HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

In just three more days we will be leaving our jungle-beach paradise. Other than a few coughing fits at night and some bug bites that itch, my health has finally returned.  We had a lovely Christmas day at Page’s house with presents exchanged all around, and Minor came just to say hello.  When Page told him that Santa had come and left some presents for him, he acted like he didn’t believe her.  He just stared at the presents in disbelief and seemed afraid to open them.  You can see his expression in the pictures provided that show how happy he was.  Later that evening a few of Page’s friends came for a wonderful lobster dinner.  It was a great way to celebrate the holiday.

As I write this blog our iguana friends are making a racket on the metal porch roof above, playing a game of chase.  Birds are making noises, and we hear intermittent squeaky chirpings from the geckos scattered in trees around the porch.  The sun will set in about an hour, so surfers are getting in a few final rides of the year.  Tonight we are going to a restaurant with Page called Rancho Tico in the nearby town of Nosara, approximately 7 bumpy kilometers away.  The roads are dry and dusty, so I am glad we have the use of our rental car.

Two nights ago it was “girls” night out, and Page and I took off on her quad to meet her friends.  The quad maneuvers the potholes and ruts much better than a car, but that is where the improvement ends.  It is great to ride by day if there are no other vehicles on the road, but add windy, narrow roads, people on horseback, and cars trying to pass in both directions, it is a little more excitement than I am ready to enjoy.  Then add darkness, the dust kicked up by other cars whizzing by and it is just downright dangerous!!   My daughter needs a car!!  Unfortunately, the cost of cars here is almost twice that of the U.S., and the upkeep is quite expensive, too.  We had one acquaintance tell us that he spends about $1000.00 a year in repairs on his Toyota Rav 4.  However, I think it is just the price of living in this part of the world.  For safety and healthy lungs, cars are a necessary evil if you live here full-time.  

Page thinks that eventually the roads will be paved.  When that happens unwanted progress will come to this sleepy little beach enclave.  Page’s boyfriend grew up here, and he tells us that for much of his youth there was no electricity.  Page also notes that even in the six years she has been coming here there has been quite a bit of change.  New stores, a bank and a medical clinic are just a few of the recent improvements in this one street town.  But with progress comes more visitors, more investors and money.  Because of the holidays, we have seen it go from the occasional passing car to a near traffic jam where numbers of vehicles vie for the best parts of the street.  Business is booming at Tica Massage where it is now difficult to find an opening for days.  Page has several new Pilates clients and her Wednesday night Latin dance class is full.  This is the gravy time of the year, when businesses stay open long hours to fatten up their yearly coffers.  In a few months the rains will come, and the money-spending visitors will be scarce once more.

On Tuesday, January 3, we will be leaving this little beach town and heading to a bed and breakfast in the much larger Panama City.  We have no particular plans during our four day stay there, but I hear that there are hundreds of species of birds and nature excursions that allow you to find a few of them.  I look forward to catching up on my sleep and doing more research on the other places we will soon explore.  We have reservations at a small seaside hotel in the old walled city of Cartagena and have rented a loft in Bogota, near where some newly discovered shirt-tail relatives live.  I understand from the Columbians we have met here that both cities are now safe, and each has its own charm and friendly people who welcome tourists.   I hope that we find this to be true.  Happy New Year to everyone!  Please keep in touch as we love newsy letters (emails) from home!!

T"was the Night Before Christmas

T'was The Night Before Christmas

December 24, 2011

We have been on our journey for five days.  As luck would have it Michael is fully acclimated and I am still settling in.  For me every night presents a new challenge.  While I am sleeping quite well I never feel fully rested, but that might be because little annoyances wake me up.  One night it was severe chills, another diarrhea, and last night a sore throat and a cough.  Today I realize I have probably acquired a bug that has been circulating the town.  With so few residents to infect, I probably seemed like an easy target.  Actually, when I was first introduced to Chandy, (Page’s boyfriend) he was just recovering from the “Gripe,” an old fashioned label for the flu.  The poor guy was so sick he had to be hospitalized, put on IV fluids and given antibiotics.  Our hotel host told me that he was sick with a similar bug a couple of weeks ago.  Strangely enough, I feel quite well during the daytime in spite of whatever illness I have acquired. 

