Monthly Archives: October 2023

Day 18/19: Aberdeen pitstop

Posted on October 11, 2023 | Leave a comment

We have a day and a half(ish) between adventures and once the luggage finally got delivered (at 8pm – luckily we were still awake! ) we got ready for the next part of the odyssey. Because the dryer decided to pack in the night before we left for round 1, we knew that we had to get all the washing done straight away to allow time to dry before repacking. A quick 30 minute eco wash, a full drying rack in the spare room and we could finally get some shut eye.

And then it was Monday – a real work day and back to the classroom for me! A wonderful colleague had been kind enough to cover 2 lectures while I was gone so now it was time to reclaim my module and get into the nitty gritty of modelling and logistic regression. Woo hoo! It was interesting since there were quite a few students who had missed the first week due to visa and relocation issues and they had NO IDEA who I was or why I was in front of the classroom.

Once I had dazzled them with my amazing knowledge, it was back to marking dissertations and preparing for round two of travel. The weather gods had been kind enough to give us a few dry hours to get the clothes out on the line so repacking was possible. We needed a quick trip to the shop to pick up a ready meal for dinner (shepherd’s pie – yum!) and a nice bottle of French red before the entertainment commenced.

We had a big decision to make: check bags or no. We only had an hour to change planes in Amsterdam and having just been through that we decided that the AMS ground crew could not be trusted to get our stuff to the 10+ hour flight to Johannesburg. So we played the “how much can we fit in a regulation size carry one bag” game. Luckily, this half of the trek had fewer business attire requirements: the first week is strictly holiday and the second week is an IASSIST conference which is WAY more laid back than the central banker gatherings. Given that we had successfully done 10 days in Portugal with just a carry on and we were staying in an AirBnB with a washing machine, we decided to give it a shot.

The taxi collected us at 4am (!!!) for our 6am flight. Another airport breakfast and a short hop to AMS and we were power walking through the airport to get to our gate. KLM had notified us the previous day that for “operational and load” reasons, they had changed our seats so we got the bulkhead row in premium economy – yay! Lots of leg room and no one to climb over to get to the loo.

It was a very smooth and uneventful 10.5 hours – I paid for the in-flight wifi and got all my marking (including second marking) done and the outline of my keynote speech drafted before my brain shut down and it was time to watch the latest Indiana Jones movie. (Cute but nothing special.). We landed on time and made it to the airport hotel where we stopped for a snack and a glass of South African wine. Then off to get good night’s sleep before our short flight to Cape Town tomorrow. All in all, a successful pitstop.

Data for today:

Miles from Aberdeen to Johannesburg: 8500(ish)
Weight of our carry on luggage: 4 pieces @ 6ish kg each = 25 kg
Time to ABZ at 4am: 17 minutes
Number of white wines KLM was kind enough to provide: 4

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Posted in South Africa

Days 11-17: Working and wandering

Posted on October 8, 2023 | Leave a comment

Days like these make for difficult travel blog writing since most of the time was spent doing that work thing. At least for one of us. Frank being the “retired” man of leisure had slightly different activities for the bulk of this week.

We managed to arrive in DC without incident: passengers and bags! We got to check in to our hotel downtown early and freshen up a bit before San headed out to work. Frank spent the afternoon wandering around downtown DC and visiting some of our old haunts from when we were first married. After a few hours getting things sorted, it was time for dinner and we met a friend and headed to one of my former favourite spots: Founding Farmers. I got the bacon wrapped dates and the bacon lollies that we used to love to snack on with a bottle of malbec. Alas, the experience did not give the warm fuzzies that I had hoped for – in fact, the restaurant wasn’t quite as good as I remembered. And then there was the “Wellness Charge” – apparently DC restaurants have decided to charge 3.5 -5% of the bill in a charge to help them cover their Covid related losses and other expense increases. WTF? A surcharge? Honestly, I even though I’m a macro type, I understand the menu cost pricing model but this was ridiculous! Grrrrrr…..

But I was saved from such outrage for the next few days as I was busy helping to host a conference for data folks here. That meant long days in a windowless conference centre with conference centre food…. Yum…. But that was the reason for the visit so I did my 7am-9pm shifts (with the occasional glass of wine!) and hoped Frank was having a good time.

