My diary entry for "yesterday" was written on the 12th October, and it is the 14th today. Most of the 13th got lost. Not from my diary, but time-wise. Because of the time differences, the day quickly disappeared as I constantly kept having to wind my watch forward.
I am sitting down to my final breakfast in the Bed and Breakfast Bunkhouse, at 9.00am on the 13th. I can't decide exactly how I'm feeling.
The expedition is over.
We are all talking in subdued voices, and even Sarah the dog has stopped running about. Even though my flight to Denver will leave Chadron in the early afternoon, we will still be leaving this last location of mine at 10.00am. I feel restless, I don't want to hang around. I'm already packed, ready for the journey, and I don't want to sit in my room for hours. I say my goodbyes to my fellow boarders at the motel and put my bags into Rick's car.
On the way we stop off at the processing plant to pick up my bull's head. Rick will take it to the
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taxidermist in the afternoon.
We soon get to Chadron. I quickly buy a few essential presents, and unexpectedly find a coin shop. It's here that I manage to find the cheap coin for which I have been searching a long time.
We wander around the shops, but I no longer have the patience for shopping. We get to the airport too early: it is still closed. So we go back into town and have lunch in the same McDonalds where I bought the hamburgers when I first arrived.
With Rick's help, I check in my luggage and pay my last excess baggage charge. It is a great relief that I can actually send my bags from this small town airport right through to Budapest; I won't have to go through the torture of looking for them at any other airport on my journey. I say goodbye to Rick, the cowboy, and then commence my journey with a 1hr. delay.
I'm on my way home.
At Denver the Lufthansa plane is standing close to the Great Lakes Airlines gate; I don't have far to walk. After my dinner on board, I recline my seat and the next time I wake up we are over Europe. I look out of the window happily. It's only Germany, but I still feel I'm almost home.
I don't really like Frankfurt Airport; it's so big that I have to walk long distances. And the airport security here come up with one last problem: they won't let me carry my NightForce binoculars in my hand baggage. I've been doing just that over half of America, and then I run into trouble here.
They call a supervisor; what can be done? He doesn't know if this device is legal or not, either.
They finally call up the airport police, and I start to wonder if they are going to arrest me. I'm surrounded by commandos wearing bullet-proof vests, but, in fact, there is no real problem, these military men have only been called in as experts. They establish that the device is legal as it does not have a laser target designator, so I can continue my journey.
On board the Budapest flight I get a pleasant surprise: I hear Hungarian, over the loudspeakers.
For the first time in 81 days.
Because of the time differences, I have been keeping in touch with all my Hungarian friends via email, so suddenly hearing it now sounds rather strange.
I take out my netbook and start writing up my diary.
I have just reached this point when I have to stop. We are about to land so no electric devices are allowed to be used. The flight attendant has just given me my third warning to switch it off.
Budapest is beneath us.
I shall be 34 the day after tomorrow.
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