Category: Commentary Blog Post

Hello, and welcome aboard Flight #2021 ✈️ 

We are prepared for take-off, in just a few moments, for a direct flight into the New Year. 

*Please make sure your Attitude and Blessings are secured and locked in an upright position.

*All Self-Destructive devices should be turned off at this time. 

*All Negativity, Hurt and Discouragement should be stowed away for the duration of this flight. 

*Should we lose Altitude under pressure, at any time during the  flight, reach up and pull down a Prayer. 

*Prayers will automatically be activated by Faith. 

*Once your Faith is activated, you can assist other passengers. 

*There will be NO BAGGAGE allowed on this flight. 

*The Captain (GOD) has now cleared us for takeoff. Our destination; GREATNESS!

If you haven’t already booked your flight, it’s not too late; seats are still available!

Happy New Year to all ❤️

Tomorrow, it will be six weeks since Daryl had his hair transplant surgery. I know! Where does the time go?

The big guy has been doing very well, after those first ten days, which were a bit rough. This is a year-long Journey, so he has a ways to go. He is well beyond the painful part, now. That would be pain in his scalp and his pocket book.

Now, six weeks later, when asking Daryl if he is glad he had the procedure done, I get a resounding yes! This is an upgraded statement from earlier on, where a grumble may or may not have been all I heard as an answer. The headaches, the scalp pain and difficulty sleeping (sitting up for several nights following the surgery) were the reasons for understandable grumpy-ness. Daryl is seldom in a bad mood, so I knew this operation wasn’t for wimps.

Daryl is now beginning a 30-day vitamin ritual, which is a supplement to support hair growth. In addition, we got clarity on one of the rules, we misunderstood from before. Daryl IS allowed to get a haircut when needed, BUT, he is ONLY allowed a scissor-cut, The no on cuts was NO Clippers/Sheers. This is great news, and Daryl got his first scissor-only cut, today.

One thing I can report about Daryl new hair, implanted into his balding areas, is; the new growth has come in dark, not gray or white. It appears, when his hair is finished coming in, fully, it will be a nice sexy blend of salt n pepper! Mama likes! 😍

Recently, I got my hair cut at a salon, and the stylist was a man who had the same hair transplant procedure done as Daryl, a few years before. Firstly, we would not have guessed, and secondly, he had plenty of hair, pulled back in a pony tail. I asked him if he was pleased with his final results and he said yes, with a big smile.

The Healing Process:

Daryl has long since completed the course of medicines for pain, swelling, and circulation; all within that first (difficult) week. He did well and did not require any additional or extended meds. Also there were no complications. He continues to use the special shampoo, but the spray-on lotion has been used up, as is normal by this time. All meds and scalp products are included in the cost of the operation ($2,800). The shampoo use is ongoing, to clean and maintain the scalp, so the hair growth will be strong and healthy. The shampoo and lotion are made with plant extracts, and natural oils. There are no perfumes, alcohol or additives; zero chemicals.

The Recovery Period:

Daryl discovered his hair was falling out! This is a bit hard to swallow, but it is okay and part of the long process of hair growth. By now, Daryl is experiencing the “falling-out” phase of his newly implanted hair. This new hair growth is called “Baby Fluff.” The hairs are still weak and the body rejects them. This, again, is completely normal. The number of rejected transplanted hairs depends on a few factors: blood circulation of the scalp, sensitivity of the scalp, the grafts, proper meds taken, and instructions followed. From what I can see, Daryl has way more than 75 percent of his implanted hairs still on his head. (4,800 hairs we transplanted) I notice the new hair is not grey or white; they are darker. Almost all the transplanted hair was dark, as it came from the back of his scalp, where his hair is still thicker and not grey, yet. Incidentally, the 10,000+ hairs which were removed (harvested) from thicker hair portions on daryl’s scalp have mostly returned, without issue, already.
Daryl is still a numb-skull…I mean, his head is still numb. This is normal and expected for the first three to five months; post-op. Also, the redness on his scalp may take up to nine month to normalize.

We want to take moment at this time to thank nurse Hilal and her staff for their “know how,” professionalism and care. Hilal works in the capacity of what we call a PA in our country. (Physicians Assistant). She’s the best! We highly recommend her services if anybody is interested.

