How to get back after a long trip?
The story of Yolanda Munoz throws us a sea of doubts about the great trips and, above all, the return after a maelstrom of adventure , unparalleled knowledge about the world, its people, cultures, and about ourselves. Because if there is something that a long trip brings, it is a great self knowledge : our limitations, the capacities of constant improvement…
Since Gasteiz , Yolanda left to travel with nothing more than the company of his bike . She had traveled on her two wheels before, sure, but she had never done it alone. So, in July 2015 she took her luggage and went to China with the idea of traveling for two years.
"Crossing Europe and at the gates of Poland , on a long descent, a wasp got into my sunglasses, I lost control of the bicycle and broke three metacarpal bones in my left hand, ”she tells Traveler.es.
Yolanda Muñoz, the bicycle traveler.
Did this prevent you from following her journey? Of course not, she took the trans-siberian and she followed her route by bicycle, crossed part of the silk road , the pamir highway , the Caspian Sea and she came to Iran.
“From there to Turkey , where I didn't pedal because the snow made progress difficult; I moved by bus to Greece where have i been collaborating with refugees . I was going to leave again via ** Italy and France ** to return home, but from Gasteiz they told me that my father was very ill and I had to return by plane three months earlier than planned… ”, she adds.
A one year trip and eight months in which she lived with the phrase “lone woman?”, in which she learned that when we travel at ease with ourselves there are no barriers on the way. And there were those who wanted to make her doubt during her journey, for example in Iran where she suffered the aggressions of some men.
“Advancing through countries by myself, with a full physical and mental freedom , it is the best gift that I have given myself and that I will never forget, ”she adds.
I'm back: now what?
although maybe the worst of the whole trip was the return , a turn that not for all travelers it is the same . On the one hand, many do it with joy to see those loved ones who have waited for their return in suspense; others, with enthusiasm for new projects in her country of origin; there is no shortage of apathetic and those who feel sadness, depression or those who only feel gratitude for such Vital experience.
AND NOW THAT? THE DISORDER OF GOING BACK TO THE ROUTINE
In Yolanda's case, her return was hard. “Suddenly finding myself in a city like Vitoria-Gasteiz, which, although small, has its rhythm, the rush, the immediacy, the discipline, the daily consumption ... During a bike trip, contact with nature is overwhelming and it is not easy to lose it in the daily life of a city”.
Her adaptation was progressive. . In fact, she still thinks that she hasn't quite settled in yet. “Without forgetting that traveling and doing it by bicycle is a passion that I cannot stop feeding. Feeling that this is not going to be the last trip I make, having plans for the following, short or long, is making it easier for me to come back”.
Worst? loss of freedom of oneself, to think that she will not meet again some of the people she met on her journey and with whom she created a lasting bond.
BACK TO THE ROUTINE
The post-vacation syndrome exists, we have talked about it on numerous occasions, and it is very similar to what those who return home after years of travel experience.
"It becomes (or is believed to become) a routine and perhaps jobs that do not motivate us excessively . Therefore, a period of adaptation to schedules, obligations and responsibilities will be necessary. There may be problems with insomnia, concentration, a lower mood than usual…”, explains Carles Ríos, psychologist, member of the College of Psychologists of Barcelona and personal coach.
However, not everything is bad: “many times there is a inner change that makes when he returns from our trip mind map be broader, that we accept things that we had trouble accepting before and things that we gave a lot of importance to, now it seems to us that they do not have so much importance, ”he adds.
For him, the ideal is to leave a period of time between his return and his return to work to reflect on everything he experienced and integrate it. For those who haven't landed from their big trip yet, you have an advice and it is the one of spend a few minutes writing in a logbook , the best gift of the return to remember the trip.
When we read it we will be able to “see the changes that have been taking place during this time and how we can apply these changes to our day to day to be more aware people ”. But above all, facing the return in a positive way, with gratitude.
Tips for coming back after a long trip.
A LESS TROUBLE LANDING
There are many ways to land after a long trip, the one that can last years or that upsets you and stirs you up inside. Itziar, a psychologist, and Pablo, an economist, have been talking about this type of trip and its landings for years. First, as founders of Editorial Viajera, then as organizers of the Great Journeys Conference, which they prepare every year since 2013 and in which they deal with all kinds of situations and experiences.
That's also where the last talk in the Altaïr bookstore in Barcelona in which they addressed, last April, how was the return after a long trip. together they crossed Africa on public transport for twelve months , they wrote _ How to prepare a great trip _ and now they reflect with Traveler.es, on the return.
“The return is true that it is not easy. But it is normal, since during the trip, for many months they have been living Unique experiences constantly. Upon returning, the contrast with the previous life is important, since it gives the sensation that it is a very routine life, in which few things happen. Nevertheless, travel for a long time opens your mind and you discover many things that you did not know about others before cultures and countries ”, they underline.
How can we make the return more bearable? “You have to remain interested in the countries and people you have met, explore your city as if it were an unknown city (visiting new neighborhoods and living new experiences), interacting with people who have made great trips or who, at least, have similar experiences”.
What would you expect from such a trip?
