Life Stories

I Hitchhiked Over 3,000 km

On occasions we were sleeping on beaches and would bathe in the ocean.

Photo by Silas Tolles on Unsplash

Looking back I am not sure how my first boyfriend, Jim, and I fitted in our various travels — but we did. Time seems to chase young people rather than when older we seem to chase time.

On one particular trip, I was still just under twenty— it was the late 80’s and we had spent time visiting the red sea and other wonders. We returned stopping off in Cyprus for a memorable week and then hopping over the islands of Greece.

It was May/June and the sun turned me almost the colour of Marmite — and I probably smelled as bad — on occasions we were sleeping on beaches and would bathe in the ocean. My skin got darker and my hair blonder.

It was truly amazing to lay back in my sleeping bag, look up at the stars and be aware of the incredible pull the moon has on the ocean and indeed on us.

Memories are funny as sometimes without realising it we fill in the gaps with untruths, but this is how I remember that time…

Hitch Hiking

Heading back to Athens on the ferry we counted our cash and realised — even though Jim had picked up some casual work on Crete — we couldn't afford the train or bus…