Our Liebster Award Nomination

Our Liebster Award Nomination

Our Blogging Nomination

For me, blogging is a passion; no actually, writing and photography are my passions – blogging is a platform where I can express my creativity in a safe and reasonably anonymous way. After years of having a very public presence in the corporate world, being able to retreat to the wings and nurture my introvert whilst connecting to my writing passion is a joy. For the first time ever I am doing work that is wholesome, nourishes me and works with my strengths without compromise. Thank goodness for blogging!

So when, earlier this year I was nominated for the Liebster Award, an award for bloggers, by bloggers, it was a huge honour. It was recognition that someone from my writing peer group loved what I was writing and valued it enough to put me forward for this award, in a world where there are so many fabulous writers.  I’m so grateful, thank you Karolina Patry for the nomination.

 

Getting to know The Motoroamers 

Part of the rules of the Award is to answer 11 questions that your nominator has put to you, so that you can tell your story and share a bit of yourself to the blogging world.

These were the questions posed by Karolina:

 

1. What do you like the most about travelling?

Travelling gives us a freedom and simplicity that has enriched our lives beyond recognition. Being released from the Matrix has allowed us to follow the beat of our own drum and be the people we were destined to be. We feel whole, happy and US for the first time in our lives and travel has and continues to be our greatest teacher. Oh if only this were a lesson in school…

2. How do you fund your travels?

We have created a financial base for our lifestyle on the road that includes rental property and income from a share portfolio. In addition to that we still work digitally, both as a Happiness Coach for me and an Investor for Myles. We are currently building our travel blog community that is growing organically and slowly beginning to cover some blogging expenses, although our writing is for love, first and foremost and money appears well down the list.

3. What is your favourite destination?

We avoid having favourites, as in truth all places have their own unique characters and personalities. And we feel that to commit to anyone as a favourite would be to undermine all others we have visited and connected with in a different way. That said we love Poland for its depth of soul, Slovakia and Slovenia for their beauty and Romania just stole our hearts. So I think it is fair to say that we love Eastern Europe and what it offers our cultural sponge.

4. What destination is on the top of your bucket list?

We don’t really have bucket list places, as our full time travels are taking us to the most amazing places. Although I would love to see Japan with the cherry blossom and Peru has always been a place that has called me since a teenager. Aside of those, Canada’s Rocky Mountains are a must do for us, so we have plenty to be going on with, whether with our camper or some other trusty steed.

5. What is your best travel story?

I think our journey to become full time travellers is the best story. How we chose to swap corporate stress for happiness and live life beyond our fears. The story about how we faced and overcame those fears and created a transformational, nomadic lifestyle that belies the ‘traditional masks’ we wore in our old lives. The remaining chapters of our tale are being written as we speak.

6. What is the worst place you have ever visited?

We have come to learn that at some point there are going to be places that we are disappointed in, that somehow don’t match our expectations or have, quite honestly scared the bejesus out of us. There haven’t been many  although just a few. Travel and discovery are not always a bed of roses, sometimes the thorns are there for a reason.

Southern Italy was hairy with their lack of respect for the road and crazy driving, Cinque Terre was a definite disappointment and Vienna didn’t live up to my expectations. They are not what I would call ‘worst’, although definitely are places that we have liked least.

7. What nationality are you?

We are British with European hearts!

8. What kind of blogger are you? What do you like to write about on your blog?

What an interesting question. I am a creative storyteller; I love to write and am passionate about sharing experiences through colourful stories. I love nothing more than creating an engaging tale of our adventures and the countries or regions we are fortunate enough to visit. For me blogging is all about the love for writing and if I can engage my reader in our footsteps, then what a joy and a bonus that is.

9. What cuisine is your favourite?

I love all food, and my expanding waistline is evidence of this. Although my favourite – now that’s hard… it has to be the simplicity of French food – bread, cheese and a nice wine or Spanish tapas. Now that really gets my taste buds soaring.

10. What is your favourite Social Media and why?

I love both Facebook because of our interactions and connections and Instagram because it’s a showcase for my photography.

