Day 2 - The Art of Traveling

Day 2

The Art of Traveling

The first time I got on a commercial airliner was 45 years ago, when I was just 13 going to Israel with my grandmother.  Since then I have flown to Mexico, Trinidad, Canada, Spain, Germany, Lithuania, Greece, Romania, Peru, Brazil, and Bolivia.  At 13 I loved to fly.  At 58 I hate it. 

Here are seven reasons I most hate flying:

1.      Getting to the airport early – Airlines tell you to get to the airport at least 3 hours early.  Sometimes you can see the reasonableness of this.  They overbook flights, so you might be bumped, or your flight might be delayed, or your flight might be cancelled.  Basically the airlines rule your travel plans. 

Once, when flying to Barcelona, my flight changed gates and then was delayed an hour.  When I arrived in Boston, my flight was cancelled.  I got a new flight through London and that one was also delayed an hour.  It happens and they say so sweetly, “I’m sorry.” 

2.      Being searched – after getting your ticket and checking your bags, you go through security.  I do understand the need for security, though I am not sure what we have in place today will stop another 911 from happening.  What I hate about it is standing in a long line, emptying my bag, taking off my shoes, taking off my belt, emptying my pockets, and my pants falling down (they just made me take off my belt which is there to hold up my pants).  Then I have to repack and get dressed again while someone complains that I am going too slow.

I once watched an elderly woman, easily in her 80s, in a wheel chair, being wanded by one of the security guards.  There is something wrong if that is happening.

3.      Waiting in the airport – after getting to the airport early, now I have to sit and wait, sometimes with my gate not yet posted, for one or two hours.  The seats are uncomfortable, buying food is expensive, and soon your bars on the phone or iPad start to disappear.  Yes, you can plug them in to recharge them, but so is everybody else.

4.      Sitting on the plane – finally you get on the plane and you are wedged into a seat that is too small for your extra-large body.  I have gained weight over the years, but the seats have gotten smaller and the space between you and the guy in front has also gotten smaller.

Sometimes people take your seat and the flight attendants won’t do anything about it.  On my last trip, March going to and from Bolivia, I got on board on three different connections to discover someone in my seat.  Each time I was told to find another seat.  Did the flight attendant do anything about it?  No. 

5.      Airplane food – You are crammed in your seat and can barely move and they give you a small plate of microwaved food.  If the guy in front of you leans all the way back, you really can’t move to eat.  Luckily you are only on the plane for around eight hours.

6.      Baggage pickup – When the flight is finally over and the 100 people in front of you finally get off the plane, you get to stand and wait for your bags to come off the plane.  I know you think this must take five or ten minutes, but it can take 30 or more.  When I went to Brazil last year, my baggage didn’t arrive (for two days). Because of things like that, the time I went to Barcelona, I took everything in a carry-on bag.  I wish I could do that more often.

7.      Customs – honestly I have not had that many problems going through customs.  But after being so exhausted, you just aren’t ready for someone going through your bags, underwear and all.

With everything I just said about hating to fly there is an overwhelming reason I love to fly. I love to get there. I know so many people who never go that far from home (please don’t get your feelings hurt), but I just don’t get it.  There is so much to see in the world and so little time to see it.

Traveling is about experiencing something new.  The hotel doesn’t matter because why would you want to stay inside when you are experiencing a new place?  Yes there is a McDonald’s and KFC everywhere in the world, but why not try some food you have never eaten before?  With everything I just said about hating to fly there is an overwhelming reason I love to fly. I love to get there. I know so many people who never go that far from home (please don’t get your feelings hurt), but I just don’t get it.  There is so much to see in the world and so little time to see it. And please, you can watch TV or swim in a pool in your hometown.

There is a poem that expresses my love of travel:

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost – 1920

I have my own interpretation of this poem.  I believe in life you can go the same road as everyone else.  It is predictable.  You know every curve and corner to expect.  It can be found on google maps.  For many people this is what they want out of life.  They don’t want any surprises.  The road less traveled is unpredictable.  It might not always be paved.  It might have potholes or the bridge might be out.  Where it leads you never know.  For some people, experiencing the road less traveled is experiencing life.

I love to travel.  It can be tiring and frustrating, but I always experience something new, “and that has made all the difference.”

I will tell about my flight tomorrow, after I have internet access again.

This was my plane from March, waiting in the rain in Panama