Our daily routine begins with a nice breakfast by the pool surrounded by lush green plants and colorful flowers.  There are green parrots and other birds offering beautiful musical calls.  Intermittently, Geckos chime in and occasionally howling monkeys can be heard.  After reading the LA Times, downloaded daily on Michael’s Kindle, and catching up on e-mails, and news from home, we head to the beach.  In the brutal sun we are being careful to use sunscreen, and limit exposure of our pale aging skin.  The sea has been quite rough lately with a south swell brewing.  Surfers are looking forward to the possibility of good waves this weekend.  Due to my near demise, I keep to the shallow water and never go out past where I can stand.  Even then a rogue wave can surprise you and do a smack and grab of sunglasses I have found!

In the heat of the afternoon sometimes we have a daily siesta and then it is off to meet Page for dinner or evening activities that her friends so graciously invite us to attend.  We are making the rounds of the few good restaurants this little town has to offer.  Chandy has a very good Italian restaurant where delicious pizza is the star attraction, and every Thursday night a wonderful guitarist provides musical entertainment.  Page introduced me to a dish that has thin slices of Ahi tuna and avocado bathed in a combination of lime and garlic, served with crispy garlic focaccia bread.   In this laid back resort fresh fish is the star attraction, and we have sampled several wonderful selections.  While the price for food is very similar to the states, the servings are often generous and end up providing us another meal for lunch.  Tonight we will go to Harbor Reef for a Christmas Eve buffet.  Tomorrow, Page is having a Christmas dinner party for several friends where lobster fajitas will be featured.  I have offered to make a fresh coconut and mango cake.

Page has “adopted” a little barefooted neighbor boy who is approximately four years old named Minor.  Many of Page’s neighbors are quite poor and live in substandard housing.  When Minor was asked what he wanted most for Christmas he answered, “Santa Claus isn’t coming here; “he” is of another world.”  Page has told him that she thinks Santa Claus will come to her house and leave something for him.  Tomorrow we will see his cute little face as he opens some wrapped gifts of new shoes, trucks and tractors that “Ms. Claus” has purchased for him.  There are so many children here who have nothing to play with.  It is very difficult for me not to go purchase something for them as well.  With good reason, Page is afraid to bring attention to her ability to provide when the needs are endless, and it is difficult to know where to draw the line. 

Minor is just one of several siblings born to his mother from multiple suitors.   They are all running around with ragged clothes and most are shoeless.  I am told that their mother is likely too overwhelmed with her own problems to give them the kind of attention we value.  Much of the time, when Minor is with Page, his mother expresses little interest or concern that he is missing from the house.   Page has said that she will make it clear that Santa has provided his gifts to avoid creating any expectations of further handouts.  However, with every day not much different than the next in Minor’s world, it will be fun to spoil him a bit tomorrow.  Children-- isn’t that what Christmas is really all about?

Costa Rica: Giving Up Control

December 21, 2011 

We arrived in Playa Guiones (near Nosara) Costa Rica on Monday, December 19th at 7:30 in the morning, after two flights, the first one leaving LAX at 12:30 am.  I was unable to sleep much due to cramped seats, and the hectic pace I’d set for myself over the last month before our departure.  Even though most of my lists were completed and thrown away, or quite short, I found there was so much more that needed to be done in the last few hours before leaving for good. There was still garbage to put out for collection, a refrigerator to finish cleaning out, last minute laundry, packing up the rest of our clothes to leave at home and stuffing the last minute items into our suitcases.   I was barking out orders to Michael and we were like two crazed animals, going in all directions, fur flying and our anxiety level rising!  So crazy was our departure that we found out later that we had left the front door ajar.  We are thankful for a good neighbor who discovered this and was able to secure everything for us later that night.

I believed that once we drove away the mood would begin to change; we could relax as we had the last time when we left our home for several months, but that was not what happened. With adrenalin already coursing through our veins, for some unknown reason, we rushed to return our rented car, rushed to meet our friend for dinner at the LAX theme restaurant, rushed again to get in line to check bags. Then we worried about having to stand in a long line for what seemed like hours. Top that off with no sleep on the flights and a treacherous three hour drive. When we finally arrived at our destination in late afternoon, as much as I needed to, I couldn’t sleep.  I decided to do the next best thing, of course, get organized! So I unpacked while Michael slept like a baby.

Miraculously, all our bags (including ones we brought for Page) arrived perfectly. I was delighted that all my months of planning had paid off and we were finally here and so was all of our “stuff”.  I was still in control, and I had everything I needed, or so I thought.  I couldn’t find the one thing I thought I wanted the most, my new flashlight!  Yes, a stupid, replaceable flashlight!!   I was certain that I’d packed it and after going through the suitcases about six more times I began to tear up and go just shy of crazy!  I berated myself for not being more careful.  I wanted to go home and search there.  Being irrational is just one sleep-deprived sign.  I know it sounds silly, to want something so badly, but we are basically camping out in a cabin-like atmosphere.

