Well, it’s been almost 2weeks and I have not been bitten by a snake, chomped on by a crocodile or clawed by a jaguar.  Yet… 2 days to go.  Xcalak is a wonderful place and probably not one that many people get to see.  Pristine waters, dense jungle and off the grid.

So… the latest drama in teeny weenie Xcalak.   The other day Aaron was
watching some military guys hovering around this small boat on the beach a
little way down from us. They were there most of the day and at dusk they
finally towed the boat away.  We thought maybe they had found more drugs or something because lately it seemed like there was an increase in soldiers
patrolling the road. Well, it turns out there were two dead bodies in the
boat….Yikes!

Then to add to the drama fest...  A while back, a couple of local Mexican
guys actually found and turned in one of the bags of cocaine that washed up on the beach and they got a whole lot of pesos for their trouble ($300K). These guys have been building a big fancy place in the village. According to Ruth and Andy, who seem to know everything that goes on here, the local guys went to Mahahual the nearest town (60 K away) and got all liquored up and started bragging about it.  Last night some hombres from the Mexican mafia came into Xcalak and beat the crap out of them and cut off one guy’s ear. Oops… Time to leave!

We are in Cancun for the last gasp of the trip.  It certainly is different from where we have been. Very happening and very pricey!

Looking forward to getting back.

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Thank you, Traveling Pat.

We have been here for a week now and I think my pulse is as low as it can be and still keep me alive….

Xcalat is a tiny fishing village just a stone’s throw from the Belize border.  Fishing, diving and snorkeling are the only things going on here. The village is tiny, (did I say that already?) no phones, banks, gas stations, ATMs, paved roads, and no credit cards are accepted anywhere. There are two
minuscule cubbyhole stores where you can get coke, chips etc., plus a couple of cafes. You need to take small bills because getting change is like winning the lottery. Nice to know all that BEFORE you get here…Some people think it is a paradise but I suspect Aaron is putting me through some kind of test.

To get to our villa (I use the term loosely) one must navigate craterlike
potholes on a dusty dirt road. Our place is on a sparsely populated beach that has a huge reef out front, and we can snorkel, or kayak to our hearts
content. 

The grocery truck comes once a week. Occasionally there is a knock on your door, and it is kids selling fish empanaditos, hot off their Mom’s grill, or the lady flogging her cheesecakes or Aguosto selling us 7 lobster tails fresh out of the sea.  Thursday, it was Lobster for lunch AND dinner.  Aaron was even
eating lobster grilled cheese sandwiches the next day.

The place is run on solar, rainwater harvesting, wind power and generators so that means NO HAIRDRYERS, coffee makers or curling irons. Brush your teeth with bottled water, TP in a basket; gas fridge (which is code for cool, not cold beer) and the numerous ants are free.  Very rustic.  Because of the no Hair dryer rule, after I have a shower, I go outside and in no time flat, the hurricane force winds dry my hair and it looks, well...frankly... horrible…all the time.

Apparently the Columbian drug cartels cruise along the coast here and toss bags of cocaine into the water.  They eventually float to shore and are marked with “if you find this, call ###.  Recently there was $500,000.00 worth found just lying on the beach. The smart thing to do is not see it at all and no problema.  It brings a whole new dimension to “Beach Combing”!  But really, what would you do with this stuff even if you found it? Can you tell I’ve given this some thought??  If the military caught you it would be, oh
so very bad...  The locals say they are trying to make mules of the young
people in the area. That would explain the big army presence here. The army, looks to me, like a bunch of serious little kids, dressed in camo carrying machine guns…

Late the other evening I heard men talking out back.  I immediately kicked
into my paranoia mode.  Naturally Aaron was sleeping like a baby (Dam
him).  Because we are isolated here, and I have heard the drug and theft
stories I was sure they were stealing our car or getting ready to come up and rob the gringos.  Of course it didn’t happen and I found out in the morning that the military patrols this road every night (compliments of Uncle Sam) and last night they were collecting crocodiles from the lagoon right behind our place and relocating them. Crocs…good grief!

By the way, I saw a HUGE snake on the road yesterday.  It was road kill
though and was being pecked apart by some large bird. Yuck.  Then I hear
that our caretaker saw 2 coral snakes in the property next door.  Plus oh
yeah, the big cats come out at night… This really IS a test!!

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Thank you, Traveling Pat.

Blaring... earsplitting...cacophonous.., deafening... booming..! Only a few
words to describe the parade of de los ninos, which kicks off Carnival. 

