Home At Last

The adventure only got better by the time we got to Miami.  Apparently Obama and Air Force One were in Miami so in order to give him enough space, our flight was again delayed.  We were the last ones on the plane because American Airlines gave our seats away again!  Finally, they said just get on the plane and find the last 2 seats - no boarding pass or anything.  Yikes!!  It was a good thing the government was not shut down or we'd still be waiting at customs to be let back in the country.

Danny was waiting for us at Logan at 2am.  They graciously invited us to sleep over but we really wanted to get to our own bed.  It was close to 4am by the time we dropped Danny off and got into our own house.  That has to be the most wonderful feeling in the world.

THE RECAP

After 12 planes, 2 trains, numerous buses, one being a jungle bus, various types of boats, canoes, row boats, taxis, and even bicycles, we managed to explore 3 very diverse areas.  This is not even counting our Miami experience, which, thanks to Roman, was wonderful time in the Everglades, South Beach, Little Havana, etc.  I think we survived extremely well, traveling through several climates and extreme altitude changes.  I do not think there was one piece of clothing I brought that I did not wear at least 2 or 3 times.  Oh yeah, I might have had one bathing suit too many. 

For me, the highlight of the trip was definitely Machu Pichu, even with the rain and fog.  It holds a certain mystique that simply cannot be described and I have a real pull to go back someday.  The jungle experience was just that, an experience.  Some of it interesting, some not so much.  The Galapagos offered sites and sounds you cannot see anywhere else in the world.  Our 7 day cruise offered several islands and hikes and snorkeling to see, feel, and experience.  A truly wonderful adventure,

The big question a lot of people asked us, since this was our virgin group experience, "How does it compare to your independent travel?"  It is very different.  We were extremely fortunate that we had such a congenial and friendly group.  Everyone got along and there was a great deal of respect for everyone else.  Traveling as a group, however, takes some getting used to and quite honestly, I think the jury is still out on that verdict.  For the most part, the guides were very good and you gain an awful lot of knowledge as you go.  On the negative side of that, a lot of it gets repetitive. The itinerary certainly keeps you busy.  There was not much down time.  On the really negative side, we were not at all satisfied with how OAT (our travel company) dealt with our airline problems.  This is a big issue and they will definitely be hearing from us on that score.  As mentioned above, there was an awful lot of air travel and although delays cannot be helped, they could have been handled in a better fashion.

All that aside, looking back it was a whirlwind trip and one we will treasure for a lifetime.  It will make a very exciting book, if not three books!  I am grateful for meeting and traveling with the people we did.  It was wonderful getting to know folks from all kinds of backgrounds and from all kinds of places.  I hope we can keep in touch, but you know how those things go.  I would like to thank Stephanie for adding a certain character to the blog.

Speaking of the blog, thank you all for reading and sharing your comments and being there with us when we are in the middle of who knows where.  It is a real comfort.  Love you all.

Till next year ....