Hello, World! My name is Andrea, and I am carving out a little section of the World Wide Web for yet another travel blog.
You see, I love an adventure–to travel, see new places and people, and experience cultures, languages, currencies, and even everyday life, like grocery stores or food stalls, libraries, and transportation. However, I was injured over a decade ago and have mobility issues, which have made travel more difficult as mobility increasingly lessens.
I tweak little parts of my life as needed, but when I plan travel, it is more challenging as I have usually not visited the locations previously. In my trip planning over the past 12+ years, I do a lot of research, read a lot of blogs and travel sites or books, and especially read other travelers’ experiences and recommendations. Most sites and comments regarding accessible travel refer to wheelchair accessibility, which is necessary but not my particular challenge. It has been more difficult to determine how much walking or standing will be involved, the grade and incline the ground, or how rough and unsteady the terrain will be at any given site.
The best, though not nearly enough, information has been on travel guides geared toward older adults. I realized that the same travel challenges I deal with are often applicable to those who have sustained ankle injuries, as well as those with leg and foot disorders, knee and hip joint pain, older adults, heart conditions, etc.
I cannot and do not want to stop traveling, but I do need to be thoughtful of my limitations in how I approach travel. If others may benefit from lessons and tips I learn along the way, I want to share them so they can continue (un)limited adventuring too!
So, here we are, and there we go!
Looking forward to your updates on this.
Thanks for reading, Deborah!