Lee Traynor - Journey to Te Ika-a-Maui

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Sunday, February 8: Sunny, quite cold, clouding over in the afternoon, and clearing again in the evening

Bart & Thera’s (airbnb, €28)

Final tasks that had to be done were cleaning the flat, taking the rubbish out, making some space in the wardrobe and getting the case to shut. Seems it will weigh in at about 26 kg, with another 10 in the rucksack.

Down to the bus stop and then two very short bus rides to the local station, a short train ride to the main station, where I bought a couple of rolls for lunch and then the very long train journey to Hilversum. The train was only fairly full, so I was seated for the entire trip, but had to lift the case up to a shelf at about 1.5 m height, and there was little room to do a crouch and grab.

I discovered that the ipod had synced the podcasts, but not the playlist for them (the other playlists had been synced, or at least they were present in the menu). The best I could do was to listen to two weeks’ worth of Science Friday and by then most of the journey was over.

I was met outside the station by Bart and his partner Thera, and was driven to their flat not far away. It seems that I am their first airbnb guest, so I recounted some of my exploits with this mode of accommodation for them. Time was moving on, and I knew that infrastructure was poor, so I got them to direct me to a snackbar for chicken and chips for €6.25. Sauce was nondescript, as were the chips, but the chicken was genuinely crunchy and tasty. Can’t argue with the price.

I will now see about getting the computer running which is part of the furniture and see about getting to the airport by 9:00. Internet was intermittent.

Monday, February 9: Overcast

Was awoken around 5:00 by one gigantic cramp in the left calf which soon threatened to spread to the rest of the leg. Tried massaging and stretching but nothing really helped. I was therefore ready to go for breakfast shortly before 7:00, had two slices of bread with ham and salami, and commenced drinking the “sports” drink that I had.

By the time I was ready to go, Thera was also up and I gave her their key back, and made my way to the station, which I reached in good time. When full, the suitcase can be a little unstable. One woman in the lift inquired about “vakatje”. Good thing also that I had enough small change for the ticket, and was on my way to Hilversum, changed there for the airport (was very full, standing room only). Arrived at the planned time of just before 9:00 and went to check in. Apparently, batteries can’t travel on their own in the suitcase any more, so the suitcase had to be repacked. The rucksack had to be weighed as well but all in all everything was still in the green zone. Went through passport control and looked around for a pharmacy, but could find none. Funny how I forgot about the calcium business this time around – was staring directly at the tablets yesterday.

Listened to two episodes of Science Talk , went through security (lost the sunscreen as the container was too big) and am awaiting boarding.

Tuesday, February 10: Fine, sunny, warm

Airport Gateway Hotel, 206 Kirkbride Road, Mangere 2022, tel.: +64 9 275 4079, triple room for $84, including shuttle

The flight was surprisingly on time, although it had to meander around various crises (this was the successor to the ill-fated MH 17) and negotiating the airport was not a big problem.

I had chicken with rice, there was a snack with Pringles, and then another meal where I chose the egg roll, chicken sausage and potato boat. It was a bit difficult choosing entertainment as there seemed to be nothing rivetingly interesting but took in Before I Go to Sleep and Gone Girl , a Highsmith-esque tale with many unforeseen twists. To fill up I had the three episodes of Burnt Notice on offer.

Had a bit of a nap in the meantime to compensate waking at 5:00, but am still wide awake as I sit in the boarding lounge.

Would it be worth having a separable vanity bag so that this stuff is accessible without having to open the overhead bin all the time?

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