We are surrounded by jungle, and our nearest neighbor is a large iguana that lives in a tree near our door.  Tropical birds, geckos and iguanas skitter across our metal roof in the mornings as our wake up call. I am constantly hearing sounds of life that seem to be in the room even though they are safely a concrete block wall away.  I rationalized that a flashlight was important to see anything in the night that might be skittering under foot across the tile floor.  My imagination conjured up several unpleasant scenarios, and I just knew I’d be attacked by something in the night!  Even I knew it was crazy that I was ready to have a melt-down. But really, what I wanted was to crawl back into bed, have a good cry and go to sleep!  I should have been filled with excitement and joy that any second I would see my daughter for the first time in several months!  Crying over a lost flashlight seemed like a really stupid thing to do at the time!!  However, even after a wonderful dinner with Page and her handsome Costa Rican boyfriend, it took multiple drugs to calm my nerves enough to get some much needed sleep. 

Finding paradise is not easy in this under-developed nation.  Our drive here was quite harrowing.  The roads are narrow, have high shoulders and can be quite dangerous.  Michael was tired so I had to stay alert to keep him from running off the road.  There many are narrow one lane bridges, long stretches of dirt road with dust flying and obscuring multiple large potholes.  Fortunately, our Hyundai sedan rental car survived the trip, and we hope that we are as lucky going in the other direction on January 3^rd.  Accidents are not uncommon here and make car rentals very expensive.  Then they tack on a little surprise, a required $300.00+ insurance cost.   However, the required insurance only covers a small portion of the repair expense.   We were offered 100% coverage, but that would cost something like $450.00 more. Michael was not thrilled with what we felt was close to highway robbery and quickly declined.  Now, my city dwelling- driver is realizing that we could lose a car in the ruts on the roads in this jungle town.  “Slow down” is a frequent mantra of mine.  Fearing expensive repairs, we try to leave the car parked and spend our time with Page or on the beach, which is just a short walk from our hotel.

The beach, Playa Guiones, is beautiful and covered at low tide with pretty shells.  The water is about 80 degrees, or so it seems.  I can say that it is refreshing at first but soon feels like bath water once you are fully wet and swimming around.  This makes me very happy.  Today, however, for the first time in my life, I nearly drowned.  The tide was going out and there were too many frequent sets just over my head so that I had a hard time catching my breath long enough to rest.  With Michael face down on the beach (working on his tan), I had no one to signal to that I was in a bit of a jam.  I kept wondering how he would explain my demise to our friends and relatives.  So, not wanting to cut our trip quite so short, I told myself to stop panicking and fought my way to the shore. To be fair, Michael had warned me to not go out too far.  I guess that I misjudged the current and conditions of the water and will not swim alone again!  Speaking of Michael, he is practicing his Spanish at every opportunity. He engages anyone who will play along.  At first I worried that I would feel left out of the conversation but I find I am picking out the basic information and figure he will switch to our native tongue when I need more clarity.  

I am happy to find that my daughter Page has a nice setup here.  She has made many improvements to her home, which now looks beautiful. She has many good friends, and has a beautiful Pilates and dance studio that keeps her very busy and solvent. But most importantly, she has a place to relax and surf where she never has to wear a wetsuit or go very far to find good waves.  Because of all this exercise, she has tightened every muscle into a high performance machine.  That first night, as we walked to the restaurant for dinner, I noticed that, when the light hit her just so, I could see her black thong and muscular buns under her adorable dress.  Being a typical mother, I told her what I’d noticed, assuming she didn’t know how thin her dress seemed to others.  But her response made me laugh, relax, and begin the process of giving up the control I’d been using to prepare for our trip.  As she walked ahead, hips swaying, so in the Latin groove, she looked at me, smiled, winked and said “I know!”  Later, the next morning as I opened my computer cover, I found my “lost” flashlight safely tucked inside!  Time to slow down and get into the Latin groove!!!

Traveling with the Wind and Nicholas Sparks

Traveling With The Wind and Nicholas Sparks

On the long list of plans to get ready for this six month South American journey is finding a safe place for my little red Kia Soul.   Fortunately, my cousin, who lives in Seattle, generously offered to give it shelter while we are away. However, with Michael coaching and his team in the third round of the CIF playoffs, I was going to relocate my car on my own.  It had been years since I’d traveled long distances alone.  I have fond memories of occasional twelve hour sojourns from my Maryland home with my children to visit my parents in Kentucky.  While they played in the back seat or slept, I would enjoy music and the endless hours of parental downtime to let my mind wander along the winding road.  But in the past twenty years Michael has been in the driver’s seat and I’ve willingly taken the co-pilot position. I felt it was my job to keep our minds active with crossword puzzles, news stories, and talking about current events. Taking long trips by car was always something I enjoyed. 

