unusual places in the current video-game of choice. The idea of escape, freedom and learning a new way of doing things has been with me from day 1.
I was a little late out of the starting block compared to the gap year teenagers and young travellers we see all over the world these days. Whilst most late teens and young adults were off gallivanting around the planet experiencing new worlds I was easily distracted and found other ways to escape the norm through music, festivals, parties and the lifestyle that came with it. Sure it has cost me a few years of potential travel. Hell! I couldn’t afford to travel much then anyway. But what it did give me is acceptance of different people, a rejection to conform to normal life and a foundation of friendships that are still going 16+ years later.
But the most important part was during this period I met my best friend, my soulmate, my fiancé and my travel partner. I’d had a crush on her for a good few months but didn’t want to pursue it in case it ruined our friendship. Spoiler alert! It didn’t. One night we were hanging out with friends and towards the end of the night, we got a rare few moments alone where we talked about our dreams of travelling across America. I couldn’t stop thinking about her and it was this night I realised I was head over heels for her and, luckily for me, it turned out she felt the same way.
It wasn’t long into our relationship that we were planning our first trip, a hardcore 10-day psytrance festival in Portugal. Boom festival happens every other year in Idanha Nova by the side of a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains. But after an extreme 10-day adventure in nearly 40-degree heat surrounded by hippies, psytrance, acid Gandhi and scorpions, we collapsed in bed after our first proper shower in almost two weeks. At this point, I knew I wanted this forever. The travel, exploration, the weird, the wonderful and to experience it all with her.
I wrote this blog shortly after our 11 year anniversary and we’ve been lucky enough to have shared an incredible time together with a wealth of experiences already under our belt. We’ve travelled around Europe, attended some amazing festivals and managed to spend time in Thailand and Japan. The problem is it’s left us yearning for more and all we want to do is see as much of the world as possible before we can’t anymore. For me, the meaning of life is to see the world before you pop your clogs or before humanity destroys it. Whichever comes first..
