Sunday, 03 September 2006

Boston (Massachusetts) over the pond to Over (Cambridgeshire, UK)

By Sunday morning the remains of Hurricane Ernesto had arrived and it was pouring with rain. It rained all morning, so I stayed in and finalised my packing. I said my goodbyes and thanks for a very pleasant stay before David very kindly drove me to the airport. With all the mist and rain it was impossible even to see planes taxing or taking off; I hoped the air traffic controllers were on top of their game today. I had no help or sympathy here with my large bike-box and had to queue up like everyone else and negotiate the zig-zag of barriers at check-in. I had to stand the bike-box up on end to fit between the cordons which meant I couldn’t see where I was going and kept bumping into the lady in front. (Sorry) (Sorry) (Sorry)

Once I was checked in, I went for something to eat before going through security, which wasn’t as painful as I thought it might be. The flight back was uneventful and I arrived to a pleasant, sunny Monday in Heathrow.

At one and the same time it was both sad and a relief to be at the end of my travels. It was a relief to be able to look forward to staying in one place for a little while and have a rest, but I wonder how soon I will get itchy feet once again. Have I learned anything from my journey? About myself? Probably not! At least nothing I didn’t already know. I certainly learned a bit about the places I travelled, mostly Newfoundland. I travelled to some great places, saw some great things, but most of all, met some great people. If the world was ruled by people who didn’t want power the world would be a far better place.