Eight to ten weeks, after the operation, is called the “Resting Phase.” During this phase, new hairs should be growing through….. so, the active growth phase will start in and around two weeks from now!

Stand by for more updates then!

Daryl had his Hair transplant operation, here in Istanbul. To recap back to the first blog at the very beginning, here is a link: http://A Different Kind of Trip ~”Daryls Hair Journey” ~Part I

Albania 🇦🇱, Macedonia 🇲🇰, Kosovo 🇽🇰, Montenegro 🇲🇪, Serbia 🇷🇸, Macedonia 🇲🇰 (again), Bulgaria 🇧🇬, Romania 🇷🇴, Bulgaria 🇧🇬 (again), Turkey 🇹🇷 (again) 

Year-To-Date; Completed Travel Stats:

Currently for this post: June 27th, 2020 thru October 4, 2020

On-Going Travel Miles to date: 107,533

9,813 Miles just through the Balkans on this recent vehicle rental trip posting!

Since November of 2018, when I began this record  keeping, we have traveled through 39 country visits. BUT, in total, I have visited 81 different countries thus far, and Daryl around 59. We have many more country adventures ahead!

NOTE: I track each country visit, even if this means the same country, more than one time, because miles are miles, and we do a lot of piggybacking, between rental car returns, and luggage storage. It’s just the way we do things, and in short distances, it’s affordable and doable.

For Our 30th Stop: ~Albania 🇦🇱

We rode a bus from Ionnina, Greece 🇬🇷 to the Southernmost Albanian 🇦🇱 Border border crossing of Kakavia: 35 Miles

Albania 🇦🇱 ✅ To and thru: 1597 Miles 

We traveled by way of: Bus 🚎 Taxi 🚕 Rental Car 🚙, and walking

List of Traveling Points: From border to Sarandë; Vlore Beach, Radhime, Durres and Tirana, (did not care for these places, so did not stop over, Schoder; Castle of Rozafa, Lake Koman. We ended up in Kosovo 🇽🇰, instead oops. We went on to Krujë and loved it there! Next up, we were successful finding Koman Lake. Boge. The highlight of our whole visit in Albania, Theth National Park, Leaving the Albanian Alps, we headed for Cape Rodon and it’s Castle ruins. Berat; 1000 windowed town and “living” Castle, Gjirokastër; exquisite castle and villages. Back in Sarandë, Lake Ohrid area 

For Our 31st Stop: ~Macedonia 🇲🇰 

We rode a van from Sarande, Albania to Kjafasan Border Crossing into Macedonia: 165 Miles

Macedonia 🇲🇰 ✅ To and thru: 357 Miles 

We traveled by way of: Taxi 🚕, Van, Rental Car 🚙, and walking

List of Traveling Points: Kjafasan Border to Struga, Struga to Skopje and around Skopje, Skopje to Kosovo Border 

For Our 32nd Stop:
~Kosovo 🇽🇰 

We drove from Skopje, Macedonia to the Border crossing of Blace, into Kosovo: 48 Miles

Kosovo 🇽🇰 ✅: To and thru 455 Miles 

We traveled by way of: Rental Car 🚙, and walking

List of Traveling Points: Kosovo border to Pizren, Peje, Rugova Canyon and Mountains, Boge. Boge to Peja, Peja to Montenegro Border, back to Peja, Peja to Pristina, Pristina to Montenegro Border (again)

For Our 33rd Stop: ~Montenegro 🇲🇪 

We drove from Pristina, Kosovo to the Montenegro border crossing of Cakor: 132 Miles

Montenegro 🇲🇪 ✅ To and thru: 1119 Miles 

We traveled by way of: Taxi 🚕, Boat, Rental Car 🚙, and walking

List of Traveling Points: Mojkovac, village of Karaula, Durmitor National Park, Tara River Canyon, Black Forst, Black Lake, Monastery of Saint George in Dobrilovina, village of Gornja Dobrilovina, The Tara River Bridge – Djurdjevica Tara bridge, Platije Canyon, Zeta, Podgorica, Moracica Bridge, Ostrog Monastery, River/Village of Rijeka Crnojevica, Skadar Lake, Lovcen Mountains, The Adriatic Sea, Sveti Stefan, Budva, Kotor Fortress, Kotor Bay, Besar Castle, Resna, Kucista, Jegusi, Risan, Perast, St. George island, Our Lady of the Rock, Stoliv, Prcanj, Lastva gabaljska, Herceg Novi, Kanli Küla Castle, Nicsic, Zabijak, and Pljevlja. We traveled on Panoramic Roads: 1, 1E, 4, 3, 3D, 3B, 1F, and 2

