El Caribe: In the End

Playa del Carmen, Mexico
November 10, 2010

In the end it was a great trip. I travelled 4,195.6 nautical miles from Boston to Cozumel, where I disembarked on Friday, November 5th. I bid a sad goodbye to Glenda, who travelled on another day to New Orleans where she disembarked and caught AMTRAK to Chicago and then on to Plattsburgh.

In the end we travelled from the 45th parallel to 11˚. My only disappointment was that we didn’t get to latitude 10 which would have put us in the true tropic zone. But to spend almost two weeks in the warm humidity of the subtropics while the North Country was getting its first taste of winter was a small price to pay.

In the end I’ve come to see that cruising is very much a life-style type of vacation. Of the almost 2,000 passengers, many were too frail for land-only packages. Quite a few were in wheel chairs. The cruise allowed them to travel in a way that was safe and worry free. For me, it’s still a bit frustrating to spend such little time on land, but that, too, is a small price to pay for the luxury of fine dining, great entertainment, swimming pools and gyms. It’s really all about the boat. Journey, not destination, is the goal.

In the end both of us missed our previous travel companions, Marc and Kirk, who sailed with us from Valparaiso, Chile, around Cape Horn, and on to Buenos Aires. They were the best! I, especially, missed the nightly “soak and chat” hot tub hour with Marc who, as a recovering alcoholic, helped me past the great anger I had towards my brother for refusing to help in any way with last year’s sickness and ultimate death of our mother. Thanks, Marc!

In the end all islands are not equal. Each one visited had its own, unique charms. It was fun to be on little outposts of England and the Netherlands as well as on two islands exclusively Latino. Many are poor, but all are fiercely proud of their history and how far they’ve come since gaining Independence. All of them are beautiful in their own ways.

In the end, the fortuitous meeting of Chris and Ursula brought lots of pleasure. From the time we met on St. Kitts, the four of us rented a car and driver in almost every other destination. We shared common travel interests and conversation always flowed easily. They were of fun to be with. Thanks, Chris and Ursula.

In the end I could not ask for a better travelling companion than Glenda Rowe. My…the travels adventures we’ve shared: around world in a summer, so much of Asia and, now, cruising in our retirement. Thanks, dear friend!

In the end I spent a lovely, but weirdly cold, week in Playa del Carmen, where I studied and lived for four months during the winter of 2007. I got to eat at my favorite restaurants, visit some of my teachers and enjoy the (almost) warm beaches of the Maya Riviera—a place that has changed radically since my first visit in February 1985.

In the end a new travel monster has been unleashed. As the unapologetic country checker offer that I am, I may not be content until I’ve touched based on all Caribbean islands.

In the end we’re already planning a 24 day cruise next September from Copenhagen Denmark, to St. Petersburg, Russia then back to the USA on a repositioning cruise across the Atlantic.

In the end I am aware every single day how fortunate and blessed I am! Thank you, God, for a strong body, a strong mind and the resources to allow all this to happen. And thanks, Steve, for always letting me follow my dream!

In the end, it’s really not over. I’m off to Mexico City for a month where Chapter 3 of this adventure waits to be written.