If you're anything like me, you'd love travelling if it wasn't for luggage! I've got a dream about being really rich so that everything I needed would be laid out in my hotel room when I arrived - walking boots, clothes, toiletries, swimming togs, reading material - everything.
Now, I've just got back from a brilliant expedition voyage from Oban to Spitsbergen via St Kilda, Torshavn and Jan Meyen during which I met a lovely lady who told me of a service of which I'd previously been unaware. It's called First Luggage and the deal is that they collect your check-in bags from your home and deliver them to wherever it is you're going (in this case on to the ship in Oban). Then at the end of the trip you simply leave the bag(s) at an appointed place (in the port/airport or leave it at your hotel) and, lo and behold, it's delivered to your doorstep shortly after you get home. Is that brilliant or what? OK, it doesn't come cheap. I checked out their website this morning to see what it would cost me to have my luggage transported to South Africa and the cost was quoted at £300. Quite a chunk of money but, on the other hand, if you're spending a lot on a holiday why not spoil yourself and take away all the check in queues and hassle, to say nothing of simply walking away from the flight without the drudgery of baggage reclaim. I've put a link to their website so check it out. And no - there's nothing in it for me!!!!
Simply to mention casually that I went on the trip is to demean what was a fabulous experience on the new expedition ship Plancius. The only disappointment was that we didn't see Polar Bears, unless you count a tiny and very beatiful cub on an ice pack. Trouble is it was dead. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. But we saw three Blue Whales (the largest animal in the world) plus lots of Fin Whales (the second largest, but not even a close second), Orca and much more. For me the highlight was when we stopped to visit a Walrus colony and, behind us on a small lake, were three Grey Phalarope in full breeding plumage. They were real crackers. I just love being at sea, so the voyage suited me down to the ground. The ship was really comfortable too. There were lots of lectures to keep us entertained on "sea days" and the expedition staff put on a brilliantly funny version of "Call my Bluff" called "Arctic Bluff". We had a quiz as well - all good clean fun and not a posh frock in sight (which is one of the many things which makes me careful to see that I've been on an expedition voyage, not a cruise!).
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