Running With Danes

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Why do you travel? For me, it's the excitement of ordering lunch in a different language on a menu with no pictures. Every traveller I've met has a story for why they "left" including dreams, divorces, politics, and health concerns. My favorite people to see are those on the run from their past. Runners board long distance buses like prison escapees anxious to get on with their thier self-inflicted exile. Runners never turn around, never look back, & never see their own shadowy past. I briefly meet these mysterious people in hostels, bus stops, and dive shops... then they are gone right after telling a story.

My first experience with a runner was a beautiful and kind Danish - Nicole. She had been working in bars and dive shops for the past 2 years travelling across Asia and Latin America. I practically slobbered at the idea of having a beautiful travel partner. On Saturday we went diving on the reefs so I could kiss her underwater. On Sunday we rented a convertible VW bug to drive around the island with our tops off. Then on monday she was gone - disappeared from the island with likely no place to go. Whatsapp only responds with read receipts. I sat at home all day hoping she would come back.

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