I don’t take Uber much, so when I do, there’s usually a good reason. Sometimes it’s for Rule Number One of Travel Day. I’ll explain that a bit later. But often the reason I’m in an Uber is because something different is happening in my day.
A Cab Ride to Forget the Other Cab Rides, Argentina
Let’s start with my first Uber ride of the year, back on January 20.
After a month in Buenos Aires, we wanted to scoot up to Iguazu Falls for the weekend and then head to Patagonia. The Falls and Patagonia blew us away: the trip, though, was a logistical nightmare.
Our ride with Victor in no way prepared us for the next Uber ride we’d need to take—a mad dash through traffic across town to the other airport— or the next one of the weekend —a 3 am wake up call to catch a flight that cancelled overnight and then rescheduled for 5 am— or the next ride to the Iguazu airport only to return back to the hotel because the flight cancelled—or the last ride of the weekend from the Chetlan airport in Patagonia to our Airbnb which was too far to walk in 40 knot winds.
It’s the only time in 5 years of traveling that I’ve had to file a Trip Insurance claim on my credit card. That experience is a blog post in itself, but in the end, I got reimbursed for all the cancelled flights, extra Uber rides, and extra hotel nights. Thank heaves for my Chase Sapphire Visa.
If you are truly interesed in going to the Falls, here’s the blog post and also the youtube video we did about the experience.
4-Day Budget Itinerary to Iguazu Falls
And if you’re up for the video….
Friends in the Right Places
The next Uber ride tells the story of friendship and change. We had a port stop from our repositioning cruise in Malaga on the way back from the US to Barcelona. Our nomad friends were staying for a month, and they invited us to their house for a cuppa.
As nomads, it’s important for us to seize any opportunity to see our friends, even if it’s just a quick afternoon. The four of us had been virtually reviewing European Visa options with each other over the past year. We’d had several video chats and dates to collaborate on this complicated information about how Americans could stay put for longer periods of time beyond the time allowed on tourist visas.
Despite fruitful video chats, there’s nothing like seeing each other and being together. At this meeting, we uncovered that Greece might be a good option for Steve and me to pursue. And we have. See the video for more details
Funny thing? We ended up meeting up with them later in the year in San Diego and watched a Padres game together from their Airbnb balcony. By then, we’d applied for our Visa, and they were looking at Korean alternatives.
Rule Number One of Travel Day
We prefer to take public transit, especially if it’s an easy train from the airport into downtown. But sometimes, the better choice, especially if we’re staying in an Airbnb where the driver’s local knowlege might make locating the Airbnb easier, is to take an Uber.
This ride with Vicencio called up Rule Number One of Travel Day. Take the Uber to make your life easier. Of course in Houston, TX, where public transit makes life more complicated, a quick ride in an Uber to our beds for the night made the day much easier.
We were in Houston to see high-school friends and to start our Greek Visa application. We also had a killer meal at a restaurant that had just populated the New York Times 50 Best Restaurants in the USA. We’d never intentionally sought out a place to eat based on a NYT recommendation, but boy was it fun (and delicious!)
Uber to the Rescue
We love multi-day hikes in beautiful places. We’ve hiked the Camino twice, enjoyed the Via Transylvanica in Romania, and adored the Fisherman’s Way in Portugal. But there’s one problem with hiking. When we’re tired and our feet just won’t go another step, hiking doesn’t have a very good escape hatch.
Unless Manjeet is right around the corner! I secretly think Manjeet is Fisherman’s Way own Trail Angel. I’m sure he’s rescued more than one hiker from the cliffs of Portugal. The trail, the heat, the wind; they can be brutal in this rugged terrain. But Manjeet saved us from imminent sunburn, at least.
Cold Air and Hot Temps
Our final ride of the year reminds me of a night where we threw budgets to the wind and spent money to make the adventure happen. Steve and I had been cruising with our daughter on the Danube to enjoy the Christmas markets.
We’d arrived in Budapest at 6 pm for a night’s stay. After looking at the plan for the next day which included a Budapest walking tour and the Christmas markets with a departure at 4 pm, we discovered there wouldn’t be time to enjoy the famous Hungarian thermal baths, something Steve and I had relished a decade before.
Quickly, we activated a plan. The boat would dock near a sporting goods store. We’d hustle to the store and buy three bathing suits, crossing our fingers that there’d be two women’s and one man’s suit available in December. Then we’d hail an Uber to speed us to the thermal baths to enjoy them for 90 minutes before they closed. It was a tight plan with little time for error.
The boat docked. We skedaddled to the sporting goods store. Steve got purple trunks, I got a suit 4x too big, and my daughter uncovered a Speedo on sale. Hailing Uber, Zoltan zipped us to the baths. My daughter and I dashed to the changing room where she rigged up the back of my suit with a hair tie so I wouldn’t expose myself, and Steve jumped into his new swim trunks. We then met each other in the pools.
And relaxed. 7 heated pools. 1 whirlpool. 1 sauna. A million smiles.
We stayed until the last possible minute, then did the whole trip again in reverse back to the boat. Except the buying of the swim suits. I left mine behind in the locker, but Steve and our daughter both love theirs. They’re now their favorite suits! Who knew?
Uber Memories Sum It Up
These weren’t all of our Uber rides for the year. We took a total of 20. Most of them are to/fro the airport, obeying Rule Number One. But a few of these trigger deep moments of a wild year traveling the world full-time.
I wonder what this year’s Uber rides will unleash?
Uber rides is a very interesting way to track your travels! It looks like I took 18 last year. There might have been more, but I tended to forget that Uber existed and took taxis instead.