I Want To Go There

Hold The Door For Me Because I Want To Go There

I may have played that phrase in my mind a hundred times. I can’t help it when I see a shoreline in the distance and wonder where it goes… I want to go there.

Once my curiosity is peaked, I need to know if it is an island or part of another country.
Is the GDP about fishing and farming or is it a major seaport?
Is this an industrial nation?

I Asked Myself:

What will it cost to visit and what currency do they use?

This travel passion taught me all about the best value for money when the exchange rate is in your favor.

In 2024 there is an 18.5/1 exchange rate of the South African Rand to the US Dollar.

That means that for every $100 US, the bank will give you R1830!
Big deal… right?

In South Africa, the rand goes far. Five-star accommodation costing R450 per night would cost just $25.00 US per night.

For about three thousand dollars US you could fly first-class to South Africa for 30 days. You could go on a safari, stay at luxury hotels, eat fabulous food, have great weather most of the time, and lie on the beach!

I think it’s just about one of the best deals out there, mainly because I know the country.(My early days in South Africa)

Two people can’t eat at a fast-food restaurant for $25.00 in America anymore.

What will we eat when we get there?

Food was one of my least concerns when we went somewhere but a few years into travel I was anticipating the food as much as the journey. I am an adventurous eater; this is not for the “picky” ones.

I never gave it much thought in the earlier days. I just assumed there would be food, and there always was. It became my biggest joy. Not too shabby for a side-effect.

I was surprised at how European men did the cooking in the home much more often than in Western culture. They were very unabashed about cooking and could easily provide for a four-person evening or a three-course dinner for 28 people.

These guys had talent – and they knew their food! No chocolatier could substitute cooking oil instead of butter in the petit-fours on their watch.
This is the way to a woman’s heart!

When I visit somewhere I like to have contact with the people. Are there beaches or mountains? What do they teach in schools?

Finland Was A Mystery To Me!

I saw the shore of Finland in the distance, from Oslo, Norway. I was fascinated and I wanted to visit Helsinki. I think I just liked the sound of the name. 

The population of Finland is 5.56 million with a growth rate of 27%.
The growth increase is mostly immigrants starting in the 56-year-old range to upper 70s.

Helsinki, their largest city has a population of 634,000, and English is spoken everywhere…(Good thing for me… )

The winters hover around -3F in February which seems to be the coldest month. It goes as high as 79F in July, which is the warmest month.
That doesn’t seem so bad. 

But their Tourism Board says, “The summers are comfortable and partly cloudy”.

“The winters are long, freezing, snowy, windy, and mostly cloudy.” If THEY say it’s bad, it must be BAD.

But that information will not keep me away from Finland in July; I will pack warm summer clothes. 

Some Places, Not So Much

Coming from a large family and close together in age, four of us left home in four years. At that time three brothers moved to western Canada, and I moved to South Africa.

Brother Ken was being trained as an air traffic controller from Edmonton Tower, and was sent to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories.

Remote, land of the midnight sun and perpetual winter. 
Was he crazy? Did he really want to go there? … What was the attraction?

It was company training and a great opportunity. They were young; they wanted to do it. Ken, Wendy, and family lived there for two and a half years.

From Inuvik, sitting at the top of the globe, they were at a pivot point to New York, Montreal, London, Madrid, Moscow, Vancouver, and various other cities. It was a perfect place to be trained in this profession.

But Inuvik, in the Arctic Circle, was very quiet indeed.

Time Well Utilized

The Arctic Circle is very remote. Those guys didn’t have much to do, so they played chess. And they played tricks on each other.

This is what 21 days of no sun can do – it makes people crazy inventive!

A newbie arrived at Inuvik Station and he was sure to be properly introduced to everyone and yes, a party would take place! Why not?

These men were air traffic controllers and they were professionals. They did not drink alcohol at any time.

They never knew when they would be needed in an emergency and small plane accidents were an everyday occurrence.

But the newbie thought this must be their time off. They all had a drink in their hand.
The newbie was set up.

For him, it was the middle of the night. and he had to get some sleep. They told him that he had a 4 am meeting in the tower. He’d better be responsible. 

Two hours later, enter the Mission Impossible team of Inuvik, ATCD (air traffic controller division). (Remember that name). 

The clocks were turned forward five hours to 3:45 am. The sun was the same; dark. Who would know what time it was?

They changed the time on the new guy’s watch and his alarm clock. He only had two hours’ sleep… they woke him up.

“Look at the time; you’ll be late! It’s already 3:45 am! You were supposed to be responsible. Might as well just pack your bags and go home… you could be done here”. 

Him: “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe this. I must have drank too much. O please, help me, help me!” Or words to that effect.

I love the Mission Impossible theme here, but my heart goes out to that newbie! No, there was no 4 am meeting scheduled in the tower... All part of the setup.

Will our newbie ever be able to enjoy a beer again? I doubt it.
Will he play that trick on another new guy? – for sure!

Would I live in the Arctic Circle? Maybe, if I knew how long I would be there.
I would not have let this opportunity go by any more than my brother did. 

