GandaTravel 2014-2015

Howdy All!

Gosh, I've never thought of blogging while swinging in a hammock just a stone's throw from ancient Mayan ruins but, here I am doing just that.

It seemed like a whirlwind the past 10 days but really the cruise in the Caribbean was great and we enjoyed a nice long break from dragging our bags around from hotel to hotel. One day we walked in the warm rain to our hotel in Cancun and the next day we were snorkeling among sunken pirate ships an sea turtles. Then a night of dining and entertainment followed by a day of swimming in warm pools of water or hiking to historical landmarks.

We've taken some pictures but haven't had the time to process them and put them up along with a post. Also, the cruise Internet is very expensive and connections on the island is spotty. In addition, I feel like it's just 'wrong' to open up a connection when the sights and sounds of a new adventure are just steps away.

However, we understand and are grateful that we have so many people who care about us that it is important we let them know that we are still around. Thankfully this blog helps in this regard. So I am giving advance knowledge of where we will be over the next several days and weeks.

Tomorrow, we are taking the 5 min. taxi ride from our nice Hotel Dolores Alba to see the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. A sacred site similar to the Inca stronghold in Macchu Picchu. After that, we are heading across the street from our hotel to swim in the Ik Kil cenote, a personal dream of mine.

Here we will swim in fresh rain water surrounded by a cavern and lush jungle. If we are eaten by a crocodile, oh well, what a great way to go I say...

Afterwards we will be going to the town of Merida in the NW part of the Yucatan. Merida is a large urban city with many advantages and great places to stay for the holidays. Most likely, we will be hunkering down there for several weeks.

After that? Your guess is as good as ours....

love,

ganda

more blog update to follow once we settle in Merida.

Okay. I had this feeling that I could have become a pirate had I lived between the 15th and 17th centuries.

Sure, this feeling came to me while I was swimming in the blue warm bath, known as the Caribbean Sea, about 50 yards from the fine white sands off the coast of Isla Mujeres or 'Island of Women', but let me explain...

First, the morning began with an early morning jog, through the warm, sunny moist air, within the Puerto Juarez area just north of the main Cancun hotel district. I passed by what looked like a brand new hotel/resort and decided to go inside and have a look around. One of the attendants showed me around but before long, I was escorted into a luxurious suite with a bar and well-dressed folks ambling about. My attendant asked me if I liked Tequila and I said, "No, not really." He replied with, Well, here you go!" and he slapped an unopened bottle of tequila into my hands and told me it was mine for free. Very soon after I realized I had stepped into some kind of timeshare sales zone which they said "really wasn't a timeshare". But I had some time and I enjoyed the coffee they gave me and was intrigued to hear their sales pitch while gazing out over the smooth rolling blue ocean near my feet.

After about 20 minutes I realized I needed to get back to the hotel or else my wife might think I've run off with a local girl or encountered a band of ruthless banditos. In reality, escaping a band of timeshare salesmen is a little bit harder than either of those.

I was able to finally make my escape, jogging down the street back to the hotel with a bottle of tequila in my hand and the occasional Policia passing by me on the road. I decided to hand off my tequila to an old blind man seated near the banos adjacent to the beach access. I hope he likes it.

Later, we water-taxied over to Isla Mujeres at the far end of the North Playa where we enjoyed a few Mojitos while alternating between swimming and lounging on our mojito-bed (basically a futon type thing with a table) right on the beach about 5 feet from the water.

After some time, I waded further away from the shore while Andrea read and I found a nice quiet spot to speculate on the whole pirate-lifestyle thing. I realized that, had I lived 400-500 years ago, this is how I would have become a pirate...

First, I had to be somehow abused by the Spanish Empire in some way. Pretty easy since Spain, as a world power then, brutalized everybody under the sun for a variety of reasons. If I were a Jew living in Spain, my family and I could have been forced to convert or face death or exile. If I were in Peru, living under Incan rule, my country would have been raped and pillaged to excess by the Conquistadors. In either case, I could have found myself quite angry at Spanish foreign policy and it would have been a very simple thing for a local pirate to basically "timeshare" me into becoming one. He could have easily slapped a jug of rum into my hand, walked me along the warm, white sandy beaches, pointing to the blue warm waters and the various naked women running loose on the Isla Mujeres, and said, "All this could be yours! All you need to do is occasionally attack the gold laden ships of the damned Spanish Empire!" "Well..", I would start to say, "they did kill my family in Spain for not converting or they did kill my Inca king and abuse my people and rape and pillage my country in Peru so why the hell not! Where do I sign??"

And that, ladies and gentleman, is the story of how I would have become a pirate had I lived many centuries ago. But for now, I think I'll just float in these crystal clear blue waters and gaze far into the horizon, with the clouds above me complicit in my meanderings.

Now we are off to San Juan, Puerto Rico to catch a cruise ship stopping at several islands in the Caribbean. Maybe I will become a pirate during that
voyage?? AARRGGHH!

Shortly after arriving in Cancun Tuesday, we were greeted by a big storm. It was mild and balmy, with lots of wind and rain. From the airport, we took a bus into Cancun and decided to walk from the bus station to our hotel since it was only a couple of miles to Puerto Juarez. Aside from schlepping our bags and some heavy downpours, it was kind of fun.

Across the street from our hotel is a ferry that goes to Isla Mujeres (Island of Women), which is a small, beautiful island on the Caribbean sea with turquoise water beaches. Yesterday, we spent the day exploring, I met a nice Canadian retiree who is living there for six months.

We had mojitos on the beach, picked up some new, and necessary beach attire, and George got a massage on the beach under a tent!

Life is good. We are going back again today.

One of the fun things about traveling is that sometimes you don't really know what you will see on any given day.

For instance, one morning we awaken in the gated community of Conroe, Texas and discover that, in order to get to our next hotel near Dallas/Ft Worth airport, we need to go through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas.

It never occurred to me that we might visit the site where President John F. Kennedy while traveling in Texas, yet, he we were strolling through this historic spot at roughly the same month and time where the assassination happened 51 years ago.

The plaza looks pretty much the same and it was a surreal experience for Andrea and me even though we were born three years after this watershed event in history. We both felt pretty somber the entire time and couldn't fully understand why other people were smiling as they took tourist pics here.

However, I couldn't resist trying to put myself 'into the shoes' of those who saw it happen.

Mainly, what I'm trying to say is that many times you can wake up and later find yourself in a place that has incredible significance without planning it.

Most of our travel days are like that and I find it difficult to describe the feeling to you. I guess it's like waking up and someone telling you it's really your birthday, or something like that.

We noticed that the picket fences behind the famous Grassy Knoll had dozens of remembrances scratched on them. It was very poignant to stumble upon these. Later we drove the Spark over the exact same route and headed to our hotel.

And now we are headed to Cancun, Mexico for a few days then it's a 7 day cruise through the Caribbean and then.....???

Wish us luck!