October 2021
We left at 9:30 am which would leave us tons of time to make the 3 hour drive to Calgary, pick up a couple of items, and get to the airport for our 6:30 flight. Who would have predicted such a delay on highway 93 caused by a serious traffic accident. Who could have predicted there would be no alternate route due to the closure of highway 1. And no cell service to give us guidance. Well, we SHOULD have predicted something it but we didn’t. So there was some fumbling followed by some fast driving followed by us going to the expensive parking closer to the terminal followed by bad GPS instructions about the location of the airport parking followed by us ending up at exactly the furthest point from international departures followed by us running as fast as our old bones would go to the WestJet check in followed by more running to get to the gate where some old friends told us we had been paged about half an hour ago. Followed by a huge sigh of relief.
Fast forward to the canal trip on the Oxford canal where we went to moor the boat and hit a hornets’ nest and I was swarmed and bitten mercilessly. Of COURSE I hadn’t brought the antihistamines or the analgesic ointment. Because what is going to bite you in England, right? Five painful and inflamed sores that burned, itched and hurt to the point of muscle spasms remind me that yes, England does have its detractions.
Fast forward again to the Isle of Skye where the rain there does not “fall” from the sky. It's more like it hurtles horizontally through the air, embedding itself in your flesh and soaking your clothing in seconds, driven by gale force winds, nearly blowing you over.
And while gorgeous, even the most trafficked of trails cross through streams and mud. And your new “waterproof” new boots aren’t. And the rain filled potholes on the way to the Fairy Pools are perfect for tire blowouts where there is limited cell service and the recovery company is a bit slow on sending out appropriate assistance and you think you’ll be spending the night in the car, wet and miserable and wondering if you’ll need to eat the haggis and drink the whisky you just bought and at least the dog has food and water and then your son-in-law calls his dad who books a taxi and your daughter lies and says you don’t have a dog so you can check in to the one remaining place on the island where you do drink that whisky-accompanied by (not haggis) but some Indian takeout and you watch a movie and put on dry clothes and there’s a washer and dryer and in the morning the car is miraculously fixed.
Back on the road to England, losing a day of travel. En route to the lakes district, we had booked the requisite pre-arrival COVID test. The online booking said Carlisle but when we checked the location, it was Newcastle. Apparently the closest place the PCR test was offered. So across country we went, had the test and returned to the other coast, missing all the daylight we planned to use to hike.
As travel mishaps go, these were pretty minor. We have had worse. Health crises from malaria to altitude sickness to infections to parasites in various shapes and sizes. Accidents. Thefts. Car breakdowns. Spent the night in the car in France and Seattle and the Valley of Fire. Basically if we go on a trip and we don't have some kind of issue, I kind of feel it's waiting for me at home.
When people write about their travels, it’s usually just about the good stuff. The scenic views, the delicious food and drink, the accommodations, the sea and sky and sun, the lochs and glens, the plants and animals so different from home, the interesting people met along the way and the quirky little differences from one place to the next. When they post photos, they are rarely of cars broken down, or the relentless rain, or parking lots or lineups or health care clinics.
What makes a journey worth doing is what we take away from it. Sometimes that is just a break from reality. An escape from routine, daily worries, or bad weather. For me, travel is more than that. It’s more about learning. Learning about others and myself. Sometimes what I take away is just how much I appreciate home. But usually travel is a time to reflect on the wonders of the world, the many different landscapes there are to see, the different political and social structures humans have devised in their societies. Endlessly fascinating.
What a miracle it is to get on a plane, even if it's just with minutes to spare, and be transported to another place where sometimes your loved ones are, and always- always-adventure awaits.
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