Reflections of Christmas

Merry Christmas, Everyone. Feliz Navidad. Mele Kalikimaka.  I have many half written blogs but haven't had the brain to write.  The cat bite has set me back.   There are no words to describe the pain involved in a punctured achilles tendon. I'm learning that pain and brain power are very closely connected.  I have bouts of either the pain or the brain.  It sucks. 

My "agenda" in moving to Merida was personal rebirth.  I needed to overcome grief and sadness and reinvent myself.  I've had a difficult time reviving Christmas.  Our Christmases in Hawaii were special and unique.  First of all the cost of living there  is high, so the spirit of getting together and creating delicious meals together, enjoying each other's company, and in most cases not exchanging gifts other than a sweet tasting dessert was our norm.  We didn't live a typical American material life in Hawaii where Christmas was purely commercial and trendy and designed to impress.  The people there were more artsy and spiritual.  Besides, when you have to do all your Christmas shopping at WalMart or Costco your options are limited.  My forté wast to made ornaments, baskets, chile powders, etc.....I even hand made the tons of Christmas cards I sent out. I loved doing it.  Christmas made me happy.  We always had fun and friends around and often even family came out to the islands for a tropical holiday. We would go up to the top of Mt. Hualalai and pick out a Monterey pine tree at the Christmas tree farm. It was so much fun to don our hideous Christmas socks some aunties sent us the year before, put on our Santa caps, shorts, and hiking boots and head up the mountain a'carroling. 

I'm finally getting back into the spirit of the holiday.  We've had a decorated tree lighting the house for weeks and filling the air with the scent of pine, and the plan is to have a nice quiet time at home with the cats.  We received  little care packages and all have a few gifts to open, plenty of Christmas music to keep us in the mood, TV in the background with football, and plenty of turkey to overeat.

I dug out some old photos! Here I am meeting Santa the first time in 1953.

Mom and me in front of the aluminum tree.

I used to love Christmas.  As a kid in Toledo we had this tacky aluminum tree with the revolving blue, yellow, red and green lights behind it.  Mom and I would take the bus downtown to Christmas shop at the big department stores.  I loved to wrap, so that was always my job.  We always had presents to open, practical things like socks and sweaters, but fun things too.  I remember my brothers coming homr from college and going to midnight Mass together at St. Hedwig.  I think the service was in Polish and Latin.  I loved those Gregorian chants and trying to sing along with the Polish songs.  I never did take the church part too seriously.  I liked the singing and socializing. We could open our most of our gifts after church at 2am and have one egg nog.  In the morning we had a couple more presents to unwrap.  One year first thing in the morning my brothers had to play their new albums, I'm remembering the Righteous Brothers and Del Shannon at this moment, on my new record player.  Later we'd drive north to Monroe, Michigan, where we'd have a huge family dinner with my cousins Bill & Therese Noland and their gang of six.  Every Christmas day we'd wake up to the dirty snow of the city and spend the afternoon on the pure white snow covered river bank, a picture postcard of rural winter. 

A look down Lagrange Street toward St Hedwig Church taken in front of the house where we grew up.

Cousins' Noland house along the River Raisin.  The river is on the back side of the house. This shot was taken from the road. The house probably looks much like this photo today, decorated, snow covered.  It looks a lot like Christmas!

When I started reviewing photo albums of Christmases past, I remembered so many memorable Christmases that it cheered me up from the moment I started this post. I decided to publish this in installments.  I'd like to take this opportunity to ask everyone to reminisce on some of the great old family and friend Christmas gatherings you've had, in order to recreate some of the original intention of the spirit of the holidays.

It's Weather and Cat Time...the other news sucks.

I read the news today, oh boy.......things are looking rather bleak all over the world. All of a sudden there are serious disputes between several countries, the economical outlook was miserable, the list goes on. I had trouble finding any good news online.

Weekend headlines were "Temible Temporada de Cyclones", or Scary Hurrican Season approaching...and "El Turismo, En Picada", or Tourism down to 52%", a 20% drop in three years. I won't go into opinions and details. There are so many reasons tourism is down, and I know it is not just in Mérida!

