NikonGear'23

Travelogues => Travel Diaries => Topic started by: Ann on February 28, 2018, 19:43:46

Title: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: Ann on February 28, 2018, 19:43:46
The Gods Driven Crazy

The Gods obviously had it in for me and meetings were summoned somewhere on Olympus, where the following ensued:
-----------

Have just heard that she is planning to go photographing in the rain forests of Costa Rica.

We cannot allow that!! This must be stopped

A nice little attack of E. Coli should settle that idea and might also solve the problems we have with this individual permanently?

Drat: although she was one of 70 people who were hospitalised during this E. Coli outbreak, and was in the ICU for five days, she has managed to survive (although others did not).

At least, she is so weakened by the experience (she needs a walking frame to even stand-up!) there is no way that she can go to Costa Rica in just four-weeks time.

Problem: she has discovered a Treadmill in her daughter’s house and she is on that damned machine three times a day. She says that she has fully recovered and definitely intends to go on the trip

A heavy snow-storm the day before her flight should put the kibosh on this whole stupid notion.

Success: her JetBlue flight has been cancelled by the airline just a few hours before departure.

She has apparently telephoned every airline that operates from any airport within 100 miles and found the last remaining seat on any aircraft which is flying in the general direction of San Jose.

Twelve hours after her original flight, and a long taxi-ride to Newark, New Jersey, has finally got her on to a red-eye United Airlines flight to Panama.

Newark delayed the plane on the runway for an hour but unfortunately it is now airborne.

How do we stop this?

Guess we could give the passenger (who is sitting four rows in front of her) a heart attack?!

 Much scrambling by the flight-crew and a couple of passengers with medical training; some extensive use of Oxygen cylinders; but the flight has to be aborted and it lands at Charlotte, North Carolina where an ambulance is already on the tarmac awaiting the sick passenger.

So the plane will drop off that passenger and immediately take-off again?

Absolutely not!
Everybody has to de-plane because the Oxygen cylinders have been used and the flight cannot continue until they have been replaced.
It’s the middle of the night so getting new cylinders from a warehouse is a problem.

Three hours pass. United Airlines provides free candies and bottles of water!

Oh good: one of the flight crew has now exceeded her allowable working hours and must be replaced.

Finally, everyone re-boards the plane but it sits on the runway for a further hour before some-one eventually wakes-up in the Control Tower and gives the flight permission to take-off.

Very late arrival in Panama City means that she has missed her connection to San Jose, Costa Rica!

Several more hours pass before a replacement flight becomes available so she finally does arrive in Costa Rica — but 24 hours later than originally planned so she has missed the start of her trip and the car which would have driven her to the Lodge.

Foiled again!
She has found a taxi who has agreed to drive her the five hours north to the Lodge in the forests on the Nicaraguan border — the last couple of hours over dirt roads.

One last possible trick: United Airlines have lost both of her suitcases!

That will surely fix her?
She has no tripod, monopod or Wimberley on which to mount that ridiculously heavy D5 of hers and that very expensive 500 mm FL E lens which she has rented;
no personal pharmaceuticals (including bug repellent!) or cosmetics;
and no change of clothes from the thick winter sweaters in which she has travelled from snow-bound New York to the Tropics.

Unfortunately, she has apparently managed to get all her lenses and cameras into her Carry-on luggage.

Well she did reach Costa Rica in spite of every possible thing which we Gods could do.

Her stubborn persistence has confounded our every effort and has been more than enough to drive us completely crazy so perhaps we should finally relent and allow those missing suitcases to be found and delivered to her at the Lodge two days later?

 
Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: Eric Borgström on February 28, 2018, 20:12:55
Girl power!?
What a story!
Looking forward to pictures.
Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: Akira on February 28, 2018, 22:29:31
Ann, you surely have a charmed life.  I'm totally floored...
Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: armando_m on February 28, 2018, 22:31:00
Good to hear from you Ann! your last post was from early December ?
Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: Erik Lund on February 28, 2018, 22:39:37
Wow! Tough going Ann ;)


Looking forward to the images :-*
Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: Ann on February 28, 2018, 23:21:37
"Early December" was right in the middle of this whole saga and was during the time that I was recuperating (and tread-milling like crazy!) after the hospital event.

In this area, the Health Authorities send a visiting Nurse to check-up on recent hospital patients.

This rather serious woman came and then telephoned my daughter after her visit to report that I was in excellent condition physically — but she was very concerned about my mental stability.

