Back in February, I had the opportunity to visit South America and Antarctica, seeing both the Mirror of Heaven and Antarctica all in one trip — truly a rare experience in life. However, something nerve-wracking yet ultimately harmless happened right at the start of the journey.
Here’s how it went: currently, there are no direct flights from Hong Kong to South America, and getting to Bolivia is even more circuitous. Taking the Air France flight I was on as an example, you first fly to Paris, then to Colombia, and only then do you transfer to La Paz, the capital of Bolivia.
After checking in at the counter, I boarded the plane as usual. At that moment, I was filled with both anticipation and anxiety. I was excited to set foot in South America and Antarctica for the first time, but also nervous about whether I could handle the Antarctic weather and the high-altitude effects in Bolivia. I thought to myself, what if I couldn’t manage? But there was no “what if” — if that were the case, I’d just have to push through. Because this wasn’t an ordinary trip, it was my job. Moreover, I was carrying a lot of sponsored items, along with the expectations of friends and readers. Whenever I thought about that, the pressure naturally mounted.
Finally, I got on the plane and took a seat by the aisle in row 30. Watching the other passengers board one after another, with five minutes left before takeoff, everyone was seated and ready to go. But then…
Right at that moment, the ground staff who had checked me in rushed up in a panic and said to me: “Sir, there’s a problem with your boarding pass. We can’t let you fly to Bolivia!”
I was stunned for a moment, wondering if I had to get off the plane. So I asked the ground staff what I should do and whether I should hand her my ticket. She wasn’t entirely sure either, so she communicated with other staff via walkie-talkie. In the end, they decided to let me exit in Colombia first and handle the Bolivia transfer arrangements on my own. Before long, the plane officially took off, beginning our over 20-hour journey.
There were also some minor hiccups when entering Colombia, mainly because I had to leave the same day and couldn’t fill in accommodation details on the entry form. The customs officers there only spoke Spanish, and after seeing several of them, it took nearly half an hour to get everything sorted out. Fortunately, the flight to Bolivia went smoothly, and this South America and Antarctica journey finally got underway without any major issues.
Text and photos: Dan @ The Story of a Half-Tourism Journalist
--
Related Reading
Visit the Mirror of Heaven and Travel to Antarctica All in One Go!