It is common that when we return to our environment, our family and friends do not understand how intense our trip has been, for this reason, they point out, frustrations can arise. The positive? “A great trip brings many things on a professional and personal level that will serve to re-engage or find a new job easily".
THE PREVIOUS WORK
It is more than possible that if you are reading this it is because something in you wakes up think of one great adventure, years of travel discovering the world , feeling freedom , that of which those who have lived it speak, and feel in yourself that happiness that you have seen on their faces and that you have envied (in a healthy way, of course) at some time.
If you are planning your return and so that it is not so hard, Carles Ríos recommends doing a good previous work prior to start a trip , in addition to creating few expectations.
“If we have been able to live the trip as a field of experimentation and self-knowledge, it will be possible for what we have learned we can apply in our day to day, coming back with a different vision of the world and of ourselves”.
Cristina and Carlos on their trip around the world.
Carlos and Cristina, computer engineer and primary school teacher from Barcelona, thought about their Around the World when they went to live a season in Holland . It was there that the illusion for what has been **the trip of their lives** began to take shape.**
His route started in Maldives, in February 2017, ending eight months later in The Angels . The big question they asked themselves was how were they going to prepare such a long trip . They had guides, references from other travelers, but…
“I remember that at the beginning you ask yourself many questions and it seems very complicated to be able to carry out a trip like this. Over time you realize that everything was so much easier , that the pressure and fear disappear the moment you pick up your first outbound flight ”, they explain.
They did not consider much, they traveled depending on how cheap or not the flights were at that time to follow your route and they returned when they thought it was time to return. “The first few weeks you still don't get your bearings. You're high on seeing people you haven't seen for months or years, and that fills you with joy, but your day-to-day life is turning into something more monotonous and less exciting ".
And they add: "also the plans with which you return are different. In our case, we wanted some stability, for that reason our objective was to look for work to be able to make our life as soon as possible". And although your return was nice they still miss that each day is different from the previous one.
The flight of Apis.
YOUR BIG JOURNEY AS A LEGACY
What if we think of our great journey as a legacy to give to those who come after us? Perhaps we soften the contrasts of the return? Valuable information about other countries, tips, open the mind to the new generations , find and share experiences, landscapes… The flight of Apis project has much of this.
Ingrid and Andrés, a couple of teachers from Seville, decided to undertake a trip to South America in 2015, with their three young daughters: Nora, Cloe and Elsa (9, 7 and 5 years old). A educational trip that would take them to travel 83 rural projects , educational and innovative in the country.
And a flexible, collaborative and open experience that they recorded on video, with which they wanted their daughters to learn, take a more human perspective of the world (That's how it was), and transferred the learning to many other people through their experience in the educational field.
At the same time met 80 other families with whom they lived from August 2016 to August 2017. “We had a general plan (which we more or less complied with) to spend a month, a month and a half in each of the countries we visited and always following the good weather , something that greatly facilitated family logistics, especially with three girls. It was a year in a kind of continuous spring-summer ”, they point out.
A family trip through South America.
For them, their daughters are a stimulus that encourages them to travel. “We never felt any kind of danger and the fact that traveling with little girls It helped us with everything, since girls generate confidence immediately and all cultures are very sensitive to children”, they add.
When your great journey serves as an example , it is possible that the return is even gratifying, and more like in the case of El v apis elf, if it has a positive impact on your family and on a global educational environment.
“We have verified that children need to be with their parents and, when there is time and enjoyment, almost everything flows… Things, toys, clothes, huge celebrations are not needed. Being able to have the time to look at them, to observe them carefully is one of the greatest gifts we have given ourselves”.
In addition to the fact that Nora, the youngest, already knows how to locate all the South American countries have also noticed little changes at home as a good ability to adapt to situations, flexibility in the face of unexpected events, love and respect for nature and their living beings, normalize the entry and exit of people in their homes...
“Our biggest concern is that they grow up without wanting to know the world and its incredible nature. The planet is too big to stay in one place for life. Traveling is a good way to educate in all these values. We think that there is no better school than the world ”, they point out.
As a result of their experience, they created their blog, which they have also shared on different online platforms, and on Great Journeys Days of Itziar and Pablo, where they were inspired to create The flight of Apis.
Yeray Martín, director of photography, expert in drones and with more than twelve years of experience in TV channels national and international as National Geographic either Discovery.
His great journey was made by working with The 2 of RTVE , when he shot _ Pacífico _, a documentary series that narrated the adventure of three professionals who traveled from japan to new zealand looking for the remotest tribes and his relationship with his environment that lasted a year and fifteen days.
“For me, this is another positive point of my work. Many stories are not recorded, and I hope to be able to remember them as long as possible; but others yes, and they will always be there for me and, above all, for anyone else who wants to peek out to see how our adventure was, ”he says.
And the return? “I am one of those who think that There is a positive part in everything and in the return there is, I have met great travelers and of all of them, I only know one person who lives in an eternal journey, his name is Iara Lee She is a documentary director. The rest of the people always miss their home a little, that's why we all end up coming back , but there is nothing wrong with that, just It is one more stage of the journey ”.
Yeray working during the recording of 'El Pacífico'.