I purposely planned a 60 hour layover in the middle of the Atlantic on the tiny island of Sao Miguel, which is part of the Azores. Why? Because why not?
Starting off my 10 day early September getaway, I had 10 hours to decompress from a busy summer and chose to explore the harbor front area after stowing my bulky clothes book-bag at the airport lockers. So I meandered through old cobblestone streets lined with quaint cafes, reveled at lavishly ornate churches, indulged in the prevalent gelato stands and eventually even enjoyed a nap under a charming shade tree.
Before I could blink, I was off and ready to tackle numerous hiking trails on Madeira island (which was an easy additional 2 hours on a small jet plane further). After walking +145k steps or +52 miles throughout our adventures, I’m so thankful I built in time on the back end of my trip to revisit the Azores to recuperate.
Before the sun arose, I was already landing back in the capital of Ponta Delgada and joyfully sat along the rocky coastline to enjoy the first rays of light. After dropping my bags at the hostel, I made my way to the ATV operator to explore the top tourist destination of Sete Cidades. We zipped up to the highest point on the island and breathtaking views of the volcano caldera. Five uniquely colored lakes flanked the shore side, quaint town and we thoroughly enjoyed weaving around the single track trails crisscrossing the cliffs. Best excursion ever!
Day 2 is a blur of napping, reading, blog writing, pool time, leisurely walks and vacation wind down.
Not ready for this adventure to end BUT no regrets…. I love this adventure life and start planning to bring the next dream to fruition!
For a few years in the early 2010s, I seriously dove into becoming a runner and entered my share of local races.
Growing up, I admittedly hated running with a big passion and would do any type of training instead of putting one foot in front of the other aiming endlessly down the road. It also didn’t bode well for me that I abhor getting up before the crack of dawn on weekends, so racing was never going to be sustainable competitively for me.
I wasn’t breaking any records but I religiously made time 6 nights a week to make the loop around my neighborhood into my own version of therapy. My preferred distance was 4-6 miles and the consistency in my regime also helped me get in really good shape transcending into accomplishing my dreams of conquering Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Everest Base Camp.
And for four straight years I was the reigning female overall champ of the local Give Kids the World 5k in November. It wasn’t much to boast about but for me it was that elusive goal that I never thought I would be destined for. It was also an important lesson in branching out of my comfort zone and totally committing to something new.
After my last victory so close to eclipsing the 20 min 5k goal, I had to immediately head to my new job as the Associate Executive Director at the Dr. Phillips YMCA for a special Veteran’s Day salute to our heroes. Smiling ear to ear, I slipped in the back doors to take a quick shower and that is when my life literally turned upside down.
As I was drying my hair, I started losing my balance and became extremely lightheaded. I barely managed to finish getting dressed and sluggishly dragged myself down the long hallway to my new office by holding onto the walls to keep me upright.
Once inside the break area, I collapsed onto the floor and violently started puking. I faded in and out of consciousness while my head felt like it was exploding. The rest of that ridiculously embarrassing day is mostly a blur, but I’ll never forget my new boss calling 911, me only agreeing if the ambulance crew took me out the back door to avoid making a scene, then being wheeled smack through the middle of the service looking like a disheveled ghost. Completely mortifying for this introvert!
After 2 nights in the hospital and stumping the doctors with my severe symptoms, it was finally determined that I had been struck with a viral vertigo somewhere in the finish line area that had attacked my entire system. Then for a week, I slept on the couch and couldn’t do anything but stare straight ahead. Complete torture for this active nut!
No reading
No watching TV
No running
No work
I tried to return to work with restrictions, but I drove just 2 miles to the closest gas station to fill up and the world was still spinning. Definitely not safe for me to be anywhere near the highway, so I turned around and barely made it home safely to assume my familiar position on the couch.
After another 2 days, I attempted again and slowly gained my life back even though running on a treadmill didn’t resume for +2 additional weeks.
So over the last 9 years, I’ve only had one major relapse temporarily sidelining my adventures but live with the distant threat it could flare up anytime or anywhere. My biggest fear is still when approaching a 14K+ mountain summit or the anticipation of my Antarctica cruise through the hairy Drake Passage that I will be paralyzed by this uncontrollable phenomenon.
