Americans have mixed feelings about Columbus Day. Is it a day to celebrate the great Italian explorer, Christopher Columbus, discovering America? Is it a day to commemorate the many indigenous lives that were lost as a result of Columbus’s conquest? Or, is it just another holiday that gives Americans a day off of work? Regardless of your viewpoint, the adventurers we learned about in grades school provide inspiration to keep exploring the world.
Today, our travelers aren’t as risky as they were when Vasco da Gama went from Europe to India by sea. Our trepidation is whether Etihad Apartments will be available on that route and if it will qualify for the Saver Award. Similarly, our desire to circumnavigate the globe like Magellan is contingent on the availability of the American Airlines Explorer Award returning not on our desire to see all the great oceans.
Still, our accomplishments are not to be trivialized. We do risk our lives when riding in shady taxis across the globe. We do accept standard rooms when our platinum status isn’t recognized. And we do, if only for a second, consider crossing the globe in coach. Spoiled or not, we have the globe trotter’s curiosity to explore.
I’d like to think that if it was 1492 and I was at the Port of Spain that I would have jumped on board the Santa Maria, the 747 of its time as there would be no way I’d sail the 767 and 737, better known, as the Nina and Pinta, to the new land.
