The World is Really Big….Who Knew?

December 5th, 2025

After my marathon flights back from Antarctica, I intend to do more research on available flights for all of my future trips. I thought it was a bit strange to fly down to Santiago Chile via Los Angeles, a nice short hop from Sacramento, and then return via Atlanta – a seemingly endless 5 hours flight across the country. Yeah, I know I live in a non-hub city, but it just did not seem logical to book a cross country flight when return flights can wind up in Houston, Dallas and LA, leaving a much shorter hop by home. Leg cramps on an airplane are just not a lot of fun. I’d like to avoid that again. Or remember to take one of my pickle juice shots along (they really do work).

As of a few days ago, I had three trips in 2026, and three in 2027 which require travel plans. (Baja and Iceland are fully booked). And most of them are long distance:

Kodiak Island – multiple stops to get there (Seattle->Anchorage->Kodiak). Plus, I want to get there early and stay in Anchorage for a few days.

Patagonia – Back to the tip of South America, returning through Ushuaia again.

Baja (Loreto) – I wound up staying overnight in Phoenix the last time. I’ll probably do the same, and get there the day before. I can also go through Los Angeles. Meh. Not my favorite place, but it’s a very short flight back to Sacramento from there. Less time on a plane is always better.

Churchill, Manitoba – not that far but hard to get there. Ever been to Winnipeg? Not me. That’s where we start before taking a charter flight to Churchill. Never been on my bucket list. 

Iceland (2027) – I have airline credits with Icelandic Air, and made the flight reservations on my own for the 2026 trip. I can probably do that one on my own again since I’d be getting a free flight. You still have to go from Sacramento to either Seattle or Portland to get to Rejkavik, but there are no other choices. 

Madagascar – I have no clue, but that’s going to be a really long haul, worse than South America. And if I extend over to Africa, it will really get complicated. I need either the Transporter or a Time Machine. Or a lot of martini’s on the flight.

And now that I’ve been home from Antarctica for a few days, boredom has set in, and I’ve started booking more trips. I have a severe case of happy feet:

Panama Canal/Costa Rica (March 2026) – this one starts in Panama City and ends in San Jose, Costa Rica. Good luck with that. But it’s just three months away, so I need to get my act together on that.

Falklands/South Georgia Island (2027) – back to good ole Ushuaia, Argentina, which is rapidly becoming my home away from home. Maybe I should buy a condo there. Or a cell in the heated section of the prison.

The Panama/Costa Rica trip is first up, so I started looking at flights before calling the Lindblad travel agency. First thing – take a look at the globe to find the shortest path to some of these places. Yikes – it is amazing how far away most of these places are from Sacramento. If it were a hub, it would be simpler, but almost every flight requires at least one inconvenient stop. And depending on the airline you select, you have to count on a transfer in either Atlanta, Dallas, or Houston 

When you look at a global map, the distance between all these airports makes you realize why it takes so long to get to all the fun destinations I’ve been visiting. And also why it pays to be selective on how you get there. The yellow line for example, illustrates flights from Sacramento -> Atlanta, and then on to Santiago Chile. A simple switch to Los Angeles eliminates a 5 hour flight between SMF and Atlanta. The red line is for my most recent booking – Sacramento -> Houston -> Panama City. The alternative of Atlanta adds miles on both the domestic and international flights. 

Well, that was fun. I enjoy playing with Google Earth. The visitor center on the Google main campus used to have a room, where you had a giant screen of Google Earth and Google Moon, and you could search on anything. It was a popular display for employees and visitors. It is still one of my favorite applications from my former employer. 

It is always better to be prepared before calling travel agents. Sometimes I think they look for the most complicated flights, with minimal time in between segments. I had two hours in Atlanta between my Santiago flight, and the one to Sacramento. I lucked out – it was early in the morning, so customs was not packed. Or maybe they figured out how to be more efficient. Nah. 

I have a bit of time now before I have to book flights for upcoming flights. Kodiak Island is next, followed by Patagonia. This give me lots of time to figure out the best routes. And to buy more of those little pickle juice shots No more high altitude cramps please.