Camera: Apple iPhone X
Exposure: 1/838
Aperture: f/2.4
Focal Length: 52mm equivalent
ISO: 16
It was a long travel day from SLC to JFK to ATH and JTR, broken up by beautiful sights out the window and a chance meeting with a dear friend and my godson in the Athens airport.
Every time I fly through the NYC area, I wish for a couple of days to stop off in Manhattan to visit the city and friends. If we could afford it, it would be wonderful to keep an apartment in Manhattan to spend a month or two out of the year in. All the stories from all the people in this town and all the things they do continually amaze and inspire me.
My little view over the Atlantic ocean as the sun sets in transit to Athens. The flight was not uneventful as there was a passenger who had a medical issue. A physician was called for and by the 3rd call, a man finally responded to the passenger 3 rows back who was clearly having a middle cerebral artery stroke. This physician seemed to take his time on an issue that was critical, and it was 30-45 minutes before he *finally* made the decision that the passenger was having a stroke, which seemed like an eternity to me for a diagnosis that was clear to me within 30 seconds of seeing the passenger. It was so obvious to me as a non-physician neuroscientist that I started to doubt this persons qualifications as a physician and commented to one of the flight attendants about it, telling her that there is a golden hour in stroke, where you need to respond with therapy for optimal outcomes. Finally, we declared an in-flight emergency and turned around to land in Halifax, Nova Scotia to medically evacuate the passenger. My thoughts are with the passenger and I hope for an optimal recovery for them.
This travel detour to Halifax added 3-4 hours to our travel time, which resulted in many of the passengers, including me to miss flights. However, it also set up a lovely example of one of my very most favorite things that can happen when traveling… I get a thrill every time I unexpectedly run into a friend in another part of the world. This time, it was @biliouriful with her son, my godson in the Athens airport, where we had a few minutes to visit before having to run off to catch flights. Fortunately, we will have some more time in a few days to reconnect.
I’m not entirely sure what was happening in the photo above. There was some sort of communication about an issue while boarding the plane to Santorini, but it looked like disco dancing to me.
This image of the water below was taken on the flight from Athens to Santorini. The blue waters of the Aegean Sea always blow my mind. You read about how blue they are and you see pictures, but nothing quite prepares you for seeing it first hand.
For whatever reason, I love getting on and off commercial planes via ramps onto tarmacs. It feels like adventure and vacation to me, even though this trip is for business to attend a meeting here on Santorini.
I made reservations at the Atlantis Hotel in Fira and had a rather pleasant surprise. I booked the smallest and cheapest room possible. The Hotel Atlantis apparently took care of me and this was the view afforded to me when walking into the room. Not bad Atlantis Hotel, Not bad.
After such a long travel day, I wanted to sit on the balcony and look out over the Aegean, but this also made for a nice nap opportunity before starting the meeting three hours later. More later…