View from Lykavittos Hill of the Parthenon and the Port of Pireas. (Picture courtesy of Wikipedia)

In my brief time as a traveler, I’ve learnt that sometimes things don’t go according to schedule.

I’ve been across borders and continents when I’ve lost my passport, had my feet swell, missed flights, not checked in on time and ran out of funds.  When things go awry, and stress levels are heightened, the easiest thing to do is to curl up into a ball, throw a pity party and wish some magic carpet would float you back home.  As a mostly solo sojourner, curling up into a ball is not an option. Life goes on and you have to keep it moving. Your best asset in such times is a sharp mind and the calmness of the Dalai Lama; a rarity for me given my personality traits, the urgency of the situations plus travel officials acting like unsympathetic bots.

So.., do you give up, give in and chose to disregard globe trotting completely? Be still at one place for the rest of your life?

Travel addicts have come to that place of acknowledging that much as travel is terrifying, the high gotten from ‘coming-seeing-and conquering’ keeps one returning for more. Just like the proverbial mother who has pushed out a baby into the world, you quickly forget your pains and are soon poring over maps, ticket prices and locations, ready to birth a new experience.

My next destination is Athens.  For a couple of weeks I’ve been weighing the pros and cons of attending the TBEX 2014 conference. I have pondered about the chance to be at the world’s largest gathering of travel bloggers, writers, new media content creators, and social media savvy brands.

Are you kidding me? Sponsored or not, I just have to be there.  I’m guessing that after the conference, I will come away feeling like a cry baby.  That I will discover the things I’m moaning over are mundane, a piece of cake that is commonplace in every travelers slice of life.

I appreciate the short bursts of time I can take away, I’m not a longterm travel kinda person. My domestic situation and pocket wouldn’t allow it. Besides, I would miss my comfort zone too much,  the times I can get to relax in the personal space of familiarity with no check out times and dates.

I am hoping to listen to stories from other travel writers and bloggers, learn from them, and gets tips and tricks, but more importantly, I am hoping to meet sponsors, benevolent souls in the travel industry who are just itching to send people out there in search of stories that matter…don’t all stories matter?

Travelers in my experience are quite the demographic. While people of black descent are possibly scattered all over the globe, in pursuit of economic or career interests, further studies and marital bliss; solo african women travelers are an oddity…What do they think of as they see us? It would be fun to debunk some stereotypes out there.

See you in Athens!