I WAS BORN WITH ITCHY FEET

I WAS BORN WITH ITCHY FEET
When I was a very young child an aunt asked me: “Margaret, what do you want to be when you grow up?” and I replied: “I want to be a travelling ballerina.” Well, I never became a ballerina, but I travelled a lot and all my life I have been thinking about the next place in the world I want to explore. I am sure I was born with itchy feet.
As a child, I read every book I could find about other countries and other cultures. I devoured travel books and looked at all the posters of exotic places that one finds in travel agencies. At one stage, I thought I would become a nun and go to the missions in far off Africa, but I think the real reason was that it would be a legitimate reason to see a new country..
The opportunity to start my travels didn’t come until I had finished my studies in nursing and midwifery. I had saved a small amount of money and was ready to tackle any adventure. Then, in 1961, I saw an advertisement, I think from the Overseas Visitors’ Club, for a trip on a Greek ship called the “Patris”. It was travelling from Australia to Athens, via the Suez Canal. If you were between the ages of 18 and 24, the fare was 10 pounds (when Australia changed from pounds to dollars, one pound equalled two dollars). The fare included the journey by ship, three nights in Athens, ferry boat to Brindisi, Italy, train to London, England, three nights in Earls Court in London with a welcome party thrown in. How could this be so cheap? It was a dream come true, Someone on high was answering my prayers!
My parents drove me to Port Melbourne to board the Patris and later that day the ship sailed. In those days it was a grand fiesta to see a ship pull out to sea. There was a band playing lively music on the wharf, all the passengers were leaning over the railings on each deck, throwing streamers and shouting to their loved ones and visitors below. My brother, a Jesuit, dressed in his black suit and priestly dog collar, had joined my parents to wave me “goodbye”. I threw him a role of toilet paper which he slowly unrolled as the ship pulled away from the shore. Everybody was laughing, I think my Mum was crying, but I was so full of excitement, I couldn’t believe that this was truly happening to me.
The journey itself was unforgettable. It included battling an Arctic storm in the Great Australian Bight, with the ship rolling, the waves splashing over the decks, the dishes smashing in the dining room and almost everybody vomiting (hey, but not me!). Then we arrived in the calm of the Indian Ocean and the engines seized up and we sat still for five days. Who cared! For those of us between 18-24 life was one big party. We finally got going, docked in Aden, then called Arabia, and did a 24 hour dash to Cairo and to the pyramids. I was enchanted by the colours, sights, and smells. Finally we arrived in Athens and were thrilled with the ancient monuments seen only before in our history books. The ferry boat took us past beautiful Greek islands on our way to Italy and the final train journey ended in London.
This was only the beginning of my childhood dream, it has carried me forward to over seventy countries and many more adventures, so why do I still have itchy feet at my stage in life?
Incidentally, the “Patris” was decommissioned the following year, 1962. I count myself lucky!