Traveling Sucks Yet We Persist
maybe if we flew to our destinations it wouldn't be so bad
You’re reading life: examined, a compendium of ideas, thoughts, and questions about living a creative, intentional life—from my home in Portugal to you.
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See that photo up there? That’s a view of the Plaza de Bib Rambla with the Renaissance Catedral de Granada to the right in the background. What a stunner of a view that was.
Good thing we had a view because that was about all we saw of Granada.
In March, we were in Granada for our 8-day visit to Andalusia, which started in Seville, and then continued to Córdoba (one of my favorite cities).
From Córdoba, we took the train to Granada to spend four days wandering the old town, wow-ing at the architecture and ooh-ing at Alhambra's famed gardens. And although we don't usually visit palaces or cathedrals found on internet must-see lists, the Alhambra had a top spot on our let's do this list while in Granada.
Tickets for the Alhambra Palace were sold out months in advance, but we snagged a pair of tickets for the Gardens before our departure. Gardens and parks get top billing when we travel, so we were happy with this.
After Granada, we planned to head to Antequera for two days before making the long return trip home to Portugal.
Sadly, we didn't get to enjoy the Alhambra Gardens or anything else in Granada, a town we so wanted to see.
Instead, both of us were sick with sinus infections likely brought on by every damn flowering thing in bloom and the "very unhealthy" AQI rating thanks to the Sahara desert sands that dusted the region and followed us throughout our journey. The lousy air quality and sinus infections forced us to stay indoors to salvage whatever breathing ability we had left.
Our holiday in Granada consisted of a few quick trips to the pharmacy and grocery store; otherwise, we stayed inside for four days watching the apocalypse-ochre skies turn muddy when the rains finally came.
Feeling crappy and defeated, we decided against our two-day stop in Antequera and canceled our lodging (refundable) and train tickets (partially refundable).
The same went for the train + bus + train (not refundable) back to Setúbal from Antequera. With these plans scrapped, we headed to Madrid with new train tickets and booked an overnight hotel stay. We flew home from Madrid the following day.
Not Complaining, Just Saying
There is a familiar refrain when I write about my travel adventures: grousing. I don't mean to sound cranky; I head out looking forward to the adventure, in an upbeat mood with lots of snacks at hand, so there's no need to grouse.
But why oh why does travel suck?
It's annoying that I always get sick, or if not full-blown sick, some sort of unwellness happens to me when I travel, regardless of how prepared I am for the opposite.
Disturbing one's routine and unfamiliar surroundings and circumstances can be disconcerting, but I like change, so that can't be it (can it?). I'm not sure what makes me feel yucky, but feel yucky, I do.
I know others who experience this, and I wonder—do you feel yucky when you travel, too? Travel is supposed to be fun, right?
Milo, Our Anchor
Sweet Milo, our little freckle-faced dog, keeps us grounded—literally and metaphorically. He enriches our lives beyond measure but makes it hard to go anywhere for more than a few hours at a time.
In the past, we had a few friends willing to watch him while we were away, but their lives are busy; we can no longer impinge upon their good will. And as we've yet to find a pet sitter we can trust or even one available, we either stay home or take the little guy with us.
Trains, Sure, But Please, No Buses
Consider a hypothetical honeymoon in Italy as an example of what ground travel with Milo would look like.
To get to Italy with Milo via train (dogs are not allowed on buses) would take about five days when you add in overnight stops and train journeys of at most six hours or so. This schedule would give us a few days at our destination with all the excitement of another five-day trip on the return.
—> For comparison: a direct flight from Lisbon to Rome would take ~3 hours.
We love train travel, the journey as much as or more so than getting to the destination. If we had overflowing bank accounts, it would be fun to ramble around Europe by rail, watching the scenery go by, stopping along the route in quaint little towns, and of course sampling coffee along the way. For now, though, we have a budget to stick to; taking ten days to travel for a five-day trip seems silly.
A note about Portuguese trains: Traveling north to south and vice versa, Portuguese trains are not too bad, but don’t try to go across the country—especially across the border to Spain, where you’ll find Madrid, a glorious hub of train connections. But once in Spain, France, or nearly any other European country, trains are the way to go.
Can We Keep This Commitment?
Since we're committed to traveling by rail and bus when it's the best or only option, we bring much of this travel misery upon ourselves.
If we tally the costs of air travel and its environmental impact versus the impact on my well-being, the costs tip the scales to the detriment of my health and good humor.
I don't suggest we'll become frequent fliers, but we might need to relax our standards if we want to travel.
This is a complex topic in our house, as flying goes against our values. But we'd also like to see a few more places in Europe before we're too old, tired, or irritable to do so.
So, we'll continue to wrestle with the travel by land or air conundrum while acknowledging our privilege to have this topic and these experiences available for debate.
And who knows, we may fly to Italy, with Milo in tow, for that hypothetical honeymoon one day.
ONE GOOD LINK:
Do you think it’s too late to be an artist? Think you’re too old? Check out this short video of 93-year-old Dorothea Rockburne (whose last name should be Rockstar):
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I like your caption "Traveling Sucks Yet We Persist"
"maybe if we flew to our destinations it wouldn't be so bad"
very catchy and arresting . . . 🫶
But i assure u Flying 🛩️ is worse . . . 😵💫 😖 🤒 🤕 🤮 🤢 🥴😟😥 🤯 🥵
- coz i'm a Pilot so i sh'd know . . .
Ciao 🙌 🫶 👯♂✨⚡⚡
I, too, always get ill. My system is attacked by any and all germs and bugs, so I mask. And I'm aiming for the opposite of what you suggest! Less flying, as the time and flood of issues--from delays and cancelations to the crappy fellow passengers flinging their hair and voices all over the place--is too much. Good thing that we had traveled a good deal before moving and a great deal when first living here that we've experienced a lot of what NEEDS to be experienced and can now drive to the many wonderful places across Portugal and Spain. But we try to be flexible to avoid the horrendous fall and spring dust storms and pollen. Try to. Thanks for sharing, and maybe renting a car can give you a better experience?