Apparently while I work, he… shops? In between visits with friends and the massive pile of laundry that I tasked him with washing, he was hitting the shops to pick up things that we either can’t get at home or are WAY cheaper in the US. We had packed relatively lightly and even with the wine and sundries from Chile, we should be good for weight going home. (One hopes?)

After 3 long days, it was time for some time together. We checked out of the downtown hotel and headed for the burbs – our old haunts and good friends were waiting! First stop, Manassas where some Fairport friends had relocated. After a quick Walmart run (I needed stuff too!) we met for lunch and a drink or 3. Oh and a lot of laughs! Then our next stop was more old friends who had been kind enough to offer us a place to stay for the night. Dinner at Mike’s American Grill was just the ticket and we had a wonderful visit.

And then the final day in DC dawned. It happens to be our 34^th anniversary – yay us! We did a few more driveby visits before it was time to head to the airport. A pretty smooth process all around and even a slightly delayed departure didn’t get in the way of making our connection. However, we can’t say the same for the bags. You guessed it – luggage delayed AGAIN!!!! {sigh}

Hopefully they’ll deliver it soon as we only have 42 hours before we do it all over again – next stop: South Africa! Stay tuned.

Data for this week:

Hours San spent in a windowless room with other data geeks: 29
Miles Frank put on the rental car (mostly without her): 200? (Avis statement isn’t ready yet)
Number of gluten free meals that were also vegan even though San isn’t: 6
Number of hugs from old friends and new: Dozens 💕

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Posted in Transit, USA

Day 9/10: Adios Santiago; Hello DC!

Posted on October 2, 2023 | Leave a comment

Our last day in Chile dawned grey and dull – as if Santiago wanted us to leave. We had requested a late checkout so Frank could het plant of sleep and I could get some work done. We squeezed I breakfast and some packing time as well (The packing was more challenging this time due to the presence of dirty clothes and my determination to have one business-appropriate outfit in each case and my backpack. Not doing the shopping thing again) Finally one of us was napped out and one had eyes blurry from marking dissertations, so it was time to checkout.

Because we were in a big fancy hotel, we could leave the bags with the concierge while we spent our last day wandering the city. Slowly wandering that is. Between Frank’s mucous and a screaming neuroma in my right foot, we would be breaking no land speed records today. But we had 5 hours until we would be leaving for the airport so we headed toward downtown to get some culture.

And of course we had to pass by our favorite pastime along the way: a wine festival! The second day of Dia del Vino was in full swing along Avenitas Andre Bello. As tempting as it sounded, we didn’t think that drinking lots of wine on a damp chilly day before getting on an overnight flight was really the best way for Frank to recuperate. {sigh}

So we plodded onward to the Museum of pre Columbian art. And it was fascinating! So much history and cool stuff from the region dating back thousands of years. My favorite part was the data knots: a textile based accounting system from the 14th century. Yes, I am that nerd!

After checking out every exhibit – cuz we had nothing but time – we headed back across town to pick up our stuff and head to the airport 4 hours ealy (!!). Not something we do in Aberdeen but apparently very necessary in Santiago. We got checked in, grabbed something to eat and boarded the plane.

Because we were on two separate bookings – mine made by the sponsor of my trip and his made by me – we weren’t scheduled to be seated together mostly I bought Frank a better ticket than I had! I had tried to purchase an upgrade to join him but the online system told me that wasn’t going to happen. So we asked at the checkin desk and were told that it would cost about $1000 USD for me to move 10 rows forward! Bye honey – see you in Atlanta! I was lucky enough to have an exit row seat – the one where no one sits in front of you – and then won the “empty middle seat lottery”. With the exception of the most boring catering you could possibly have in the air, the flight was fine. I managed about 4 hours sleep. Frank didn’t do so well even in his fancy “Comfort +” seat.

