I had no idea you could get such a long range contacts, that's cool. It does sound like a nice community.

Also, it sounds pretty impressive to me, even though I've never experienced lack of internet/mobile phones. While I had it granted for basically all my life, I have a respect for analog things, and have been a fan of sending letters. I have the luxury that I can romanticize the slower/analog way of living, without actually having to live through it to ruin my experiences, hah!

Thanks, this post has inspired me, while it's not exactly HAM, I was considering getting Meshcore/Meshtastic relays, which I assume is kind of similar but chat instead of voice, so I might look into it some more. I assume the communities might be similar, and it sounds like a nice hobby.