However, what I didn’t like was Michael’s aversion to the music I chose, my desire to listen to books on tape, and my recommendation for food that was healthy. But, just having him do the driving was worth the sacrifice of all of these things. This time I was going it alone and I imagined the drive as an endless succession of congested towns, winding roads, and horrible weather just to make the trip seem totally impossible.  For weeks I was picturing the distance from Manhattan Beach to Seattle as being endless and taking several days.  I figured my sciatic pain,that activates after a couple of hours of driving, would force me to stop every two hours so I could stretch.  How could I ever make any progress at that rate??  Driving this distance by myself caused me the type of dread that would be similar to the kind familiar to anyone who ponders driving on the 405 at rush hour, going to the dentist for a root canal, or even jumping off a cliff.   

But on December 1^st, armed with my favorite music CDs, several books on tape, and healthy snacks, I set off on my own.  Not far from leaving the congestion of the 405, with my Kia hugging the unseasonably windy I- 5, my mood suddenly changed.  I was in control, I could stop when and where I wanted, and sing at the top of my lungs without annoying anyone.   I even challenged my sciatic nerve to be quiet long enough to make it to Redding, CA in one day.  It was just me, the wind blowing clouds of dust, and tumbleweeds into my path and Nicholas Sparks narrating his autobiographical book “Three Weeks with my Brother” as my constant companion.  I soon realized that this book of around the world travel was one I’d read a few years ago and really enjoyed.   Hearing it again brought back memories of places we had visited on our last trip, and it increased my excitement of the ones we would visit soon.   The story speaks to the importance of travel and experiencing different cultures. Also, in recalling his past, he fills the time with stories of the casual unstructured way he was raised in Inglewood, California, parental conflicts and closeness of siblings.   He also talks about the fear of leaving work and family behind to travel around the world with his older brother.  Like me, he describes the dread he feels as the time to leave draws near. He also describes the guilt he feels leaving his wife with five kids (one year old twin girls, a two year old, an autistic 7 year old and 10 year old boys) and the pressure of publishing deadlines.  “There will never be a good time to go his wife reminded him, but you must go, you need to go, you need the time away.” 

These words hit a cord with me.  I realized it was important and even possible to get into the car and take a long trip alone.  I needed to put all the stress of planning and packing for the “big” trip behind me. I needed to forget the worries of going to strange, and possibly dangerous countries, to embrace the challenges of new cultures.  I was enjoying not only the present road ahead, with beautiful mountains, the wind blowing colorful leaves off the trees and even a police escort through 10 miles of dust so thick as to nearly obscure all landmarks of the road.  I realized that with the congestion in LA how much I missed seeing open fields, snow-capped mountains, winding roads and tall pine trees.  I loved leaving the city behind and marveling at the still wide open spaces and endless green rolling hills. 

 

Several hours into the drive, the fear of driving alone and traveling to distant lands seemed foolish.  I realized that leaving the comfort of home, my bed, neighbors and friends and security of a job is something everyone should do even for just three weeks or even three days.  As I was leaving Red Bluff (my first stop), I overheard the receptionist at the Comfort Inn tell a co-worker, “All I have to do is get through these next few days and then I’ll have the weekend off.”  Those words “get through” resonated with me.  Why should any of us just endure even a few days of something we don’t enjoy doing?  Is putting one’s life on hold possible or even desirable?  What if that lady never sees that weekend?  Why not do something you enjoy?  Failing that, why not make what you do enjoyable? What if the weekend doesn’t live up to her expectations?  When work becomes just that – work, then it is time to retool, restructure, and re-evaluate what is really important. 

It became clear to me that I feared the future.  I feared stopping a job I loved, hated leaving the comfort of my bed, my house, our town and warm California weather.  In other words, I had become soft, foolish and acting way older than my years.  Shaking things up, pushing the envelope of time constraints, and stepping way out of my comfort zone was not only possible, it was important.  Travel, no matter how far, is necessary to reawaken the senses, challenge the mind and introduce us to new friends of different cultures.  So now I no longer dread traveling to places unknown, even though it could be a bit scary.  More importantly, I will embrace the flexibility of not having “every minute” planned. Next stop- Nosara, Costa Rica, December 19, 2011.

