Interview with Maribel of Touching Landscapes

MARIBEL STEEL Writer – Blogger – Inspirational Speaker Welcome to my Fellow Wanderers series. Today I introduce a writer and a fellow wanderer I met and recently got a chance to speak with. We discuss her home of Australia, her travels both at home and abroad, and how she sees the world as a visually impaired woman, along with her family who love to go exploring with her. I was thrilled to be interviewed once before, on her website Touching Landscapes. Feel the Vibrations She gave me an opportunity to share my dream of starting a travel website. Now that I have one I am pleased to be able to repay the favour. Welcome Maribel: What is your eye condition? Explain a little about your situation living with vision loss. When I was thirteen, I was struggling to see the classroom blackboard. It seemed that I was only short sighted and wearing prescribed glasses would solve the problem. Within two years, my sight had dropped so dramatically, I underwent intensive tests until seventeen specialists could agree on the final diagnosis. I had a degenerative eye condition known as Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). Since then, my eyesight has declined considerably but a determined nature to persist and see this challenge as a stepping stone to better things has brought many beautiful insights. With the benefit of maturity, acceptance of my vision loss has shaped my view that there is an ART in being blind. It is from this perspective that I have found a niche as a writer to help others see beyond our limitations to the horizon of possibility. Where was the first place you travelled? I was born in England and when I was six, my family emigrated to Australia. My father had accepted a position to teach Spanish at a University in Melbourne. The first most memorable trip was an exciting adventure on an ocean liner five years later. My parents decided to spend nine months in Madrid, to absorb the flavours and culture of the country where my mother was born and where my father could research the Spanish language in depth for his first book. My parents passed on their love of travel to their two children, my brother became a successful photographer trotting the globe and in more recent years, I too have had the opportunity to step out to distant shores. Explain a little about Touching Landscapes. How did the idea come about? I began a blog in 2011 called, At the Gateway to Blindness to share some of my short stories from my unpublished autobiography. As the months passed, I began to write a new series called ‘The ART…

I’ll Be Back

“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.” -Nelson Mandela I was asked to participate in a travel blog hop of sorts by a travel blogger and here is her post: 5 PLACES I NEED TO RETURN. I am new to this travel blogging world and I thought this would be a good way to get involved and to share some other traveler’s stories and memories as well as my own. I had done a literary blog hop before, Here, but this is all about the Five Places I Would Return on my future travels, if I ever do get the chance again. *** 1. The Dingle Peninsula, Ireland: Dingle, A Visitor’s Guide. I discovered this place, strictly by accident, on my dream trip to Ireland a few years back. Our bus stopped in a pretty, charming little town on one of the final days of the tour. The name Dingle immediately drew me in and I did not want to leave. To top it all off this place is located in County Kerry. I fit right in. My name is spelled exactly the same way. Whether it was passing the home of Dolores O’Riordan from one of my favourite bands The Cranberries – Ode To My Family, the lovely shops and pubs, or the mascot dolphin Funjie who calls the bay his home; I was hooked. I stood there on a rock, overlooking the water, and I did not want to leave. Funjie On Facebook. 2. Belfast, Ireland: Visit Belfast. I had to choose two places in Ireland because I can not choose just one. Impossible! I only spent one night, less than twenty-four hours there, but Belfast intrigued me and I wished I had more time to explore the history, the culture, and the places. There is still a lot of turmoil and bad blood between the citizens, even after the difficult past events. It has improved, but I felt a sense of tension in the streets as I learned about all that had taken place between Protestants and Catholics. Naively, I wanted to make it all okay for everyone. I know there is a lot more there to explore. It is said that: “Titanic Belfast isn’t a museum. It’s an experience.” and I missed it by less than a year. Titanic Belfast. I must see this place. 3. The Maritimes, Canada: Maritimes, Wikipedia. Okay, so I was only two at the time, but I did make the trip out east, here in Canada, to visit almost all of the eastern provinces with my family. We were in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince…

Annika

Welcome to The Insightful Wanderer’s Travel Writer Interview series: My Fellow Wanderers. I am pleased to share my first interview post, a fellow Canadian. Well, she lives here and calls Canada her home now, but I will let her explain. Here is my interview with Annika and you can check out her own travel site: http://livelaughexplore.com IW: Where was the first place you ever traveled? A: My parents took me to Norway when I was two so I guess technically that would be the very first place. I travelled with my family to all the other Nordic countries (except Iceland) when I was young, but my first trip without my family was to Italy when I was 16 years. I took part in a 2 week cultural exchange in Northern Italy and absolutely fell in love with the country – Italy is still one of my favourite countries. IW: What do you love most about travel? What do you like least? A: I love the feeling of being free and exploring new places. I like the unknown, although one of my favourite parts of travel is planning it! What I like least… Probably unpacking after the trip; it’s a sure sign that the trip is now over. IW: Where is your favourite place to travel or where do you still most want to travel in future? A: Like I mentioned above, Italy is and has long been one of my favourite places and I do plan to return there even after 3 visits there already. There is just so much to see! I do love more relaxed destinations too, for example I really enjoyed some quiet beach towns in Nicaragua. Travelling to New Zealand has been a long time dream! IW: What tips do you have for me or anyone else thinking or hoping to get into travel writing? A: Make sure you always write well. If you are about to publish a blog post, an article or any kind of written piece of work, make sure it’s your very best. If you have a blog, it’s important to write regularly but it’s always quality over quantity. Be creative, try to think of new ways of presenting a destination/idea instead of repeating what everyone else is already saying. IW: How do you balance travel with the rest of your life? A: It is always a challenge! I would love to be ‘on the road’ all the time and travel as much as possible but that would mean spending a lot of time away from home too. I try to find a balance by planning travels in frequent intervals so that I have always something planned and to look forward…