Wanderlust UK – September 2019

(Axel Boer) #1
wanderlust.co.uk September 2019 35

INTERVIEW EXPLORE


happen,toputmyselfin
situationswhereIwillmeet
strangers,eatweirdfoodand
haveunusualexperiences.

Doyouhavetipsfortacklingthe
fearofnewadventures?
I’vebeengoingonadventuresfor
over 20 yearsandI’moftenscared
aboutbeginningthetrip,but
thosescarybeginningsareusually
worthit.Ifyou’renotscaredwhen
planningyourtrip,Isuggestyou
needtothinkofsomethingalittle
bolder.Ithinkfearisanimportant
partofagoodadventure.
IthinkI’vecometorealisethat
Iquiteenjoystretchingmyself.
Ialsorealisedthatadventure
doesn’thavetobedoingthisbig,
machotoughguystu“.Mytrip
wasbasicallyamiddle-aged

Wereyounervousabout
beingsohonestaboutthat
balanceinthebook?
Itisverydi“erentfromnormal
travelbooks,soyeah,Ihadalotof
hesitations.WhenI™irstwroteit,
Iwroteitlikeanormaltravelbook,
butIfeltthattotellthestory
properlytherewasmoretoitthan
just,‘here’ssomereallycrap
buskinginSpain’.Thereareso
manybarriersthatgetintheway
ofpeople’sadventureplansthat
Ifeltitmightbehelpfultojustwrite
everythingandseewhathappens.

Isthereadrawbacktobeing
recognisedonyourtrips?
It’saverystrangething.Onalotof
mytravelsoneofthegreatjoysof
thewholeexperienceisrandom
thingshappeningandstrangers
invitingyouin,ratherthan
followinganitinerary.When
IgotrecognisedinSpainthat
reallyjarredwithmebecauseIjust
wantedtobearandomguy.

Doyouworryabouttheneedto
have‘astory’impactingonthe
travelitself?
Yes,Iwasveryconsciousonthe
tripthataswonderfulasthe
experiencewas,ifnothingbad
happened,itwouldmakeit
aterriblyboringbook.Itryto
allowspontaneousthingsto

Do youthinkbuskingisagood
way ofexperiencingaplace?
Buskingwasabrilliantwayof
givingmea™lavourofSpainandit
forcedvulnerability,whichisone
of themostimportanttoolsfor
havingagoodadventure.The
only riskisthatunlessyou’regood,
you’renotgoingtohavemuch
money,soyoudon’tgetto
experiencethenicefoodand
hotels.Hopefully,onedayI’llgo
back toSpainandgorgeonsome
nice wineandtapas.

Wouldyouliketogobackand
do it dierently?
I’d neverbeentonorth-westSpain
beforeGalicia,butIlovedit!Itwas
greenandoftenremindedmeof
the YorkshireDales.Ireallywould
love togobackwithacreditcard
and a bicycle.

Is it hardtobalanceyourjobas
an adventurerandfamilylife?
Tryingtobeallthingsisthecurse
of themodernpersonand
certainly[whenitcomesto]
parenting.Moreandmorefamilies
[are inapositionwhere]both
parentsareworkingandwantto
be goodattheircareerandbe
good parents.Myjobisgreat,but
it can behardtoreconcilegoing
on ‘holiday’andbeingathometo
put thewashingout.

ramblingholidayinSpain.Itwasn’t
veryepic,butIaddedin[the
busking]elementthatscaredme.

Nowthatyou’rebackathome,
areyoucopingwiththeitch?
TheSpaintriphelpedmerealise
thatI’veseensomanycountriesin
theworldandwhileIwouldlove
togoseeanother90,Icanalso
getalotofadventurecloserto
home.AllmylifeIhavealwayshad
thislistofadventures,butIdon’t
reallyhaveonenow.Iamquite
happytotootlearoundBritain
withmylittlemicroadventures.

Theresponseyou’vehadto
Microadventuresis
extraordinary.Whatdoyou
thinkofit?
ForyearsI’vebeentryingtostop
being‘MrMicroadventure’,but
I’vecometoacceptit’sreally
usefulforlotsofpeoplewhowant
adventures,buthavereallives.
Andthefactthatit’sserving
ausefulpurposeforsomeoneis
somethingthatIreallyenjoy.

ALASTAIR


HUMPHREYS


Having busked throughSpainwithaviolinhecanbarelyplayforhislatestbook,the
microadventure pioneer talksaboutthefearfactorandbalancinghisfamilylifeandhistravels

Gotowww.wanderlust.co.uk/199

Read the full interview online


Facin fear with...


My Midsummer Morning:
Rediscovering a Life of Adventure
(HarperCollins, £14.99) by Alastair
Humphreys is out now.

alastairhumphreys.com

Free download pdf