We landed early in Atlanta and joined the security farce that is changing planes in the US. How does it make sense that we land at an airport, disembark and pass through passport control to a secure area, collect our bags in that secure area, walk past a customs desk that no one is at, then reload our bags to another plane – still in a secure area – and have to go through security AGAIN! How does this make sense? How does it make people safer to have to pick up their luggage froma belt in one room then put it on a belt in another room? If this is so great, why doesn’t the rest of the world do it? </soapbox>

We managed to make our connection with time to spare so we could get some overpriced and overcooked airport coffee before boarding our flight to DC. One thing I love about Delta Airlines is that they scan the bag tags at every transfer point so we knew both our bags had made the plane. Our lucky “distributed packing” insurance worked! We grabbed the bags, got in a cab and headed to hotel number 2 for the trip.

Then I had to go to work. Grrr. Frank got to walk around in the 26 degree sunshine and remember what our young, newly wed life was like living in the big city. Dinner at a favorite haunt with our favorite Swiss dude made staying up worth the effort. Now for 3 days of actual work for me. See you when it’s play time again.

Data for today:

Steps for two days: 31,205
Number of miles walked: 14
Number of miles flown: 5241
Time zones involved: 2
Number of fortuitous meetings on K Street: 1 (and it was amazing!)

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Posted in Chile, USA

Day 8: Of mists and minor maladies

Posted on October 1, 2023 | Leave a comment

We slept so well in our temporary home and were greeted by breakfast being delivered. Because it’s a small hotel, there is no bar or restaurant so our breakfast came on trays that we could eat in the minikitchen. Scrambled eggs and gluten free bread for me, ham and cheese with freshly baked rolls for Frank. Plus a full litre of fresh pinapple juice, coffee, muffins and fresh fruit. YUM!

After demolishing that and packing up, we were headed slightly up the cost to the beach town of Viña del Mar. This is supposed to be the place where all of Santiago goes to get out of the city. It is a lovely beach town but since it is early spring here, the weather and the vibe are not really very beachy. We started the day with a visit to the Reloj de Flores (Flower Clock) – functioning clock garden built for the 1962 World Cup which Chile hosted. As the only major tourist attraction in town, it was quite busy but we got our obligatory snaps even though the day was pretty damp and grey.

Then we started to wander into and around town. We saw the cool castle that isn’t open and we saw huge rocks covered with pelicans (a pod of pelicans apparently). We were wandering much more slowly than had been the case in the past because Frank has started to come down with something. We thought the stuffy nose was allergies but the post nasal drip and scratchy throat indicate maybe it’s something more. (NOT Covid) Given the weather and the lack of interesting non-beach things to do, a full day in town may be more than we are really interested in. Of course the town is busy: apparently there is a big marathon on here tomorrow as there are banners everywhere. 5K and 10K runners were busy this morning and the packet pick up for the marathon was mobbed.

After we ran out of things to do, we grabbed some lunch. (Notice we have stopped planning to eat and now we are grabbing things. Ugh.) Then we changed our return bus ticket to come back earlier. Once we arrived in Santiago, we ordered an Uber – driven by Wendy – where my bad Spanish was very necessary. Apparently one of us needed to sit in front with her so it wouldn’t be “illegal” – okay, we’ll send the lurgy one up front. Then as we get close to the hotel we see police lights parked on the street RIGHT OUTSIDE the hotel. Then Wendy explains that *Uber* is illegal in Chile (how does the app even work then?!) so she needs to drop us off away from the police. I’m fine with that – avoiding embassy involvement is one of my prime rules.

We manage to saunter casually and not guiltily back to the hotel where Frank gets put to bed while I get some work done. (Apparently, disserations don’t mark themselves? Seriously?) He did manage to gain consciousness long enough to walk around the corner for food. Again, this was not a planned dining experience but a necessity to consume some calories. Of course, that didn’t stop him from having a sandwich that is basically a Chilean cheese steak. (No mas queso!) I opted for a simple pork tenderloin with baked potato. Nothing to write home about really except for the part where I am. 🙂

We have a late checkout tomorrow so he should be able to get plenty of rest and I might actually get a few disserations marked. And then it’s another “Work for San, Play for Frank” week.

Data for today:

Steps: 16,369 or 7.6 miles
Average pace: 26 min/mile
Normal pace: 18 min/mile
Number of times San actually translated from Spanish: 6 (not everyone speaks English!)
Number of hours Frank better sleep: at least 10! (He’s terrible at being sick!)

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