December 23, Sunday to December 31, Monday

December 23, Sunday  to  December 31, Monday

 

 “The end of the road,  this will be my last blog posting."

Technically, my “ROUND THE WORLD” trip is over now that I have reached North America. 

I’ve travelled all the way around the world, visited 29 countries, met so many people, made so many new friends.   I have so much to be thankful for.   I thank my many guardian angels who have seen me safely through my travels and kept a watchful eye on me. 

I’ve seen so many wondrous things.

South America:  Venezuela, Columbia, Perú, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Brasil

Africa:  South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Tanzania, Kenya 

I missed Egypt and the Middle East due to political unrest. It will have to be for another time, another trip.

India, Nepal, Hong Kong, China, Tibet, Japan

Indochina:  Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia

Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia: Java & Bali

Australia & New Zealand

Fiji   (Had to forego Cook Islands, Samoa, Tahiti & Easter Island….  Another trip maybe?)

And my consolation prize for missing the above islands was a cruise around the Hawaiian Islands. (Yes, I’m counting that as # 29 since I’ve never been here before.)

What an adventure it has been and how I’ve grown.  Well not physically, although I have regained quite a few pounds that I had lost earlier on during my travels.  But I’ve grown emotionally, personally, spiritually.  I think I’ve been able to recapture the carefree spirit from my early 20s when I first travelled through Europe for 4 months, just me and my back-pack.   

I smile a lot more now.  The stress of a hectic work life has long gone.  I won’t ever create that level of stress again for myself.   I think back to the years I spent with Gilles, my husband, and to the long hours doing the book-keeping for his business while taking night classes at the University of Ottawa and holding down a full time job.  So much work crammed into my 38 year career. 

These past 15 ½ months have been my reward.  I LOVE TO TRAVEL; it’s in my bones and in my blood.  I come from a long line of travellers, all the way back to the 1750’s when my ancestors left the shores of France to travel to “the new world” and start their lives all over again.  My parents, Nelson and Rachel, also enjoyed travelling.  I learned at a very young age how to read maps on my daddy’s knees while he planned our summer road trips across Canada.  I learned geography with maps and jigsaw puzzles and by travelling.  I learned history by reading.  I learned about different cultures and different countries by watching television programs and reading National Geographic magazines.  (I had to get rid of 30 years’ worth when I emptied my house; it nearly broke my heart.)  

My life has been filled with experiences, both good and bad, building up what is my character, what is my essence, what is ME.   I can actually say that I like myself and who I have become.   Just before I retired, one of the women I worked with took me aside and commented that I was often too outspoken.  Wow, now there’s an understatement.  But it made me think about how harsh I had become during my last years at work, and I had to admit that I did not much like the person I had become.  It was time to retire and rediscover myself; my true self.

I think I’ve managed to do that during these past months.  I am richer now than I have ever been in my entire life.  Not money rich obviously; but rich in the experiences of life, in the places I’ve seen and the people I’ve met along the way.  I’m rich in the family I have, not just brothers and sisters (although they have sustained me throughout my life and my travels) but with my many cousins, aunts, uncles and distant cousins who are still very much a part of my life.   I don’t have a huge amount of friends, but the ones I have are lifelong friends.  

I love you all dearly.  Thank you all for being part of my life, and for sharing my travels with me.

   Aline