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Dreams of Sicily

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…

The first full week of flying the quadcopter around Isla Mujeres has been very enlightening. At the same time I am trying to teach myself the technical basics of flying, I am also learning to deal with the inevitable interactions that happen with a new and interesting technology. I am fairly amazed at how responsive people from all walks of life are to the presence of the quadcopter. Rather than the expected distain, people have universally been intrigued and inquisitive. In just one week, I have shared the experience with bank presidents and garbage men…and each had the same delight! …

Garrafon de Castilla - Isla Mujeres, Mexico

My first outing with my quadcopter proved to be something of an enlightenment. After having read so many angry articles from people who see ‘drones’ as simply an invasion of privacy, it was fantastic to see the reaction of everyone I encountered. I would like to think it was because most people on Earth see the technology behind quadcopters as an positive equal enabler of communication, rather than a negative threat to their wellbeing. It was noticeable that the crowd at the beach where I flew were from Brazil, Venezuela and Mexico. I also think age played a large factor…

Over the past few days, I have been reading and reviewing many different travel blogs, vlogs, and sites. One thing is for certain, there are A LOT of folks out there doing this. I did notice that there was a thread through them all that targeted specific audiences. Few, if any of the millennial readers of vagabrothers, or Hey Nadine are going to care about my perspective on the world. Likewise, the adventure tour folks who seem to run from adrenaline rush to adrenaline rush like Expert Vagabond share little of the same audience a middle aged couple that lives and works…

Just when you think you could not add anything else into a great evening with friends, sitting on the back deck watching the sunset over the Caribbean, along comes a storm that produces a waterspout… with dolphins swimming by, jumping out of the water… and then you notice that the water in the pool is sloshing. A quick check of earthquake monitoring site lets you know that on top of all of that, the Earth at your feet is literally shaking. Yep, just when you think that Mother Nature is putting on a good show, she ups the ante and…

This morning started out with hope. The clouds were building and a large storm formed just offshore. It was close enough for us to hear thunder rolling across the still Caribbean. But it was not to be. The clouds blew away and the humidity dropped. The stillness returned with its friend ‘heat’. We’ve retreated to the side porch where the wind comes (if there is even a puff) from the south. It is amazing the difference it makes! I know that when rain does come to the Caribbean, it comes with a vengeance. I will be careful for what I…

I did it. Today, after Diane’s prodding, I bought a DJI Phantom 3 Professional quadcopter. Before we left Arizona, I got into flying RC planes with my 83 year old neighbor, Kenny. He introduced me to the amazing world he had been toying around with since the 1950’s. Looking at the computerized telemetry and flight controls packaged with the Phantom, I am sure that Kenny would scoff. He liked the greasy mess that came along with ‘gassers’ as they called them. In fact, I bought a couple of electric powered RC planes and he rarely flew them, claiming “If I…

People tend to segment their lives into manageable portions that allow them to see where they are along life’s journey. The brackets are different depending on your culture, but generally fall into something like “school age”, “young adult”, “career”, “retirement” and eventually some sort of wrap up of the whole game. This system is pretty convenient as it dictates how to assess our situation and act at a certain point in your life, knowing where you are on that timeline. You may be broke after college, but that is okay because the career portion is coming up and that is where…

Early this morning, I made the short trip downtown to pay the water bill. At 352 pesos ($22.30 USD), we had moved into the second tier pricing (more expensive) because of our late dry season lawn watering. Prior to June 1st, it had not rained significantly in over 70 days, so everything had dried to a crisp – even here in the Caribbean. Of course, the proto-Tropical Storm Bill dumped 10.5 inches of rain on us in 24 hours, so our water levels returned to somewhat normal. The Cancun water authority – AguaKan – is one of the more interesting…

Dreams of Sicily

Lessons Learned

First Flight Day

Now is the Future

Waterspouts and Earthquakes (and Dolphins)

Rain, Why Doth Thou Taunt Me?

Opera of the Phantom

Retirement Is Not For Me

AguaKan

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