About the hurricanes, I have been tuned in to Accuweather, keeping up with Joe Bastardi's latest words of wisdom, have my NOAA and NWS hurricane sites bookmarked. The first rainstorm was an eye opener, and I have a few house repairs to tend to before the waters heat up any more and the REAL rains begin. June is here, and though hurricanes usually don't develop in our area early in the season, anything is possible. I have seen enough disaster sites, and lived long enough in the tropics that I am prepared for days without conveniences. It is known I am a weather freak and always watching everyone's weather, not just ours.

Weatherwise, the past week was odd. The first Eastern Pacific storm formed, named Agatha.  It was stationary over the coasts of Southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras for days.  It never moved westward as is the norm for these storms.  It spewed torrential downpours and caused serious floods, and then barreled its way northeast.  FYI, we have driven the route that is flooded out, and it seems to be an annual thing....those mountains are ferocious and when it rains it pours.  This particular storm tho' was a tropical storm and it did not dissipate over the mountains as usually does such a storm. Instead it slammed everyone from the Pacific Coast to the Caribbean Coast.  As of yesterday this big blob of thunderstorms had a slight chance of reforming into the first Atlantic storm of the season, Alex, as it sat offshore from Belize and southern Quintana Roo, Mexico.  Today  the storm has seemed to dissipate some, but we are having strange cloudiness here in Mérida.

The weather maps show nothing of interest, some cloudiness, but something is up.  The cats were all acting strange all morning.  Mokito gets upset when it rains on his parade. He was whining today with the look of someone who just lost his job.  All the cats sat and conversed some before taking off to the other side for a morning adventure. 

Mike and I were in the pool between 8-9am.  Iggie, we have named the iguana from previous post, came out and inspected the situation.  He has never come out at 8am before.  He decided to take what little sun he could get sitting on the western wall of the patio. 

Mike told me his dog was barking like crazy this morning, and Mike couldn't figure out what was up with him.  The animals are saying something is up, the weather experts not even predicting any rain.  I am interested to see if noticing the change in local animal behavior had value or if my world has become too small, where I am studying the daily habits of feral animals who I THINK ARE MY FRIENDS....what I am getting at is I might just be crazy.

Here are some updating photos.  Nothing spectacular.  Just a WE ARE HERE AND ALIVE AND WELL kind of post.  I have been lax at blogging and emailing friends or family.  I lost so many email addresses when I got hacked I cannot even communicate with friends when I want to, so if by chance you read this and still think I have an email kona967...and love me and want to write to me...I am NOT lost and begging money in England....write to me here in Merida and update me on your email addresses and local news...  I am looking for WALTER ENGLE in particular. He is due some of my rants......good rants...and am afraid I may have to resort to SNAIL MAIL.  Heaven forbid.

Pablo chillin' at the beach in Chelem on Sunday.

Lin at Progreso after some delicious coco shrimp and a shot of tequila.

The coco shrimp plate. Delicious! Not sure what the sweet dipping sauce was, I am not a big dipper.

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"You cover my eyes, I'll cover yours." Mokito and Busmo 

Haven't had many hibiscus flowers . Here is evidence that the plant is happier.

First gardenia(?) this season. Buddha and Busmo wanted to be in the photo.

The kitties are going to celebrate their birthdays next week, on June 9th.  They will turn two years old.  There are photos of the newborns, and here is Sak Boox curled up in the very basket(?) she was born.


I have been having a lot of trouble witht this post, as if the internet connection is coming and going. So that is it. No clever ending. Just some recent photos of us. And not all of us. I lost several photos I posted and I am frustrated.  Time to tend the farm. I will be back.

The Last Report about Panamá

The Panama Canoe.

I guess after having been to so many tropical places, I am just spoiled. I was a bit underwhelmed with Panamá. After a week on its northern Caribbean coast, we were ready to move along to a new adventure. I traded in my Central America Lonely Planet Guide for a Panama Guide, and started looking for a new destination. There are several beautiful provinces in the country with plenty of unique scenery and cultural influences. It seemed that the more interesting options were over our budget, would take a lot of bus travel to get there, and would have been preferable to arrive with fresh immunization shots. I have no doubt that there are some fantastic getaways in Panamá, but they are mostly upscale resorts. Prices for tourists are very high in the entire country.