Every little group of children (and believe me there were hundreds of them) was preceded by a truck, blaring out music from enormous speakers loaded on the tailgate.  They were all playing different tunes at the same time and the crowd was going wild, clapping and dancing and shrieking away. Also there was a constant primal drumming sound adding to the mix.  I am convinced that the best possible, most lucrative job in Mexico is being an Ear nose throat doctor. All of the stores boom out thunderously loud music and it is a mystery how any business gets done because you can’t hear a dam thing anyone is saying. (How old do I sound?) And you think Americans are packing…holy cow these Mexican cops start the parade by clearing the streets and they are carrying pistols on their hips and legs and machineguns to boot!  And this was only the kiddie parade! The police presence is very evident so no wonder Merida is such a safe city…

Next up… for the Friday night parade, even more cops and more firepower. 
We were served a table outside, right on the parade route and watched it, all
while imbibing some brewskees and munching on appetizers.  It was great fun and even I, found myself on my feet grooving to the music and getting caught up in the spirit of it all.  At one point when they were chucking stuff off the floats I got smacked in the glasses with a caramel but no harm done I just stuffed it in my mouth and kept on dancing! The parade was all pandemonium and wonderful to experience.

Tonight will be more beer and more carnival and then we need to go and have a holiday from all this reveling!  Aaron has booked us into a place on the beach right down on the Belize border.  It has great fishing and diving.  Swell… my two favorite things!  Not... Also we had to go to Wal-Mart this morning to buy mosquito spray…oh lord… wasn’t I the person that said at one point Aaron was no longer allowed to be first captain first pick?  The place went from being $ 130.00 per night to $50.00 because there is no one there so who knows what is in store…..Adios

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Thank you, Traveling Pat.

Driving down to Celestun felt like driving in a tunnel.  The road is straight, flat and bound on each side by thick jungle scrub. Occasionally there is a tire hung from a scrawny tree which I think is to help you not veer off the road when you get bored and drift off during the drive.

The small fishing village of Celestun is in the midst of a wildlife sanctuary.
Its claim to fame is the thousands of flamingos that flock to the waters of the mangrove forests to feed and make their home.

Our hotel was on the water…nice, kind of shabby sheik, more shabby than sheik though.  We think we were the only people there. It is high season but you would never know it.

Walking down the street to find a boat to take us out to seethe flamingos, we were intercepted by a guy spouting mucho rapido Spanish.  We have been practicing our language skills so nod confidently and say si si amigo (we threw in amigo for a flourish) He says he will take us out for $33 bucks. Great. The other tours are $100.00. We pile in his little taxi bike thing and before we know it we are zooming along in the complete opposite direction from the water and where the main tour guys are…  He says it’s only 6 K.  Hmm we were only ½ k from the boat dock when we met him...  Were we doing the right thing I wondered?  Finally I say “Senor?” and he whips around and says “boat” and gestures vaguely in some indiscernible direction. Eventually we swerve off the main dirt road on to a mucho smaller dirt road and head off into the middle of no wheres ville.  At one point he stops, darts out of the vehicle and disappears into the bush.  My mind goes on auto pilot…kidnapping or robbery maybe?  Are there partner amigo banditos in the bush?  Cripes…  He emerges carrying a very long stick….  I knew it!  Oh… it turned out it was for poling the boat along. .. Yes we did actually get to the water.

Our guide polled us across towards a startling pink line on the far bank. 
Approaching the birds the squawking and croaking was incredibly loud and they looked so elegant, high stepping and dipping their heads down to feed. 
Their unusual pink color is attributed to them eating small shrimp. For those bird aficionados out there, the formal name is Phoenicopteros ruber rubber. Kind of catchy don’t you think?

On the way to our next destination (Uxmal) we stopped at a grand Hacienda.  We talked our way past the sentries at the gate saying we were there for lunch. Ok, I lied. George and Lara and Bill and Hilary and Aaron and Pat.  We were all there.  Well maybe we weren’t there at the same time, but whatever.  The desk clerk was going to cut us a deal and we could stay for $400.00 a night. Best price.  At one point I thought, “To heck
with it let’s just do it.  I envisioned a massage down by a Cenote followed
by wine and dinner with a Spanish classical guitar playing in the background.
But saner heads prevailed (Aaron’s).

Now we are at “The Club Med” (not really) in Uxmal in the Puuac region of the Yucatan.  Puuac means “hills” The highest one rises to a staggering 100
m...300 ft.  Very flat here. 

Massive in scale and elegant to behold this archeological wonder has much
debate about its origins.  Some think Mayans from Guatemala founded it in
AD 600 and others contend it is much older.  In Uxmal, the rain God Chac
reigned supreme.  Water was scarce and the Mayans spent much of their time appeasing him.  I am not sure how effective of a God he was, seeing as how they were constantly short of water… In the mid-10th century Uxmal was abruptly abandoned.  Was it war with Chichen Itza, deforestation or maybe drought?  It is a big Mayan mystery.  But in its heyday it was a
bustling city of thousands and today is a fantastic archeological site.