At the same time, in South Africa, I was acclimatizing to Christmas in high summer.
Fate had dealt me the best hand, I thought.

I sent out Christmas cards and received them in return.
(Celebrating Christmas in in SA)

Ken sent a card saying all the usual Christmasy things: Merry Christmas and be safe and well. Thanks for the card and mail takes a long time to get here.

“Oh, and the sun just went down, today, for the last time and we will not see it again for 21 days. Have a lovely, bright, sunny, and warm Christmas.” 

Oh sure, I felt bad for them… I kept the card for years.

Are You Ready Out There?

I remember hearing the meaning of “luck”.
What is luck? “Luck is being prepared for an opportunity when it presents itself”.
(David Hasselhoff – of Baywatch fame).

Ergo: “As luck would have it”

On a flight across the Atlantic, we touched down in Greenland to refuel.
We did not leave the plane but a few new people came on board… From Greenland. 

They were the same as we were – they weren’t different in any way. We thought Greenland was remote and isolated; something should be different. We thought they would be alien!

Everyone watched in silence while these new travelers came on board. As they found their seats they greeted their seatmates and got weak smiles and nods in return.

The flight attendant got on the phone and asked, “Would anyone here like to stay in Greenland for 3 days? It’s on us!”

I looked at my husband and was ready to jump up… a nano-second too late!

Another couple beat us to the jump-up and were immediately ushered off the plane.

They were given hotel passes and a generous food allowance, to cover their expenses.

They had three days to explore and discover Greenland. This would be one of their unforgettable memories.

We weren’t ready for the opportunity when it presented itself.
We were just not “lucky” this time.

Can You Sign Brazilian?

Our flight to Canada flew via Rio de Janeiro. It was a package discount. 

The deal was a 12-hour layover in Rio, complete with transportation from the airport and back. They would look after our luggage for us so we took our carry-on.

We had never been to Rio, so how could we not go there?
Arriving at customs in Brazil everyone spoke Portuguese… Everyone.

My sign language did not speak Portuguese and we were having a hard time explaining why we had no luggage. Why were we spending only 12 hours in Rio?

The room was protected with machine-gun-wielding soldiers standing along its perimeter. I was feeling a little uncomfortable.

Were We Terrorists?  

We stood there, a velvet-covered chain between us and the new land.
We could not enter unless we had a good reason for being there.

We sat and waited until their “English expert” arrived. 
Our interpreter breezed in and he greeted everyone like he was a celebrity rock star.

The customs officials smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. (THEY had the guns!)
Now, this would be resolved… just watch. 

The expert’s English was a whole lot better than my Portuguese because I don’t speak it. We had to tell the whole story again and again. We were asked the same questions… I think.

We waited, and we sat. No one seemed able to make a decision about us. Was this a sign that we should be offering a bribe? No one seemed to know what was customary…

Except for my husband.

He calmly took my hand and walked over to that red velvet-covered chain that kept us out of the country. He unclipped the chain, pulled me through, and clipped the chain back up.

He held his head high – and looked at everyone… and they looked away…
we turned… and we walked into Brazil … I was screaming inside my head!

The hairs on my neck stood up and I had chills…
… “We’re going to jail in Brazil!” my head screamed!

I expected that we would be tackled to the ground any second, and handcuffed!

But everyone watched as we calmly walked away.
They were glad to be rid of us. Situation resolved.

Was This A Type-O?

When I book an international flight I assume that the person helping me has flown internationally. I expect the travel agent expert to know more than I do.

My agent knew what she was talking about and we made a great itinerary. Then she handed everything over to her assistant, who tied it all together and issued our tickets.

When we flew into New York we were scheduled to pick up a rental car to drive to Niagara Falls. We were told by the rental agent, that our car was waiting for us in Newark.

That’s in New Jersey. And we could not change this arrangement.

We had to take an airline bus to Newark, from Kennedy Airport, which took three hours. Unfortunately, the assistant who issued our tickets, thought that “Newark” was a type-o for New York.

She had no idea that this was a major city in another state.
(Newark NJ a thriving city) She had never been out of her own country.

In Summary:

What does all this matter in the broad scheme of things?
These wonderful memories are what I have left of all my travels.

Not only was I pleasantly surprised with all the different food but also with the things that happened along the way.

The interactions and the spontaneity were priceless. 

Every incident is what gives a situation its spice and color. Without that, it’s black, white and grey. As if nothing happened.

There were hundreds of different situations, but not life-threatening stuff.
Good stuff. 

While visiting a souvenir store in Oslo, the saleslady, from Thailand, was using an abacus – faster than I could use a calculator!

I asked a lot of questions, bought an abacus, and practiced, practiced, practiced.
I’m pretty good – I think I’m a real hot-shot now.

A dear friend once said, “For every language you speak you inherit another life”.
I also believe: That everywhere you live, you inherit another life!

It’s the reason why if I see a distant shore, I want to go there.
I loved every bit of it.

Where have you traveled to?
Have you visited somewhere that has left a mark on you?
Have you inherited another life?

I would love to hear about your experiences in the comment section below.
I will get back to you within 24 hours.

Regards. Corinne :-)))