Have you ever noticed that whenever you talk to someone who has just returned from a trip, it was always the best trip of their life. It is as if, somehow, every trip that someone takes it is nothing but sunshine, magical moments, and the most amazing sights. Yes, you are right, we are guilty of this too. The actual truth is that not every trip or travel moment is pure joy and happiness. Flights get delayed or cancelled, reservations get messed up, hotels don’t look like their brochures, and the sun doesn’t always cooperate.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy trips that have mishaps, in fact if you can face them with optimism, they can sometimes just become funny anecdotes that are wonderful to share. We have been fortunate in that we haven’t had any major issues during our travels (knocking on wood right now), but a few hiccups. One story that stands out for us was during our second trip to Cabo San Lucas we ended up in the direct path of a substantial hurricane. The airlines wouldn’t change our return flight without drastic costs unless the area was declared a disaster. As it turned out, the hurricane made landfall the day that our flight left and we managed to make it to the airport before the road flooded. The airport lost power for a while and when our plane landed, it had to be the quickest turn and boarding that we’ve ever participated in as our pilot was determined to get us off the ground before things got too bad for us to fly.
Since that trip, we have always made sure to buy travel insurance. It doesn’t cost very much compared to what it could cost you if something disastrous happens. Some credit cards automatically provide travelers insurance when you use their card to purchase airline tickets. As the old saying goes, “hope for the best, plan for the worst”. Hopefully you will never need to use it, but we have plenty of stories from other travelers where it has turned out to be a life-saver.
Obviously, we love to travel and love every aspect of traveling, even when it isn’t as perfect as we had imagined. We will do our best to share our trips as honestly as we can without glamorizing it too much. Since we do truly enjoy seeing new places, meeting new people, and trying new foods, our experiences will likely always be more positive than negative, but when there are disappointments, we will share those as well and hopefully ways to avoid whatever pitfalls we may have encountered.
We always say we have fun wherever we are — but sometimes it is more challenging than others.
A trip is what you make of it. Some people are able to enjoy things in spite of the ups and downs and others complain that the most trivial things ruined their vacation. We always manage to have fun and sometimes the mishaps make for good stories, although like most I do tend to mainly concentrate on the positives.
Agree. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and not little things get to you ☺. The mishaps do make for good stories and memories ☺.
Ah yes, hurricanes. I was once scheduled to fly RDU-JFK-IST when a hurricane started heading our way. After a couple of rebookings fell through we eventually rented the last available car at RDU and drove to JFK. We made the flight, and the pilot announced that he would taxi out to the runway and then decide whether to take off. He decided to go for it, and the flight was so lightly loaded we both got a center section on a 747 to ourselves (remember those days?). Then there was the time I landed on Taiwan the day before a typhoon….
BTW I hope your travel insurance includes medical evacuation (gets you to nearest hospital) and repatriation (gets you home). Needed that when I broke my wrist in Switzerland.
I have a feeling the everything was wonderful people are those who don’t travel so much and need for it to have been perfect.
What a travel experience ☺. We are glad you made your flight and the pilot was able to take off. Yes, we include evacuation and repatriation ☺.
I think I romanticize travel even more before I go! I picture myself looking stylish and happy, traipsing with no rush through cultural attractions or wildflower-covered trails, and then I get there and I can’t find our apartment, or the rain seeps into the tent, and I look bedraggled instead of glamorous no matter where I am! Haha. But like childbirth, I forget the bad as soon as it’s over and keep coming back for more!
You made us laugh out loud when we read your post 😁. We have found ourselves fantasizing about an up coming trip and having things not quite go as planned. We loved your comparison to childbirth ☺
🙂
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