I’ve heard it said that, done properly, the journey is just as enjoyable as the destination. I agree. Though it’s not just the sights on the way. It is the people you meet along the way and at your destination.
I boarded the plane with a bit of apprehension. I was facing eight-and-a-half hours in a metal tube at thirty-five thousand feet. Sitting still that long is a challenge when I’m on the ground, let alone that high above the clouds. It’s not like I can step onto the veranda for a breath of fresh air. At -50 Celsius the air is fresh enough, there’s just not enough of it to breath.
Reading or watching a movie while in transit aren’t ever an option for me, unless I have the urge to enjoy a bout of motion sickness. Nausea just isn’t my thing, and while a green shirt looks good on me, green skin does not. I was traveling alone, so I didn’t have my wife to converse with, but I did have Gene Sharp.
Gene was on his way to Africa by way of my destination, Amsterdam.
“Business or pleasure,” I asked.
Turns out Gene is a man on a mission. He sets up Christian radio stations in some interesting, remote, and, sometimes, hostile locations. He installs the gear and helps train people on how to use them. He even climbs the towers when necessary.
Being in the radio business myself, we hit it off. We talked automation systems, transmitters, and control boards. Turns out, we shop with some of the same suppliers and have a couple of sales reps in common. We enjoyed geek speak over airline food while the continental U.S. grew smaller in the rearview mirror. (Okay, so jets don’t have rearview mirrors, but the thought of them having a couple of those big ones like you see on busses makes me smile.)
It was energizing to hear him speak of how they are helping to spread the Gospel. They have stations all over the world. They are reaching a good number of people that might not have heard the Good News otherwise. Talk about the power of radio! I encourage you to read more about Gene and his work at https://ibmradio.com.
Once in Amsterdam, I had to catch thee number 300 bus to my hotel in Haarlem. It’s the city that Harlem, N.Y. is named after. Remember New York was once New Amsterdam. The Dutch were the ones who acquired Manhattan from the Manhattan tribe of Native Americans for trinkets valued at $24. Talk about the art of the deal!
I was able to get on the right bus, but going the wrong way. As a result, I ended up riding the entire route turning a thirty-minute ride into an hour. It wasn’t a total loss. When we stopped off at the airport again (yes, the same stop where I had boarded the bus), a stocky man with short, stubbly hair and a beard to match rolled his suitcase on and sat beside me. Suitcases in front of us with bleary eyes staring ahead, we likely looked like twin sons from different mothers.
I say bleary eyes because I had been up 30 hours at this point, being unable to sleep on the plane. He had been at it almost as long having traveled for 20 hours non-stop. He was a salvage diver working a wreck off the coast of Chile. He’d been on the job for several weeks. He was returning home to spend a few days with his wife and four children. Then it was back to Chile for another six weeks.
I told him I was headed for some vacation time in Haarlem. At this he became a bit brighter and some of the road he was wearing seemed to fall away. He and his wife had lived in Haarlem for several years and loved it. He then went on to explain a bit about the region and the fact that it is about six meters (approx. 18 ft.) below sea level. Through a network of dunes, dykes, and windmills, a large chunk of land was reclaimed from the sea. Talk about a dose of Dutch innovation. Fascinating and beautiful. Also, very flat, unlike my later destination of Rome with its seven hills.
I met up with my wife in Haarlem the next day and we made our way to the Eternal City. That’s where we encountered a healthy helping of history and a delightful family from England: A mom, dad and twin four-year-old daughters. They were part of our tour group at the Colosseum. During the lunch break, we chatted about all sorts of things. Each wanting know of the other’s country and travels.
She works in healthcare and is worried about the future of their national healthcare system. They also shared stories of their other travels which included Egypt. The girls were dressed in matching dresses with straw hats, a must for surviving the Italian sun. They were well behaved considering it was 90 degrees and the tour guides weren’t telling the type of stories a four-year-old finds entertaining.
They were quite a delight to see, especially when the were trying to catch pigeons that were strutting along the sidewalk in front of the 2000-year-old landmark. I guess souvenirs are in the eye of the beholder…and in the hands if you can catch them. Fortunately, for their parents’ sake, they didn’t.
Later we would meet a Canadian. He was sitting at a table near ours at one of the many sidewalk cafes we enjoyed while in Rome.
Forgetting that portions in Rome are quite generous, we ended up with a pizza large enough to sustain a small band of gladiators or a group of middle schoolers binge watching every Marvel super hero movie. The conversation began when we offered some of our unexpected bounty to him. He politely declined having ordered a plenty-o-pasta dish himself.
He was on vacation from his life in Montreal. Having visited Montreal ourselves on our first anniversary, we fell into easy conversation about the culture there. It was like our visit there: brief but enjoyable. We now have put it back on our “must visit” list.
He had stopped in Rome for a few days on his way to visit friends in Sicily. They had invited him for a visit following his recent divorce. He felt it was a good way to hit the reboot key and get on with his life. I wish him well and can think of no better way to reboot than with good food, good wine, and great friends in a beautiful place bathed in the Italian summer sun.
Our trip was no trek to Canterbury, but as with Chaucer’s trip, it was peopled by pilgrims each on other own journey.
One to spread the Gospel
One to reconnect with family
One to show their children a larger world
One to find a new start
And what of us? We were just two crazy kids realizing a dream dreamt decades ago. You could call it a “once in a lifetime” trip. We prefer to think of it as the first of many. While we look forward to seeing more great sites, we’re equally interested in the people that make the journey as enjoyable as the destination.
