Is Wanderlust a Curse?

People keep asking what fun things i’m doing.  And i can’t do anything but answer, “Oh, same as EVERY day here on this Rock!” 

Bowen Island is a beautiful place, and i love it here in my Sanctuary, but it’s a lonely place too!  It’s where i hide away from the world, planning my nefarious schemes..  Well, not completely nefarious, but i’m sure that’s what some people think!  Ok.. some of them ARE rather wicked, but that’s neither here nor there. 

I’m planning the next stage of my life, and having a blast doing it!  I’m a planner at heart, so my in-depth research and organization makes my heart sing!  (Btw, my ONLINE life is orderly, my REAL life looks like a bomb went off, but.. i’m good with that.  ...Priorities!)

My wandering feet... across
Frame Lake, Yellowknife, NWT

And it totally has to do with Wanderlust!  That deep NEED to move around this earth of ours, making a new place home for a while, then moving on again.  Honestly, it’s a driving force that i can’t contain!

Hey.. i don’t expect you (or anyone) to understand.  I don’t understand it myself!

I mean, leave the friends and family i love.. a new house just built especially for me.. to live life indefinitely like a tumbleweed?  

 *song pops into my head* ♪ ♫ Mama was a rolling stone….. ♫♪ Wherever she lay her hat was her home! ♪     

 And yes, i know the next lines to that song would be, “And when she died.. all she left us was alone..”

 And there we have it.  Is Wanderlust a curse?

 It’s come to the point that when i see people in a tv show, obviously happily living their lives in their nice homes with family and friends.. living day to day.. i actually feel so sorry for them!  How can they stand being in the same town their entire lives?? 

Yet i did that myself, for many years!  And was very happy, thank you very much!  I wouldn’t change those years for anything!

But now… i can’t do that anymore… not for the life of me!  I’m cursed with Wanderlust, and nothing else will suffice if i want to be 'truly' happy!

At THIS time of my life.

And IF the Travel Gods allow it of course.  I am precariously perched on top of three very important factors.  Finances, Health and Having a House-sitter.  It’s a very delicate balance, and if just ONE of those things go out of whack, i’m S.O.L.  And my health is going downhill so fast, it’s like i’m in a race against time!  Which fuels my need to GO!  NOW!  While i CAN!  Before it’s too LATE!

I’m sure that once i get some serious wandering under my belt, complete with bug-infested beds in a multitude of youth hostel dorm rooms, getting lost in places i shouldn’t even BE in, and actually never being able to be alone… i’ll be ready to settle down and be reclusive again.

At least for a while, until that Lust builds up in my soul again...

Apologies to the people i love and who love me...

UK and the Schengen Zone.. Long-term Travellers Need to Be Mathematicians!

I swear, this journey has so far had the BIGGEST learning curve! And of course, the REAL learning doesn't begin until i step off that plane in the spring! But...

Until last night, i thought that i had 3 months for EACH of the countries in the Schengen Zone (Google is your friend)! Talk about naive and misinformed! I have 3 months TOTAL for the WHOLE AREA!

I HAD planned on using my 6 months allowed in the UK for spring and summer, then in the fall, heading into the Schengen Area and spending anywhere from a month or three in every country, indefinitely! Hehehe.. oh man.. *shakes head* *sigh* So yeah, this new info CHANGES EVERYTHING!!

So.. here's the NEW IMPROVED low-down.

Once i step off the plane in London, my 12 Month UK Time-clock begins, with 6 months allowed to stay. Then, ASAP, the next day or so, take a small trip to Paris, which will start my 6 Month Schengen Time-clock, with 3 months allowed to stay. In/out privileges, as long as i don't go over the amount allotted.

THAT way, i can take a bunch of side trips into Europe during my 6 months in the UK, and when that time is up and i MUST leave the UK, my 6 Month Schengen Time-clock will be finished, and i can start a NEW 6 Month Schengen Time-clock.

Then i'll do a few countries... starting in Iceland for the aurora?... Germany for Oktoberfest?... Italy to Greece, ending up in Barcelona, Spain for xmas. It's all timed for xmas in Barcelona because, well, where ELSE in the world are there not one, but (count-em) TWO POO-related christmas traditions?? I just can't miss out on that bizarre cultural experience!

Which leaves me 3 months left in BOTH my UK Time-clock and my Schengen Time-clock, and i can't step foot in ANY of the countries!

So... i'll have to head elsewhere.. outside of the area for 3 months. Morocco? India? Macedonia?  And then.. we'll see from there whether i go BACK and start my Time-clocks again to travel around the countries i missed, or something totally different. I guess i'll find out when the time comes. IF it comes and i haven't chickened out long before then!

And.. if i think about it.. my little trips into Europe while i'm in the UK, means those weeks will not be clocked, so.. i can add them to my 6 months allowed! IE: I spend 1 week in Paris, 1 week in Amsterdam and 1 week in Berlin. That's 3 weeks that i didn't spend in the UK, so.. i can stay 3 weeks longer than the end of the summer! IF i wanted to. OR after my 3 months are up from my 2nd Schengen Time-clock, because i'll still have 3 months left in my UK Time-clock.

Does it all sound complicated? It IS! (OR, maybe i'm just not explaining it well).  But anyway.. like i said.. long-term travellers need to be mathematicians!

Yet Another New Plan of the Hour --- EUROPE

For the last month or two, i've been researching & planning a 'move' to Europe, leaving Spring, 2014.  No plans as to how long... just indefinitely.  Been talking to a few guys in London, which makes it more real and comfortable knowing i'd have friends there.

Finally a true GypsyKat?  Or yet another swing of the Indecision Pendulum?

We shall see.. we shall see...