What Type of Traveler Are You? Side Quests Continued: What Type of Traveler Are You?

I promised interior pictures from St. Michael’s Mount, and I have included a giant, gorgeous photo gallery of images below. But before we get to the beauty inherent in an ancient castle maintained by the St Aubyn family entrusted with a national (perhaps world) treasure of spiritual significance, I want to ask a jarring question: What Type of Traveler Are You?

Douglas Adams famously wrote about travel (and a million other things). His books cover hitchhikers, time and space travel, and in one famous passage, he even wrote about bypasses:

Bypasses are devices that allow some people to dash from point A to point B very fast while other people dash from point B to point A very fast. People living at point C, being a point directly in between, are often given to wonder what’s so great about point A that so many people from point B are so keen to get there, and what’s so great about point B that so many people from point A are so keen to get there. They often wish that people would just once and for all work out where the hell they wanted to be.
Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy

Work commutes are a whole different thing than leisure travel, and yet, a series of disastrous vacations in my childhood put me on the straight and narrow path of being an A to B holiday traveler. Point C being irrelevant.

I had always considered the process of travel to be:

Make a plan
Make reservations, and
Follow the plan without deviation.

It is only as an adult that I learned there are other ways. Learned that I could be another type of traveler. And most importantly, that different types of travelers have different experiences.

Do You Know What Type of Traveler You Are?

And does it change when you are solo versus with a companion? a lover? a group?

Here are some traveler types I have decided exist since pondering this question:

Point A to Point B (Thanks, Douglas!)
Yellow Brick Road (Thanks, Baum!)
Side Quest (No idea who to thank…)
Nomad (SEE: Side Quest)

My Traveling Type When Alone

Because it was my first solo travel, my 42-42-42 pilgrimage was an opportunity to discover my lone-traveler type. The changes began immediately. As soon as I had no responsibility for anyone but myself, I turned strangers into friends. Swerving off my designated path became my new “travel normal.”

I changed all of my proposed dates around when a fellow fan told me about a Cambridge smoker (college comedy variety show). That decision changed my life by introducing me to the comedy of John Finnemore.

When the head cold I seem to get when traveling became worse, I spent two days in York, in bed with my friend’s cat. That gave me downtime to process, write, and rest. True, I had to give up on visiting James Herriot’s Yorkshire, but I had everything I needed. Like a nomad, I decided to stay where I was safe and cared for, moving on to the next adventure when I needed to.

My side quests taught me that much of my travel joy was “accidentally” finding wonderful places (mostly places to have tea). I discovered that there are Diagon Alleys everywhere, but like Dorothy on the yellow brick road, I didn’t find apples or companions by knowing they were there and making a plan. I found them by telling everyone I met that I was on an adventure.

At the Top of the Mount

When I found myself alone and decided to climb St. Michael’s Mount to see what was at the top, I gave myself the gift of walking into an unknown. I had not researched, planned, or reserved a ticket. I didn’t know if it was open or even if it was something I would enjoy. I just climbed slowly and assumed that one way or another, I was being present for whatever the day would bring.

My openness and attitude came from the excellent guidance, warm inclusion, and peacefulness I gained from the morning meditation practice. When I said YES to a fellow traveler, YES to that experiential unknown (I had no idea what “Kriya” yoga was) it was a step toward putting my Point A to Point B traveler identity aside.

Basement Breathing

Beneath the stately antique hotel, I did some breathing exercises and was led in a luxurious guided meditation. I envisioned a bright, vaulted space, with one high, round window like in the movies Indiana Jones or Ladyhawk. A thick column of sunlight burst down, spotlighting my ankle with focused healing energy. I don’t know if my foot bathed in the imaginary light for minutes or hours, but the experience was exhilarating, and my ankle felt better afterward.

I believe that the meditation practice allowed me to be a smidge closer to my true traveler self by the time I arrived at St. Michael’s Mount. The self that is happy to be a nomadic, brick road, side quest kind of traveler. As a result, I was able to wander the mount and the castle on top with no expectations, no deadlines, and nowhere else to be.

Enjoy the images, and if you are inspired, please let me know what type of traveler you are in the comments.

Enter Here

Elegant and Ancient

What Makes A Castle?

When I arrived at the top, the Causeway was still visible.

Comments

One response to “Side Quests Continued: What Type of Traveler Are You?”

Jeremy G.

October 20, 2021

I traveled for six glorious months throughout South America, never once making a reservation. Besides starting at Point A (Quito, Ecuador), there were no other points on the itinerary, and I had the time of my life!
On the other hand, I’ve spent whole trips exploring single cities, traversing their various neighborhoods, parks, museums, restaurants, and adjacent countryside. Most recent: Amsterdam and San Miguel de Allende.
A month ago ago, my wife and I spent a few days driving up Highway 1 along the California coast. Nothing was planned and we stopped frequently along the way. It was if there was a Point A and a Point Z, with Points B through Y being all spontaneous.

Side Quests Continued: What Type of Traveler Are You?