But I’ve also learned not to let any fear stand in the way of my goals and aspirations in life.
The most daunting piece of any Antarctic cruise is without question the Drake Passage. It’s truly a luck of the draw and the two day journey is necessary to endure if you truly desire to experience the harshest playground in the world.
The passage opened ~140 million years ago, has 91 active volcanoes along the route and boasts the oldest rocks on Earth at ~1.5 billion years old. Due to its unique geography, currents at this latitude are able to circumnavigate the globe without interference and can lead to brutal 50+ ft swells & 100+mph winds.
So you just have to “embrace the suck” and power through the inevitable. With the help of modern medicine through both patches and pills, I felt just moderate seasickness much to my surprise. I am notoriously sensitive to even the slightest rocky conditions, so being self confined to my bed for only half a day of the voyage is considered a big success.
The crew would show us the wind and swell maps at our nightly briefings:
Blue/green = ideal conditions 1 out of 10
Orange/yellow = generally good 4 of 10
Purple/pink/red = brace yourself 8 of 10
Without much interference, we glide through this unpredictable channel with great speed and hoping our good fortunes would translate into a seamless rest of the trip as well.
Despite the occasional big dip, the natural sway of the 50 year old G Expedition became the routine and catapulted us into an unbelievable week of exploring. The crew repeatedly reminded us that our calm 1 out of 10 cruise experience was an anomaly, and I certainly didn’t take that for granted.
Because we still had the return passage to brave through…..
I always take off for my birthday, so 2023 found me extending a business trip in the cool hub of Traverse City, Michigan.
Despite an overcast and rainy forecast, I couldn’t wait to enjoy some downtime in my third visit to this lovely town. Add in that I sorely miss the changes of seasons, so any excuse to take an excursion in the late fall colors is a gift.
A dear friend made the direct flight up north to meet me for three days of decompress time. We were fortunate to have use of another friend’s local cottage (aka mansion) to base out of prior to her selling it.
We took advantage of numerous local hikes and made time to catch the sunset over Lake Michigan. While I would normally be fine just snacking, my friend is a major foodie so we ate like queens and hit up quite a few of the quaint cafes lining the downtown streets.
And being Friday the 13th, we blindly signed up for a haunted tour of the famous insane asylum. I’m thankful it was fairly tame, as I’ve never been a big fan of Halloween gore. Despite the steady downpour adding to the eery vibes, we toured the old patient quarters and underground tunnels to cap off an uneventful evening.
Being the end of the busy season, we took advantage of sales at all the tourist traps and even enjoyed the last scoops of the locally made ice cream for the year.
We cozied up every evening early in thick blankets to watch all the new Netflix movies into the wee hours of the morning, while indulging on buttery popcorn and piping hot cocoa.
The weekend ended in a flash and it was back to reality.
As a serial perfectionist, it took me way to long in life to not only be ok with the unknown but to actually thrive in it.
One of my fav quotes: “Anything that doesn’t challenge your comfort cannot grow you. Comfortability kills more dreams than ignorance.” – Prosper Onuoha
When even the crew is snapping photos & eager to get ashore, you know you are on an anomaly of a cruise. The weather gods graced us with unbelievably calm waters & plentiful zodiac explorations.
The 129 passengers were divided into four boat groups for the voyage, rotating launch times. So twice daily, we layered up at our designated spots on the second floor mud room & ventured out into the wild. I was enamored with each & every iceberg we grazed past and equally as impressed with all the wildlife encounters along the way. And we didn’t know how rare our perfect track record (8 of 8 attempts) really was!
Fog & dense clouds surrounded us for most of the journey, but we had many pockets of brilliance where the sky peaked through always dazzling us with its patchy canvas & revealing a myriad of dimensions. We even frequently braved the bitter cold on deck just to see a new peak or be surprised by the piercing echo of a new snow caving.
What I will miss most is the complete stillness & overwhelming sense of peace I felt being in such a harsh & unforgiving landscape. The extremism was mind boggling…. truly a once in a lifetime destination!
After braving through the Drake Passage with incredibly strong headwinds to catapult us ahead of schedule, an extra early 5:50am wake up call jolts me out of bed to start one of the top 10 days of my life.
