A Conversation

"So now that you're done working, what are your plans?"

"I plan to travel."

"Yes, but what about after?"

"I don't know."

"You don't have any plans after your travels?"

"I plan to be happy."

(look of complete bewilderment)

I'm Ridin' Solo

I am traveling by myself. Not out of necessity, but by choice.

I want to get lost and only count on myself to find a way.

I want to spend the evening watching a sunset instead of driving for a few more hours.

I want to sleep-in past noon instead of being on the road before dawn.

I want to be on the road before dawn and watch the sunrise as I drive.

I want to take the back roads instead of the highway.

I want to have a picnic on the side of the road.

I want to sing at the top of my lungs to my favorite tunes with the windows down.

I want to meet travel buddies and share adventures.

I want to stay at destinations for as long as I want to.

 I want the option to run.

I want the option to hide from the world.

I want to be on my own schedule doing what I want when I want. I don't want to worry about another persons needs, wants, or moods. I want to scream at the top of my lungs if I feel like it without getting a look of terror from the passenger side seat. I want to build the courage to talk to a stranger without a sidekick. I want to embrace the darkness inside of me, bring it to the surface, and deal with it. I want to laugh at myself. I want to feel overwhelming joy, bottle up that feeling, and save it for a rainy day. I want to have my own little secrets; my own memories and insights that I gifted myself. I want to fall in love with myself.

I want to make my choices without having to consider anybody else. Because when I choose to have a family (and that is a choice I intend to make), I will not have that luxury anymore.

Solo travel is not for everyone. And I respect that. But for me, it is essential. And I ask you to please respect that too. Instead of judging and criticizing each other, let's lift each other up with love, support, and non-judgment. There are many paths to one ultimate truth. Each one is just as important as the other.

Today I'm choosing to spend the day in my pajamas blogging, reading, daydreaming, fantasizing, relaxing, napping, and drinking oodles of coffee on the front porch. Hope you all found a little of quiet time for yourselves in your busy lives. It's always good to ride (or sit, nap, lounge, etc.) solo; even if for a few minutes.

Mexico, I Love You: Part 3

*This is the final part of my Mexican adventure. Enjoy!*

Saturday, August 13, 2011

 This morning I had to say goodbye to the Caribbean Sea. It was sad but it was also quite joyful. I miss P., I miss my friends, I miss being around people who understand me without judging me, and I miss being spontaneous. I was sad to leave the beautiful waters of Mexico, but I was not sad to leave the resort. Honestly, I’ve had enough resort to last me a lifetime.

After bidding farewell to the Caribbean, I began mentally preparing for a typical day of travel; standing in line, going through security, waiting at the gate, flying (which is stressful enough for me), driving, unpacking, and recuperating. And the morning went as expected- I felt like a sheep being herded through a foreign airport and running around like a chicken with my head cut off.  I may have possibly drenched my shirt in sweat from all that running. Sick.

So as we begin boarding, I realize we don’t have our seats assigned. Well, great. I didn’t prepare myself for this. As they walk away to reprint boarding passes with assigned seats on them the only thing keeping me sane is a mantra of “Please don’t let me have a nervous breakdown right now. I don’t want to be hospitalized in a Mexican hospital.” And as I get handed the boarding passes, I keep repeating the mantra and fail to realize that we have been seated in Business Class. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my crazy hippie self got to enjoy the luxuries of Business Class sipping on unlimited free cocktails while listening to Radiohead’s King of Limbs and typing up this blog entry. Did I mention I’m sitting Indian style?

 It must be my good karma. Seriously. I knew generously tipping the overworked Mexican staff would pay off.

 I’m going to switch gears now. I wouldn’t want you all to jinx my awesome karma with your envy. Just kidding. Maybe. Sort of.

 I realize that I haven’t given much insight into my daily activities at the resort. Well that’s because my daily routine consisted of a few essential every single day

1.     Wake up

2.     Go back to bed for another hour

3.     Get my ass out of bed, put on my bathing suit, and stumble to the breakfast buffet

4.     Eat

5.     Go to the bar and get a drink

6.     Get in the Caribbean with drink in hand

7.     Swim

8.     Go lay on the outdoor beds

9.     Roll over into the shade when noon rolls around

10. Get another drink

11. Eat lunch

12. Go back to the room for a nap

13. Wake up from nap

14. Go to the bar and get a drink

15. Get back in the ocean

16. Walk along the boardwalk, drink in hand

17. Go back on the outdoor bed and lay around

18. Go back in the ocean

19. Back on the bed

20. Back in the ocean

21. Go back to the room, take a shower

22. Get dinner.

23. Go to sleep.

And that was my routine every single day, except for when we went to Chichen Itza (which means ‘Nest of Snakes’ according to the Mayan friend we made).  It’s a very relaxing routine, but being a person of adventure and spontaneity, I was over it after the first day.  I hate feeling stuck, and I definitely felt stuck at the resort. So all in all, great learning experience, beautiful beaches, amazing Mayan ruins, and fantastic memories. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Would I stay at a resort when I do it again? Absolutely not.  But that’s just my opinion and my preference.

(P.S. I just found out we have our own bathroom and she refilled my Jack and diet coke without even asking. Perfect timing cause I feel some turbulence coming on.)

 So, since I don’t have very many details of my daily routine in Mexico, I will let some pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy amigos!

Also, I get to see P. in roughly 3 hours. And that makes me very, very happy. Not as happy as I am sitting in Business Class, but pretty close. Just kidding. For real this time.

I like to climb things. (Photo credit: Iryna Sazonova)

Super awesome wave shot!

