Made It!

I was among the lucky ones who managed to get ahead of the storm that crippled many parts of the US and Canada last week.  Spent about 9 hrs at the airport and thankfully caught the 2nd last flight out of New York.  Had I missed it; would have meant missing my connection here in Canada. The realities of travel sometimes during the winter holiday season.

The flight was excellent; 100% due to the rockstar of a cabin steward.  I've already written in complimenting him as he needed to be recognized for his professionalism, proficiency, ability to juggle many things at once alongside connecting with people.  I love watching excellence in action.  It was a joy to be in his presence.  

Each year I receive "above and beyond" certificates to give to cabin crew or telephone agents from Delta but I had already used all of mine.  He deserved all of them.  What a wonderful way to cap off a long day and the last international flight of the year.

We haven't been spared from further delays here at home with our subsequent plans to head out west.  No matter -- We found out before we left for the airport and having an extra 3 days at home has meant good times here.  There aren't any down sides as I am reminded every day how fortunate we are when all options are good.

Here's wishing that 2023 brings some needed resolutions around the world and a renewal of hope and joy to the many torn and traumatized people in our global family.  

Testing

Since Halloween I've been away more than home -- Africa, Asia...photos to come later.  

Currently in Europe, covering a few countries before Christmas.  Am starting to get the hang of this extended tripping thing.

Have been testing out my 30 day Vodofone SIM plan.  So far so good.  I got it set up on arrival at Barcelona airport.  Might have gotten a better deal in the city but didn't want to deal with any potential language barriers.  There is a higher chance of English speaking staff at airports.  

I arrived too late into Bologna last week and was having too good a time to want to deal with cell phone stuff.  Didn't have too much difficulty with navigation there but happy to have data in Spain.  

My cellphone has been showing the tell tale signs of old age.  It is freezing up.  Airline apps are not working or upgrading anymore.  Haven't had software updates for a few years either.  Will recycle it but hate that I feel forced to purchase another one after just 5 years.

Will depart for Valencia in the coming days. And make my way to the Iberian peninsula, ending hopefully in the Azores.  We'll see.  Hopefully more Spanish starts coming out of my mouth.  I seem to have lost a lot of language functionality.

Moving Forward

It would be unconscionable, not to mention tone deaf if I didn't admit to feeling shame for reaching the "million miler" flight level.

I've been doing some thinking as to how to change my travel approach moving forward.   The frequency of flights has to decrease; that's a for sure.  Our world is burning.

I'm working on consolidating locales in order to decrease future flights by 50%. 

It will be a new challenge, learning what routes can be done as one ways and who flies them.  I anticipate it potentially might cost more.

Trying to round up locations that match up weatherwise as I prefer to travel during shoulder or low season.  I'll make it work.  

I cannot see myself being away for more than 6  to 8 weeks at a time right now.  Maybe I should go through the exercise to get a feel for how 5 or 6 months away would work and where.  

I just know I cannot continue going about it as I have been.

Milestones

 

My gift from Delta arrived recently.  I reached this milestone on the return flight from Thailand in September.  Along with a really nice note and $250 gift card was a choice of 3 gifts.  I chose a monogramed leather carry on back pack.  Was very surprised to see the retail value of it is $650!  It is not something I would have purchased but it will be gratefully cherished and used.   

As previously mentioned, there can be extra steps to take when entering countries, documents to upload, apps to use etc.  It's a happy day when approvals and QR codes are received, especially when you are dealing with a developing country and if it occurs prior to a trip.  The feeling is like winning a lottery!

One such example is the PeduliLindungi app, required for entry to Indonesia (the trip I cancelled due to my foot injury).  It took 6 weeks to get my vaccination record approved and uploaded to the app -- A week after what would have been my return date.  

In reality, you don't have to submit it online as they just want to see you have app installed.  It just saves a step/line on arrival (app check, vaccination check, visa on arrival purchase, passport control) as I had read about how long things were taking at the airport.  Especially when my flight was going to arrive at midnight and I still had a stop to get a SIM card installed.

I swear I must have opened that app 3 or 4 times just to make sure I wasn't imagining things.  So I'm good for when I have a chance to reschedule the stay yet again.  This trip was to use up vouchers from a few years ago.

October

 I cancelled my last trip as my foot was still too sore to walk on, much less have any hope of taking surf lessons.  When I reached the 6 week post injury mark, I started more aggressive rehab and am doing much better.  Ski/snowshoe/snowboard season is approaching and I want to be able to participate fully.  The timing window of the 10 -12 weeks physio post healing period is crucial.  

D's dad opted to take a vacation post knee replacement instead of completing the full rehab.  His parents clung to their MD's words of "you can travel" meaning there isn't a medical reason they cannot travel vs. how the physio would answer that question with respect to the proper timing and long term recovery.  He continues to suffer pain and decreased function, at times worse than pre-surgery; which is a shame, as the procedure was without complications.  Trying to regain function at a later time is an uphill battle and he isn't going to do it.

I still have lingering issues with my right shoulder having landed on it during a snowboarding lesson, when I try to do a maximum overhead reach.  Still working on it as I'm not lettting it go without a fight.  Every degree of range of motion is important people.

Can't believe how quickly this year is moving along.  Am mentally back to planning 10 months ahead again.  There's some friction with that as there isn't a need to do it like that anymore but that habit is habituated.  Found that emotionally, I am not wanting to decide quickly.  There have been a few instances where I jumped at an opportunity but this not deciding until a month to 24 hrs out is unfamiliar.  It's stumped D as he has only known the "other" me.  I'm finding it amusing observing myself being like that.  Not feeling rushed or rushing myself is a nice feeling.

