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Rainy Day, Dream Away

A small tropical storm is moving past Isla Mujeres today, so we are all socked in with wind and rain. While the island tremendously needs the moisture, along with the rain brings a few ‘uniquely’ Caribbean problems. Hmmm.. where to start? Since my lovely wife bought me a scooter, I have been remiss in driving the Vocho. These are the problems of abundance I have to deal with! The rains, rather than bringing a rinse for the accumulated salt, will wash the salt into the corners and send the rust into overdrive. Everything here rusts. The cargo rack on the back…

Feliz cumpleaños para mi – Happy birthday to me! My beautiful and wonderful wife bought me a special present this year. I am not saying how old I am – 49 – but this is a present that takes me back to being a kid all over again! The Italika Vitalia 150 is a throwback to Italian styling, with a Mexican flair. So far, with 25km on the clock, I am loving it! The release for the seat storage is a bit odd. I am sure I will figure it out in time, but it takes me a few tries…

I was just reading a blog post about some millennials’ most embarrassing travel moments. All-in-all, not that interesting… at least from a real traveler’s perspective. Maybe they just need some years and some miles to understand what true ’embarrassment’ is! It got my wife and I talking about the moments we have had over the years that definitely qualify as ’embarrassing’… As she pointed out, spending time in any place where the native language is not English forces a good traveler to live in an almost constant state of low-level embarrassment. You are never really sure you are extoling the tastiness of…

Every place, every culture, every peoples – have their way about them. We go to Europe and stand in awe of the work/life balance of the Italians, the diligence of the Germans, the loyalty of the British. We travel to Malaysia and see a wonderfully tolerant and welcoming culture. In our time in Australia, we found a genuine spirit that pervades the people. As every place and culture has its own wonderful elements, so too does it have a few less desirable traits. Let me be very clear, I love Mexico. I love the heart of the people, the depth…

Two girls, somewhere in their early 20’s, sat down next to us on the beach last week. While – certain – demographics have always been a little more concerned with style over substance, it was somewhat amusing to see the girls spend the first 30 minutes posing and re-posing for just the perfect ‘carefree’ beach photo. Between the primping of the hair and the adjustments to their bikinis to make them fit – just – right, they missed the fantastic clouds forming just offshore. The sea turned a brilliant blue, but I noticed that they were not shooting that direction…

Over the last week, Diane has been in Boston visiting her elderly aunt (shhh, no one tell her I called her that!). Modern air travel being what it is, she was taken from a tropical, island lifestyle and plopped back into her ‘old world’ in a matter of a few hours. Having made a few similar trips over the past few months for my work, I understand the immediate shift that is required to get ‘up to speed’ and in tune with a big city in the United States. It is not easy, even though it is automatic. Fortunately, our Global Entry has…

A few years back, when we were staying in Mazatlán, I contracted dengue fever from one of a seemingly insignificant series of mosquito bites. In my life, I have been lucky enough to have only endured a few medical conditions of this type, food poisoning, valley fever, stomach flu, etc. Dengue is another level of misery. It makes all of the others pale by comparison. Living on the Caribbean, we take great pains to ensure we reduce the number of times we get bitten by mosquitos. Of course you can’t totally eliminate bites, so lowering your chances is the best…

I read lots and lots of blogs about how you should ‘travel while you’re young’, which implies that traveling as an older person is not something that most folks can (or should) do. It logically follows that traveling young is what you do ‘before life starts’. As the typical Western narrative tells it, “be crazy and adventurous when you are young, then settle down to a ‘normal’ life, raise a family and perhaps squeeze in some time near the end for a last chance at reliving your ‘glory days’.” To a certain extent, that’s a true story – if you believe…

Last night we took the quadcopter to our favorite beach-side restaurant, taking a little flight before dinner. It promised to be a great sunset, but as these things go it fizzled. Although a bit disappointed that I was not going to capture one of Isla Mujeres’ stunning sunsets, I still flew a bit to get a feel for how to get the best angles on marinas, the ferry, restaurants, etc. As I was bringing the quadcopter back in towards the pier at Restaurante Velazquez, it dawned on me that I am learning how to fly in one of the most…

As our housesit on Isla Mujeres comes to an end – for this period – we are looking at where the next few months will see us. My job is settling in for a couple of long-term contracts that mean I will only have to be onsite rarely, which opens – quite literally – up a world of options for our next locations. Diane has been working on some long-delayed dental work (which will be the subject of a whole other series of posts), so we will need to come back to Mexico in the spring to complete the series…

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Rainy Day, Dream Away

Feliz Cumpleaños Para Mi

Ooops! – Embarrassing Travel Moments

Sometimes, It All Catches Up To You

Lost In My Old World

Blood, Sweat and Tears

Travel When You’re Old

Flying in Paradise

Dreams of Sicily

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