Some of you know that flying is a white knuckle event for me. Much improved over the years I still feel some strange force like fog on a misty morning in the days building up to departure.
Yes, 130 countries and I’m afraid of flying. Actually – crashing.
Anxiety be damned. Power through it – have a martini or worse case pop a Xanax.
This time I am so excited to leave that I’ve even been talking about it. We have to – there are sooo many balls being juggled precariously in the air. Flights being cancelled – countries closing – Delta Variant – civil wars and protests…..
For now we’re:
Packed ✅ There is a strict 33 pound weight limit because of small planes. If I carry my 6 pound camera around my neck this is doable. Normally, a mixture of black, gray and splash of color are my go to items. Simple and quite effectively doesn’t show red wine drool.
This time. Beiges, light pinks, khaki green and creamy whites are what’s called for. The tsetse fly is a thing in Africa! I remember growing up hearing my mother say she thought she was bitten by a tsetse fly whenever she felt tired.
A couple of Google searches later and we’ve learned that this fly is attracted to dark colors. Apparently blue is its favorite color and black is its second. They bite – hard – through clothing and can carry a sickness. Sleeping sickness – as well as a bunch of ugly side effects including death when not treated. You didn’t have to convince me.
Covid test ✅ (waiting for our results – no time for delays). Like traveling to Hawaii – Kenya requires a negative Covid test within 96 hours of landing.
Countries for which we have non-refundable flights have recently restricted travel for tourism. No entry. Vaccinated or not. Covid test or not.
Covid, malaria, sleeping sickness and imaginary plane crashes… what’s a girl to do?
This will certainly be an adventure. Last time we left the country – altitude sickness, protests and a government overthrow kept us on our toes. This time we’ll get to experience new countries in the life and times of Covid and once again we’re going to be flexible like silly putty.
The beginning of October found us driving across the USA from “Mona” (tiny house number one) in Northern Nevada house to our “Fort” (formally a tiny house until we bought the unit next door this summer – still a tiny one bedroom but a mansion to us) in Charleston, SC.
The drive was uneventful and flat and luckily there were only a few minutes of rain.
Our building in Charleston is a construction zone. Down with the old balconies and up with the new. The stucco is being fixed as well. To say the least it’s noisy and a great time to bail…
All I knew for sure when we left Minden, Nevada is that we would be staying in London for 9 days. The rest was a surprise – Bill likes crafting these to keep me on my toes.
