If you can think it […] then you can do it

I’ve been back from my epic travels almost as long as I was away for, but somehow I haven’t been able to write a ‘closing’ post, until now. Like so many things in the last 25 years it came to me while I was out running. The autumn leaves crunching under my feet I couldn’t

Rainy day play

It’s the penultimate day of my travels. The epic journey that I scarcely planned and had trouble visualising is almost over. I’ve been trying to find the words, or even my true feelings, to describe succinctly what it’s been like, but I’m not there yet. So in the meantime I want to talk about two

A Journey of Two Halves

It’s been nearly three weeks since my last blog post, you know why? Cos I’ve actually been busy! I arrived back in Barcelona after my Menorca walk, had one night on my own then it began – socialising. After five weeks pretty much by myself 24/7, I called in on my cousin and her family

Walk on the wild side

This is a blog post I never thought I’d write. Yesterday I finished my 200km walk round Menorca, carrying everything I needed on my back, with very little by way of a plan. I think it’s fair to say, on the whole, I’m not a quitter (my nick-name used to be competitive Rach!), but I

The stuff of dreams

I’ll be honest, when I thought up this plan to walk round Menorca on my own, with all my stuff on my back, I probably didn’t really think it would happen. I don’t mean I had no intention, it’s just such a scary and alien thing to do, so really, why would I? But I

The fear

Tomorrow I set off to walk 200km, carrying everything I need, not yet knowing where I’ll sleep each night, and I’ll be honest, I’ve never been so scared. All day I’ve felt sick and jittery, tearful even, terrified of what I’m about to do. And yet I don’t want to not do it. I know

La Isla Bonita!

First off apologies to Barcelona. I went there and it was great and it deserves a blog post. But you know what? There’s reams of stuff written about Barca so I’m going to swerve it (except to say that I had the worst hangover I’ve ever suffered (oh I suffered) after accidentally getting too drunk

Rachel of Aragon

Ahh, I’m finally in my happy place, and finally there’s a happy place in me. Sure, in my eleven days and 1,433 miles there’s been plenty of joy. The peace and sunsets of Arcachon (not to mention the camping fail) made that a very memorable time. But it was quickly followed by rain in Biarritz,

Le belle Bordeaux and board Biarritz

Ah Bordeaux, she had my heart from the outset. She’s so inviting with her easy to navigate roads and clearly signed parking. The large 18th century limestone buildings that dominate the architecture of the city have a confidence that makes you feel you’re in safe hands. The Saturday shoppers ambling her pedestrianised streets also embued

From disaster to victory

‘Our greatest victories are forged from the heat of our greatest disasters   I put that in quotation marks cos it sounds like a quote doesn’t it? Profound and timeless, from the pen of a great philosopher. Actually I wrote after drinking ALL the beers I just bought in the hypermarket, and having an epic