Travel Misadventures

[deirdre]

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.