Rowan Collins (18) travelled 6,000 miles from Turkey

MR. ROWAN COLLINS, second son of Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Collins, Shop Street, Drogheda, was the speaker at a recent lunch of the Drogheda Rotary Club. Rowan, who is 18, has just left Clongowes College, where he was captain of the football team, and he has now started to study accountancy.

In his speech, he described to the members of the club a most interesting hiking holiday, which he had just completed. In all he covered about 6,000 miles, including the three days’ train journey to Istanbul, from where he began his trek home. Having spent a week there, he could form an opinion of the city, which, he said, he found most interesting but rather run-down. He found the Turkish people very friendly, however.

From Istanbul he hitched around the coast to Athens, where he spent another week, three days of which he spent working with people who were making a film there. Rowan then sailed to Sicily and on to Italy. He spent a few days each in Rome, Florence, Venice and Naples. In the latter city, during his stay, there was a garbage strike in progress, and on some of the back streets the rubbish was piled three feet high. From Italy he travelled to Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Belgium in turn, before reaching Le Havre in France, where he boarded a steamer for home.

He told the Rotary Club members that he had been very lucky in his trip in the matter of getting long lifts from town to town.

He felt that the Tricolour, which he had sewn on his pack, helped him to a great extent, as people were curious to know from what country it was. In all he slept outdoors in a sleeping bag for about five weeks—there was no rain to hamper him. About 7/- per day covered his expenses for food and other necessities.