The Piper

This is the pyramid of Kukulcan at Chichen Itza in Mexico. I was in Mexico from December 12th-19th, and visited the pyramid on December 15th. I really enjoyed the visit to Chichen Itza, though it was quite hot there. I would change only one part of the experience. We were approached by a nonstop stream of hawkers and vendors trying to sell Mayan goods, "One dollar, almost free, cheaper than Walmart." It's OK to have vendors at the gates to the grounds and even at tables on the walkways leading to the ruins. It would be nice, however, to be able to wander the ruins without this constant interruption.

Oddly enough, I kind of miss the ubiquitous hordes of vendors found all over the Mayan Riviera. Yes, they could be annoying, but they certainly were accomodating. If you were looking for something that a vendor didn't have, they'd find a vendor who had it, if they could. And the prices WERE low. I was looking at silver jewelry in Target today, and the prices seemed so very high after the prices in the markets in Playa del Carmen and Cancun.

Shopping in Pesos is a little bit overwhelming, since the US dollar is worth so much more than the Peso. At the time of our visit, 1000 Pesos was worth something like 77 US Dollars. I can only imagine how dramatic the difference would be if the US Dollar were robust right now!

On the way to the ruins, our tour stopped at a cenote - a sink hole fed by an underground water source. This cenote was in a cave and was well below ground level. There were roots hanging down into the cenote from several stories up. Here is a picture taken at the cenote:

As you can see, tourists are allowed to swim in the cenote. I did not, but my fiancee did. He reported that the water was warm, not cold as one might expect. It is asked that you rinse off in a shower before going into the cenote if you are wearing sunscreen, since it might jeopardize the fish, plants, etc. found there. I had applied gobs of waterproof sunscreen before the trip left in the morning (I'm fair - OK pale - and I burn without tanning), so I decided not to swim.

Below is my favorite part of the whole vacation: the vast pool at the resort where we stayed. You couldn't see the entire pool from any one spot. We usually camped out by this end of the pool, near one of the the swim-up bars. We spent pretty much the whole day at the pool on the16th and again on the 18th. It's hard to see in this night shot, but the palm trees, huts and umbrellas around the pool made it quite comfortable even during the hottest part of the day. The beach was nearby, as well, but my camera never made it down there.

Good thing we had a nice, relaxing day on the 18th. Travel misery set in on the 19th, as we tried to return to New Jersey during an unprecedented December blizzard. We were delayed getting out of Cancun, and our flight from Ft. Lauterdale to Atlantic City was cancelled. We were scheduled onto the same flight 24 hours later (9:20 pm on the 20th). THAT flight was delayed several times, as well, and we finally flew out of Ft. Laut at 3:30 AM.

We spent 27 hours at Motel Hell in Ft. Lauterdale. As soon as we saw our rooms, we went out. I had 2 cosmopolitans and a shot of tequila with my dinner at the outdoor Irish Bar up the block. Hey, at least we were dining al fresco while everyone back home was shoveling snow!

It's REALLY rare for me to drink that much, but I was hoping to soften the impact of the seedy room. After dinner, we went across the street to the CVS. We bought snug sacs and super-huge towels to put on the beds (there were two couples and two rooms) so that we wouldn't have to touch the sheets. We also bought Lysol, and we gave each of the rooms a good spray down. I bought Deep Woods Off and put some on, just in case. I sprayed the outside of my luggage, too.

When we finally flew into AC, we had to dig the cars out of the snow. We had no gloves, mind you, and we hadn't worn our warmest coats, either. We drove out of the airport as the sun was rising at 7 AM on Monday, December 21st. We had to dig our way into the driveway when we got home. Then we had to go back out to pick the dogs up from the kennel. After that, we slept the day away. Going to work was not an option. I would have been asleep at my desk all day.

I was only back at work for 2 days before my next holiday began. With furlough days (unpaid leave days required of NJ employees to help balance the budget), personal days, holidays and weekends, I've been off since Christmas Eve. Tomorrow I have to go back to work, and the next few weeks (maybe the next few months) are going to be hard. Time to pay the piper.

Here are a few random photos from the trip:

An air plant in it's natural environment, camped out on the branch of a tree.

