Travel Misadventures

Well, not all travel is fun or good.

I’ve been exhausted for five freakin’ days, and I’m hoping to finally get some good restorative sleep tonight.

You see, my CPAP, which I need to get good sleep, blew up not long after arriving in Frankfurt.

I managed to get one good nap out of it, then it blew up in a shower of sparks, then nothing since then. I’ve had a persistent headache and been draggy. As a consequence, I bailed on visiting both Bratislava and Salzburg. Boo.

The good news is that I had a backup plan, and Rick brought that with him. The one time we arrive separately turns out to have been a great thing.

My carryon’s telescoping handle also broke (why does it always happen at the beginning of a trip)? I did something I’ve never ever done at a hotel before: borrowed duct tape from the front desk. So I’ll be taking that in for repair when I return. Meanwhile, I’m hoping I get it in the overhead bin on my flight in, oh, an hour and a half. ::crosses fingers::

My trip, revised and scaled down:

1. Train to Vienna.
2. Fly to Lisbon via Zurich. (New country! #92) At this point, I join Rick and my mom as we explore Portugal.
3. Sail to Gibraltar. (New country/territory! #93)
4. Sail to Puerto Banus, Spain.
5. Sail to Malaga, Spain. Alhambra!
6. Sail to Cartagena, Spain.
7. Sail to Ibiza, Balearic Islands. (New country/territory! #94)
8. Sail to Mahón, Menorca.
9. Sail to Alghero, Sardinia. (New country/territory! #95)
10. Sail to Bonifacio, Corsica. (New country/territory! #96)
11. Sail to Porto Vecchio, Corsica.
12. Sail to Civitavecchia, Italy, aka the cruise port closest to Rome.
13. Visit the Vatican! (New country! #97)

We fly home from Rome a couple of days later.

Map generated by the Great Circle Mapper - copyright © Karl L. Swartz.

As always, I’m using the Travelers Century Club list of countries and territories.

Originally published at deirdre.net. You can comment here or there.