One Last Hug, Then North to Canada

15th Mar 10:48 AM

Well, this should be interesting. Two attempts to get Amazon parcels delivered, and the hotel in San Diego has refused both of them. Even after I contacted them and was told it would be absolutely fine, the person at reception still turns them away.

So that's a bit of a problem, because now I'm missing my bear canister. I won't actually need it until about 1,100 km in, so I'll have to figure out how to get it sent to Kennedy Meadows.

Such a shame that you still have to rely on people who don't take these things quite so seriously.

Letting go will be the motto, and it's starting already. I'm not even on the trail yet. Let things be, take responsibility yourself… and what would happen if you didn't? 🤔

Actually, it feels quite good to let go of everything again. Breathe in, breathe out. Let things be and take the day as it comes.

19th Mar 8:00 AM

Wide awake at 3:50. Right… now what 🤔 Still a bit of waiting to do. Just try getting back to sleep when all the little wheels in your head are spinning at full speed again. Have I got this? Did I pack that? Oh dear… do I have everything I need?

Got up at half past five in the end. And before you know it, you're at Schiphol. Time to say goodbye again, and it still doesn't feel good. Looking at the map, there'll soon be more than 9,000 km between us… that's almost a quarter of the way around the world.

Oof, this is all going a bit fast. No queue at check-in, no queue at security. Not nice 🥹 A kiss, a wave, a joke, a lump in the throat… well, what do you say? See you in a bit 🤔 Feel free to pop over 🤪 See you in a while 🥹.

20th Mar 2:27 AM

Passport control was a bit busier. I zigzag my way through the prescribed route. Gate opens, gate closes. Passport… and yes, I'm still allowed through. No fuss, no complaints, no questions. Everything going as it should. Same at security: nothing to declare, no little bits and pieces causing trouble. And there I am, in the middle of Terminal 3. Alone, with hundreds of people passing on either side. Little carts whizzing past. A world of its own.

I find a quiet spot and the waiting begins. The ultimate kind of waiting, the sort that normally makes you older… but since I'm travelling back in time, I should look younger again nine hours later 🥳

5:38 AM

London Heathrow. Quite big, especially when you need a train to get to another terminal.

But so far everything is moving along nicely. Absolutely nothing to complain about. Bit of a shame to buy a bottle of water at Schiphol and then have to throw it away because you're going through security yet again… but honestly, it's all running smoothly.

Funny, isn't it? There's so much negativity in the world that you almost start wondering whether you'll even manage to get away… and here I am, on the next plane without any trouble at all.

4:24 PM

Everything happens quite quickly. Dinner arrives after barely an hour in my seat. Then I start dozing off anyway… no, I think, stretch this day out. Better to skip a night's sleep than lie awake all night once I get there.

They announce a little detour because of bad weather over Greenland. Another 30 minutes or so 🧐 Oh well, on a 12-hour flight I suppose we can manage that 🤪

The landscape looks bizarre from up here. Like an upside-down seabed. Bare, flat and nothing.

6:44 PM

Through security one more time and then… yep, we made it: San Diego 🎉 Once a Spanish mission outpost, now mostly sunshine, beaches and laid-back vibes 😎

Taxi to the hotel, and to my surprise there are parcels waiting for me after all 😂 The things you worry about…

We stretch the day out until about 10 pm, and then I've had quite enough. See you tomorrow 👋

21th Mar 8:58 AM

Slept well and enjoyed staying in bed a little longer.

You have to crawl out of the nest eventually, so alright: up I get, and off for a walk to Walmart. What a huge shop… I really have to stop myself from buying too much.

Then a quick visit to REI for the last few little things, and I'm pretty much ready to start the PCT.

7:16 PM

It's still quite a walk, and the nightlife is already getting going. I squeeze my way through the drunken shouting crowd and find somewhere quiet to wait for an Uber back to the hotel. Nice and relaxed in my own little bubble.