After not being able to leave Brazil in May, I had rueful musings about staying in Brazil indefinitely or until they sent me home via deportation.
There was also a short-lived scheme where I would infiltrate one of the uncontacted tribes in the Amazon. Frankly, I don't like insects or amphibians or reptiles so I don't know why I thought it would be a good experience trekking through the Amazon.
Alas, my departure from Brazil will be far less dramatic. Though the borders into the US remain closed to travelers coming from Brazil, there are more routes that transit through Panama and we finally found a reasonably priced ticket.
It's been 10 months since I've been home and my original plan wasn't to be absent for more than a year. However, since this trip to the best country on earth (Jamaica, for the uninformed) is going to be short, my original timeline for being on this sabbatical has extended to I don't know when.
But that's been a theme of this journey. Nothing has gone according to plan beyond the first four months. Brazil wasn't even on the radar yet I've spent the most time here. Jamaica was supposed to be the bookend to my year-long sabbatical. Now I don't know how long I'll be doing this traveling thing for. I think I know where I'm going after Jamaica but we'll watch and see what God does with me.
What I do know is that I'm going to enjoy being home and hearing English spoken all around me. I'm going to have a Devon House fish patty and some jerk chicken and ackee and saltfish. This trip will also allow me to sort out some things that have proved difficult through remote channels. Isn't it sometimes frustrating when you can't conveniently do everything online or over the phone?
