2026 is here - Happy New Year.
After youthful drinking sessions at home for Christmas, I started to make a point of going away for the Christmas/New Year holidays.
It started with hitch-hiking from Essex to Edinburgh for New Year’s Eve. One of my friends had an aunt in Leith, so that helped for accommodation.
Then I took up skiing and chose Zermatt/Verbier one year followed by Madonna di Campiglio/Val Gardena (Dolomites) the next.
Meribel and Courcheval continued the theme for a third season of holiday skiing.
After another ski tour, seeing in the New Year in St Moritz, I chose to visit the Southern Hemisphere; their summer.
The travel bug had hit, I was becoming a Nomad.
For my first travel book, Nomadic Gatherings: Travels in Asia and Australia, I was in Queensland, watching Santa in shorts.
The next winter was spent travelling through West Africa; Bobo-Dioulasso (Christmas), Yamoussoukro (New Year).
After a six month spell in South America, I was running out of ’south of the Equator’ ideas.
I hadn’t been to Southern Africa, so travelled overland from Malawi to Cape Town (Christmas) and flew to Rio for New Year.
Economy flights were fully booked, so I treated myself to Business Class. It just had to be done.
Now it’s back to winters in Europe. Not as much snow as there used to be in the Alps; where they’ve added snow cannons and larger rapid transit, people movers.
The trees are often green, yet the crowds have grown and the car parks expanded.
I spent a few years visiting all the major European Christmas Markets, and many smaller ones; some were open in November but not at Christmas; work that out.
Maybe this year, 2026, I’ll take a look at Christmas in East Africa. I need to get away from the cold again.
I wonder if I could cycle from Cairo to Cape Town. Now that would be an adventure.
May peace be with you.
Michel