Prices for locals are also too high. Perhaps this has something to do with the high incidence of crime and random violence all over the country. The two worst places for violence are Colón, where Annie had her purse sliced off her in the middle of the day heading to market, and parts of Panamá City that are dangerously close to highly visited tourist areas. The gang presence is overwhelming. Even the little kids are trained to mug and rob strangers. On the road to Colón they loiter near dumpsters and wait for expats to bring their trash from the smaller ports up the coast, just for the purpose of robbing them. The day we went into Colón and took the trash with us, we had to pass several dumpsters before we found one with no street urchins.

The buses are entertaining works of art. Evidently they are all privately owned; the drivers inherit or buy into a bus and a route. Other than owning your own taxi, it may be the most lucrative of Panamanian jobs. This photo gives you an idea of the size of the AlBrook Bus Terminal. There were several giant parking areas full of buses. Each uniquely painted, air brushed, decked out and decaled. I am pretty certain that the drivers are all on suicide missions. Some of the bus rides are white knuckle experiences. E ticket rides.

This is the bus that flies up and down the north coast every day. Every time it passed we'd notice a new section of the art on its side. The bus often stopped in front of our guesthouse to pick up backpackers from the hostile hostel next door to Annie's.


Flashing lights, feathers, crystals, pom poms - this driver probably has a little religious shrine built in there too. He should, to repent for what he has painted in the back of the bus.

This was in the back of the bus inches from my face. The only seats for 'the likes of us' were always in the back of the bus, by the way. Strange art work for a public bus.

In a place where there is nothing going on day or night, we lucked out and happened to be there for the celebration Campesino Day. The school in the village of Puerto Lindo put on a show, the women prepared local food dishes and the men built palm frond stands for them before they set out to play a softball tournament. Annie is waiting for an order of octopus in achiote and coconut milk, accompanied by coconut rice, which was one of the better food options in Puerto Lindo. The food was surprisingly bland, and they don't use hot chiles there. Where do they get their vitamin C? I didn't see any fruits available or being consumed anywhere, other than bananas or coconuts. The bananas were the best I'd ever had, without doubt. Coconuts seem to be staples for all fish and rice dishes.


Beautiful little girls.

The Campesino Queen for 2009.

The Queen's Court enters while most of the village looks on.

While waiting forever for these photos to upload, it occurred to me....no one is smiling in any of these pictures. Even the adorable little queen had to force a smile, and she had agreed to let me photograph her. There was a heaviness in the air in the little village of Puerto Lindo, an oppressiveness that surrounded us. Well, that and the obvious abject poverty.....Some of the people talked with us while we drank a couple Panama beers. But there was something missing, maybe the feeling of welcomeness. I haven't pinpointed it yet. I always have to consider that people don't approve of us; so Pablo and I may have been sort of a freak show to the Puerto Lindeños. Another consideration is that Annie and her friend Sara are the only two expats who make any attempt to socialize with the local folks, so maybe all of us Caucasians are a bit of an intrusion. There are others around but they are locked up on their gorgeous yachts, or behind tall walls, down long driveways, with big signs advising everyone to stay away.

Annie is very helpful and friendly to the locals; as a nurse she even volunteers at the local medical clinic. Her friend Sara on the other hand is wasting away in Margaritaville. I found it difficult to deal with her beligerent drunken interrogations right in my face, her many large dogs scaring the shit out of me as they fought below my feet. Once I had to jump onto a church bench to avert disaster. In the early part of the day, I liked Sara. We played dominoes with her and her mom. We enjoyed her pet toucan and parrot who talked and sang all afternoon. I liked the Kuna Indian dog she was dog sitting, but the pit bulls or whatever the mean ones were, well they were just out of control. But it is hard to control a pack of wild dogs if you yourself are a wild drunk. I didn't want to badmouth anyone from this trip, but when we considered staying at Annie's house once she had to leave to meet up with a friend, the thought of dealing with a beligerent drunk every day, who made it clear from the beginning that she didn't like me or approve of us, helped to convinced me to pack my bags.