11. Have you ever lived abroad?

I guess if you can call Isle of Man abroad from UK, then the answer is yes. We were privileged to live there for 18 years, so for all intents and purposes we were Manx residents. And today we can definitely class ourselves as living abroad, as we are full timing in our camper travelling, for now, across Europe. The rest of the world is waiting for us in the wings.

What great questions, thank you Karolina.

 

Pay it Forward

In return for my nomination, it falls to me, in my acceptance, to ‘Pay it Forward’. There are a lot of people who are sceptical about awards like this that have a chain letter feel to them. Although I think in today’s modern world driven by success, the Liebster actually isn’t about getting a badge. It is about how bloggers around the world support each other, encourage us to write and share our stories and promote each other in a vastly competitive arena. And in truth, there is no competition – only stories, learning and shared experiences.

This is why I decided to accept the nomination, because I loved the idea that I could pay it forward – that I could promote other bloggers in my genre who have the courage, like me to put words on paper for the world to scrutinise. It’s not easy to blog, especially, if like me you are a perfectionist. It takes time, patience, being in the right space and a whole heap of technicalities. So to every blogger, I honour you and what you do.

I am therefore delighted to nominate the following five very special bloggers for this award, in the true and ethical Pay it Forward philosophy.

 

 

 

 

 

Our Questions for our Nominees

If our nominees decide to accept this award nomination, then they must create their own blog, like this one and answer the following questions that we have posed. So if you are ready guys, here are your 11 Questions;

  1. What was the journey that brought you to travelling?
  2. How has travel changed you and how does it enrich your life?
  3. If Travel was a teacher at school, what would be included in their lessons?
  4. If there was one piece of advice you could give travel dreamers, what would it be?
  5. If you could give a gift to a newbie traveller, what would it be and why?
  6. What type of place or places do you feel the greatest peace?
  7. What have been your biggest challenges?
  8. If you could choose three words that sum up what travel means to you, what would they be?
  9. If your travels were represented by a jigsaw, what would this look like; the corners, the straight edges and the middle pieces?
  10. What has been the most meaningful experience you have had?
  11. What one memory stands out most to you from your travels that makes you smile?

 

The Liebster Award Rules

To keep this positive and encouraging system going, there need to be a few rules. There is a comprehensive blog from The Global Aussie that you can follow here who shares all the steps you need to follow should you be nominated, accept and reciprocate. Here is the essence of the steps to take:

  • Create a blog like this, that acknowledges and links to your nominee (that’s me). In it share your passion for blogging.
  • Then answer the questions I have given to you above.
  • Look for your own 5-11 personal blog recommendations that you wish to nominate and include those in your blog as I have done with links to their websites.
  • Create 11 unique and creative questions for your nominees to answer
  • Go to The Global Aussie website where, should you decide to accept, you add your own Liebster Award blog directly to the commentary section at the bottom of the page which registers your nomination.
  • Add a comment to my blog below, to say if you wish to accept the nomination.
  • Then finally, drop an email to your nominees, and the person who nominated you, with a link to the blog you have written.

Entries end on 25th Dec 2018 and the winner will be picked on the 31st of December.

Thanks again to Karolina for your nomination and good fortune to us all come the end of December. For more information about our blogs and our adventures just check out our website

Confessions of a travelling introvert

Confessions of a travelling introvert

 

As I’m sat in the mountains just north of Brasov, Romania, with the early morning cloud tickling the tree tops in a mischievous manner, feral dogs barking seemingly at fresh air and a lone runner pounding the ground – I’m left pondering! Pondering on the life of a nomad and a travelling introvert.

 

Early morning creativity

Romanian Monastery – early morning sunrise

There’s no more perfect a time for me than the early morning rise. That moment where night surrenders to the light signalling the awakening of a dawn.  With my solitude I can watch the world unfurl into a new day. This tiny window of calm is a time for me to reflect, write and just be, without the noise that inevitably comes with the emerging sun. The stillness paradoxically beats in tune with my heart and, for that moment, we are as one.

