Reflections On Travel & Life From The Coronavirus Pandemic

Have you ever read the Alchemist?

It tells the magical story of an Andalusian shepherd boy called Santiago, who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure, following his dreams and life’s path, and to find what he’s searching for right under his nose.

For me, that is a bit like the coronavirus lockdown.

Every morning I walk Pip, and I pass a window with a sign that says: “Don’t worry, it won’t always be like this“.

That sign could be taken two ways: 1) People are longing to go back to ‘normality’. 2) The peace, calm, friendliness, time-plenty life we’re currently living will end fairly soon.

I wrote a long post on Instagram about life returning to ‘normal’, and wanted to re-post it here, and embellish on what I said. Here goes…

Travel, exploring new places and cultures and roaming the world with a smile on my face is part of my DNA. I love everything to do with travel. That’s also why I write this blog. To share stories and experiences of travel.

I miss not travelling A LOT, and can’t wait to explore places new and old once this whole pandemic is over.

Travel is something I can do alone, or with friends & family. But travel is only one part of life.

Sofa time with Ben and Pip 🙂

In lockdown, travel doesn’t exist.

As such, removing travel allows me to focus more on other important things in my life. My wife, by little boy, my dog, the outdoors, food, drink…the list goes on. It’s like we’ve returned to a version of homo sapiens, but with technology in tow.

In a weird way, that strikes a chord with my ‘remain home’ instincts.

Eat fresh food, take in a breath of incredibly fresh air, walk up a hill and just BREATHE. Feels good, doesn’t it?

Are you ready to go back to ‘normal’? And what will normal look like once the lockdown is lifted?

Back to the routines. Back to the grind to pay rent/mortgages and bills. Scaling the career ladder. Back to the endless scroll of human tragedy that the UK media portrays. Back to Brexit. Back to the rat race.

The events and trauma of the last few weeks have been shocking in terms of the terribly sad loss of life, the impact on families that have lost loved ones, and the inability to comfort each other for each and every strife the coronavirus brings, face to face.

Admit it, you miss those hugs and high fives. 🖐🏼

Yet in a weird way I’m enjoying the lockdown.

Spending more time with family, checking in with wider family more, the creativity of Zoom calls and live YouTube videos, from quizzes and online pubs to Joe Wicks’ PE workout.

The skies are clear, goats have reclaimed Llandudno, we’re cooking more, we’re learning new skills, we’re setting up rainbows for kids to spot in our windows 🌈, we’ve never been more grateful or supportive of our NHS, and many of us have been more involved with our local communities.

For the first time in a long time the treadmill of life has stopped. We have TIME. The world has simply slowed down, we’re not going anywhere, we’re reflecting on everything, and that feels really weird because it has never happened before.

When ‘normal’ finally makes a return, it will be time to switch back to the old routines.

Or will it?

Like the Alchemist, will you find the things that bring you joy have been right under your nose this whole time?

We’ve got a chance to define a new version of normal….to get rid of things that annoy us and bring back things we like and enjoy, and things our friends, families and kids enjoy. Will that happen?

For some maybe. But many of us like the old routine.

Take a deep breath. Normal is on its way 😊.