Pablo had his own set of reasons for wanting to leave. He overheard some conversation in Spanish and confirmed our unwelcome status. He's Mayan and Yucatecan, and he catches vibes pretty easily; sometimes they are just his imagination, and other times he is spot on. He also went there with an unreal vision, thinking there might be work there as a teacher or perhaps interest in seeking property around the area. He too was underwhelmed with the place. We have seen and heard howler monkeys and spider monkeys in Mexico. We can go to a real white sandy beach in an hour's drive from home. We can take boat rides throught the mangroves here; the coastline there was also comprised mostly of mangrove. So you see, someone who had never been to the tropics might find the experience magical. But for us it was more of what we are used to, but in a less amiable setting.

Althought I try not to, I find myself comparing it with other places, even my own house and comfort levels. Basically what I learned there was that I have no interest in owning property or living in Panamá. Mexico's laws might be crazy, but try a combination of US influence and the lacsidaisical Latino influence, and you get one mixed up crazy country. Everyone in search of the elusive but ever present Almighty Dollar.

Back to Puerto Lindo, the guys had fun at the softball tournament on Campesino Day.


This is Sammy, Sara's toucan. It was the first time I'd made friends with one, and the interactions were amazing.

Annie's guest house is a work in progress. She works for a few months in the States, and then spends three months in Panamá. On each trip she makes improvements to the house and property. In the third world it has sort of a three steps forward, two steps backward effect. She had the house and guest rooms all fixed up and ready to open for good on this trip. While she was gone Panamá was jolted by an earthquake and it broke the water pipe, possibly under the cement slab of the house. It isn't easy to find a plumber in the area, and of course by now Annie is planning her return trip to the US to earn the money to pay for the projects from this three month period. Panamá has strict rules about residency, you can't get it unless you are either retired with a pension or have a monthly income of an amount acceptable to the government. If I wanted to stay in Panama for a year I would have to prove I earned $10,000 US a month or something outrageous.

So, my conclusion, not necessarily of what is written above, is this: I believe Panama is beautiful country with a lot of well preserved and undeveloped areas. And I think there are some great resorts dotted around the country, but they are upscale and high priced. You have to pay a pretty penny to feel SAFE in Panama. I found Panama City to be surprisingly fun and interesting, and the north coast to be unfriendly and frankly, a little boring. The bottom line is that we all have a dream to fulfill. Annie's is to live in a tropical rainforest, near the Caribbean, where she can snorkel, fish, and kayak during her free time. And share her experiences with her guests. I imagine that she will eventually be able to outift her place with kayaks, a boat and realize her dreams, but I also think it will take the entire two years that remain before she can comfortably sit back on her porch, retired with pension, and wait for guests to flow through.

¡Panamá!

Puerto Lindo is on the Caribbean Sea between Portobelo and El Porvenir (on this map).

We left Mérida the morning of September 22nd. After a layover in México City we flew nonstop to Panamá City, landing into an awesome view of the city's skyline at sunset, offering a unique view of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans at once. We'd booked a hotel in the city in advance online, The Hotel Aramo. It is comforting to arrive with a specific destination, especially a strange city at night. (I've also been known to travel on the fly...without a room or a clue.)


We opted to take the bus into town. We caught an express bus that cost $2.50US. There was another bus we found out about later that cost $.25US. The most popular option is a $30US cab ride. The taxi drivers called out to us that we needed a cab because it wasn't safe to take the bus, but we made it to our hotel on a miraculously direct route in 45 minutes without incident. The hotel was clean, the staff extremely friendly and helpful, there was internet service, and a little restaurant where we were given a continental breakfast the following morning as part of our $37US deal.


If you are heading anywhere considered "outback" in Panamá, which in my opinion would include every province outside Panamá City...the bus schedules often require that you spend a night in town and head out early the next day to make all your connections. The bus routes are plentiful, but complicated, and often services do not run after dark.


