Travel blog
Index Digital owner Stephen Gurney is embarking on an adventure to make it to the Caribbean, and in the first of his blogs he shares the highs and lows of his practise travels and his hopes for what is to come…
Having run a magazine publishing business for 26 years and with no immediate responsibilities in the UK I decided to have a go at travelling at the tender age of… well not quite decrepit!
My ultimate plan is to make it to the Caribbean by sailing boat or any other means except flying (only as a last resort) and run this online website Index Digital while travelling – with help from the ever-talented Jo who is based in Sussex and a marketing/sales team who are also UK-based.
To start my practise journey I have thumbed a lift with my mate Mick to the south of France. This took us two long days – the first of which was filled with constant rain, and the second of which was constant mountains!
The first thing that struck us both on our journey was the renewed friendliness of most of the people (especially at motorway stops) – it almost appeared they were pleased to have us Brits back!
Having had one week to get my travel legs – and having spent that constantly searching my pockets for everything I might lose (hope I don’t speak too soon!) – I am now sat in my favourite cafe (La Dolce Momento) on the Par des Anglais in Nice enjoying a beautiful sunset while writing this first piece.
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Overall, dream number one for this trip would be to get on a super yacht (pictured below) whose owners are desperate for an older lapsed yacht master to keep watch for dolphins, whales and sunsets across the Atlantic! However, reality number one is my qualifications are well out of date and all need redoing!
Still, apparently the thing to try is to hang around in “yachty-type” bars until the right person happens to appear who knows the right people. Well being a lightweight I will give that my best shot!
In the meantime, I cycled from Nice to Antibe along a really good cycle path. I think this time of year is best for the south of France as the temperature is about perfect if you like 20-24 degrees in the days and then cool evenings to relax in.
Nice is a great city with lots of fantastic architecture to admire and a cool, easy vibe. Getting around is easy as the streets (like New York) are set out in grids.
My plan next is to head to Monaco then on to Sardinia by ferry.
Sardinia
The thing about travelling when you are a bit older is ‘travel neurosis’, ie the constant feeling of having lost something (and feeling the need to check your pockets relentlessly, which I’m hoping will go soon!) and a general panic about getting from A to B. An example of which was travelling around Sardinia – the buses are hard to fathom out so there is the constant apparent risk of not getting from point A to point B. On a few occasions I very nearly managed this very feat, but something usually comes out of the blue to assist, thankfully!
On one occasion a friendly Englishman called Jason helped me get from Alghero to Stintino via four different buses. Having looked it up online the website had told me it was a straight trip, however as we are now in October lots of buses get taken off route for the winter!
Jason, who now lives here (well due to Brexit) for 90 days a year, assures me it takes a good month or two to get used to everything including public transport if you have limited Italian like me.
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I have to say, Stintino was truly stunning, the water is a little like the Scilly isles, very shallow between islands creating incredible colours of azure blues and greens.
Next up was a ferry back to Toulon and then a bus to St Tropez where I met another friend, Steve Ballard, who happened to be driving back to the UK following a work trip in Switzerland.
On reflection
During this first trip, when it came to Covid rules and who follows them in France and Italy, it seemed to vary a lot. For instance, in Nice everyone asked for the Covid pass in restaurants, shops and hotels, yet in St Tropez no one did so and Sardinia was similar, so it did seem to vary.
However, when it came to being welcomed, generally the French and Italians seemed very friendly especially in the less touristy areas and there seemed to be a distinct lack of Brits everywhere as opposed to pre-Brexit and pre-pandemic.
My next plan is to get on a boat to the Caribbean, I’ll let you know how I get on!
#TravellingAbroad #RoadToTheCaribbean #IndexDigital
