Happiness Is Just Around The Bend

My dad was pretty shocked we were still together after backpacking Southeast Asia. “3 months? In Asia? With you? And you are still Together?” Thanks for the support, dad. More commonly, people ask “How did you survive traveling together?” Well, it’s hard because you never know how things will pan out until they actually happen. You can pick your best friend, your college your roommate, your boyfriend/girlfriend, sister or brother and still end up hating them by the end of the trip. Sure you have hung out before and had a blast, but have you ever been with them 24/7 and seen each other at their worst? I’m talking food poisoning, cranky and sunburnt, always being late, or started noticing their incredibly annoying habits? Traveling with the right person is essential to the success of your trip. You don’t know the real person until you have traveled with them—it can bring out the best memories together or the worst qualities out of anyone. What once seemed like ...

More often than not, when foreigners discover that Craig and I (Gemma, Two Scots Abroad) are from Scotland their automatic response is “ahhh, Braveheart; whisky and Edinburgh!”. Fair play to our capital which does indeed have a castle on top of a volcano but Scotland is so much more than Mel Gibson (he isn’t even Scottish), castles and booze (although unfortunately alcohol does play a large part of our culture!). Scotland also has rolling hills, fierce lochs (lakes) and blue skies* all of which can be experienced by trekking The West Highland Way. Last year was the year that we all turned thirty. What did you do/plan to do for your thirtieth birthday? Shopping trip to NYC? Party time in Ibiza? What about a 96 mile trek through the West Coast of Scotland? Not something I had considered before either but this is what my friends and I chose to do to celebrate three decades of living, and I gotta tell you, I have never felt so alive! My good friends Helen, Julie and I set off from ...