Vagabondette

I know, it’s been ages since I”ve posted.  I do actually have posts written, I just need to update them to the site.

Many things have changed in the last few months.  Since November I’ve

- taken 5 flights

- visited 8 states – a couple of them multiple times

- started two new businesses

- lived on a sail boat

- had my plans completely changed

It’s been a roller coaster ride and I’ll be posting details soon.  But first, I need to get the new look straightened out.  I’ll be making lots of tweaks over the next few days, so please bear with me as things appear and disappear and change on a minute-by-minute basis.

Safe travels!

After seven months of living in this lovely city, I’m sad to leave.  I’ll miss the intersection of the old and new cultures, the beautiful scenery, the lively streets and the friends I’ve made.  But, as I never intended to stay here forever, it was inevitable.

In a few days I will make my way back east to Merida where I’ll spend a few days with my friends there before heading back to the US.  I’m looking forward to visiting Merida again.  Returning there feels like going home and I’m excited to see my friends.  Jaime will be feeling better now and I didn’t get to see Rafa on my last trip.

Before I leave though I’ll enjoy my final days in San Cristobal by wandering the streets and markets and doing a bit of souvenir shopping.  I wonder if/when I’ll be back.

In the last several weeks I’ve talked to many people who have wondered why I’m no longer updating the blog.  The simple answer is:  I wasn’t doing anything interesting enough to write about.  I settled into San Cristobal and was just living life – working, eating, hanging out with friends.  Not exactly interesting or entertaining things to write about.

That will be changing however as I start the next leg of my trip.  In February of 2010 I will be leaving on a sailing trip that will start in San Diego, California and end in New Zealand approximately a year later.  I’ll be updating the blog with both pictures and descriptions as we make our way south along the coast of Mexico, west to French Polynesia and then island hop south to New Zealand.  It should be a great trip.

Between now and then I’ll post some updates of my travels around the US as I visit friends and family in California, Illinois, Indiana, New York, DC and Arizona.

Since not everyone is into the whole RSS feed thing I’ve added the option to subscribe via email.  If you choose to do this you’ll get an email each time I post rather than having to come back and check…not that you’re not welcome.   Hope it helps!

PS:  I experienced my first earthquake today – that was interesting!

It’s taken 4 months but I finally broke down and purchased a cell phone.  It was just getting too hard to make arrangements with locals to not have one.  I got a great deal on a phone from someone who was selling theirs before going home but recharging the balance was an interesting challenge.  Luckily I prevailed and I now officially have a working Mexican phone number.   If you want/need it for any reason, let me know.

Planet Hostel was the second hostel I stayed at in San Cris and it’s my least favorite.

More of a hotel than a hostel, it has about a dozen private (reasonably priced rooms) and one dorm with six beds.

The location is decent, if a bit hard to find, and the beds are comfortable (I actually had a full-sized bed which was nice) but those plusses are far outweighed by the minuses.

The staff are not very friendly or helpful and spend most of their time sittting and watching TV.  At one point, every bathroom in the place was out of paper and I had to ask three times and wait four hours before  they bothered to stock it.  The internet is turned off at 11 pm which is annoying and since the doors are all made of metal it can be very loud at night with people coming and going.

The biggest plus is that they’ll pay for your taxi from the bus station so if you’re beat and don’t feel like carrying your stuff it might be a good option.  Otherwise though, I’d recommend staying at either the Maria Bonita (if you want quiet) or the Backpackers Hostel (if you want more of a party) instead.

As I start wrapping up my time here in Merida and prepare for my move to Campeche I’ve been spending a lot of time with my hostel friends.  Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), much of that soocializing has been done around some awesome food.  I’m getting spoiled but boy is it worth it!

Last night we got a taste of South America when Andreas (from Argentina) offered (kind of) to prepare a typical Argentine meal.  We heated up the grill and then gorged on BBQ beef and pork ribs, corn, onions, mushrooms, potatoes and homemade guacamole.  Washing it down with ice cold beer, it was one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time and the tableside conversation made it even better.

