October 28, 2005
Why I'm behind.
Sorry for the delay in posting, but I have a darned good reason: an agent in LA wants to sell a screenplay I've written. I've been working on a few edits so he can put it out into the marketplace post haste.
Send me some luck, if you can spare it.
I'm committed to finishing this narrative, so expect to see me bring it in for a landing in the next week or so.
October 21, 2005
Tegucigalpa
I was a little burned out when we arrived in Honduras. I couldn't remember exactly why we'd added it to our itinerary, I didn't know very much about the place, and I was eager to get in and out of it.
A case could be made that our week in Negril put me on guard and led me to perceive anyone I didn't already know as a hustler or hassler, and me as their mark. I spent most of my time in Jamaica working hard to slip the grifter's hook, and I was about 75% successful. The unfortunate 25% of scammy transactions were all heaped into our first 48 hours on the island.
I was unable to be fully present, instead flashing forward to thoughts of paying bills, dragging out unwieldy trash and recycling containers on Wednesday afternoons, and striving to spin words into gold after returning my passport to its drawer.
Liz suggested much (or all) of the above when we arrived in Tegucigalpa, but I dismissed such thoughts out of hand. Surely, months spent prowling the globe in search of adventure and authenticity had opened my eyes, not hardened my heart.
I did us both a disservice by refusing to "own" my travel fatigue.
Our hotel was clean and modern. Hot (but not potable) water, air conditioning, amenities. The view into Tegucigalpa was exotic, a city set inside a deep, green bowl with billboards, shanties and mansions climbing the rim. Unfortunately, aspects of the city also brought Tysons Corner, VA to mind.
Wendy's, Dunkin' Donuts and Church's Chicken franchises are strategically positioned to leverage traffic patterns. The food court inside a sparkling mall/multiplex offers outsized steak-and-cheese sandwiches and blended coffee drinks -- along with a passel of men who wander around wearing paramilitary uniforms, automatic rifles slung over a shoulder.
Unlike the US -- I don't count Texas -- guns were everywhere. Almost every pharmacy, grocery store and family restaurant seemed able to support the cost of a fully-armed security guard.
I noted several restaurant doors with decals showing a handgun under the ISO's "prohibited" symbol, right next to faded stickers for Discover and Diner's Club. Brought to mind a vintage Howard Stern prank call in which he called a steakhouse that had recently been the venue for a mob rubout, asking for a seat in the "No Shooting" section.
Bandwidth-starved in Jamaica, I spent our first day and a half gorging myself on news, blogs and email. Liz helped me shake off my torpor by reminding me that the clock was winding down on our trip, and we needed to plan sensibly if we were to visit both Copan Ruinas and Roatan. I relinquished the laptop so she might do some research and booking and looked out our window at the capital.
A true milestone in my experience; I was ignorant about the country I was in and also dubious about what it had to offer.
Truly disengaged -- the worst kind of travel mode.
October 20, 2005
"...but I've never been to me."
I just came across a site where visitors may check a box for each nation they've visited before generating a world map of personal experience.
Here's mine:
Granted, many of those red splotches are transit points (e.g., South Korea and Turkey) where we never left the airports. Still, it's odd to see a graphical representation of the destinations in my well-worn passport. The effect is far more reductive than I'd anticipated. Positively minimizing, in fact.
I've seen more of the world than most people will in a lifetime, and I'm greedy for more. I look forward to haggling with cab drivers in many more languages, becoming vexed by another score of exchange rates and wandering a few more continents when circumstances permit.
October 17, 2005
Home! (But don't stop reading yet, please...)
Some notable things about being back in San Francisco:
- We have a kitchen!
- We can drink the tap water without worrying.
- We have a demanding little cat underfoot, mewing for treats and head-scratches. Tomorrow, with luck, cat #2 comes home. Mary (tenant and resident animal expert downstairs) predicts that they'll get along this time, if only to prevent us from ditching them again.
- We don't have to take turns using Walter's laptop.
- We can't call housekeeping for more T.P. if we run out.
- Two words: Coffee Maker!
- We're back on the Quietest Street in San Francisco™. No horns honking, no crowds outside. Just the gentle kid-and-dog noises of Noe Valley.
- We know where the laundry is, and how to run the machines.
- We can read the street signs.
- There are people on cell phones. Everywhere.
- We have a car again. Very strange.
- Nobody cleans up after us after we leave the building (dangit).
- The animals here are a bit dull; no camels in parking lots, monkeys scamming snacks, chickens by the road, parrots brightening the trees, or cows and elephants blocking traffic.
- FIVE rooms -- all ours!
- We don't have to mentally scramble to think of the right phrases for "excuse me", "please", and "thank you".
- We have to plan our exercise again, instead of knowing that the day's explorations will take care of it.
- Our old clothes are too big. Anybody know a good tailor? The best donation spot(s)?
Walter's got lots to to say about our last stops: Mayan ruins and tropical beauty in Honduras; the fun-but-incongruous FWC (Fabulous Wedding Cruise) in Mexico -- Congratulations Suzy and Carey; and family time with the Thompsons in Arizona. So please don't stop reading yet!
If you're in SF, we'll be getting in touch with you about some kind of homecoming event. Leave a comment or send email to one of us (walter@ and liz@ this domain will work) if you aren't sure that we know how best to reach you.
Upcoming trips: Back to Honduras (specifically, Roatan) next month with the newlyweds, a sort of scouting trip to Vancouver, and family visits back to Arizona, Washington state, and New York. We're keeping our bags at the ready, and stretching those frequent-flyer miles. Happily, since we're living in The Future, we'll both be able to pack our laptops and get back to work while squeezing in these last bits of travel.
October 16, 2005
October 13, 2005
SMS Update - 07:25:55 PST
News from our mobile:
Way busy here in AZ. Home this weekend. And guess what? AA found our lost bags! Only 31 days late.