In the morning, Pablo schlepped our bags two blocks down a busy avenue to the nearest bus stop, where we boarded a city bus to AlBrook, the main bus terminal. All buses operating in Panamá depart from there. We were northbound to the Caribbean Coast vía the road to Colón. We easily found the Colón Express and within half an hour we were on our way. We had been warned to NOT take the bus all the way into Colón, but "to get off at an intersection with a grocery store called Sabanitas." I had maps, sat by the window, and I tried to see where we were going but the driver was hauling ass and there were no signs. Now and then a sign zoomed by on the other side of the highway, but I couldn't turn around fast enough to catch it. When I saw the first evidence of human habitation; it was a big town. We asked if it was called Sabanitas, our connection stop. It was. From this crucero we had to catch a different bus headed northeast up the coast. The ride hadn't taken as long as I'd anticipated and our ride didn't match the road on the map at all. Anyhow, before the driver flew off toward the danger zone of Colón, we managed to get off the bus with all our belongings. We immediately saw another colorful bus heading to Portobelo and Pablo hailed it. I didn't have time to tell him we were actually looking for a different bus, the Costa Norteña bus, but we were headed off in the right direction. We negotiated a taxi from Portobelo, which was actually a relaxing relief from the hustle of the buses. By noon we pulled into the driveway of Panama Adventures Guest House, met by Annie's smiling face, a hot cup of coffee, and her neighbor/friend.


That afternoon we walked around the fishing village of Puerto Lindo.


We visited the tiendas, the old church, and met some of the local folks.

Then we swam out across the bay for a long snorkel.


That evening we were all contentedly exhausted and just enjoyed sitting on the front porch. We finally made it to Panamá.

Why Panamá?

Sunrise in Puerto Lindo, Panamá


I am always on the lookout for ways to sustain my wanderlust. A few months back, I received an email from a lodge owner who found my ad on the ecotropical resort site, and we began to communicate. She owns a house with two guest rooms in Panamá, on the Caribbean Coast. Click for Panama Adventures. Annie bought her tropical getaway five years ago.

Her property is located in the Portobelo National EcoParque, where both rainforest and marine life are protected. Annie lives on the banks of a river and a short walk from the fishing village of Puerto Lindo, population 300. It is truly tropical rainforest with five species of monkeys, over 900 species of birds, including toucans, parrots, and quetzals. There is an interesting array of animal species due to Panamá´s unique location between North and South America. Its rich history is evidenced by the remains of forts and cannons, churches and cultural traditions. The coast from Portobelo to beyond Puerto Lindo is famous for its protected bays and inlets, used by boaters since pirate times. Some of the visible history dates to the early 1500's. Today the bays are dotted with pricey yachts flying flags of many countries. The area is a jumping off point for hitchhiking sailors bound for South America. Panamá's north coast is a beautiful and interesting little corner of the world, and although it has a long wet rainy season, it is not in hurricane alley.

Annie has been alternately working in the States and on her property every few months to reach her goal of opening a guest house and setting up snorkeling, kayaking and fishing excursions. She thought she was ready to open this year, on her autumn visit. We talked about me going to "resort sit", once she opened for business and then had to go back to her US job to earn more money for continued improvements. She would like to build palapas and acquire more water sports equipment. One of the tricks of operating a guest lodge in the tropics is that once you open those doors and take the first reservation, set up online services with tour operators, etc., those doors need to remain open. It's smart for Annie to line someone up to stay there, continue to check the bookings, and receive the guests who have made reservations for periods during her absence.

Pablo and I had an attack of wanderlust and had Panamá on the brain, since we didn't make it that far on our previous Central American excursion. It seemed like serendipity that Annie would contact me out of the blue. I wanted to go there on a scouting mission and meet Annie, see the area, and see if it would be feasible to plan for three month stays. She invited us to come as her guests and check it out. And so we did.

Wingin' It With Mexicana

The phone rang at 4am. Once we woke up and realized we were in a hotel room in Panama City and homeward bound for Mérida, we hustled down to the taxista waiting for us in the lobby. And so began October 2,2009. Three tolls, thirty minutes, and twenty dollars later we were the first customers at Mexicana Air. We were originally scheduled to fly out a week later, but we changed the program. I usually try to avoid changing the program since air travel is so complicated these days. In order to change the return reservation we spent most of the day before riding for hours in bumper to bumper traffic, to and from the airport on local buses.


