I have traveled yesterday starting about 9:30am from Dimmitt till today when I arrived at El Calafate in southern Argentina, getting to the hosteria about 4:30pm. I noticed on a map at the airport, I am closer to Australia than Dimmitt right now. It is amazing how big the world is and what a blessing it is to see different parts of it. This is my first time to visit anywhere in South America. I really enjoyed watching the people at the airports and on the flights. I had four flights to get to here, my landing spot for the next couple of days. We are at a quaint little boutique hostel that has a magnificent view of the lake this town sits by. I was a little surprised by the climate here, it is a desert to the east of here and also windy and dry. Apparently I didn’t study enough before I came, but I was expecting green and it is very brown and dry.
One other trekker and I were the last to arrive today, those others in the group arrived yesterday and did a bit of exploring the town today. The group look’s like great ones to spend the next few days with enjoying the different parts of this region. I did know one person, Nick, one of the guides from my Mt. Blanc trek, all the others are new friends. Tonight, we will bond more at a local pub for dinner. The specialty is the berry beer made local to this region, I will pass on that, but hope those that try it love it.
If you are wondering, I couldn’t get through TSA with my hiking poles, so I stuck everything in my bigger travel suitcase, plus a few things I wasn’t going to take if I did all carryon and just checked my bag. I was glad to see my bag makes all the connections. I did carry one day’s stuff in my backpack in case the checked bag didn’t get there as quick as me. Oh the things we think about when traveling or really doing anything out of our ordinary routine. Sometimes, we need to just slow down and accept whatever God lays out in front of us and just not worry about it. I could have done without my hiking poles and I could have done without a second pair of hiking boots and another jacket for evenings. I could have really just had one pair of hiking pants, a pair of levis, a couple of hiking shirts and one nicer shirt and gotten by, but I ended up the a half a suitcase full of stuff to cover all potential cases. Yes, we all overpack, even when traveling light.
Since Southwest doesn’t fly to South America, I traveled on United Airlines and it is kind of funny how we all pick different companies to serve us and then stick with them for different things, like United for our international travel. Sherry started flying United when she was going overseas to see Ashley and we have stuck with United to keep the mileage points. Plus, they are not bad on service, of all the flights we have had with them, we never had any bad experiences, except the one time I arrived at a Denver gate 10 minutes before flight time and they had already closed the door. I guess that was my fault for cutting it a little too close on time. But, my thoughts are why get to an airport early and have to just wait around…… The last time I flew American, I got to the the airport 50 minutes before the flight time, but it was a late night flight and they had closed the ticket counters and I did not have an electronic boarding pass, the kiosk would not give me one and no service at the counter, so no way to get in, I guess that is just another good reason to fly Southwest when we can.
I love flying, even if it is just Southwest to Dallas. It is amazing how great we can get around in the planes, trains and automobiles of today’s world. Those great inventions even lead to more in the minds of all of us; like my late night stories to my grandsons where three super guys can travel the universe in a 15 minute story before bedtime. I love following the adventures of Jbo, Harbo and Beebo as they travel around in time machines, flying cars and other amazing vehicles. Although we have never traveled in Dr. Who’s transport vehicle yet, but maybe soon on some Friday night after the monster movie. God has given us these wonderful minds to be able to imagine what might be the impossible, but is possible in our minds. I guess that is why we all love going to the some of the movies…
Luke 18:27
Didn’t know you were trekking again!! Enjoy Have Fun and be safe!
David, I will be praying for you on this trip. Didn’t know you were exploring again. May God show you His mighty and glorious creation in a brand new way! Lord of all creation…🙏