(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

I am pleased to report that I was never afraid of violence or crime during my year of travel.  However, that doesn’t mean that there weren’t terrifying moments.  I don’t just mean “scary”, as it felt when we saw the skills of our first Czech opponents on our hockey tour of Eastern Europe.  No, these are moments where I was genuinely afraid of what was going to happen.  Interestingly, they all involve transportation!  In chronological order, they are…

1.  Approach to the Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C.

There are two airports in Washington D.C.  Dulles International Airport is some distance away from the city and handles most international flights.  Reagan National Airport is much closer to the city and in fact is connected to the local subway system.  Sounds great…until your plane approaches the runway and you find yourself flying beside buildings, making sharp turns to avoid various no-fly zones (White House, Pentagon, CIA Headquarters), and making a very quick drop to terra firma.  I found out after landing that this airport makes every “Scariest Airport” list.

2.   Bus from Mostar to Trebinje (Bosnia & Herzegovina)

This route links the Federation of Bosnia & Herzergovina with the Republika Srpska.  The first part of the trip was OK.  However, as we approached the Republika Srpska frontier and passed through a few security checkpoints, the driver turned demonic and drove like a man possessed through the exceedingly twisty mountain terrain.  Crazy driving is one thing, but the driver also decided to eat, call friends, smoke, spit out the window and catch up on his paperwork at the same time.

3.  Drive to Northern Montenegro

Just a few days after the Trebinje bus, I found myself on an even longer and even more harrowing journey across almost the entire nation of Montenegro (and back again).  The scenery was spectacular but I was focused on surviving the high-speed mountain race in a jam-packed Volkswagen Golf.  I was beginning to think about confining my future trips to destinations with train stations, so I wouldn’t have to endure any more of this motorized madness!

4.  Boat to Cavtat (Croatia)

Dubrovnik is a beautiful city on the stunning Adriatic coast (see photo at the top of this post), although it is quite heavily touristed.  I thought it would be a good idea to visit a nearby small town…but I also decided to go there by boat.  I should have asked more questions about the *type* of boat, as it turned out to be a rather small craft that was tossed around the waves for almost an hour before we finally arrived in Cavtat.  I managed not to be sick – a small victory, but a somewhat miraculous one given the conditions on the water.

5.  Midnight Taxi to Portrush (Northern Ireland)

I had a very enjoyable day touring the hidden treasures of Northern Ireland with one of my former bandmates from my undergraduate days.  Alas, midnight arrived very quickly and my only transportation option was a taxi from Limavady back to my B&B in Portrush.  The driver was a really nice guy and we talked about our respective sports interests.  The only problem was that he did this whilst covering the distance in record time on a very narrow highway in near-complete darkness.  I didn’t get to sleep for quite some time after arriving.

As you can see, my terror was more or less confined to the first half of the year.  There were some isolated incidents of aggressive driving in both Peru and Costa Rica too, but I managed to distract myself by talking to others in the tour group.  Distraction appears to be the best strategy!

There are many more lists to come – stay tuned!