Getting Ready

 We are preparing to go on another long journey, and would like to take you along.  On December 19, 2011, we will leave for Central and South America for a total of six months.  Like last time, when we went to Asia, Australia and New Zealand, we are renting out our home, storing our cars and putting most of our personal items into storage - exhausting!  I know this is a rather early warning, but preparation for this trip will take some time, and unlike last time, I am somewhat nervous about this next chapter in our life.  

The planning of this trip seems a bit more difficult for me. Even though Michael is quite well and recovered from his mitral valve surgery (January 2011), we are both now in our sixties and not as fit as we were in 2008 (my sore feet and his angina).   Also, we are heading into somewhat unfriendly (so I've been told) and uncharted (for us) territory-South America.   Asia was safe. I'd been to China before, and we had lots of friends who had been there and many who wanted to meet us in various places along the way.  

This time, even though we have some reassurances from a few brave souls about their experiences in South America, I have not been thrilled with the stories of less fortunate friends and acquaintances.  I've forgotten the stories of the beautiful people, historic cities and interesting culture. No, I only focus on what I've heard about the snakes, mosquitoes, altitude sickness, Montezuma's revenge, and assault and robbery. I am probably listing these things in the order of importance only to my own psyche.  I know the first four things are a good possibility no matter what precautions I take. I can survive them, I hope.  But mugging and robbery, YIKES!  However, armed only with a firm belief in the goodness of mankind, I will try to push the possibility of anyone wanting to hurt us or take anything of ours out of my mind... as much as possible.

However, since I know that robbery is just as likely as running into a snake perhaps, we will be cautious and do the necessary things to avoid both the snake in the grass (or jungle) and the one on the city streets.  Firstly, we will avoid the jungle as long as going means I might be subjected to all of the above, have to eat bugs and hamsters and have no way of screaming for help.  Secondly, I will avoid the two legged snakes by leaving what few valuable jewels, etc. I own at home and avoid being in the wrong places at the wrong times.  This type of preparation takes skill and research.  "Don't take taxis outside the airport, they scam you, get restaurants and hotels to call the taxis, and so forth."  Because of these warnings, I figure I have to learn the area before our feet hit the pavement. In Asia it was the other way around.

For example, all it took was to have one businessman who travels to Brazil often tell me  "It's not so much if you will get robbed but when."  So Brazil, much to my husband's chagrin, with its beautiful beaches and scantily clad women, was quickly crossed off the list.  But if I continued with that philosophy, I reasoned, we would never go to any of these places. So, ever the optimist, I surmised that one cannot travel at all if you let fear stand in the way.  Heck, if that were the case, I 'd never leave Manhattan Beach. Guess you have heard about the recent rash of "grab and run" robberies that have taken place in Torrance CA.  It seems the price of gold and lack of jobs has pushed some to tear gold necklaces right off of unsuspecting shoppers who are not in the bad part of town after dark.  So pushing fear aside, armed with a man who speaks decent Spanish and fears nothing, off we go again.  

We have purchased the majority of our flights to lock in a good fare.  But only the flight itinerary  skeleton is set in stone. This leaves us room to take our time and make a change in plans should the opportunity present itself.   We would love to hear from any of you who would like to fearlessly join us in the countries or cities we plan to visit. Isn't there safety in numbers??  And if you have traveled to any of these places, please feel free to reassure us and give us some pointers on places we should go and things we need to do while we are there.  If you don't want to be included in this blog please let me know by e-mail and I will gladly remove you from our list.  Check out the itinerary below for further info, and we hope you will keep in touch with us along the way.  Putting all fear aside, and packing only carry-on bags, here are the details:

December 19th -January 3rd Nosara Costa Rica

January 3rd-7th  Panama

January 7th-14th Cartagena Columbia

January 14th-21st Bogata

January 21-Feb 1st Caracas Venezuela and the Margarita Islands

February 2nd-March 1st Argentina (includes Buenas Aires, Montevideo Uruguay,  Iguazu Falls, Paraguay, Cordoba and Mendoza AR).

March 1st-16th Santiago Chile (travel by bus from Mendoza AR over the Andes to Santiago)

March 16th-28th Ecuador (includes cruise to Galapagos and various cities near Quito)

March 28-April 6th Lima (possible solo trip by Cindy to Machu Picchu, any volunteers to join me?)

April 6-11th Nosara Costa Rica

April 11th-22nd Guatemala

April 22nd-May 16th Mexico (to include interesting cities away from Mexico City)

May 16th-June 18th Buena Vista Baja Sur