Trip Genesis

About a year ago, as part of a GTD collection exercise, I came across a file folder with my old Continental OnePass documents. Out of curiosity more than anything, I tried logging into the account. (I haven't flown on Continental in years and no longer remember why I flew them originally.) To my surprise the account was still active and had a balance.

A snowboarding instructor from Argentina I know at Whistler-Blackcomb told me in the early 2000s that he wanted to put together a July/August trip to South America at some point. I thought, "What a great idea for a summer vacation." He was instrumental in founding the Spanish language instructor program at Whistler-Blackcomb. Four years ago while chatting online he forwarded a link to a resort in Chile, Valle Nevado, he frequently recruited instructors from.

I started to investigate where my balance could take me. Anywhere in North America was possible but that seemed like a waste of found points. My first thoughts were some sort of open jaw trip to Europe. But the balance was insufficient. And then Valle Nevado came to mind. Could I get to South America? Yes!

August 2007 found me in Vancouver one weekend attending a wedding. The day after the nuptials I ran in to some riding friends and their partners at the Pumpjack Sunday beer bust. I mentioned my plans to put a group together to tour a few resorts in the Andes and they jumped at the idea. I said I'd contact them in the new year with more details.

February 2008 and for the first time in over four years I was back in Whistler for Winter Pride (née Altitude). On my way back home, stopped in to the Pumpjack again and ran in to the same group from August and learned they had all made other travel plans for the year. Slowly my group trip hopes were fading.

Which brings me to today, the start of my 18 day trip. Today might better be termed the preface since the actual trip starts tomorrow at 8am. This of course means being at the airport by 6am for processing by The DHS. Continental doesn't fly in to Calgary so this puts me in Edmonton for the night.

I find myself with mixed emotions of excitement and anxiety. Excitement that this is the first major trip I've made since attending Mardi Gras 2000 in Sydney, Australia. Anxiety in part from the language difference. To alleviate some of that I took a Spanish for Travelers language course from the University of Calgary. Like most things, unless you use it, you lose it. Strangely enough I have become much more aware of attempting to pronounce Spanish words using Spanish phonemes, not French (my first and only other language I've studied). I'm trying to temper the anxiety somewhat by this litany from Island by Aldous Huxley:

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

4am will come far too quickly.