Blogging is fun

This blogging can be a real ego trip. Put your thoughts down, click publish and wolla you are on the front page --- well sort of anyway. Click on your page and there you are and all of your wonderful thoughts in print. I love it. I wonder where all this stuff goes anyway?

Our retirement trip will be improved tomorrow when Alinda gets back from Florida. She had to go home to help take care of her 91 year old mother who was ailing. Fortunately Ma made a turn around and it looks as if she will be around for awhile. We all like that. Alinda will be coming into Angel Albino de Corzo airport. Got a funny story about that Tuxla airport. We have been here before so when Alinda had to fly out we "knew" where the airport was. And we saw the sign at the West end of town when we drove in. Missed the signs at the East end of town. But fortunately we decided to stay in a motel the night before the flight and check out things the day before the flight. Stayed at the Tuxla Auto Motel. These auto motels in Mexico are the cleanest nicest rooms at rock bottom prices. Don't know why tourists dont use them more. The locals do and they can pay by the hour for hanky panky. Most travel guides ignore them. They are on the outskirts of every major city. Anyhow, we went to the airport and it was gone. Signs to the airport still up. Big ones on the highway. But no airport. Without our permission the airport was moved across town, but someone neglected to take the old signs down. The new airport is a beauty and also well marked, and I am sure the area will grow into it.

So so far this has been somewhat of a difficult trip for us. I need to go back a few months. After I had a foot accident in Florida, cleaning up after hurricane 4, we decided that we should quit work. We bought a motor home as we felt our hard core backpacking-hostel staying-tent camping days were over. We travelled around in the motorhome for awhile and loved it but decided that a trip into Mexico and Central America with it would not be wise for many reasons. In spite of reading Panama in 99 days in a motorhome, an excellent book. So we decided to car it in our Toyota 4runner, as we had done a couple of years earlier in a 1988 Ford Bronco.

Day we left I got hit with what I found out later was sciatica. Could drive and all that but walking was a bitch. Did not get rid on that for a couple of months when doctors in Mexico gave me various treatments that finally made it go away. Then after that at a time share hotel I decided that since I could walk around some I went for a walk barefoot on hot pavement and burnt the shit out of my feet. Clever boy. Pain was not bad as I had frozen my feet a couple of times at Prudhoe Bay Alaska working on the north slope oil fields. Also I found out I am in a pre-diabetic stage and bloodflow to feet is slow. Now this as turned out the be a real problem as the burns turned into ulcers. Mexican doctors have been very good and the sores are just about closed now. But all that slowed up my walking. But I did bring my Mercurio bicycle with me that I had purchased on an earlier trip to Mexico, and I am getting my strength back peddling around San Cristobal de Las Casas. So now I am in better health, eating a good diet and lost 20 pounds, blood sugar down, and might make it to 78.

Well, I regressed quite a bit so now I need to get my thoughts going on retirement again. I suspect that I will be the only one reading this stuff so I really can ramble on all I want. And I still wonder where all this stuff goes.

San Cristobal de Las Casas 1/7/2007

San Cristobal de Las Casas is a fun place to stay awhile. I can see myself 50 years ago with a backpack from my rump to over my head travel book and english spanish book in hand getting off the bus and finding a room. Then rushing off to see all the sights the book recommends and then some more.

The general circuit here, not necessarily in this order, is San Cristobal de Las Casas, Palenque, Tikal, Chichicastenango, Antigua, Panajachel and back home to earn some more for the next trip. I did the trip in 1973 and am glad to be back. Only this time in no hurry. No heavy back pack, know the area a little, and a not maxed out credit card. But only rudimentary Spanish sticks.

I have a large room at Media Luna Hotel on Hermianas Dominguez with wireless computer access and I have my computer. I am trying to learn video editing as a hobby with Adobe Premiere Elements. I find it difficult.

Some off beat things here was the bull fight 12/25. I have mixed feelings about that but have a good film I am working on. (Also have 15 other dv tapes to work on.) And there was a decent rock concert with group Motel at El Carmen Center.

I like to read the blogs that google search engine sends me on the areas I am interested in. Most blogs good and cover the area well and well worth reading. Some from idiot crybabies that should have never left home.

So retirement can be fun.

Adjusted image of Mercado San Cristobal de Las Casas

Month later

I have learned one thing.......retirement at 77 is a little late. But as "they" say better late than never. I could have croaked by now so I am not complaining.

Everyone has their own prospective on retirement. I have read some books on retirement and some never do retire, some find other work that they always wanted to do but had other work commitments. Others do what they wanted to do earlier but had work commitments or had not financially prepared for retirement. Bills and family commitments do not stop at retirement.

My thought about why I am here after being away from home (which we rented) and now in San Cristobal de Las Casas goes back to an old bar joke. (We owned a bar in Lakeland, Florida for years). Well, there was this guy who came home early, wife in bed. He opened the closet door and there was a naked man in there. He said "What the hell are you doing in there". His answer was "Well everybody has got to be somewhere". Sounds better in a bar after a couple of drinks.

Anyhow, that answer can be the answer to my retirement. Where do you want to be? Not necessarily what do you want to do. That comes later.

When I wonder why I am here and not in my beautiful home in the country in Central Florida, I ask myself that question. Do I want to be here, home, Nice France, Alaska, or anywhere else my finances will allow. Well, I want to be here so that solved that question. No great thought but key to happy retirement. Go or be where you want to be and take it from there.

Well, thats a start anyway

San Cristobal de Las Casas

Why am I here? How did I get here? Where am I going? How is retirement treating me?

That will be the theme of my blog.

Should say we instead of all those I's because my wife Alinda is with me, but feels computers suck and wont be much involved.