This past year was quite a busy one for me travel-wise so I thought I'd do a little round-up of some of my adventures, as a reference for me, and for anyone else that may be interested in my shenanigans…
With all that pandemic business, a lot of people returned to some sort of normality and getting away to foreign lands. I did travel a bit in '20 and '21 but that was more between a couple of places rather than moving around a lot. This year though, I seemed to go travelling by mistake a couple of times!
By which I mean that wasn't the initial intention. I was half-based in Spain and had a couple of conferences or interests outside that, but the way things fell meant I took in some additional destinations and ticked a few more places off my list. 12 flights later, here I am.
Let's go in some sort of chronological order: we'll start with Valencia as that's where I was in the process of - potentially - moving to and where I visited a few times this year for extended and not so extended periods. The main event in March was the (in)famous Las Fallas festival… a fiery feast of fun!
Valencia Vibes: All the Fun of the Fallas!
Fun of the Fallas: Opening Gambit
Fallas Fun '22: Back to Bugalü
Fallas Finale ‘22: Cremà de la Cremà
After having spent a month there it came to making some onward plans. Where better than the Balearic Islands! Ibiza isn't all that far and off I went on the long, gruelling flight across the water to the White Isle (up and down in half an hour!). Subsequently I moved on to Mallorca whilst I was in the vicinity, all wrapped up in this article:
Balearic Bonanza: Impromptu Jaunt to Ibiza & Mallorca
Porto was one of those destinations I intended to go to for a while and after a little research it looked like now was an ideal time. I knew I might be back in England for a bit early June so was slowly making my way back in that direction and also fancied a change from Spain. Having been to Lisbon a couple of times and enjoyed the vibe, I wanted to get north and sample Portugal's second city.
So I was back in Valencia for a week or so, then off I trotted…
Port-oh! A Tasty Tour of Portugal’s Second City
Part 2: Exploring Porto & Sampling Its Famous Drink
Part 4: A Few Pics From Porto, Portugal
Back in England there were the jubilee celebrations closely followed by my sister's birthday. Then we have the tradition of the folk festival in my home town which I did a post on later that year. Well, I started it the following week but didn't get to finishing it till months later.
Devon Delights: Folking It Up!
This is where things get a bit spicy. I was now booked in for HiveFest in September so would be making my way to Amsterdam for that particular extravaganza, so it was just the case of the order of events.
There were still some 'question marks' over entry for certain folks to the Netherlands from outside the EU, so I went to Poland first where all were welcome. Kraków had also been on the list for a while, and was also a place where I missed out on going a few years before when the 2018 version of HiveFest (then SteemFest) took place.
I wrote a few articles which were mainly 'road to hivefest' type articles about what I was planning to do rather than Kraków itself, but I did write one later on (after I had left Amsterdam) about the salt mine and my subterranean excursion in search of the elusive white gold. Ok, there was plenty of it, here's the post:
Cracking Kraków: Visiting the Salt Mine
Then it was on to the live comic book that is Amsterdam, which was really the main event of the year. People reading this on Hive will know about all this, but if there are people reading from outside, it may require a bit of explaining. In these posts I wrote about my personal experiences of the event and trip, and added an article about what exactly Hive and HiveFest are…
What is HiveFest? What is Hive?
HiveFest Reflections: Going Dutch
Part 2: Arrival in Amsterdam, City of CyclePaths
Part 4: Beets, Boats & Boules!
Part 5: Church, Chats & Cheers!
From there it was back to Valencia for a month and planning the next phase. I was due to move in to a place in England in November which got put back a month so it was finding the best way to negotiate the gap.
Turns out I hadn't finished with Portugal, and I was back to Lisbon! Cheap and short flight from Valencia and also put me in prime position for my next move.
As I was over that side of the continent, it made eastern Europe more tricky, but it just so happened Madeira was calling… so I went there for the first time. Great place and I only wrote the one article near the start but never got round to writing more.
The trip also coincided with my birthday. What are the chances of that?
Madeira Musings: Fun in Funchal
And finally it was back to England and dear ol' Devon in time for Christmas and all that brings.
I might be one of the few people out there planning to travel less in 2023. It all gets a bit silly after a while and I'm looking for a solid base and not have all the hassle that comes with moving around.
Oh, I'll still travel, don't you worry about that (and probably more than many) but it will be one or two specific trips. I'm thinking Bulgaria in late June and I've also got my eye on Greece and Croatia… then we'll see after that.
Anyway, that was my year in travel. How about you, what did you get up to? And what plans for 2023?
However you spent this year, and however you're spending next… happy new year, and happy travels!
Adam
@adambarratt
www.AdamBarratt.com
Images all my own