Not all those who wander are lost
Date published 8 December, 2020
Lockdown, Travellers
We were sat in the van, enjoying some untypically sunny weather in March, when the news broke.
It sounded very much like this. Pack your van, put your van in storage, and prepared to be locked in a house. Well, it was like that. All around us people were packing their van, in partial disbelief.
I do recognise that for us, the news was no worse than for anyone else. Indeed, we heard people say that it is as simple as just not travelling for a while. But for people who travel, that is a massive, sudden, and unplanned change in lifestyle. Just as it was for a great many people. But travelling is not simply some kind of hobby. It is who we are.
Initially, it was fine. A new adventure - albeit an indoors adventure. We walked miles near where we were, discovering new paths through the fields. The weather was amazing, if you remember, too. We built some walls in the garden, and set out some new borders. We can do this. We did do it, of course. But as the weeks became months, it did start to bear down on us a bit. Just as it did for a great many people, also forced into an unnatural change in massive chunks of their life.
Then the lockdown ended. Well, it changed. Some level of travel was OK again. That first trip out in the van, that first taste of Mediterranean sunshine, how glorious it was.
Of course there were many new rules, and of course, those new rules varied from place to place. Different camp sites, different countries, different counties, all had their own take on the rules. You had to do a little research before each place, and it made sense to move less frequently, and dwell a bit longer.
And then we heard it. The inevitable question, aimed at us by someone who wanted to get back onto the road. 'How are you doing this? How are you getting around the rules?'
We are not getting around the rules. We are learning the rules, and operating within them. It is limited the travel, but not entirely stopping it. And we are grateful for what is possible. But respectful of the rules.
But that is what travelling should always do. As we move from place to place, we respect the rules, we respect the people, we respect the places. We do not go to impose ourselves on the places, but to immerse ourselves in them, to learn from them. And it is a basic principle of travelling that we are as invisible as we can be. We do not want to leave litter, whether that is a crisp packet or a feeling of resentment at our behaviour.
In reality, lockdown has taken on new names, but restrictions continue. But we will continue to respect local rules, even if they make no sense to us. Freedom is amazing, but does not entitle us to spoil stuff for others.
We are happy snappers!
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