A Journey of a Thousand Miles

I grew up in New Zealand, a geographically isolated country, and most New Zealanders wanted to travel to see the world. Australia was the first overseas destination for most people, but it was very common for university graduates to travel to Europe for their OSE (overseas experience) before settling into a job.

When I finished my MA degree I took a Pacific Island cruise to reward myself. It was my first time out of New Zealand, and it was frightening and wonderful at the same time. I still remember that first “foreign” port of Nadi in Fiji. I was traumatized by the open market with its locals aggressively hawking their goods. I wanted to go back to ship and stay there. But by the end of the day, I was haggling with the best of them!

I did not get to see Europe for many years. However, wanderlust was in my blood, and I still long to see what is over the next hill, no matter where I am. I think many people with Scandinavian ancestry feel this way. It must date back to the days of the Vikings, at least.

Travel expands the mind. It provides new ideas and shows you different ways of doing things. And sometimes travel serves to show you how good things are at home!

One of the things that really surprised me as I researched life in the fifth century was how many people travelled regularly and how far they travelled. Apparently they wanted to see the world, too.  While it is true that most people never left their home villages, others travelled throughout Europe and sailed the Mediterranean and crossed the North Sea and the English Chanel, regularly, taking goods and ideas with them.

The invasion of Britannia in 43 AD, was a stupendous expedition that must have taken years to prepare for. The Romans had to build the ships and gather the horses, artillery, five legions of soldiers (between 20,000 and 30,000 men), servants, slaves, and baggage. Claudius Caesar apparently had more than 600 ships to accomplish this task. They sailed from the Boulogne region of modern-day France to the southeast coast of Kent (home of the Cantii). They must have walked from Rome on a route that became known as the Via Romea Francigena, a journey of over 1,000 miles, in a north westerly direction to the coast of France. There they were loaded onto their ships for the journey across the channel.

During the time the Romans ruled Britannia they sailed regularly to Britannia and back again, importing and exporting goods, and on missions of diplomacy. It was quite a busy trade route.

When Paulos and his men went backwards and forwards between Rome and Britannia, he walked the Via Romea Francigena. This ancient pilgrim route from Rome to Canterbury crosses the Alps at a low point in modern-day northern Italy.  It takes an estimated 100 days to walk the route, or 44 days on a bicycle! I think it would be somewhere in between those two numbers on horseback.

Is anyone up for a pilgrimage?