Leaving was tough. I hadn't count on that. I certainly didn't think of that when I made my bookings and plans for the climb. The thought of being away for 1 month already got me missing everything. It must be age. 5years ago, I would have gladly jumped on any flight that took me far and long. I was apprehensive, and for all that uncertainty in the planning, I was glad I took SQ. Leaving wasn't easy, but SQ made it more bearable. Something reliable that I was familiar with. I realised that I was more nervous than going for an IM race. That would ending 17h. This would be 25 days of non-stop adventure. Very different from a triathlon for sure, too many elements outside of our control.
I managed to sleep 7h on a flight of 10.5h. Decent! The flight was not full and I could lie across three seats and snooze. There was a moment as we descended to Johannesburg when the plane was flying at 6,700m. A sudden reality spank when I realised that I was trying to climb above this plane?! Aconcagua stands at 6,900+m. Gosh!
I'm now in transit in Johannesburg. I hope my bags made it onto the plane too. I had an enormous giant duffel at 20kg, and a smaller one at 8.5kg. Putting everything into one bag would have made it impossible to lug it. I wonder how I would manage them when I arrive in Buenos Aires, but I would leave the worrying to 12h later. My next flight is 11h. I have not flown South African Airways before, I hope it goes well.
The journey has started. I was told by friends that no Singaporean female climber has summitted Aconcagua. Really? I found that hard to believe. Let's see how my climb goes. At the very least, I will be back with new lungs. :)
1 comment:
Hey PS, Take care, enjoy and climb safely. Understand your feeling of staying abroad, away from home for such a long time, be it work or play. Like you to share your time there; so take many many pictures OK?!! Cheers! See you back home in Jan.
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