At check-in, no less than eight agents tried for an hour to get our boarding passes to print out. NOTE: Mexicana is a normally a good airline. They were in the active process of changing their system and routes. The result could mean cheaper and better options for domestic travel in Mexico. With that in mind, we maintained our patience and just kept smiling.


The three and a half hour flight from Panama City was uneventful. Immigration, terminal changes in Mexico City, gate changes, the usual stuff, no problem. By 1pm we were on our way to:


GUADALAJARA!


At least it as during the day and we could look at the clouds and sky scenery. When I booked the ticket, the Guadalajara stop was unavoidable. We waited two frazzling, sizzling hours in the stuffy new terminal. Finally, at 5pm, we were on board a small sleek jet

bound for: OAXACA!

My fault for not seeing the small light-gray print on the electronic ticket. Ok, so on this flight we opted for a dinner of beer and peanuts. We got to see the ruins of Monté Albán outside of Oaxaca from the air as we landed. I learned about another feature of my camera and had fun photographing clouds and scenery.

Looking down at Monté Albán on top of the green hill in the forefront and the city of Oaxaca behind it.

The flight to Oaxaca lasted just over an hour. Then we had a "technical stopover". We didn't have to leave our seats. Passengers disembarked, the cleaning crew came in, quickly swept up around us, and new passengers boarded. Within half an hour we were off, heading directly to:

TUXTLA GUTIERREZ!

Surprise! We were not done traveling yet, we had one more technical stopover. It was stormy as we traversed the Sierra Madres over Oaxaca and Chiapas. We drank another beer and ate cookies for dessert as we watched distants clouds clash in lightnight streaks.

Finally, at 9:45pm, we arrived in Mérida. The Customs Agents took one look at us and saw we'd been through some kind of hell and let us pass through without inspection. Big deal, I smuggled in one bag of yellow split peas.

It was the perfectly bizarre ending to a perfectly bizarre adventure. Two days earlier, we cruised the northern coast of Panama on the Atlantic Ocean, crossed over the entire country, got a look at the Panama Canal, and then found ourselves staring at the Pacific Ocean. So why not see ALL OF CENTRAL AMERICA AND MOST OF MEXICO in one single day? Life is an Amazing Race and sometimes you just have to WING IT!

Just Another Quiet Sunday

Pablo and I wanted to spend a relaxing Sunday together after a hectic month. I suggested we revisit the ruins of Xcambo, where I thought I might write and he could play his tambor or the pajaritos (whistles). We had an easy drive up to Progreso and headed east along the coast. There were flamingos wading in the water near the shoreline as we drove through the marshland area. We saw some in flight in the marshes on both sides of the highway toward Xcambo. Wow! The colors: black stripes under their bodies and wings in contrast to such bright pink birds. At the gravel road to Xcambo, we made a Uturn and decided we would rather eat fresh fish.

We headed into Telchac Puerto and found a popular spot on the beach, one we hadn't seen before. (I forgot to take pictures.) We chose a table down in the sand, our table was in the shade, and the seabreeze was refreshing. We had a couple of cold beers and split a whole fried fish. They brought other seafood botanas. The ambience was relaxing and we sat there a long time . We enjoyed the families playing in the water close to shore on the last day of their official summer vacation.

On our drive back, Pablo chose an offroad that passed a marina, and led to the passage where the inland marsh water headed out to sea. Like a river mouth...it seems so odd to describe one since there are so few above ground rivers in all of the Yucatán.

The road was a perfect dead end, its sides collapsed by some past gushing high water event, so we parked the car on the partial road and ourselves on the beach.


The water was moving at a good clip toward the gulf. The warm sea was crystal clear and other than the current it was very calm. There was a family enjoying this spot down the beach from us. You can see a lighthouse on the point.


A pensive Pablo, probably trying to figure out how we will obtain our own strech of beach some day! Lost in thought, at any rate. This shot looks inland, but the road is still farther back.