We start crunching through the sea of icebergs dotting the narrow Lemaire Channel at a snail of a pace. And yes, everyone is thinking about the fate of the great Titanic in this surreal moment.
Nonetheless, we escape unscathed into an iceberg graveyard. Easily my favorite part, as the uniqueness, color refractions & sizes of these glorious forces of nature were mesmerizing!
Our zodiac boat exploration allowed us to explore numerous different crevices & islands, all while taking in the piercing stillness of the wild & getting a glimpse of the wildlife that brave these treacherous parts.
The anticipation of our shore landing was in high gear & many of us seasoned travelers couldn’t wait to step foot officially onto our 7th continent. What an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment!
And we were immediately greeted by a colony of penguins desperately looking to get onshore to begin their month long molting process. To be responsible stewards of this pristine locale, we hover around 5m away to not disturb their home and snap tons of pictures to remember this glorious moment in time.
And just to think….. this was only day 1 of 4 landings!
The most extreme continent on earth is also the coldest, windiest, driest and most inhospitable to forms of life. Pristine and practically untouched, no one lives in Antarctica full time, apart from seals, penguins and marine life. It’s as remote as one can get.
And I couldn’t resist the opportunity to visit. My quest to conquer all 7 continents was finally going to be complete.
The once in a lifetime journey actually started almost 10 years earlier when I penned my bucket list wish for my 50th year on this beautiful planet. So March 2024 was my shot to find my way to the end of the world in Ushuaia, South America.
Cramming warm layers into only a new rolling carryon & my trusted bookbag, I braced myself for a long 35 hours travel day from Orlando to Miami to Buenos Aires to Ushuaia. And it didn’t disappoint….. starting with misplacing my car keys & a 3 hr flight delay (that part of the adventure will be a separate blog post just in itself!).
But nothing could dampen my positive vibes & the anticipation ramping up for a 2 week much needed escape.
So I eagerly boarded this 134 passenger polar expedition with eyes wide open & bracing for a smooth voyage thru the “Drake Lake” (or I have a big bottle of Dramamine & extra patches just in case). Over 2 days & 800 nautical miles are ahead of us before reaching the white abyss of the frozen continent.
Last minute opportunity to see a game at the legendary Doak Campbell Stadium against your favorite team in blue? Yes please!
The only stipulation is that I make it to Jacksonville by Sat 2pm to hitch a ride the rest of the way. So on a beautiful fall day, I put the windows down for an rare road trip up to northern Florida. I was warned upfront that if Duke pulled off the major upset that I would have to fend for myself getting home. Duly noted…..
I was the lone “devil” at a late lunch in the local dive bar but I was steadfast in my devils fandom. Not too painful and only one snarky comment from the waitress. Then we made the 1 mile trek into Seminole territory and the biggest tailgate I’d ever seen.
Our seats were exactly on the 50-yard line 26 rows up – just wow! Before I settled in as a sardine in enemy territory, I easily found the Duke supporter section….. not joking, out of a sold out crowd of 79k+ Florida State diehards there were less than 300 royal blue brave souls = .03%!!! My extended family of course was there too to cheer on #3 BJ and we enjoyed pre-game from their end zone.
And the twilight glow over Tallahassee was a mesmerizing shade of pink as the flyover ignited the crowd. Play ball!
The first half was a BLAST! Not only did Duke score first but they caught an interception to really rub it in to a stunned sellout crowd. I couldn’t be too obnoxious, as I knew it was way to early to be celebrating victory against the higher ranked and undefeated Seminoles.
And as the minutes ticked off the game clock, Florida State ended up dominating most of the second half (as expected). We even had to brave the start of a crowd brawl between the 3 young cowboys next to me who bought their tickets that morning and the 2 drunk regulars who were a little too friendly with their high fives. Testosterone was in high gear!
Fireworks capped off a hometown victory and we joined the massive herd ready to get on the road back home. The miles added up and thankfully the uneventful road trip finally expired at 3:55am and the hope of sleeping in without an alarm.
Forever a blue devil fanatic, but I’m a new believer in the power of the garnet and gold.
FearlessAdventures 