For Our 34th Stop: ~Serbia 🇷🇸 

We drove from Herceg Novi Montenegro to Serbia border crossing at Jabuka: 362 Miles

Serbia 🇷🇸 To and thru: 1629 Miles 

We traveled by way of: Taxi 🚕 Rental Car 🚙, hiking and walking

List of Traveling Points: Jabuka, Ulica Gornja Bistrica, Vrnjacka Banja, Cave of Hadzi Prodan and Kadjenica Church, Jobaha Church, Nis Skull Tower and Nis Fortress, Davolija Varos; (Devil’s Town), Kursumlija, Despotovac and Manasija Monastery, Krupaja Springs, Dvorište, Golubac and Fortress, Vilkahe Village and Listine Falls, Novi Sad and Fortress, Belgrade, Mokra Gora Village, Kustendorf; Wood Town and Mokra Gora National Park

For Our 35th Stop: ~Macedonia 🇲🇰 (again)

We drove from Mokra Gora to Border Crossing of Llojan Miratovac: 267 Miles

Macedonia 🇲🇰 ✅ To and thru: 1,102 Miles 

We traveled by way of: Rental Car 🚙, and walking

List of Traveling Points: Bitola, Kavadarci, Strumica, Ohrid, Kratovo, Kumanovo, Skopje (again) 

For Our 36th Stop: ~Bulgaria 🇧🇬 

We drove from Skopje to The Deve Bair border crossing: 79 Miles

Bulgaria 🇧🇬 ✅ To and thru: 355 Miles 

We traveled by way of: Rental Car 🚙, and walking

List of Traveling Points: Sofia, Veliko Tărnovo; Ascension Cathedral, Tsarevets Fortress, Ivanovo; Rock Church

For Our 37th Stop:  ~Romania 🇷🇴 

We drove from Ruse, Bulgaria over the Giurgiu–Ruse Bridge border crossing to Bucharest, Romania: 57 Miles

Romania 🇷🇴 ✅ To and thru: 458 Miles We traveled by way of: Rental SUV, Gondola, and walking

List of Traveling Points: Bucharest; “Dimitrie Gusti” National Village Museum, Bran; Bran Castle Count Dracula, Rasnov, Rasnov Square and Fortress, Braşov; Black Church and old town, Sibiu; Old Squares; Greater and Smaller, Biertan/Media Fortified Church of Biertan + Fabulous old town and Din Medias Church, Sighişoara; Citadel of same name, Medias, Hunedoara; Corvin’s Castle, Dubova; Along the Danube, Rock Sculpture of Decebalus, Iron Gate, Back to Bucharest; Old Town, Cismigiu Hotel

For Our 38th Stop:  ~Bulgaria 🇧🇬 (again) 

We drove from Bucharest over the Giurgiu–Ruse Bridge border crossing to Ruse, Bulgaria: 57 Miles

Bulgaria 🇧🇬 ✅ To and thru: 714 Miles 

We traveled by way of: Rental SUV, and walking

List of Traveling Points: Pyce/Ruse; Old Towns, Madara; Madara Horseman Relief, Stanchavo; The Stone Forest, Nessebar; Stay at the Black Sea, Burgas; Lake Atanasovsko, Shipka; Shipka Memorial Church, Beli Plast; Mushroom Rocks, Plovdiv; oldest continually inhabited city in Europe, Alyosha; Soldier Statue Dyatovtsi; Devil’s Bridge

For Our 39th Stop:  ~Turkey 🇹🇷 (again)

We flew from Sofia Airport in Bulgaria to Istanbul Airport in Turkey: 292 Miles

Turkey 🇹🇷 ✅ To and thru 3,624 Miles 

We traveled by way of: Plane ✈️ Taxi 🚖, Rental Car 🚙, Van, Horseback Ballooning, Horse and Buggy, and hiking  

