Allergy Traveller’s journey to get here…
For as long as I can remember I’ve loved to travel, I lived for my next adventure and as soon as the wheels hit the runway homebound I was planning my next trip away again. I roughed it in the Amazon rainforest, volunteered in Peruvian orphanages, was chased by silverback gorillas in the Rwandan mountains and came face to face with lions in the Serengeti. Nothing phased me, I loved getting to know the local culture and really experiencing the places that I visited.
When I became pregnant with my firstborn, I knew that travelling would need to be put on hold for a while, but had visions of picking up where I left off after a couple of years. Not only did I come to realise that was a really naive way of thinking, but I had also learnt that my son had a list of allergies that made even eating out at a local restaurant a huge challenge. I had no idea how we would manage going overseas where we would have to navigate language barriers as well as lack of understanding.
This was 15 years ago and I’m happy to say things have moved on massively since then and we have learned a lot about how to overcome these challenges and still enjoy travelling, albeit in a more organised manner. Weirdly, I have also developed a few allergies of my own in this period.
So why the blog? Although there is a lot more awareness now around allergies, I think there is still a long road ahead. My son has allergies to wheat, dairy, all seafood, nuts, eggs, banana’s, avocado and sesame, some of these are severe/anaphylactic. A common issue we find is many establishments have gluten free, or vegan menus, but catering for everything can still be a challenge, limiting where we can go to eat and can make the prospect of travelling really daunting.
Over the years, I have spent a LOT of time researching restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions, holiday destinations, spoken to experts, attended exhibitions and feel that I can maybe help others that are starting on this journey, to know that there is way to travel safely and without anxiety. Or maybe you are looking for your next trip! We have been on some amazing trips which I can’t wait to share with you, along with some valuable travel tips we have learnt along the way.
“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list” – Susan Sontag
CJ xxx