i am a butterfly…

Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

(I apologize for the poor image quality in these photos. I didn’t bring the Nikon with me and the little Cybershot is on its last legs.)

Scott and I spent a really fun day at the Santa Monica pier yesterday. We got there sort of by accident when we forgot to reserve a rental car in advance and were scrambling for something to do without a car. I came up with a trip to LACMA so we asked the concierge how to get there and he gave us a bus route, then mentioned that the same bus also went to the beach. So we decided to stay on the bus till we saw the ocean and it just happened that we got off at the pier. Of course, now I have the theme from Three’s Company stuck in my head.

We saw the end of route 66 rode the ferris wheel, drank humongous mugs of beer, ate funnel cake, and I saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time. It was too cool to swim – for me, anyway; plenty of other people were in the water!- but I did get to wade in the water, which was pretty cold.

On the way back to LA, we did stop at LACMA. We made it there at about 6:45, which was just enough time to choose one exhibit before closing time. Then we saw the streetlight exhibit at dusk, which was the whole reason I want to go to LACMA in the first place, so our timing was just right. There were several photographers there with models posing for them, so Scott posed for me.

It wasn’t the day we had planned, but it turned out to be the perfect day.

I decided I wanted to go to Mercado 28 one morning so we all piled onto the bus and headed downtown. These photos were taken at a little place we stopped in for lunch when I saw the giant sign that said “carnitas.” On a day like that one, sitting in the stifling, airless heat, the custom of having a siesta every day is entirely understandable. We were all like heavy-lidded lizards, barely able to move.

I was really racked my brain for a G, and I think this one works.

A carving of a Maya god at Tulum.

It looks like just a plain old snake, but this is a representation of Kukulcan, the feathered serpent god of the Maya. You may also know him as Quetzalcoatl, as the Aztecs called him.

If I remember correctly, this is a carving of the god Chaac, the Maya rain god.

This doesn’t look like much, but it’s all that’s left of the temple of Ixchel, a Maya goddess. The temple is at Punta Sur, on Isla Mujeres, which means “island of women.” Punta Sur is the furthest east point in Mexico, so the sun hits here first every day.

What did you do?

As I write this, Scott and I are sitting in the hotel lobby bar, drinking wine (me) and mojitos (him) and eating papas de la francesca, which is a fancy Mexican way to say “french fries.”

Today was an adventure! We rented a car in Cancun – something everyone seemed dead set against us doing – and drove out of Quintana Roo and into Yucatan state to see the ruins of Chichen Itza, one of the most important Maya sites in Mexico. Contrary to what everyone told us would happen, we did not get kidnapped by banditos or arrested by los Federales and held in a Mexican prison for 20 years. We did see some whacko drivers and also met a whole lot of nice people.

We left at 7am and got to Chichen Itza early, in the “cool of the morning” and before the tour bus crowds began arriving. Cool of the morning is in quotes because “cool” is relative. It was still nearly 90 degrees.

While lathering up with sunscreen at the car, a man approached us and asked if we would like an official guide to see the ruins. I’d read that a personal guide is the best way to see Chichen Itza, because you really get to learn the history and importance of the site. So we negotiated a price, and Alfredo became our best friend for the day. It was $60 well spent! Alfredo has been an official guide at Chichen Itza for nearly 30 years and was incredibly knowledgeable about the ruins. We asked a thousand questions and he knew the answer to every one.

We also got to know him personally a little, and enjoyed hearing stories about how his daughter is learning to speak Maya in school, how his father was also a guide, and how he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps.

When we told Alfredo we wanted to swim in a Cenote, he knew just where to go and offered to show us to Ik-Kil. The photo above is of the Ik-Kil cenote from the top, before you climb down to where you can jump in the water. The water is 30 meters deep and cold and pure. Alex and Beth were adventurous and jumped in from the high platforms. Scott and I were a little more trepidatious and limited ourselves to the lower level and the ladders. We all had a blast, though. The waterfalls plunging from the ceiling of the cave are artificial, but they added an incredible ambiance to the cenote.

All told, this has been an amazing day. Epic, even. We did two things that Scott and I have each always wanted to do, all in the same day. there are photos to come, and more Mexico to experience – and I really want to write about our grocery store experience yesterday! – but today was just perfect.

Let me begin by saying this: I do not collect decorative spoons.

For the 2008 ABC-Along, I wrote about the cow cookie jar we bought on our honeymoon in Aruba. I briefly mentioned that the cow was purchased on the last day of our trip, when we suddenly realized that we hadn’t bought any souvenirs the whole time we were there. It wasn’t until I was cleaning out a drawer in the kitchen last week that I remembered that we also bought this, the decorative spoon.

Have I mentioned that I don’t collect decorative spoons? I just grabbed this thing in an act of desperation so that I would have some record of our honeymoon. Some proof that we actually went to Aruba, since we also weren’t really photo-snappers in those days and have very few photos from that trip. I’m sure that I thought it was some sort of ironic purchase somehow, but looking back, it was just stupid. Now I have this decorative spoon cluttering up the kitchen and I don’t know what to do with it. Maybe I should display it with my ironic collection of shot glasses.

While wandering around near the visitors’ center on the Lariat Loop, Scott and I found this stone bench:

I wanted to practice taking portraits, so I asked him to sit there while I shot away. To get him a little animated and not just sitting there with a frozen smile, I used that old photographer’s trick of asking some questions to get him talking. He knew exactly what I was doing, though, so instead of speaking naturally, he totally hammed it up.

Those of you who know my husband will, of course, be very surprised by the idea of him being a ham. He’s usually so stoic and quiet, as you know.

I’ve been meaning to start doing Ten On Tuesday for a while, and now I finally am. This is a timely one, with the Colorado trip looming on Friday. This is in no particular order, though the item in the number 1 spot is definitely my number 1 thing I hate about traveling.

1. The TSA. Everything about the TSA. From the long lines cause by the ridiculous screening to having to take off my shoes to having to use the Baggie of Protection for shampoo.
2. Eating out for every meal. It really wreaks havoc on my body, and on my wallet.
3. Flight delays.
4. Airports without free WiFi.
5. Hotels without ANY WiFi.
6. The cost of airfare.
7. Overpacking, which I seem to do every single trip.
8. Lugging around a big laptop.
9. All that overpacking and still forgetting something essential.
10. Having to come home when you’re still having a great time.

I’ve been feeling the pull to travel lately. A deep yearning that’s calling me to the world’s wild places. Don’t get me wrong, I would take a week on a beach somewhere, but that would leave me unsatisfied. I feel a pull to Skye, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. Somewhere rocky and craggy and raw.

Yesterday, I started planning a two-week trip that would take us, by car, to spend several days on Mount Desert Island, then to Nova Scotia – eschewing the ferry for the drive – for several days, and then to Newfoundland for several days. It would be a 3,000-mile trip, there and back again.

A dream, but maybe next summer. Just maybe.