10/31/2000 -- This letter was written on October 31, 2000 in response to an email from a group of senior citizens at the day center 'Day at the Park'
Thank you so much for the Email. It's always great to hear back from folks
such as yourself.
As for your questions, I'll try my best to reply to them:
We are enjoying our trip temendously. Just the thought of meeting new
people, visiting new cultures and the adentures hidden within each
unimaginable day have made this trip so exciting, and we hope we can share
that with you.
As for getting depressed, there are times when we wish things could be a bit
better, but always return to the realization that every harship accounts for
one more memorable experience and we try to meet each day with new faces. We
have been in the best of moods for such a long time now, and as we reach the
equator later this week, we are looking forward to the tropical climates and
palm trees associated with the lower lattitudes.
Discussing the weather, it has been our great good fortune to fly in some of
the best weather from the frozen tundra in Canada to the monsoons of India.
The worst we've experienced has been in the high Italian Mountains, and for a
brief instance crossing the Bay of Bengal. While weather prediction and
reporting around the world is not as advanced as the United States, we are
forced to rely on expired Satellite Imagery and forecast our own assumptions
and predictions accordingly. The years of flying combined by the crew has
proven great and together with the aircraft we are prepared for the most
extreme weather should it arise.
And our favourite question. The regrets. Understanding the nature of the
project it's hard to ascertain any regrets so far. While we wish we had
longer to stay at each spot, we look forward to each new destination with the
same amount of energy. As the world is so large and so varied to sample, the
hardest thing to grasp has been the fact that there is so much out there and
it all can not be seen within the span of a lifetime, and to travel the world
in only three months is that much more difficult. Even so, our spirits are
high and Robert Frost explains our thoughts best:
The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
and many miles before I sleep
and many miles before I sleep-
From Thailand,
All the Best-
Dan Dominguez
