Greetings from London! Im writing as I have just returned from a short trip to nearby Ireland, or Eire, or the Republic of Ireland, and plan to write three blog entries for my three full days on this beautiful green island. This is my first one. I am majorly excited about this trip, and have been for some time now. A few years ago, I joined the Travelers Century Club, a club for travellers who have been to 100 of their listed countries. I initially joined as a Provisional Member, which you can do once you visit 75 countries on their list. In 2020, I was about to reach Full Membership with a summer trip to South Africa, and Swaziland was planned to my country number 100. As we all know though, plans changed somewhat that year, and since UK international travel restrictions began to ease towards the end of 2021, I visited the Isle of Man in December as country number 99, and Ireland just now – country number 100!!!
I feel obliged to say that the TCC counts countries differently to most people – thus, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all count
as four separate countries. Also, they follow the boots on the ground motto, so if you simply put your feet on a countrys turf, such as its airport in changing planes or a quick step over the border, as I have done a few times, this also counts as a visit. According to the United Nations country list, which avid travellers such as myself also use, I am only on country number 82 at the moment. I still have a way to go there. But nay bother, here I am, a true TCC Centurian as they say!! I have just penned my email to the TCC to let them know, and for them to upgrade my status. Wahooooo!!!
So, as travel restrictions began to ease in Autumn 2021, and as I began to read fellow TB bloggers on here beginning their awesome adventures again, I began to plan for a few trips, slowly upgrading the level of challenge in braving the and bureaucracy of the situation. The Isle of Man in December felt a great first stepping stone for this, and gave me a chance to conquer a few of the what if fears. This trip to
Ireland felt much less scary for me, and in fact since I booked it in October 2021, a lot of the restrictions have crumbled like dominoes. There was no need for any pre- or tests either going there back. All I needed to do was fill in a Passenger Locator Form for the Irish government, which wasnt checked by any official during my journey even once, and show my proof of vaccination to the Aer Lingus operative on the desk at Gatwick Airport when I left. It felt a breeze, and hopefully the bureaucracy for travelling to other countries will continue to disappear, as it appears to be doing for a number of places now. The biggest issue for me was going to a country where there was still a lot of related fear, and masks everywhere, from the UK, where most people seem to have moved on from this now. It felt like stepping back in time to England around a year ago, or to Scotland last summer. Apart from this though, it was absolutely wonderful to be on the travelling road again once more.
my TCC country number 100. My overall plan for travelling over my life has been to do the trickier countries first, the Zimbabwes, Burmas and Venezuelas of the world, and then ease into the easier, but more expensive, countries as I age, with a more substantial disposable to be able to afford such destinations. This appears to be happening as I travel through my 40s. I always considered France to be our nearest neighbour, but in fact it is indeed Ireland, the only country which the United Kingdom shares a land border with. I have known many people in the UK of Irish origin over the years, and they have on the whole been wonderful people. I have often considered Irish people to be the salt of the earth. I found this very much to be true in Ireland itself. It was a lovely trip, with some amazingly friendly people.