I saw this sign after I had walked all through this area.  I told Aaron
about it and he said it indicated curves on the road!!  Yeah right honey...

And this one also.


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Thank you, Traveling Pat.

I thought this was a great book! Memoir writing is all the rage at the moment and the vast bulk of us “would be memoirists” could really use a comprehensive guide such as this.  We all have many stories to tell and weaving our way through the tangle of memories and emotions can sometimes seem so daunting that we don’t know where or how to start.  Obtaining this book is an excellent first step.

Clearly laid out instructions pave the way for writing everything from your travel stories, personal memories, family secrets, research, to publishing, self-publishing and even blogging. There are lots of prompts and exercises to keep you writing and motivated to stick with it.

I particularly like the format. At the beginning of each chapter you are told
what you will be learning.  Next, the book goes through this in detail then
at the end of the chapter it is summed up in point form.  (Just in case you
weren’t paying attention!)  That makes it easy to go back and find something you might need to re-read.

Potential problems are identified with bold “POT HOLE AHEAD” warnings. Tips are given for getting past any sticking points or trouble.  It’s not always
“smooth sailing” in the writing world so I found this extremely helpful.

This guide is user friendly and very readable. There are many examples of famous writers and how they handled certain aspects of their writing making it feel like we “budding authors" face the same challenges as “the pros”….

Rather than being a complete idiot to read this, you would be very wise indeed forgiving this a go. 

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You can order The Complete Idiots Guide to Memoir Writing on Amazon here.

I received this as an audiobook.  Although not my favorite format, I  downloaded it to my iPod as my “Hawaiian beach read” and started listening to it on the six-hour plane ride.  Wow ... this felt like one of my quickest and best plane rides ever. The aircraft was packed and I just closed my eyes and shut out the world and immersed in the story of Andy a 37-ish woman, navigating her way through the complexities of life, love, family and relationships.

Andy meets Ethan, falls in love and marries him.  All she has ever wanted was a baby and a family of her own. As it turns out, she cannot get pregnant. Ethan came to the marriage with two daughters and for him adoption is out of the question. Andy, heartbroken, must come to terms  with this. The older daughter Emily is nothing but trouble and Andy’s  relationship with her is terrible at best. Lots of bad stuff happens…

Flip to part two which is mostly about Emily.
The author gives you the perspective from both sides. Emily constantly struggles with self-esteem issues and her connection with both her real mother and father and her turbulent relationship with Andy.  Anyone who has gone through these dilemmas can probably relate.

This book is an easy read and I found the deeper I got in the more I liked it. There was a fair bit of whining from both the women but I guess I would probably do the same thing if my life were as complicated (not in a good way) as theirs.  A tad long for what it was I still enjoyed it over the whole. I would guess that any woman who has ever struggled with these issues would probably feel compassion for all the characters.

I enjoyed having the actual author Jane Green read this.  She read it with passion and during emotional scenes you know this is really how she meant it to sound.  It was worth a “listen”.

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Thank you, Traveling Pat for your review of Another Piece of My Heart by Jane Green

Pre-order on Amazon: Another Piece of My Heart by Jane Green

An article from Traveling Pat!

Patricia is a regular contributor to Give Love Create Happiness.  She has an adventurous spirit with a love for travel.  Follow along with Pat as her journey takes her around the world.
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The planning was done…the ride was on.  Oh dear I hadn’t given it much thought and for sure there wasn’t enough time left to get in really good shape.  Well bonus…turns out you don’t have to be in good condition for this one.  Paved flat railway beds with the smallest of grades means this is a bike ride that almost anyone can do.

Our plan (with friends Linda and Ron)…. Ride The trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s in Idaho.

The first day we drove to Plumber, unpacked the bikes and started off on a 20 mile ride to Harrison on Coeur d’Alene Lake.

The trail follows the old union pacific railway and spans almost the whole panhandle of Idaho.

From the get go I was in heaven. No hills, just superb scenery and great camaraderie.  Riding through the chain lakes region on our way to Harrison we passed through a pristine eco system ranging from narrow mountain valleys to low marshlands.   There are trail heads bathrooms etc making it all rather civilized. 

