Putting our money where our mouths are, ignoring all the conventional wisdom about how to conduct one’s life, we have decided to throw caution to the wind, free ourselves from nearly everything we own and are off to travel the world, before it’s too late or the ravages of time and its concomitant friend, old age, trip us up. “Why on earth?” I hear you ask. Especially when we live in a beautiful house, with a beautiful pool, surrounded by all the comforts of a middle class existence, pensions and social security, excellent doctors and health care and live in one of the fastest growing areas of the US. Lots of different reasons come to mind which I intend to explore later. Deep down I suspect it’s that old human instinct to find out what’s on the other side of the hill or over the next horizon. We want to experience life to the full, take risks, forgo safety, free ourselves from all the “stuff” which we have meticulously gathered over the years. As Eric Idle says in Monty Python’s Life of Brian as he hangs on the cross. “You come from nothing . You go back to nothing. What’ve you lost? Nothing.” Or as the philosopher Wittgenstein put it more cryptically. “No socks. It’s better with no socks, no socks at all.”
So… no socks it is. The house is sold. Any profit has gone into savings. We are stripping ourselves down to two pieces of luggage and a backpack each. A few of the antiques and the valuable artwork have gone into a small storage. The house has been cleansed, stripped bare. Week after week we fill the bins. Physically we both creak a bit with age but we are reasonably functional and both do our best to avoid that scourge of the old – constantly complaining about our health problems. We’ve bought new computers and in three weeks we’ll be ready to go and spread our wings.
So here we are. We’ve preened the old feathers, had the bits that no longer function cleaned out or removed, girded the loins wherever they are and we’re off to see the wizard. First stop Belize. Why? No idea. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Ex British colony and all that and near to Tikal where I have been. After that it’s The Spanish Main where the galleons heavy in the water with Inca gold set out for Spain.
Aqui Vamos mis amigos!