A Place Both Wonderful and Strange – Tash & Ricki's Career Break Travels

Or ¡Hola y Feliz Año Nuevo!

I’m so pleased to be writing this from Malaga, Spain. This is our first port of call in what will hopefully be a one year long career break. My husband, Ricki, and I are taking the plunge and putting our professional careers on hold to experience some of the wonders the world has to offer.

I’m putting a bit more info about Ricki and I and our rationale for this trip in an “About Us” page for brevity. But in short, life is short. We want to make the most of our opportunity to travel while we are in the fortunate position to be able to do so.

This will not be a Race Across the World style test of endurance (or relationship strength!). 12 months is a long time, and budget, to commit to. We will be trying to embrace slow travel. Particularly so in the first few months, as we recover from a busy end to 2023 and focus our plans for 2024.

This will be a chance to experience other cultures and sample destinations. Unlike a holiday, we won’t be trying to pack in as many sightseeing attractions or restaurants/bars as possible. That would just be exhausting on mind, body and wallet! That said, being in certain destinations for longer than usual will encourage us to try things we might not normally. For example, more time spent in nature, multi-day excursions or further flung day trips.

As it currently stands, our plans take us up to the start of October, spanning 15 countries. There are a few others tentatively pencilled in. All being well, we should continue to December 2024. This is new territory (often literally) for both of us though. Who knows how we will take to this lifestyle or what obstacles life may throw up along the way!

You could say that our journey truly began on New Year’s Day. Despite living within a 30 minute drive time of Edinburgh airport, a combination of early flight time and limited transportation options due to it being a public holiday led to us taking the decision to bed down in an airport hotel the night before (a big thank you shout-out to my father-in-law Stuart for providing airport transfer services!).

While this isn’t generally how I’d envision spending the first day of a new year, it is of course worth it for what is to follow. Plus, it’s a marked improvement on New Year’s Day 2023. That was largely spent in the A&E of Forth Valley Hospital with an unwell Ricki!

I had hoped to use the time at the airport hotel to write and publish this first blog entry. Unsurprisingly though, time got the better of me. Since returning from a holiday to Thailand in November, the final 6 weeks of 2023 comprised a full on agenda of work, prepping our flat for short term letting and Christmas festivities. As a result, I didn’t have a blog platform ready to go, or the time to get my thoughts together until now.

So actual travel details will follow. For now I thought it still seasonally appropriate to include a few objectives or “resolutions” for the year ahead:

• Improve my Spanish to conversational level (and develop others such as Italian and Portuguese)

• Become more confident in asking for assistance and interacting with others

• Cook from scratch at least once a week, rather than always let Ricki take command of the kitchen. I have to admit, this has formed part of my New Year’s resolutions before…

• Go with the flow. Given we are travelling for the best part of a year, some things are bound to go wrong. I need to flex to it rather than get stressed.

• Improve flexibility. As in physically, rather than a repeat of above! I’ve brought a yoga mat with me and think that will be my principal method of keeping fit. I might as well see what I can do with it. Hopefully a year away from work will also give me a chance to undo some damage of days spent at a desk.

• Write a novel, or at least start one. Writing is the only creative endeavor I think I have any possible ability with. Art and music are definitely out! But I’ve never felt I have time/energy after work. Hopefully this blog will help get me into the swing of things.

On that note, thank you for reading and I hope the blog provides some interesting and entertaining recaps of our travels this year. Also wishing you all an enjoyable and happy 2024!