This tree was growing at the edge of the jungle just off of the balcony of our suite.

Mayan Muttley at Chichen Itza.

Here's a clip of Daisy in the snow this week.

And here's one of Muttley.

The snow is gone now, and we pretty much have a lake in the backyard. And it's still raining.

Quick question for my techie friends:

Would I get better video quality here if I published to youtube or another site before adding a video clip? The quality of these clips is better than the images you're seeing here. I uploaded from my PC directly to blogger.

New Worlds

I was never a big fan of the Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres of entertainment, but I've been drawn into them almost against my will over the last couple of years. That's because they're on the TV almost constantly at my house. I've become intrigued by Dr. Who, Torchwood, Being Human and Robin Hood - to name a few. I still can't quite buy into The Seeker - the storyline seems a little too much like a pointless video game to me.

I really rebelled against Robin Hood for the first season or two, watching only because I didn't want to sit alone on a Saturday night. The series has managed to draw me in, mostly due to the acting of Richard Armitage, who has brought real complexity to the character of Sir Guy of Gisborne. The current season has a new edge to it, complete with a cranky Robin and a haunted Sir Guy.

Robin Hood is drawing to a close, with only a few episodes left to air. I'm glad that it's ending because there can only be so many death-defying season's end episodes involving the few main characters of the series. This is a story that calls for a complete ending, not just a Newhart-style it-was-all-a-dream finish. It should be incredibly satisfying to watch the finale. It could end in a bloodfest - they've already had the courage to kill off a main character, one who did not die in the traditional tale. The series seemed doomed at the end of last season with the demise of this particular character, but, remarkably, this season has been more intense and dramatic because of the death.

In any event, watching Robin Hood has led me to the work of a talented actor, and I can't wait to see what he does in the future. He's sure to show up more and more, so keep an eye out for him.

Tearing My Hair Out!

Needed my passport tonight to order airline tickets for an upcoming trip, and it wasn't where it was supposed to be. Finally found it (phew). Since my birth certificate was with it, I started to feel pretty desperate. It would have been a challenge to replace both the birth cert and the passport and THEN get airline reservations in time for our trip. Four of us are traveling together, and we want to book the flights together so that we arrive at the same time.

The upside? I now know where EVERYTHING in the house is! I have looked in every box in every closet and in every drawer. I also found a lost password, as well as the keypad code to my car door. I never memorized it because I always use the keyless entry. Wonder if it still works?

So back to square one. Guess we'll order the tickets tomorrow. Hope the fares don't go up by then!

Photo Poem

When was the last time you saw acres of sky?

Or sat in the grass and let the wind wash over you, with no discernible sound of human activity?

Or contemplated the metaphors for life found in old farm structures?

Or saw light at the end of a hazy pathway?

Getting away can give you a new perspective on things.

Though there is always work to be done.

House of Fish

Image found at fishdeals.com

This place is turning into a fish house. Our 125 gallon aquarium currently has a partition in it to protect the pleco (sucker catfish) from the cichlids. He was under assault and losing fins fast. He is recovering nicely, but the partition can't stay up forever; it's ugly, and the cichlids need the run of the tank for optimal health.

Enter the 55 gallon aquarium, set up and cycling as we speak. The aquarium has to cycle through some chemical/biological phases before it's ready for fish. Once this one is ready to roll, the pleco will move in. His tankmates will be some nice, friendly community fish who will be unlikely to cause him any problems.

We lost one catfish already, sadly, to the aggressive cichlids in the other tank. My web research shows that it was a species of fish best left to nature or the truly large (commercial) aquariums. I think the cichlid mix in the 125 gallon tank (it's not my tank) is a little bit questionable. So what happens when they get bigger and more territorial? Will they spawn more fish tanks? And what happens if the pleco outgrows the 55 gallon tank? He just might.

Welcome to the South Jersey House of Fish!

Lions and Tigers and Bears

Aquariums, laptop-shopping and facebook taking up my time these days, oh my! Must find time to post. I like blogger better than facebook, yet somehow facebook draws you in. Social engineering at it's finest. Or most devious.

I'll come up with a real post soon, I promise!