Online Portfolio of Hunter B. Martin
Online Portfolio of Hunter B. Martin
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  • Home
  • About Me
  • Portfolio
    • Writing Samples >
      • Privilege, Education and Religion in Iran
      • Cuba's Private Market
    • Multimedia Examples
  • Photography
    • Greece >
      • Thessaloniki
      • Island of Crete
      • Athens
      • Delphi
      • Cyclades Islands
    • Istanbul
    • Egypt
    • Paris
    • Ireland
    • United Kingdom
    • Italy
    • Peru
    • China
    • Cuba
  • Blog
    • Travel Blog >
      • Backpacking Europe
  • Contact Me
  • Capstone Research
    • History of the Ancient Chinese Silk Road
    • China's Belt and Road Initiative in Greece​
    • Overview of Greek-EU Relations
    • Greece's Brain Drain
    • Political and Cultural Implications of Sino-Hellenic Relations

Hunter's travels

Flying Solo

3/30/2016

1 Comment

 
​Never be afraid to do what makes you happy. 
Picture
Greek Independence
​March 25 was a national holiday in Greece celebrating the beginning of the revolution against the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire occupied Greece from 1453 until a peace treaty was signed war in 1829. (Since this is my blog and not a research paper, I’m not going to cite my sources. If you’d like to read more, I highly recommend Google.)
​
I was grateful for the opportunity to experience Greek Independence Day. Children dressed up in costumes for classes on Thursday; when I looked out from my sixth floor balcony, I could see billowing blue and white flags on almost every other balcony. 
Flying Solo
​Since I had a three-day weekend, I decided that I wanted to explore one of the beautiful areas around Thessaloniki. However, no one else in my study abroad program wanted to travel with me.

So I decided to travel alone.
​
I was a little worried, but not a lot. I was already familiar with the bus station in Thessaloniki as well as the culture and environment of northern Greece. So I booked myself an AirBnB (which I’d never stayed in before), woke up at 7 a.m. on Friday morning and bought myself a one-way ticket to Kavala! 
Picture
Kavala
​Kavala is a port city in northern Greece. When you Google pictures of Greece, it’s not a city that shows up in the first 4 pages (yes, I checked,) which is a shame because Kavala was incredibly beautiful.
​
Every time I thought I found the best view, I turned a corner and there was an even better picture waiting a few steps away.  
Picture
​My weekend in Kavala consisted of:
  • Relaxation;
  • Breaking into a museum and finding a tortoise; 
  • Climbing a giant hill to the Acropolis of Kavala and feeling like Queen of the World as I could see fore miles;
  • Messaging my family to wish them at Happy Easter;
  • Skyping one of my best friends for the first time all semester;
  • and taking more pictures that I think I’ve ever taken in a 72-hour period before!
 
Kavala was amazing and I hope to go back before the end of the semester, hopefully when it’s a bit warmer. 

Picture
Find Your Happy Place
​Before I end this post and shamelessly direct you to the page where I’ve posted some of the pictures of my trip, I’d like to take a moment to encourage more people to travel alone.

Traveling alone is peaceful in a way that is difficult to describe. I didn't have to worry about getting to do or see everything I wanted. I also didn't have to struggle to please everyone else while traveling. I didn't have to meet anyone else's expectations of what vacation or a trip should be.

This isn't to say I'll never travel with other people again, because I definitely will. But my trip helped me understand that I can also be content on my own. 

I was able to set my own expectations and didn't feel stressed if I didn't fulfill them. I was able to move at my own pace, to stop when I wanted, to keep going when I didn't want to stop. 

I loved traveling alone, which wasn't what I expected to feel. I was content to be alone when, normally, I prefer to be surrounded by other people.
​
Granted, I still can't go very long without messaging friends and family or making new friends as I visit new places.
But after my trip to Kavala, I realized I’m going to be just fine traveling alone again.
1 Comment
Mom
3/30/2016 12:57:07 pm

U r so mature. I am so proud of u.

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    My name is Hunter and this the blog of my worldwide adventures. The purpose of this blog is to show that you can be a traveler, not just a tourist.

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