Here I am again at YUL, my trusty backpack and I getting ready to get back on the road where we belong. I’m sitting at the gate waiting to board the first leg of my flight, which is an overnight hop to Amsterdam, en route to Cape Town. My plane appears to be named after Audrey Hepburn, ostensibly in some misguided attempt to recapture the glamour of international travel in bygone eras. The irony is surely lost on them.
It’s been a rainy Father’s Day, and here in Montreal, plenty of families are lamenting the thwarting of their barbecue plans. Most of you know me and my affinity for cooler temperatures, so I’m sure it will surprise nobody that I’m choosing to head to the southern hemisphere during winter. Now, winter in South Africa isn’t quite like winter here; the latest forecast for Cape Town has daytime highs in the high teens and overnight lows in the low teens. In other words, rather like the ‘summer’ weather we’ve been having here at home.
The familiarity of packing, bag check, airport security, and the usual pre-departure checklist have become routine by now. But of course, travel is all about breaking out of the routine; finding what’s different instead of familiar. There are always those nervous jitters whenever I head out to someplace unfamiliar, and certainly I expect that Africa will be one of the biggest challenges yet. But that’s the point, right? How boring life would be if it were scripted in advance, if you always knew what to expect.
Anyway, at the moment I’m not really thinking about what’s in store for my when I get there. Mostly, I’m some combination of glad to be getting out of the rain, hopeful that the loudly-crying toddler in the lounge won’t be seated in my row, and mildly annoyed to be missing Mad Men tonight. (No spoilers, please!)
My flight is boarding shortly. As usual, I’ll be blogging about my travels here, and I hope you’ll choose to follow along with me.
Bon voyage!!!! Can’t wait to see all the pics and posts!