Rode into Harrison, the largest town on Coeur D’Alene Lake.  Boasting a whopping 267 population the place is quirky and fun.  The upcoming events to see consisted of the “Pig in the Park festival”, “June Bug Craft Fair” and the ever-famous “Haul Ass to Harrison Show and Shine”…

 The Lakeview Lodge, our home for the evening was on the water and just steps from all the action.  Speaking of action, One-shot Charlie’s was definitely calling to us.  We had a powerful thirst after all that riding.

The distant aroma of coffee and something baking got us up and attem the next morning.  It was 25 miles until our lunch break.  (The men were tough taskmasters!)  Just as we were about to start off the rain began but undaunted I procured a lovely off blue transparent garbage bag to use as a raincoat. (Very stylish) The motto from my Girl Guide days of “Be Prepared” had been long forgotten.  Twit twit tawoo…or was that brownies?  Whatever.

 We rode and rode and rode (sun was out again) along the lake and through marshes and I was off in my own little world when out of the blue… Rocky and Bullwinkle appeared just off the trail. Is anyone old enough to remember them?  What I mean is 2 moose…or is that mooses?

Finally we get to our lunch spot.  The infamous SNAKE PIT.  Talk about local color. Back in the day 1897ish it was in its heyday as a railroad hotel layover. On the façade at the front there were horns with the skull of a bull with two red bulbs for eyes.  Guess what happened when the eyes lit up?  Yup, you guessed it!  One kind of creepy thing is... back then the privy was outside and because it was in low marshland, water snakes were a common sight when using the loo. Yuck.

We rode and rode and rode some more and finally we get to the silver capital of the world…

The mines around Wallace turned out 1 BILLION oz of silver in the past century and expect 1 billion more in the next.  Wow!  This town is filled with historic buildings and memorabilia stores and even has a plaque proclaiming it to be the center of the universe.  They challenge you to prove it isn’t …..

Anyway Lana Turner lived there and they filmed Dante’s Peak (Pierce Brosnan) and they have a bordello that was open from 1895 to 1988.  Now there is a business with longevity!

 In 1910 the area had the largest fire in American history or maybe the largest fire ever.  It raged across 3 million acres in just 2 days!

A stop along the way

Route of the Hiawatha’s - our final day of riding.

 This day was a 15-mile rail trail, which is described as one of the most scenic stretches of railroad in the country. Winding along the Bitterroot Mountains (don’t you just love that name?) it has 10 tunnels and seven trestles. At one point you ride through an almost 2 mile long pitch-dark tunnel and all you have is a small headlamp and it feels like sensory deprivation.  It’s kind of different (ok scaryish) but a satisfying accomplishment at the end.  

 I was sorry when it ended as I was just getting in the groove.  Maybe next year I will do something just as fun and even a few days longer.  Oh do I hear Europe calling?

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Thank you, Traveling Pat.

Hope you have a wonderful Friday & a fantastic weekend, friends!  ☼

An article from Traveling Pat!

Patricia is a regular contributor to Give Love Create Happiness.  She has an adventurous spirit with a love for travel.  Follow along with Pat as her journey takes her around the world.

In the summer of 2002, I moved to the Okanagan region of British Columbia with my husband following my college graduation.  My in-laws were starting a vineyard at the time.  The beauty was breathtaking.  Since that time we’ve moved to Vancouver and now Northern Idaho.  As Traveling Pat returns to the Okanagan I am thrilled to share with you some of the region's beauty through her article.  Please enjoy! ☺
♥Wendy Irene

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An engineering marvel not to be missed is only 18 km from the city of Kelowna.  I’m referring to the Myra Canyon trestles. Built between 1910 and 1915 the trestles are part of the legendary Kettle Valley Railroad.

In Aug 2003 a bolt of lightning hit the ground at Squally Point on Okanagan Lake and a fire swiftly spread up the hill and then raged out of control, first burning over 200 homes in Kelowna, then on into Okanagan Mountain Park.  By the time the fire was extinguished several weeks later 12 trestles were destroyed and 2 were damaged.  History gone up in smoke.

Rebuilt in 2005 they are now available for all to enjoy.

Along the way we drove past the posh Gallagher’s Canyon Golf course then made our way into what felt like ever-increasing wilderness. The car bumped and jounced along the dirt washboard road and at one point a gorgeous, healthy looking black bear bounded onto the road, skidded to a stop, took a good look at us then hot footed it back into the bush.  Now we really felt like we were on a mini wilderness adventure!

We strolled along the track bed awed by the breathtaking views and the truly impressive engineering feat.  The information station gives you the skinny on the fire and the wildlife and the track bed is wide and relatively smooth making it easy to bike ride or hike.  Strategically located benches are situated for folks to sit and take in the view, which stretches all the way down to the city and Okanagan Lake, the reported home of Ogopogo, but that’s another story.