A time when my creativity is at its highest, with no distractions to distort its flow – just the sounds of wildlife as it makes the most of this precious tranquility.

So what is it that makes travelling so special? Is it the bewilderment from undiscovered lands that ooze legacy and natural beauty? Or perhaps it is the buzzing throng of a city with its crowds of people going somewhere or going nowhere, it matters not.  Travelling for some might be the journey to reach a destination, whilst for others it is the pure stillness of sitting in a new land that feels strange and yet somehow vaguely familiar and breathing it in as if it were part of you.

 

Travel is a unique experience

Thriving on the nourishing coastliner

How we experience travel is unique to us all.  Yet for the growing swell of wanderlust seekers we share the pure joy at having the freedom to leave behind our constricted lives, for a moment or forever and feel it penetrate deep into our soul, enriching us beyond recognition.  Yet beyond this commonality, our adventures will take on a completely different feel dependent upon our personalities and needs.  Being in a city full of noise and movement is my idea of hell, although others thrive on it.  Leave me by the coast with the gently lapping waves or in the mountains where the air is crisp and clear or sat by a field of lavender listening to the orchestra of bees – this is where I will find my Nivarna.

 

Wearing a mask

The masks we wear

As an introvert who has come from a very public corporate job, burnt-out and overwhelmed from a business where I had to give so much of myself away, I had all too little time to replenish my energy. I found the need to retreat from the world and heal from the effects of a life wearing a mask. And now having committed to a life as nomads, travelling the world with curiosity in our pockets and adventure in our hearts, it occurs to me to question – Does this soothes my introverted nature or  does it challenge it?

And strangely I think it does both.  There are times when we meet new people or friends we’ve made along the way and we share a precious moment together with laughter and discussion filling the air.  And for a short while this is beautiful and its lovely to connect with like-minded souls who are striving for the same sense of freedom.

 

 

My travel Utopia

And yet there comes a time when this exchange starts to drain my battery reserves and a retreat to my own space beckons like the pull of a magnet.  It’s primal, instinctive and I must heed its call, otherwise my strain becomes palpable.

You see, it is in the space of solitude where peace massages my soul and I am enveloped in its protection that I can fully experience the world.  Feeling a place from within, through my senses rather than through a shared experience.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to share and be with others to talk about our adventures, although so much of my travelling joys are based on being able to internalise the sensations and absorb them into my heart through my skin.

City cafe Scene

There is nothing more I love than exploring a city from the relative safety of a pavement cafe where I can observe the passing world and wonder at people’s stories almost as if in a slow-motion movie.  Within the heart of the mountains or by the coast you will find me at my best, absorbing nature’s essence and wondering at its magnificence.  The seemingly motionless lake, where life beneath the surface vibrates with an almost invisible existence, I will sit in contemplation and flourish in its tranquility. Amongst a crowd of strangers, I love to sit back and listen to the buzz and dynamics whilst I curiously explore the paths people have travelled.  And as the day gives way to night and the sun sinks into the horizon’s embrace, I cherish the time to reflect on my day and its joys.  This is how I love to travel.

Apart from travelling with my soulmate, who is also an introvert, thankfully, my greatest companion on my journey is my camera.  To capture a place through the lens and convert it to a story with words that adds texture and emotion is joyful.  This is why I love what we do and why I can honest say that this is the happiest time of my life, ever!

Contemplating life

So if you meet me on the road, I will aways show you my warmth and love, because that is an innate part of me too.  Although never feel sad or rejected if you see me retreat as this is the natural call of my heart.  Never feel concerned if you see me sat on a rock staring into space.  Never wonder whether this lonely traveller needs some company or a conversation.  All is well with this travelling introvert as this is how she harmonises with her adventures and converts them into memories.

 

We all have a different take on travelling and the joy that exploring new lands and cultures hold.  So whether we meet as fellow introverts or extroverts, always know that we are connected through that delicate strand of silk that has us discovering ourselves on the journey that our feet were born to experience.  Have happy and safe travels. Karen x