If everything has gone according to the latest plan, my baby brother should be thousands of feet in the air as I write this.
Several flights from Buenos Aires to Toronto, with a stop in Santiago, Chili, have been cancelled. The first issue was a snowstorm along the US eastern seaboard and then came the huge earthquake in Chile . Santiago didn’t experience most of the devastation but it’s been bad enough to close its airport. Here’s a link to a map that shows the proximity of the two cities in Chile and Argentina.
Kevin hasn’t been complaining but his descriptions of the food in his hotel have left me wondering if he’s lost a lot of weight! And I’m not talking about the grain fed quail not being served to his liking or the limp vegetables. As he described, it, dinner is either “a few strips of breaded leather or soft noodles in a cup of hot water.” He has eaten a lot of things he hasn’t been able to recognize and that’s part of the adventure, I suppose. He has also seen and killed some massive cockroaches, one that he believes was riding with him in his jeans until it fell onto his boot! To me, that screams “dealbreaker” but he says the bad food and the bugs are inconsequential compared to the beautiful sights and excellent riding he’s experienced.
I said, “I’d never be able to handle it” and he responded, “Yes you would.” I appreciate his confidence in me but I think he’s mistaken! I prefer my meat to be already cut up and wrapped in cellophane. I know it used to be a cow but I don’t need to see its head and hooves to be reminded of it. He has sent me photos of food that looks like it ran onto his plate where it was spontaneously charred and someone plopped a few potatoes beside it. I would have to be near starving to stick a fork in something like that. And the bugs? We had been considering a trip to Costa Rica for the holidays and what turned the tide for me on a beautiful resort was the advice to shake out one’s clothing to release the cockroaches before getting dressed. Let’s see…um… no thanks! Bugs happen but I like a place where they’re kept to a minimum and not a way of life.
The practises of the people in some of the countries Kevin has visited seem almost barbaric. I won’t go into detail but there have been incidents that would have left me shaking at least and possibly scrambling for passage home. Then again, South America has never been on my must-see list. Not only has my brother seen it, he has mostly lived the life of the locals in every stop. He has experienced that part of the world, not just visited it. He hasn’t said so but I think a domestic beer, a long, hot shower and food that comes wrapped in cellophane will be welcome sights once he’s back home.
hahaha! I guess you don’t want to know about the big cockroach I found in my dessert when I visited Costa Rica, then! 🙂 Yes, the bugs are massive, but I loved the place! Besides, the big frogs & lizards love the bugs, so they’re kind of like your protectors!
I will take your word for it!
I found a cockroach in my salad once in Hamilton. I mean, I know they exist. But to have them as a way of life? No thanks!