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Thank you, Traveling Pat.

Have a beautiful day, friends!  ☼

An article from Traveling Pat!

Patricia is a regular contributor to Give Love Create Happiness.  She has an adventurous spirit with a love for travel.  Follow along with Pat as her journey takes her around the world.

Hard as it is to leave Tucson with its wonderful 80- 90-degree weather every day, plus the luscious joy of an 88-degree swimming pool, we reluctantly commence our journey back to Canada. It’s time for us to head back for the summer. The prize at the end of the rainbow though is to be reunited with our family and friends again.

Jag loaded to the gills we drive up to Northern Arizona and the Navajo Indian reservation.  This area is home to the revered Navajo Code talkers.  Bi-lingual English and Navajo speakers, these brave and clever men created an unbreakable code that confounded the Japanese and contributed greatly to the success of World War 2.

The first day finds us at the

Located in the North Eastern part of the state it is about 140 miles northeast of Flagstaff.

During the 13th century, decedents of the Hopi people lived in cliff dwellings or “pueblos” which were sheltered under gigantic rock formations. In 1907 the discovery of these remarkable monuments from the ancient past electrified historians.  Along with the dwellings they found fabulous Anasazi pottery baskets and even well preserved ears of corn.

This is truly one of nature’s treasures and we were extremely fortunate to be able to see this magnificent spectacle.  Millions of years of water erosion turned a simple creek into an extraordinary slot canyon. In some places it is 100 feet deep and the walls are made up of layer upon layer of sandstone that in turn has formed all kinds of shapes and colour variations.

Just a few years ago out of the blue, on sunny, hot cloudless day water from over 35 miles away cascaded down from the mountain and blasted through the canyon with devastating force.  Unfortunately 11 hikers were in the middle of it.  They didn’t stand a chance.  A lone plaque in front bears the names of the unfortunate victims.  Such is the force of nature.

This area is chock-o-block with breathtaking sites.  These 3,000-foot cliffs loom over the desert floor, towering like majestic fortresses.  We drove past miles and miles of red, brown and pink hues memorized by the enormity of it all.

Hope you enjoyed the photos.

Pat

An article from Traveling Pat!

Patricia is a regular contributor to Give Love Create Happiness.  She has an adventurous spirit with a love for travel.  Follow along with Pat as her journey takes her around the world.

It was an icy start to the morning, exceptionally cold for Tucson but appropriate for our excursion to the Titanic exhibition. As Aaron and I and our friends Kay and Dave strolled past re-created state rooms, and slightly eerie photos of the grand staircase I cast my mind back to the movie and saw Leo De Caprio looking so very handsome and debonair in his tux and I stood right there with him as he declared himself to be the “King of the World” (Kate Winslet was nowhere in sight for my little day dream.)  Back in the real world we drifted by displays of interesting artifacts.  There were personal items, dishes, silverware, musical instruments, all manor of things, as well as touching stories of the passengers. It was quite a poignant experience for me and I was aware of how much the world is still fascinated by the tragic events leading up to the disaster. The Titanic was a huge footnote in history and an unfortunate testament to man’s arrogance.  1517 souls perished that night April 14th 1912.  Something that gave me pause was that more people died in 2nd and third class than in1st class…. When we purchased our tickets we were given a bio of a person or family that sailed on the ship. At the exit there was a wall plaque listing the names of the survivors, and those that perished.  My bio of the family of 10 were third class passengers and unfortunately did not survive.

Titanic's icy grave

We opted now for a change of pace and made our way to the

The miniature museum though small in scale was big in impact. Immediately we were dazzled by the dollhouse displayed in the lobby and were curious to know what else awaited us.
 
 Entering the gallery we were transported into times both historical and imagined and the artifacts on display allowed us a captivating glimpse of days gone by. The enchanted realm held a special appeal for us as grandparents.  We just knew our grandkids would love to see the fantasy miniatures and collectables.

Details from little rooms to entire villages delighted us at every turn.  The exquisite craftsmanship was evident in the creation of woven tapestries, intricate lace and re-productions of famous oil paintings, all done to a precise scale. No detail was too small or unimportant to be left out. 

There we were …two mature world traveling couples noses pressed to the glass in awe of the artistry and skill employed in creating the teenie, weenie  itty bitty (did I mention small?) dioramas of castles and villages and every day scenes. 

We chuckled to ourselves as we spotted the guys. Our “manly” husbands bent over, carefully inspecting some little aspect of a general store or a child’s bedroom.  We were almost overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work so naturally our next step was to find an Italian restaurant and have a glass of wine and some yummy pasta end off our great day.
 
Cheers everyone.