My mother wrote me a letter a long time ago, while I was a cadet on board the Oil/Bulk/Ore (OBO) Carrier named “HOEGH FOAM”. I was reading it while the ship pitched and rolled somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic ocean when this next line caught my attention, and it never left me.
She said: Travelling is a great experience and experience is the best teacher
Or was it the other way around? Anyway part of me was just glad that she supports my career choice at the time and the other part was having a Eureka moment complete with a mysterious glow on my face as the realization that I agree with that idea settles in.
The thought of going beyond your normal boundaries, your safe zone, the familiar is so terrifying but all the knowledge you gain from the experience from creating new trails teaches you things that you will never learn from books or any classroom setting. So what to do? Don’t think… just go!
People, culture, food, language, history, beliefs, traditions and a lot more
My ship shape days lasted a little over 6 years. I moved from transporting cargo to cruising with holiday makers in places that I used to only see in movies.
And it is a privilege for me to say that I’ve lost count how many times we’ve crossed the Panama Canal. An honor to share how I learned a few words in Spanish from “mi amigos los estibadores y mis amigas, gracias!”.
To watch the Lady Liberty every Sunday morning standing proud and tall in the middle of the New York harbor as she welcomes us in from our last port of call in Bermuda.
I had coffee while watching the sun set in Nordkapp, Norway at 3am in the morning then watch it rise again a few minutes later without even completely disappearing from the horizon.
I could just go on and on and on but I’m sure you get the point. Acapulco? yeah. Alaska? of course. California, Miami, Puerto Rico? … yup!
It was a conscious decision to leave that life behind despite it’s appeal to my wandering nature, but it doesn’t mean my thirst to see the world has been quenched. Which brings me to why I posted this nostalgic part of my personal history. Friends, ladies and gents the new addition to the Prodigal Concepts category -TRAVEL.
Spoiler Alert: I’ve always wanted to start a travel blog but just couldn’t get around to it. Don’t worry I have tons of excuses why. So finally I figured, why not just throw this in here and see how it goes.
What to expect from -TRAVEL? Well it wont be anything like “Let’s Travel Somewhere”, I would probably write a short chronicle of the trip and add a handful of choice photos for your viewing pleasure *with occasional contributions from my wife who will be a constant travel companion. We’re both none hardcore photography purists so you will see some phone cam shots here too. Travelling with a child also makes it convenient for us to just point and shoot.
Maybe from time to time I might also throw in a few tips from my personal experience but don’t hold me to this. I’m always busy if not lazy, my wife says the latter. I say let’s just have fun with this. And I hope you guys like it too.
As a web designer I often get off my stool to look at my work from a distance and at different angles, especially when I get stuck on an idea or before I do revisions.
I believe that we should always go and see things from a different perspective. Find inspiration from a different platform or medium or culture. Because… why not?