Today Rafa (from Mexico) took it up  a notch when he brought all the materials to make chaya tamales (Yucatecan style).  Rafa, Selma (from France), Andreas and I spent the morning preparing the banana leaves, masa and sauce while Jaime entertained us with a Mexican history lesson.  It’s a fairly time consuming process though not hard but the great conversation made the time fly.  And even if it had just inched along it would have been worth it because they were some of the best tamales I’ve had. 

This version of tamales were a bit different than what I’m used to but were very nice.  Rather than being stuffed with meat or veggies, you add chaya to the masa and form them into thin pancakes which you wrap in banana leaves and then steam.  Once done you top the tamale with tomato sauce, chopped egg and ground pumpkin seed.  Different but yummy.  Now I need to see if I can repeat it on my own.

Tomorrow is Rafa’s goodbye party which will be another evening of gastronomic delight as several of the attendees plan on preparing some of their local specialties for an international taste of home.

For most people this would not be an event worthy of notice but it was such a surprise for me that I can’t help but comment.  Since I’ve been in Merida I’ve commented a few times about the fact that I’ve not seen or heard any planes.  I’ve been assured that they’re here, just not in the quantity that most places I’ve lived have had them and their flights paths don’t take them across the city.  But today I heard two.  And the sound was so out of place that I couldn’t help but crane my head back and look to the sky to see the source of the noise.

I also found out that my favorite person in Merida has to start Chemotherapy which makes me sad.  But I’m also glad that I’ve had so many hours of engaging, educational and entertaining conversation with this man and his energy and optimism help me to believe that everything will work out well.

It’s hard to believe, but today was my two month anniversary for traveling.  On one hand, it seems like I just left yesterday.  On the other hand it feels like I’ve been here for years.  One thing is for sure though, it’s been an interesting journey so far.

I think one reason it doesn’t seem like I’ve been traveling that long is because I’m only 4 hours from where I started.  Having rented  an apartment and spent 7 weeks (and counting) in one city puts a different spin on it.

Since I’m staying at a hostel now I’m meeting many more travelers and all are shocked at what I’m doing.  Most are jealous, a few think I’m nuts.  Almost all start out teasing me about working so much.  It’s been a challenge making people understand that I’m not on vacation.  This is my life and if I want to be able to continue traveling it means I have to spend time working, not just playing tourist.  It usually takes a couple conversations before people really get it.

A recurring question is “How long are you going to be traveling?”  My standard answer is “I’ve been traveling for 2 months now and I’m only 4 hours away from where I started.  It doesn’t bode well for a quick return to the US.”

So, for those of you who have asked the same thing – I don’t know.  There is still a lot to see and I’m not burned out yet so I don’t expect that I’ll be back any time soon.  Keep in touch though because one thing I’m learning is that it can be challenging having people come in and out of your life every few days.  It makes me crave swapping old stories with old friends.

Well, I’m now 7 weeks in Merida and I’ve moved out of my apartment and back into a hostel.  This time I’m in the Hostal Santa Lucia and I love it.  The people are great and it’s fantastic for practicing my Spanish.  The staff are ultra friendly and I’ve met lots of great people from all over the world.  It’s good being around people again because I was focusing too much on work and not enough on fun.  So, while I’m still working a LOT making my new idea happen, I’m also having fun talking with lots of people.

Last night I went out to dinner at the Oaxaca Festival with a group which included people from Mexico, Canada, Spain, and Italy.  Later we had drinks with more people from Argentina and Austria.  We grabbed some beer at the local Oxxo and went back to the hostel and listened to the local music from the bar next door.  Very nice and relaxing.

Today Andreas (from Argentina, Dieter (from Austria) and I headed to Celestun for a day trip.  We dropped Dieter off and A and I just went and sat on the beach and had lunch and just chilled.  It was nice to get out of the busy city and just relax.  And we had some great conversations.  Andreas is an anthropologist so he had some great information about the local culture that I’d not have learned otherwise.

Tomorrow a group of us are heading to Uxmal and while squeezing 5 people into a tiny car may end up resembling the circus clown car I have no doubt that we’ll have a blast.  It’s Mexico night tonight.  Live music, dancing and good food…should be fun!