Iryna and I at dinner the night I arrived; hence the super tanned Iryna and albino Yelena.

I didn't feel too bad not finishing everything on my plate at this resort...a bird's gotta eat, right?

I like to climb things, Iryna likes to chase things. I climb everything (see first picture and picture below) and Iryna chases everything; peacocks, giant lizards, crabs, even fish in the water. There's nothing that girl can't catch. In fact, I'm pretty sure if I let her continue, she would be holding this peacock 2 minutes after I snapped this picture. But then there would probably be blood involved; and no one likes blood on vacation.

Again, I like to climb things. (Photo credit: Iryna Sazonova)

Vanilla and Chocolate.

Magical full moon two nights before we left. (Photo credit: Iryna Sazonova)

Howling at the moon. (Thank you Iryna for catching this moment.)

Rainbow on our last day there. (Photo credit: Iryna Sazonova)

Thanks for reading! Can't wait to share more stories and pictures with all of you!

Mexico, I Love You: Part 2

 *This is a continuation of yesterday's post*

Also, this post is flooded with pictures. If you haven't figured it out, I love love love photography, and thankfully, Iryna does do. A decent amount of our shots end up looking like this:

(Photo credit: Iryna Sazonova)

 Anyways- back to the original post...

Thursday, August 11

This is what yesterday consisted of

Looks like the Mayans discovered tic-tac-toe before we did.

Amazing how these carvings survived thousands of years.

Carvings of human skulls on stakes.

A Wonder of the World.

This is also what yesterday consisted of:

As you can tell from the first set of pictures, Chichen Itza was absolutely amazing, powerful, and unforgettable. And as you can tell from the second set of pictures, it was anything but serene.  As soon as you step foot through the park entrance, you have vendors running up to you, completely oblivious to the fact that you’re trying to listen to a tour guide and enjoy the experience, holding souvenirs while yelling “One dollar! Only one dollar! Diez pesos! Si? Si?” I mean they literally get in your face and yell over the tour guide. If you say “no thanks” that will be an invitation for three more vendors to walk over and try to change your mind; and if you ignore the vendor they will stand there yelling “one dollar” in your ear over and over and over again. And if the wasn’t bad enough if you actually see something you like and want to buy it for a dollar the conversation will go something like this-

“Only one dollar for that?”

“Yes.Si.”

“Okay. I’ll take it!”

“Si? Okay, twenty dollars por favor.”

“But you said it was only one dollar.”

“Yes, it’s one dollar off the price. This costs twenty-one dollars but I give it to you for twenty. Si?”

“No, I’m not interested anymore.”

“Okay fifteen dollars. Look how beautiful. Si?”

“No.”

“Okay fourteen dollars.”

“No thanks.”

But at this point it’s too late. You are now surrounded by at least 10 other vendors trying to sell you the exact same thing, you lost your tour guide, you are in a foreign speaking country, and you have no idea how you’ll get back to your resort. Game over.

(Photo credit: Iryna Sazonova)

A little more annoying than the vendors themselves are the merchandise they were selling. For instance, take the jaguar whistle. Apparently it's supposed to sound like a jaguar in the wild. Kind of cool, right? It is, unless you have to listen to it all day long. Every vendor was selling one and as soon as you passed by, they all thought you needed to hear it. Over and over and over again. If I never hear the sound of that whistle ever again, I will live a happy life. 

Tired after a long day of walking, absorbing, and picture taking. (Photo credit: Iryna Sazonova)

Aside from the vendors though, Chichen Itza was an incredible place. I could feel the power of the people vibrating in the stones and walking on the same ground the Mayans did was magical. It really was a beautiful experience. 

Walking on Mayan ground.

Chichen Inza also consists of a giant sinkhole that we were able to swim in. It was beautiful! Definitely an experience of a lifetime. We splashed, we swam, we floated. 

Kind of like frogs in a pond, right?

A little blurry, but hopefully you can tell that's me!

 And after getting out of the water, feeling rejuvenated and blissed out, we had the pleasure of finding out that the Mayans used the sinkhole to dump dead bodies into. Seriously. They found bones and skulls at the bottom, some 150 feet down.  Sick, right? Naw. I think it’s pretty awesome. I mean, who can say that they swam with the greatest warriors, sorcerers, and magicians known to man? Yes, ladies and gentlemen; I swam with the Gods and Goddesses, the objects of myths and legends, the stars of fairytales and folklore, our ancestors of the ancient Mayan civilization. I mean, who can say that, right?

We were also able to drive through some villages along the route. And let me tell you, it's quite a humbling experience. However, our guide made some really great points; he said

"You have to have an open mind when driving through these villages. These people live in a way that most Americans are quite unaccustomed to. But these people don't know about money, vacations, fancy gadgets, luxury departments stores, and all other modern day conveniences. And because they don't know about them, they don't miss them. You don't miss what you don't have and what you don't know about. These people experience very little stress and they are happy. And even with all the luxuries of U.S. life, most Americans cannot say the same."

Our guide was awesome. He also said something powerful when it came to buying souvenirs from the vendors at Chichen Itza. He said

"These people will try to sell you fake things. And yes, everyone needs to make a living but not in this way. Because when you go home and realize what you bought is fake, you won't say 'Those damn vendors at Chichen Itza', you will say 'Those damn Mexicans'."

Powerful words. Very humbling, also. 

The white embroidered dresses are traditions Mayan dresses.

As you can see, yesterday's adventure was just that- an adventure. A once in a lifetime adventure. And this morning I got to experience something just as powerful.

Sunrise. Bliss. Bliss. Bliss.

 *Check back tomorrow for the final part of my Mexican adventure*