2014: A Travel Year in Review
2014 has turned out to be my biggest year of flying to date, with 28 flight segments running over 39,921 miles.
First up was Peru. Although I had been to Peru once before (in 2002), when United & Delta were having price wars out of each others hubs for about $400 from MSP, it was a deal too good to pass up. Of course, when I found the deal of upgrading to Business for about $500, that too was a deal I couldn't pass up. I spent the majority of the time in and around Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca people. The main reason for going back was to hike the Inca Trail into Machu Picchu. I had planned to hike the trail back in 2002 but the planning just didn't happen the way it was supposed to. It was on a few months after the Peruvian government started restricting access, mandating that hikers travel with a licensed guide. It was also while the internet was still in its infancy. Everything was chaos, the process archaic and the results devastating. After 3 full days of hiking through the mountains, reaching an altitude of 13,796 ft above sea level (and no sign of difficulties) I arrived on the morning of the 4th day at the sun gate - the true entrance into the citadel of Machu Picchu. What a difference this trip was. In 2002 it was rainy and cloudy while 2014 provided nothing but sun and warmth. A truly unforgettable experience.
Next up was England to visit my friend Alexandra. London is an amazing city. I was extermely nervous about visiting. I was afraid that I would fall in love with it.... and fall in love I did. I managed to see a couple of muscials (Wicked -- twice [my 11th and 12th time] & The Lion King), visit the British Museum, see Big Ben & the Parlament building and ride the London Eye..of course, a visit to the Tower of London to see the crown jewels was also in order.
July I traveled to Rochester, New York for training on a program for my job. Nothing exciting about this.
The end of September I traveled to Germany to attend a friends wedding. I met Andreas, actually, in Peru back in 2002. We had stayed in contact all this time (I've been to visit him and his sister a couple of times in Germany and Prague). So when he called me the weekend before I left for Peru and told me his girlfriend was moving to Germany and they were going to get married, and would I like to go attend, I said yes.
The end of November I traveled to England again. Part of this involved a conference on MRI and part of it was for fun. I saw my friend Alex again and went and saw a few shows (Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Urinetown, and War Horse). I also spent a few days in the Netherlands visiting with friends & family before my last 2 nights spent in Oslo. Though I was sick by this point and didn't really spend any time in the city (which was a 40 minute bus ride from the airport & my hotel).
First up was Peru. Although I had been to Peru once before (in 2002), when United & Delta were having price wars out of each others hubs for about $400 from MSP, it was a deal too good to pass up. Of course, when I found the deal of upgrading to Business for about $500, that too was a deal I couldn't pass up. I spent the majority of the time in and around Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca people. The main reason for going back was to hike the Inca Trail into Machu Picchu. I had planned to hike the trail back in 2002 but the planning just didn't happen the way it was supposed to. It was on a few months after the Peruvian government started restricting access, mandating that hikers travel with a licensed guide. It was also while the internet was still in its infancy. Everything was chaos, the process archaic and the results devastating. After 3 full days of hiking through the mountains, reaching an altitude of 13,796 ft above sea level (and no sign of difficulties) I arrived on the morning of the 4th day at the sun gate - the true entrance into the citadel of Machu Picchu. What a difference this trip was. In 2002 it was rainy and cloudy while 2014 provided nothing but sun and warmth. A truly unforgettable experience.
Next up was England to visit my friend Alexandra. London is an amazing city. I was extermely nervous about visiting. I was afraid that I would fall in love with it.... and fall in love I did. I managed to see a couple of muscials (Wicked -- twice [my 11th and 12th time] & The Lion King), visit the British Museum, see Big Ben & the Parlament building and ride the London Eye..of course, a visit to the Tower of London to see the crown jewels was also in order.
July I traveled to Rochester, New York for training on a program for my job. Nothing exciting about this.
The end of September I traveled to Germany to attend a friends wedding. I met Andreas, actually, in Peru back in 2002. We had stayed in contact all this time (I've been to visit him and his sister a couple of times in Germany and Prague). So when he called me the weekend before I left for Peru and told me his girlfriend was moving to Germany and they were going to get married, and would I like to go attend, I said yes.
The end of November I traveled to England again. Part of this involved a conference on MRI and part of it was for fun. I saw my friend Alex again and went and saw a few shows (Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Urinetown, and War Horse). I also spent a few days in the Netherlands visiting with friends & family before my last 2 nights spent in Oslo. Though I was sick by this point and didn't really spend any time in the city (which was a 40 minute bus ride from the airport & my hotel).
Airlines Flown: | ||
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Aircraft Flown: |
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| Airbus A319-100 |  |
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| Airbus A320-200 |  |
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| Airbus A330-300 |  |
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| Boeing 737-600 |  |
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| Boeing 737-800 |  |
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| Boeing 737-900 |  |
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| Boeing 767-300 |  |
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| Boeing 767-400 |  |
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| Boeing 777-300 |  |
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| Bombardier Canadair CRJ-200 |  |
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| Bombardier Canadair CRJ-900 |  |
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| Embraer ERJ-170-100 |  |
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| Embraer ERJ-190-100 |  |
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| McDonnell Douglas MD-11** |  |
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| McDonnell Douglas MD-88 |  |
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Countries Visited / Entered / Exited: |
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 Netherlands |
 Norway |
 Peru |
 United Kingdom |
 United States |
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Airports: |
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| AMS | Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| CUZ | Cuzco - Teniente Alejandro Velasco Astete, Cuzco, Peru | |
| IAH | George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston, Texas, USA | |
| JUL** | Manco Capac International Airport, Juliaca, Peru | |
| KEF* | Keflavik International Airport, Keflavik, Iceland | |
| LGW** | Gatwick International Airport, London, England | |
| LHR** | Heathrow International Airport, London, England | |
| LIM | Jorge Chavez International Airport, Lima, Peru | |
| MAN** | Manchester International Airport, Manchester, England | |
| MSP | Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, MSP, Minnesota, USA | |
| ORD | O'hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, USA | |
| OSL** | Oslo-Gardermoen International Airport, Oslo, Norway | |
| ROC** | Greater Rochester International Airport, Rochester, New York, USA | |
| TXL** | Tegel Airport, Berlin, Germany | |
| YUL** | Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Montreal, Canada | |
| YYZ** | Lester B. Pearson International Airport, Toronto, Canada | |
| ZRH | Zürich/Kloten International Airport, Zürich, Switzerland | |
| * Unscheduled diversion airport (medical emergency) ** new airports for 2014 |
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| An Andean woman creating beautiful clothing. |
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| looking across the Andes Mountains. reflecting at Runkuraqay Pass. |
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| Inca Trail: Day 2 - Looking back on our progress. |
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| Inca Trail: Day 2 - Dead Woman's Pass |
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| The ruins of Intipata, just above the city of Winya Wayna along the Inca Trail. |
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| Machu Picchu |
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| Machu Picchu as seen looking down from the summit of Huayna Picchu. |
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| Big Ben and Westminster Bridge |
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| Buckingham Palace |
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| The Eye over London |
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| Light trails on the Westminster Bridge |
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| Reflective Amsterdam |
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| Light trails over Prinsengracht |
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| Het Paleis op de Dam voor Kerst. |
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