Life Abroad Archives

Ooops! – Embarrassing Travel Moments

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…

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…

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…

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…

There is something about the Mexican experience that is not complete without understanding how its society moves. To cross 800 miles, as an American, I would immediately think to buy an airline ticket and go directly from “Point A” to Point B”. In sharp contrast, the Mexican society moves at its own pace without the constant need to be “better, faster and cheaper” that I find in the States. The airline infrastructure is just not there in many cases and where it is, the cost is prohibitive to all but the most wealthy. That development didn’t come because of a…

Ooops! – Embarrassing Travel Moments

Blood, Sweat and Tears

Dreams of Sicily

Waterspouts and Earthquakes (and Dolphins)

Rain, Why Doth Thou Taunt Me?

Tufesa Across Mexico

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