HKT -- Phuket Thailand

I couldn't remember the last time I felt as relaxed as I was here in Kata beach.

Despite hurting my foot during a surf lesson, my memories of this stay --

 Surf competition, seafood restaurants, delicious food -- are strong.

Am 3 for 3 so far this year with finding new to me incredible locations.

Here's to continued curiosity and experiencing new places and things.

EZE -- Buenos Aires, Argentina

 

Despite some blurry photos, I have great memories of this first visit to Buenos Aires.  

Lovely people, full of life and enjoyment of the arts.  Very supportive of community events.

The acoustics at Teatro Colon were incredible.  Such full sound in a fairly intimate setting.

Considering how hard Argentina's economy has been hit, found an unexpected combination 

of laid back vibes alongside care for the elderly and homeless.

Back

Back from latest adventure -- unfortunately with another injury.  This time it is the right forefoot as I rolled over my toes trying to get up on a surf board too quickly during my lesson.  But, my new surf board will be arriving next week, so I'm not quitting.  Need to do more shoulder girdle training in anticipation of the next lesson opportunity.

D got into it too after witnessing a surf competition.  Was my first time too and wow, did the long boarders impress me!  I love seeing the power of the short boarders but the style of the long boarders won me over.

Just did my post trip covid test and am negative.  With each journey, I am getting more and more used to all the extra steps and checks.  It's ok.  Am grateful to be able to get out there again, doing what I can to stay well during and making it back without too much drama or incident.

Starting to get a bit too comfortable with flying business or first class though -- a dangerous thing as this phase is temporary.  There will come a day where I won't be travelling enough to earn upgrade certificates and I know I won't be willing to pay for those class of seats unless there is an incredible sale.  

At 24 days, this was also my longest time away ever.  And it felt fine, normal even, which was surprising.  Would have been ok staying on longer, despite being injured.  That's the plan next year, only the longer part...  Also need to sort out some discipline with respect to eating as I gained weight even with daily activity.  

Am a trip behind in posting so the next post of photos will have nothing to do with water.

New World Travel

There are extra steps I'm taking for me to feel more OK with travelling internationally right now.  I've been asked a number of times about my preparation for all the "what ifs" that can occur; so here is a base list:  

• Register your trip with your government (link for Canadians).  You'll get emailed news should the status of the country you are visiting changes.  For example, I received a notification with instructions of who to contact in Seoul should the results of an election create an emergency situation.  Same when we were in Bangkok after the bombing by the riverfront.
• PPE -- Wipes, masks and Covid tests.  I bring enough tests for at least 2 weeks as I want to know when I test negative again.  I cannot fly back to Canada until 10 days after a positive test.
• Covid specific insurance that covers 2 weeks of quarantine, extra testing, change of flight arrangements and medical coverage that extends up to almost a year should things really go south.  A number of countries i.e. Argentina etc. require specific Covid insurance as a condition for entry.
• Getting a local Sim card, so you can 1) Contact the insurance company should you need to report a claim.  2) Receive texts as some contact tracing apps in some countries need a number to reach you.  3) As back up, should the internet suddenly go down at your hotel and you are needing to check the status of your airport taxi... (happened to me a few weeks ago)
• Have multiple ways to reach your airline should a schedule change, adverse weather, emergency occur.  A great use for social media!
• Get an additional email account i.e.  gmail vs hotmail etc.  Some countries' government sites like Thailand work best when sending correspondence to certain email accounts.    
• Extra vitamins, medication, change of clothes etc. should a delay occur; especially these days with increasing extreme weather.  Remember that you may have to pay for extra hotel, food, ground transport etc. and claim from travel insurance after as airlines might not always be able to give out food and hotel vouchers to everyone who need it.
• Carry on vs. checking in luggage.
• Scheduling more time between trips.  Should you get chosen for arrival testing and are found to be positive -- It's a 10 day quarantine for Canadians.
• Make sure you have the latest updates to all the apps you may need for countries of origin and destination as well as all the airlines you are flying with.  Often, you are notified of flight schedule changes before it shows up on the airport screens.  And depending on the airline, making changes to your flights are easier on the app than via a phone call.
• Have pdfs of proof of vaccination, passport, other ID like a driver's licence on your phone etc. Make it easy for others to help you, especially now when there is a shortage of staff.
• Allow many weeks for a new passport application.  In Canada, we are now able to schedule appointments but they aren't easy to find and spots are a month out unless someone cancels.  Otherwise it is many hours or days waiting in line.   
• Extra currency.  I always travel with USD and Euro as well.  Some countries have a preference for clean, unmarked $50 or $100 bills.
• Buy flights that are refundable.  Most of my flights have been purchased using points and can be cancelled right up to departure.  Any cash paid for flights can be converted to an e-credit, also last minute.  Flexibility is the name of the game right now.  You never know what will develop in other parts of the world.
• Extra seating room.  I've never used upgrade vouchers until this year.  It has been a real treat to sit away from others as much as you can on a flight; especially now. 
• Keep up to date with what your departure and arrival country requirements with respect to Covid restrictions.  For example, masking is required on planes in Canada but once I arrived to Amsterdam, they had just lifted masking requirements indoors but South Africa required it on public transport, so masks again required on the long flight over. 

I've learned to be comfortable with more technology than I ever would have signed up for on my own accord.  It hasn't been all smooth.  But being the type of person I am, I needed all the prep around me so I can actually enjoy my stay.

CPT 3 -- Cape Town, South Africa

 

Snapshots from Robben Island, Langa Township and the District Six Museum.

I would recommend visiting the District Six Museum before 

heading to Langa Township.