Gypsy Wednesday – Go Your Own Way

Welcome to the first edition of Gypsy Wednesday!  Every Wednesday, I’ll strive to highlight all the juicy morsels related to travel and beyond.

Since I’m a solo woman traveler, it’s only natural that I would be attracted to books on the subject.  Go Your Own Way, a literary anthology published by Seal Press in 2007 fit the bill.  Editors Faith Conlon, Ingrid Emerick and Christina Henry de Tessan first forayed into travel literature with the anthology, A Woman Alone in 2001.

So, why revisit the genre?  Their aim was two-fold: rediscover their love affair with solo travel and explore cultural connections in the post 9/11 world.

I asked the book to convince me.  Show me that solo travel is not something practical that I have to do because I’m currently single.  Oh, did it deliver.

A slumbering cat and a stiff cup of tea were my companions as I began to devour first hand accounts of Egypt, Japan or Nigeria.  This book is reminiscent of a sinful box of truffles, indulging the senses, with a dose of pleasurable guilt mixed in.  Each tale is similar to a single truffle, somewhat unique, yet insanely satisfying.  I purposefully read it in the confines of my room, sneaking in a paragraph or two at work during lunch.  For some nutso reason it was a covert read, I was unable and unwilling to reveal my latest book to friends.  Sometimes discovery is best done alone.

Every story not only lays the groundwork for solo travel, but interweaves valuable lessons.  It’s obvious all the contributors adore going it alone, but why is a different matter.

In Wolf Pleasures, New York is the backdrop for Julianne Balmain to unleash her sharpened senses.  Lone travel signifies freedom and spontaneity, two factors lacking when traveling with a companion.  The city in fact becomes her companion, promising excitement or anchoring those silent moments – yet continually present.  Even a woman has to leave the pack once in a while, wander to a hilltop, and howl at the moon.

What I liked about Aphrodsias is the discovery that at times you are not alone.  Boyfriend is living in Budapest, but bails on a two week meet up there, he doesn’t answer emails for a month.  Never mind that Carol Perehudoff has poor taste in men, she heads to the ruins of Aphrodsias, a few miles outside of Pamukkale, Turkey.   She stomps through the Roman city determined to replace potential heartache with a quest.  Aphrodite, gimme the answer to love.  And it floods her – objects either heart or shell shaped appear without warning.  Instead of loser boyfriend coming back, Carol eventually deciphers the talisman – Aphrodite has risen from the sea as Venus, to offer her comfort and love.  It’s good to have a goddess as your bff.

Abandoned in Uzbekistan impressed upon me that forging alone to another country is a step towards adulthood.  Stephanie Elizondo Griest watches her multi-person fellowship group dwindle to one – her.  She awaits a visa to enter Russia, whittling away time with two unlikely Uzbekistan women as mates, by eating too much ice cream and detoxifying in a Jacuzzi adorned with plastic conch shells and starfish.  She hesitates when the Russian visa materializes, fully realizing that university is over, the fellowship is behind her, but many paths are in her future.

With over 20 stories to choose from, I guarantee you’ll find several relatable to your own life.  The editors did a fine job grabbing snapshots from varied life experiences and ages.  As for post 9/11 international relations?  I’d say solo women take up the charge joyfully.

Though a near-perfect intro to solo travel, my one disappointment is most of the writers are polished professionals.  Why that bothered me – guess I was hoping for unpublished stories by “real” women.  Wait, aren’t I a down-to-earth authoress who will contribute to an anthology someday?  Rats.  Let me sort out my identity crisis, meanwhile purchase the book through Amazon.  It’s worth it! 

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Tagged as: Travel Inspiration, Women's Travel