Traveling – And All the Options

COVID has changed the world we live in and when it comes to traveling the impacts have been as significant as saying “no travel” to “free range” travel and everything in-between. As such we had not been doing any international travel. Fast forward two years past the initial COVID pandemic initiation and many countries are fully re-open meaning no COVID measures in place, some still requiring vaccinations, some requiring tests, a few still requiring quarantine depending on where travel began. One more complication to a stressful process of the physical component of traveling to a new place. Perhaps today Shakespeare would ponder “To COVID or not to COVID” . . .

Traveling, pre-COVID, had its challenges including managing the myriad of options to actually move from one place to another and weighing the factors of using each. In the past, for us, time has been of the essence, often leaving air travel as the only viable means to go long distances in as little time as possible. When time is not the biggest factor the options can vary greatly – even if the distance is considered extensive. For instance, while contemplating our trip to Cape Town, South Africa - while flying seems to be the most logical and the most efficient - other options are possible. Cruise ship, cargo ship, sailboat, train, bus, of course incorporating several modes together to accomplish the full transit. If time and money are irrelevant, then the options are really endless.

For us, time and money was a factor, add the hassle factor of multiple layovers in multiple countries led us to seek as direct a route as possible. So our daughter drove us to the local airport, we flew to Newark International Airport and then direct onto Cape Town. Twenty-four hours of travel later, we arrived at our studio rental – all 200 sq ft of it! We expected it to be 3 weeks of vacation and beginning provisions to move onto our boat. Then the surprises began.

Sailing, as with life, is all about rolling with the punches – pun intended! The people that seem to be the most satisfied and successful manage to do both; for me it is a work in progress. That being said, the boat manufacturing process is delayed . . . we could relay some excuses, speculations, theories, but in the end it presents a new slew of challenges that need to be addressed. From where do we live after our ‘vacation’ runs out, how to address our 90-day visa, does that mean we lose our contracted captain to cross the Atlantic, and probably the real biggie – WHEN will the boat really be done? Stay tuned for more info about the boat, for now we are putting ‘vacation’ plans on hold while we search for a place to live during the very busy holiday season here and apply for visa extensions that are not guaranteed and not cheap.

The journey of one thousand miles begins with a single step, but to continue step one must be repeated again and again. Stay tuned for more of the fun as more of the story unfolds.