There are many places that I would like to go back to, so my bucket list is pretty full, but I have found that you can never go back. By that I mean nothing is the same. An example of this was when I returned to Auckland. New Zealand. I had nothing but happy memories when living there, but returning years later, the place and people had changed so much it spoiled my return. It may not affect others, but it certainly did me. I returned having taken early retirement following major heart surgery. I also wanted to take my son, who is disabled as am I these days. Having asked the doctor if I should go having recovered from the surgery he said it could be my only chance. My son has family from his mothers side in Australia, so we killed two birds with one stone. Not only had Auckland changed, but so had Sydney. I visited Sydney a lot when at sea visiting my ex wife before I brought her home on Canberra, and of course her family all of whom are still there. Once again, it was not as I remembered it. Yes, the Opera House was still there, Circular Quay and so on, but many other things had changed. That is not to say people should not return, but enjoy the place as it is now rather than expecting it to be as it was. Things had also changed when I returned to the village on the Isle of Wight where I was born and bred. I was away for ten years in total, and have never been accepted back into the village. It is as if I am an outsider. Life can be very strange.
There are a few places I have never been to, but would like to such as Rio de Janeiro and I would like to see the midnight sun, but could never afford a cruise that far north. And now, I could not go anyway both health wise and financial. Therefore, I rely on memories, and what better place to do that than here on SH
