Tsunami, 43. Travel Dreams.

Thinking about Holy Week ahead has got me into thinking about where I want to go. Of course, it is very likely we're going nowhere, because the probability is high they'll lock us in our townships during that week. I understand, but frustration is building within me. The last time I went out and about to a special place was last June, when I went to Puebla de Sanabria, in Zamora. Since then, I really haven't travelled except around here, and to the Costa da Morte in September, with my husband. 

Even if we're not locked into our townships, we will be locked into our region, so I won't be able to leave Galicia. Perhaps I would go down to the farthest point of Ourense, or the easternmost point of Lugo, or just wander about at a whim. If these had been normal times, I would probably go down to Portugal; I haven't been since April of 2019, at least. Or maybe Asturias or I would return to the province of Zamora. Perhaps, I would go down to Ponferrada, and O Bierzo. It would have to be a place with a maximum of around a three hour drive to get there, so I would have some time to discover the place before coming home in the evening.

If I could truly travel, without the restrictions of a pandemic, or an empty wallet, Europe would be too small for me, I think. 

I would begin driving to the south of France, stopping at Biarritz, perhaps Lourdes, and numerous small towns along the way, maybe venturing a couple of times into the Pyrenees. I would visit Antonio Machado's grave in Collioure, and continue along the coast, driving inland to Avignon, and the palace of the popes. Marseilles, Nice, Cannes, would be on the list. Then, the Italian Riviera, and points south, Rome, Naples, all the way to the end of the boot, then onto Sicily, back into Italy and points north along the eastern coast, stopping at Florence, then heading for Venice, and Milan, and other points. The Alps might be next, crossing over into Switzerland, or over the Dolomites into Austria, after passing through disputed Bolzano/Bozen. I don't know. There are so many places to visit and look at, I could spend the rest of my life from now just travelling, and not seeing everything I think might be interesting. 

I don't know why I've always wanted to travel and see for myself things I saw on television or in books. Perhaps it's because of my curiosity. It's frustrating sometimes, thinking about a place I want to visit, and realize that I simply don't have the money. A weekend in Paris would be a dream visit. Instead, I'm lucky if I can spend an entire day out and about. 

I don't understand people who say they don't want to see places. People like my mother, who only traveled to visit her home, or to return to her "temporary" home in Boston to work. She never wanted to visit anyplace, nor see anything that wasn't easily accessible by subway, bus, or foot. She was happiest when home. 

Then there are others that simply won't travel, because where they live is better than anywhere else. And when they do move around, they are always comparing the place they visit with home, to the detriment of where they visit. People whose minds are so closed they don't bother to try to find anything good in a place, other than their creature comforts. These people don't want to understand that the habits and customs they are used to might just be strange to other people, like cold beer, or ice in a drink. When things aren't as they expect, they complain loudly and bitterly, instead of just trying something new and rolling like the locals. 

I do want to try something new, and see life as it is in so many places. Hopefully, the pandemic will end sooner rather than later. And, maybe, perhaps, a little win in the lottery will make it easier to travel?

Life continues.