List of Traveling Points: Istanbul, Izmir; Ephesus Ancient City, Pamukkale; Travertine Pools and Hierapolis Ancient City, Fethiye; Ancient City of Telmessos, Antalya, Alanya, Anamur-Mersin, Adana, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa ~Göbeklitepi; oldest temple in the world Mount Nemrut, Goreme, Cappadocia; Goreme National Park; Ballooning and Horseback Riding,  Yukon Valley, Love Valkey, Rose Valley, Ihlara Valley and Ihlara Canyon, Derinkuyu, Kaymakli and Saratli Kirkgoz Underground Cities, Soğanlı Valley Rock Churches, Ankara; Capital city, with Castle and old town, Bolu

Backstory

We began traveling full time (again) from LAX, California, USA 🇺🇸 

November 2, 2018.  We were gone for another full-time year of travel, prior, but did not have an official travel blog, yet. We made mistake and relied to heavily on Facebook. As a result we lost a years worth of travel writing, when Facebook closed our original travel blog page. Now, we have a new Travel Blog Website, unrelated to Facebook to post on, to prevent any further loss of our travel stories by Facebook. We are writing a book, so this was a painful loss of work. We wont make that mistake again!

This Travel Blog Website: 2 Gypsies In The Wind: https://2gypsiesinthewind.com

Pen’s Facebook Travel Page: Bunny Chronicles https://m.facebook.com/Bunny-Chronicles-100562418040250/

Daryl’s Facebook Travel Page: World Traveler https://m.facebook.com/worldtraveleronthego/

In addition, I have photos available for viewing, which goes further back in our world travel, than our website blog does, currently, till we have time to load up the archives in our website. Photo Website Pics By Pen;  http://picsbypen.smugmug.com

Since November of 2018, here is a list of each country visit: 

   1. Vietnam 🇻🇳✅   12,906 Miles

   2. Cambodia 🇰🇭✅ 1,860 Miles

   3. Vietnam 🇻🇳✅  870 Miles

   4. Malaysia (Borneo) 🇲🇾✅ 3,155 Miles

   5. Brunei 🇧🇳 ✅ 672 Miles

   6. Philippines 🇵🇭✅ (see total, below)

   7.  Papua New Guinea🇵🇬✅ 7,478 Miles

   8. Philippines 🇵🇭✅ 4,112 Miles

   9. Taiwan 🇹🇼✅ 1,817 Miles

10. South Korea 🇰🇷 ✅ 3,516 Miles

11. Japan 🇯🇵✅ 1,866 Miles

12. Kazakhstan 🇰🇿✅

13. Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬✅

14. Uzbekistan 🇺🇿✅

15. Tajikistan 🇹🇯✅

16. Turkmenistan 🇹🇲✅ In Total of all Five Stars on Tour: 6,355 Miles

17. Mongolia 🇲🇳✅ 4,854 Miles

18. Kazakhstan 🇰🇿✅ Additional Self-Touring: 3,851 Miles

19. UAE 🇦🇪✅. 2,147 Miles

20. India 🇮🇳✅ 9,742 Miles

 21. Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 ✅ 1,803 Miles

 22. Thailand 🇹🇭 ✅                  1,630 Miles

 23. Indonesia 🇮🇩 ✅                1,750 Miles 

 24. Singapore 🇸🇬 ✅ 1,231 Miles

 25.  Uganda 🇺🇬 ✅ 6,574 Miles 

 26. Ethiopia 🇪🇹 ✅ 4,054 Miles 

 27.  Egypt 🇪🇬 ✅ 1,699 Miles

 28. Turkey 🇹🇷 ✅ 2,010 Miles

 29.  Greece 🇬🇷 ✅  1,632 Miles

 30.  Albania 🇦🇱 ✅ 1,597 Miles

  31.  Macedonia 🇲🇰 ✅ 357 Miles

  32.  Kosovo 🇽🇰 ✅  455 Miles 

  33.  Montenegro 🇲🇪 ✅ 1,119 Miles

  34.  Serbia 🇷🇸 ✅  1,629 Miles

  35.  Macedonia 🇲🇰 ✅  1,102 Miles

  36.  Bulgaria 🇧🇬 ✅ 355 Miles

  37.  Romania 🇷🇴 ✅ 458 Miles

  38.  Bulgaria 🇧🇬 ✅ 714 Miles

  39.  Turkey 🇹🇷 ✅  3,624 Miles