These were interesting Nopal cactus full of tuna (fruit) all along this stretch of beach. They are a hearty plant. I didn't risk injuring myself by taking any of this plant. I already have a little nopal, and a little goes a long way.

All in all it was a nice getaway from the city. It was a relaxing and scenic drive. We found good food to eat at a great price, enjoyed some time on the beach, not even making much conversation. It is easy to appreciate all the beauty surrounding you on this coast, and we really enjoy these mini-adventures.

Celestún - Great Day at the Beach

Celestún has miles of beautiful beach, the best seafood, and the most relaxing atmosphere in the Yucatán. It was particularly calm and blue the last time we went, two weeks ago.


Our first stop is always Los Pampanos Restaurant on the beach. There are several cozy spots like this, and I imagine the seafood is equally fresh and delicious, but once we tried Los Pampanos we never strayed. They have the best white conch ceviche! The fish is always fresh. Sometimes we sit there for hours just enjoying the view. We have also been known to spend an entire day there playing a game of Risk or Dominoes.

Walking out to the water in front of the restaurant, this is the view to the left, looking south.

Lots more beautiful seashore looking to the right, or north.

Looking at our spot from the water's edge. The plastic tent added on to the palapa frequently accommodate a busload or two of Europeans for a quick lunch along their tours. European tourists are always a source of comic entertainment. Two weeks ago Sunday, there were no tour busses.


After lunch we found this road to the sea. The gray blob you see in the background where we turned onto the beach road is a makeshift home for a group of several squatter women. They invited us to come back and camp out there. Tempting.

Personal parking stall right up at the beach. This would be a great location for some Cadillac camping!

I am walking in the distance, shuffling my feet in the white sand and piles of seashells, occasionally avoiding tábanos (annoying flies that bite!) by walking in the water.

I remembered that if you cover yourself in sand, the tábanos will leave you alone. I look like one of the mud people from Papua New Guinea, but I am comfortable and not being harrassed by nasty green flies with bright orange menacing eyes!

There is no doubt that these are the good old days.

¡Adios, Well Traveled Jeans!

I've been told it's time to trash these shorts. Say it isn't so!

I was a few sizes bigger when I bought them in 2004. They have always looked baggy because my legs are kind of skinny, however the fabric has relaxed a bit over the years. They are still so comfortable; that was all that ever mattered. I've been practically living in these shorts for five years. The thought of throwing them out brought forth (besides the sadness of losing a good friend) a beautiful memory of our history together, causing this photographic tribute to my favorite jeans:

We've traveled with crazy Aussies through the northern Australian outback to Berry Springs Park outside of Darwin . Driving someone else's rental car, we took to the red dust roads, passing truck trains, stopping at swimming holes like this with crocodiles...both freshies and salties that swim up river. July 2004

And to Litchfield National Park, Top End Australia, posing in front of the giant termite mounds. This is where we made the mistake of reading the guide book AFTER our day in the park. We sat on the ground, exposing ourselves to poisonous chiggers that made us really sick. August 2004

And we've sailed from Darwin, Australia, to Bali, Indonesia. Oh wait, these are not my jeans, this is the swim suit that has survived these same adventures. I saw this photo and was shocked that this WalMart special is still the roughest swimwear I have ever owned. August 2004


We've been to Kuta Beach, Bali, where a new Paddy's Pub replaces the one blown up in October '02. August, 2004. Oops, I've been there twice: I went out one night on my second trip to Bali partying in them and actually entered this place....creepy. January 2007

We've been around southern Mexico. Here we are in Tulúm at some cabañas in the town just a few kilometers from the Caribbean Sea. September 2007

We saw a lot of Central America. Here we are at Amapola, Isla del Tigre, Honduras, where wecould see El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua from this scenic lookout. July 2008

We have shared so much together. I will admit that my ass showing through the tear in the back is not appealing. The shorts have seen better days. I admit it. This is also as clean as they get. Actually I was wondering if I could sell them on eBay. Don't some people pay big bucks to get 'that worn look' on a well traveled pair of jeans?

Ok. They are going into the trash. This may call for some sort of ceremony. Maybe I'd better wear them tomorrow and give this a little more thought.