Wanderlust is a Magical Word

Wanderlust even sounds magical, rolling off the tongue like a whisper from far away. It's from the German 'desire to wander', and also means impulse to travel and explore, an irresistible urge to travel.

Some of us are born with this travel bug, others develop it later in life.

But if and when it strikes, wanderlust, like an addiction, can be difficult to dislodge.

It often means wanting to be somewhere - anywhere you're not. In my case, it means constantly dreaming about places, faraway places, those I've visited and those I still yearn to see.

Thailand Memories
Photo: Eija Fogelholm via Morguefile

The travel bug can manifest itself in many ways:

• standing forlornly at airports and train stations reading departure boards
• spending evenings at the airport cafe watching planes take off
• reading every long-distance travel post on the Boots'nAll forum
• window shopping for backpacks and super-absorbent towels
• folding and unfolding maps at the bookstore
• hanging around the nearest hostel and striking up conversations with travelers
• only watching movies with subtitles
• spending the weekend glued to a guidebook or travel show
• compulsive buying of foreign literature in translation
• finding an excuse to eat injera, ugali or rice
• pitching and packing your tent - every night
• subscribing to every new travel blog
• reading each offering in travel agency shop windows...

We know that! Those of us who can't stay off the road go through these things nearly every day when we're grounded.

Wishful Thinking: Castel Sant'angelo, Rome
Photo: Gianfranco Franci via Morguefile

But where exactly does that wanderlust come from?

As I said, some are born with it. It may be genetic, it may be learned, but it is part of our soul and refuses to disappear.

For some of us, it's double whammy: by birth and by acquisition. My ancestors were nomadic warriors and herders, so that's the genetic end. My grandparents were emigrants - they all lived in countries not their own. And my parents were 'movers' - they moved all the time. How could I not have travel under my skin when I rarely finished a school year in the same country I'd started it in?

Just writing this has given me itchy feet. I was born with wanderlust. I'm always happiest on the move, planning a journey, choosing a destination... I don't mind returning home - in fact, it's an essential part of any journey - but every time I do, the wanderlust strikes again.