My daughter was distinctly puzzled by this.

It seems that the Nurse thought I must be Delusional because I had explained that her idea of sending a Physiotherapist to visit me was a great idea because there was considerable work to be done to get me fit for a ten-day trek in the Costa Rican Rain-forest four weeks later at the beginning of January.

My daughter was able to assure her that Costa Rica was no "hallucination" but was entirely real; and the trip was fully booked, confirmed and was definitely intended to happen!

As for the state of my "mental stability"  . . .  probably questionable?

 ::)

I have posted some photographs from the trip in my Costa Rica thread.

Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: Frank Fremerey on March 01, 2018, 00:15:05
Oh, Ann, how much did I miss you? You and your stories!!!

Seems you extended the trip far beyond the originally planned schedule. Hope it was worth the effort. Welcome back in one piece!!!
Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: Frank Fremerey on March 01, 2018, 00:18:35
Wow! Tough going Ann ;)


She still feels 25 and shows that she is capable of stunts many 25 year olds are not able to pull of.

Ann is really really cool!
Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: Ann on March 01, 2018, 00:51:31
Frank and everyone else:

Thank you all for your kind comments and encouragement.

It was a splendid and very exciting trip!

I did extend my stay in Costa Rica to make up for the lost beginnings because Juan (our incredibly talented Guide and trip-organiser) had a few free days after the other four people returned home so was able to take me to explore other areas of the country in his own four-wheel drive.

We took it off-road and up muddy old farm tracks which even Juan (who lives in Costa Rica) had never explored previously and searched for frogs on forest trails at night.

I am afraid that we covered his beautiful car with thick red mud which he was hoping that his sons might be persuaded to wash-off when he returned home

More pictures of these adventures later in the Costa Rica thread.


Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: tommiejeep on March 01, 2018, 05:28:18
Wow Ann and I thought I have had some jinxed travel.   I really enjoyed your write-up and the images you've posted so far.   Good that you were able to spend the extra time.
All the best,
Tom
Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: John Geerts on March 01, 2018, 11:29:20
A story with a lot of misfortune.  Good to hear it turned out to be successful. !!
Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: Anthony on March 01, 2018, 11:55:46
What a set of nightmares!  I look forward to seeing the photos.
Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: Hugh_3170 on March 01, 2018, 13:51:30
Ann, good to see you beating both the gods and the odds all at once and welcome back.  ;D
Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: Olivier on March 01, 2018, 15:14:44
What a story!
Interestingly, I though of you yesterday and was going to send you a message to have some news. I am not disappointed!
Obviously, you are unstoppable.
Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: elsid on March 01, 2018, 19:26:06
Dear Ann,
My home is about a 4 hr drive from the foot of mount Olympus. What I will do is download some of your  photos from Costa Rica, climb
to the dwellings of the Olympians (with some offerings) and show them your photos. I am sure they will be favorable to you from there on.
As the mountain is covered with snow, I have to wait until spring comes. I will keep you posted.
Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: CS on March 02, 2018, 00:26:32
The Perils of Pauline pale in comparison!   ;)
Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: Ann on March 02, 2018, 01:07:05
Elsid:

My own personal Ambassador? Directly to the Gods?

Will I be entitled to free use of the Diplomatic Pouch and free flights on Celestial Airlines too?

Unfortunately, I fear that gaining those two perks may be beyond your ambassadorial powers but receiving a little less obstruction by the Gods the next time that I set-off on an adventure would indeed be exceedingly welcome!
Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: Bruno Schroder on March 12, 2018, 10:29:57
Ann, you're too busy with your life to do it yourself so please do us all a favor: get someone to write your detailed biography in a full book. Next to photographers, I know a few girls who would appreciate a role model.
Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: Ann on March 14, 2018, 21:51:12
Bruno:

Thank you so much for your encouragement.

Several people have suggested a Biography but so many of my adventures have involved me in such extraordinary (and often ridiculous) situations that I seriously wonder if anyone would believe the stories.

I strongly suspect that the book would find itself placed on the Fiction shelves?!

Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: Frank Fremerey on March 15, 2018, 04:40:12
fiction? yes. very good. What is good fiction? Truth in the form of a good story. That is what everybody loves to read! No one else can see through your eyes if not in your words and pictures
Title: Re: The Gods Driven Crazy
Post by: Bruno Schroder on March 16, 2018, 09:26:47
What better life than one that can pass for fiction? ))