Dailyprompt-2883
What’s the longest trip you’ve ever taken?
If we’re talking about distance, my longest journeys have probably been between the Canary Islands and Norway.
On a map it doesn’t look terribly complicated.
Canary Islands → Norway.
Simple.
Except when you live on an island, travelling anywhere can turn into something resembling an international obstacle course.
These days we live on Fuerteventura, and there are no direct flights from Fuerteventura to Bergen.
So depending on what tickets are available, a journey can look something like this:
Fuerteventura → Gran Canaria
Plane number one.
Gran Canaria → Oslo
Plane number two.
Oslo → Bergen
Plane number three.
And then there are the airport layovers.
Waiting.
Finding another gate.
More waiting.
Coffee.
Checking the departure board for the seventeenth time.
Another plane.
Another airport.
More coffee.
By the time I finally reach Bergen, I sometimes feel as though I’ve visited half of Europe without actually leaving an airport.
Occasionally, though, you get lucky and find a direct flight from Gran Canaria to Bergen.
That flight takes around six and a half hours, and compared with changing planes several times, it almost feels luxurious.
Almost. 😂
One particular journey between Gran Canaria and Bergen has stayed firmly in my memory.
In January 2016, my first grandchild was born.
At the time, we were still living on Gran Canaria, and luckily I managed to get a direct flight to Bergen.
The flight itself wasn’t what made that journey unforgettable.
It was the weather.
I left Gran Canaria during calima, with temperatures around 28–30°C.
Several hours later, I landed in Bergen.
Temperature?
–13°C.
That’s more than 40 degrees difference.
My body probably wondered what planet I’d accidentally landed on.
But my hair?
My hair took it personally. 🤣🤣🤣
The moment I stepped outside into that freezing Norwegian air, it practically stood on end.
I looked as though someone had jumped out from behind me and shouted:
BOO!
😂😂😂
☀️🌴🔥 28–30°C
Six and a half hours later:
❄️🇳🇴🥶 –13°C
Forget jet lag.
I had hair lag.
🤣🤣🤣
But waiting at the end of that journey was something much more important than the temperature.
My first grandchild. 💜
And for that, I would happily have travelled those thousands of kilometres and subjected my poor hair to a forty-degree identity crisis all over again.
These days, though, getting from Fuerteventura to Bergen can require considerably more patience.
Three planes?
Several airports?
Layovers?
For someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy flying in the first place, that’s a lot of time spent thinking:
Why didn’t someone build a ferry all the way to Norway?
So yes, the Canary Islands to Norway is probably my longest regular journey.
Sometimes it’s relatively straightforward.
Sometimes it’s an aviation endurance test.
And sometimes you arrive to discover that your destination is more than forty degrees colder than where you started.
Whatever happens…
Pack layers.
And perhaps a hat.
Your hair will thank you.
https://ditto.fm/silenced-but-not-broken
My new song “Silenced but not broken” Lyric video.
With love, coffee, poetry, and stardust,
— Maggie The Afterlove Voice 💫
If you want a reading, send me an email:
Leave a comment