Sports travel an active ingredient in ‘Wayward Wanderings’

Anna Maria Espsäter is a London-based, multilingual writer whose career and travels have taken her to 96 countries to date. She has worked on 25+ books for a variety of publishers (Footprint, Berlitz, Michelin and others) and her 450+ features have been published in the UK, US, Australian, Dutch, Norwegian and Swedish press. Her most recent book, Wayward Wanderings – A Travel Memoir compiled during lockdown, includes adventure tales of hiking in Eswatini, Morocco, Oman, the Azores and Chile, cycling in South Korea and winter adventures in Finland. Sports Tourism Media is delighted she agreed to give us a snapshot of just some of her experiences…..

I grew up in a very sporty Swedish household – my dad represented Sweden at international gymnastics’ competitions and excelled at every sport imaginable from long-distance ice-skating to orienteering, while my mum spent a whole decade of her youth working at Europe’s northernmost ski resort in Swedish Lapland. Cool sports were seemingly embedded in my genes and, as a kid, I tried them all with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Then, in true rebellious teenage style, at 14 I gave up the lot, deciding that all sports were “silly”, and leaving school with the worst PE grade possible.

Fast-forward nearly 20 years and, now based in the UK, I got the chance to embark on my dream career as a travel writer, after losing my office job and getting a lucky break with a freshly launched travel magazine. Sports still weren’t my thing, but that was all about to change.

“We have a press trip going. Are you by any chance sporty at all?”,

“Well… Maybe… Possibly… I mean, sure thing! Which sport?”

That’s how it all started. Arguably I was hardly the fittest travel writer on the block, but some opportunities are just too good to miss. Having allowed myself to turn into your average couch potato since leaving Sweden, my body had a distinctly rude awakening when I threw myself into my new job. Soon, however, my adventurous explorer side took over and a few years down the line, I was fitter than I ever had been. When the options include hiking the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, cycling the riverside paths of South Korea, sailing the Faroe Islands and skiing the Finnish wilderness, who doesn’t rise to the occasion?

In fact, it was a trip to Finland in the height of winter, that started the whole sports writing angle in the first place. Despite my upbringing, in many ways I was a complete beginner again, and so decided to start off with some cross-country skiing – at least something I’d tried before. Staff at my hotel in Kuhmo, eastern Finland, were so helpful they even strapped the skis on for me. This proved to be a serious mistake. When it came to taking them off, I realised ski technology had moved on since I last skied and I couldn’t remove the damn things for love nor money. In the end, I traipsed up the stairs and into the hotel reception, skis still firmly strapped to my feet, to ask the receptionist to help me, much to her amusement…

Undeterred by such minor mishaps, I went on to fully embrace my inner sportswoman, especially in terms of winter sports, but also hiking, cycling and lately, wild swimming (or as we say in Sweden, “swimming”), both on assignment and on holiday. Trying out a sport that’s popular in the area you’re visiting can infinitely enhance your stay there and give you a different perspective on a destination. Sailing around the Faroe Islands e.g. gives you the best view of the islands, donning skis or getting on a snow bike in wintry Canada allows you to take in the magnificent scenery at a different pace, while hiking or cycling a destination provides a similar experience, spring through autumn. From Nordic walking in Chilean Patagonia and hiking the wadis of Oman to dog-sledding in Swedish Lapland and curling in Canada, my sporting adventures have added so much to my journeys over the years, allowing me to experience a place in new and different ways.

Anna Maria also writes fiction under the pen name AM Hellberg Moberg and has published five works of fiction to date: three illustrated hardbacks for a younger readership and two short story collections for adults. She is often invited to give talks and workshops, whilst her photos have been exhibited in Sweden and the UK.

For more information and online book shop, see amhellbergmoberg.co.uk