Who said traveling was fun?

Ok. Traveling is fun. Mostly. But it is also A LOT of work. And sometimes a lot of sitting on your butt. I think I tend to write about the fun stuff in my blogs. Because the purpose of my blog is to inspire you, as the reader, to take your own little (or big) adventure and I wouldn’t really be inspirational if I complained all of the time. Nevertheless, I suppose I should share some of the hardships that go along with traveling so you’re not surprised when you have to spend a ridiculous amount of time on a plane, train, car, bus, terminal, etc. to reach your destination. Below is an hour-by-hour recount of my not so adventurous but absolutely necessary journey to reach the Philippines. See end for a few photos.

Hour 1

(7:00) Alarm goes off. Get up. Finish packing and last minute to-do items.

(7:30) Eat breakfast with family: scrambled eggs, fried potatoes and fruit salad thanks to chef Dad.

Hour 2

(8:00) Scheduled departure time. Get dressed.

(8:18) Commence stress-induced bickering and game of “hurry up and wait” while completing puzzle of “fit three large suitcases, one box and two carry-on bags into back of Prius”

(8:30) Depart for SFO 30 minutes behind schedule.

Hour 3

En route to SFO. Butt begins hurting in preparation of 15-hour flight to Hong Kong, 2-hour layover and 2-hour connecting flight to Manila.

Hour 4

(10:30) Arrive at SFO. Say goodbyes.

(10:50) Check-in and check bags.

Hour 5

(11:05) Go through thankfully painless security (I ♥ SFO).

(11:20) Arrive at departure gate. Wander terminal. Resist buying “In Defense of Food” and current “National Geographic” magazine.

Hour 6

(12:20) Grand finale to game of “hurry up and wait:” passengers madly queue to board plane as if seats are limited and not pre-assigned.

(12:25) Two-thirds of queued passengers are told to sit down and wait until they’re boarding group is called. Said passengers complain and reluctantly take a seat.

Hour 7

(13:03) Plane pushes off from gate (two minutes early).

(13:23) Airborne. (Houston, we have lift-off!)

Hour 8

In-flight entertainment begins; Watch “Everybody’s Fine” (Meh.) Snack and beverage service begins.

Hour 9

Lunch served. Vegetarian meal consists of steamed mixed vegetables, cubes of baked potato, bread roll, lettuce salad with no dressing and fruit for dessert.

Hour 10

Continue in-flight entertainment with “Love Happens.” Turbulence begins.

Hour 11

Begin hourly trips to the lavatory. Lights out.

Hour 12

(18:05) Nap.

Hour 13

Nap.

Hour 14

Nap. Develop kink in neck. Turbulence strengthens. (Wee!)

Hour 15

Lights on. Fiddle with netbook. Begin a game of Scrabble with Mom.

Hour 16

(22:20) Dinner served. Vegetarian meal consists of penne pasta with mixed vegetables and marinara sauce, dinner roll, lettuce salad with lemon dressing and more fruit for dessert. Begin to think Cathay Pacific Airlines thinks all vegetarians are on diets. (I like apple cheesecake and passion fruit mousse just as much as the average omnivore…)

(22:40) Begin time-logged journal.

Hour 17

(23:15) Lights out.

(23:17) Turbulence resumes. Fasten seat belt signs turn on and announcement of turbulence made. In-flight attendants wander aisles reminding passengers to fasten seat belts.

(23:22) Man in next seat begins snoring. Butt still hurts. Watch “Into the Wild.”

Hour 18

“Into the Wild…”

Hour 19

“Into the Wild…”

Hour 20

Nap.

Hour 21

(3:05) Touch down at Hong Kong International. Wander slightly confusing airport looking for departure gate. Figure out departure gates are on the second floor while arrival gates are on the first.

Hour 22

Find departure gate. Eat vegetable noodle soup and onion cakes at ramen house. (Yum!)

Hour 23

(5:35) Begin boarding flight to Manila.

Hour 24

Fall asleep. Wake up to beverage and snack service. Vegetarian snack: fruit plate (Woo. More fruit.)

Hour 25

(7:55) Touch down at Manila International Airport. (Hooray!)

Hour 26

Go through immigration, retrieve luggage and box and go through customs. Meet family.

Hour 27

(9:05) Arrive at Tita and Tito’s house. In bed and asleep within the hour.

Total time of travel (doorstep to doorstep) = 23.5 hours

Departure gate view at SFO.

My Tito and Tita's backyard.

Navidad en Torres del Paine

I joked with Laura that the only thing I got to unwrap on Christmas morning was my ankle. Halfway through the second day of our five day trek on "The W" in Torres del Paine, Chile, I rolled my right ankle. I can't remember the last time I rolled it prior to that day, however it was an old wound and I used to roll it a lot when I was younger. I knew from previous experiences that having injured it once would make it weak and vulnerable for some time to come.

Our small first aid and emergency kit lacked an ace bandage or a good supply of ibuprofen. I took what we had of ibuprofen to keep the swelling down and slept with my ankle raised at night. The next day, I wrapped it as best I could with gauze and quarter inch tape but ended up rolling it again on our way down from a morning hike to the Frances Valley. Luckily this time, I only had my day pack on. Unluckily, we had a whole day of hiking with our large packs ahead of us to our next destination and another two days after that to reach our final destination.

Even without an injury, "The W" was by no means easy and the weather was definitely a contributing factor. We encountered relentless wind like I had never experienced and rain that made backpacking and sleeping outside not fun. The climate was cold enough to have to wear layers yet the terrain was exhausting enough that we were usually sweating through those layers. It snowed one afternoon and was so warm the next that I was sweating with shorts and a t-shirt.

I felt extremely privileged to be experiencing a beautiful place and accomplishing such a trek. However it was also Christmas and I was feeling a bit homesick. Needless to say, "The W" was challenging and an injury only added to its physical and emotional demands. It was the kindness of others that kept me positive and allowed me to finish the trek. Laura carried extra weight so I wouldn't have to put so much pressure on my ankle, Mike and Erin, a couple we met, gave me their only bandage out of their first aid kit and a few Aussies showed me how to wrap my ankle differently to provide it with more support. Even some of the park staff turned a blind eye and let us use staff facilities to cook and gave us free food and hot chocolate. I guess generosity is more abundant during the holiday season, but I'm pretty sure everyone who helped in some way would have done the same had it not been Christmas.

Below is the video journal Laura and I kept while on our trek through "The W." In less than 5 days, we walked about 45 miles, by far the longest backpacking trip in duration and length I have ever done. Given the above circumstances and knowing what I know now, would I have still done it? Absolutely! And I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Pre-departure packing.

Day 1 in Glacier Gray Refugio.

Day 1 at Glacier Gray.

Day 2 on our way to Campamento Italiano.

Day 3 in Valle Frances.

Day 4 on Christmas Eve at Refugio Chileno.

Day 5 Our last day!

Note: Draft begun on January 26, 2010.