Dear me, it’s been months again…

I really like writing the blog posts. Even if no one else reads them, I enjoy putting the words down and, later, reading the posts again and remembering. So why can’t I write more often?? For my last trips, I guess it was predictable. When I went to Portugal in April, I was exhausted after months of non-stop caregiving and doing everything myself. I enjoyed the trip (and the food!), but I just went with the flow. I did do a little on my own, but mostly I just did the tour, ate, and took pictures. (Which I still haven’t gone through!) For my September trip to Nepal and Bhutan, it was a physically draining trip, with lots of hiking. By the end of the day, I went to sleep! I loved the trip, especially Bhutan. I will try at some point to write something about it and put in some pictures. It was spectacular. Here’s a picture of Mt Everest as a teaser, taken from the flight from Kathmandu to Paro, Bhutan.

Mt Everest, from flight between Kathmandu and Paro

It was a spendid trip. Bhutan is all about “Gross National Happiness.” Their primary goal is that everyone is taken care of and happy. Here’s what I found when I googled it:

“Bhutan's Gross National Happiness (GNH) is a holistic framework that measures the well-being of its citizens and guides government decisions.The GNH index is a practical tool that assesses a range of factors, including: Psychological well-being, Health, Education, Cultural diversity, Good governance, Community vitality, Ecological diversity, and Living standards. The GNH index is based on Bhutanese cultural values and Buddhist beliefs about happiness and well-being. It's intended to prioritize well-being over economic growth and to consider a range of factors that contribute to a good life.”

Quite a different outlook, isn’t it? I’d love to go back there and see more of the country. We were only in three provinces in the west of the country. Oh, and I have to write about it because I need to boast about climbing Tiger’s Nest.

Meanwhile on the home front, Jake has been improving every day. He’s still using a cane, but he’s got a great physical therapist and is getting stronger all the time. He’s under orders (from me) not to fall again and mess up the trip I’m just starting (more on that in a bit). He had his 6 month scans after CAR-T a week ago. To say I was apprehensive doesn’t begin to cover it! Jake, though, wasn’t concerned. He had been telling people that he had gotten rid of the cancer. Maybe it’s because he’s gone back to church and his faith gave him the certainty that all would be well. And he was right. His MRI of the brain and PET scan of the body showed no cancer, so he is still in complete remission.

And I am off to Argentina and Antarctica! I booked this trip over a year ago, and I’m so excited about it!

Right now, I’m at Dulles Airport in DC, about to board a flight to Atlanta. I’ve got 2 hours there, then a flight to Buenos Aires. The tour itself doesn’t start until Friday, December 6th (it’s the 2nd as I write this), but I wanted to have some time to explore BA. I get there tomorrow morning at 9, and I’ve got a hotel booked for 3 nights on my own. On 4 December, I’ve got a birding guide lined up for a whole day of birding. That is absolutely the best way to find/see birds in a new place—hire a local expert! On Friday, I’ll change hotels and meet up with the tour group. We will tour Buenos Aires on Saturday. Sunday we fly to Ushuaia and board the MS Fridtjof Nansen. As I said, I booked this over a year ago during a sale, so I saved $4,000 on the trip…and immediately spent some of the “savings” on a cabin upgrade. The cabin class I booked should have a balcony, which was my intention, but apparently not all of them do—I’d better or I’ll probably rave and rant.

The excursions from the ship including going ashore and things like kayaking and camping overnight on land (but that one is hard to do—very few people are allowed, and it’s expensive). There are also scientists on board doing their research, and there are activities where passengers can help or do citizen science. The other thing that is important is that everything is dependent on the weather. If a storm blows in, the ship will change the landing points or make any other changes they need to keep the ship and passengers safe.

I’m now in Atlanta, and will board the long (~ 9 hours, I think) flight to BA. I did splurge last night and upgrade my seat—not to Business, as I can’t afford that—but I’ll have a roomy seat and a leg rest.

So, that’s it for now. I’ll try to do better on this trip, so hopefully it won’t be another 6 months.