Puerto Rico
Trip Start
Jan 17, 2010
1
108
135
Trip End
Feb 27, 2011
Where I stayed
San Juan Hostal
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Friday, December 3, 2010
I am starting to feel a little tired of moving around now ... this feeling of course happens on a regular basis ... but I am wondering if I have done enough for now ... perhaps it is time to settle down again?
I have some specific plans for the next few months ... but these involve re-connecting with family and friends, and going back to Zimbabwe to see my old childhood haunts, etc ... rather than going to see more new stuff.
I did not expect that one can reach information overload just traveling the world ... but I am reaching the point that I cannot deal with any more information.
There is little point continuing too much more if I cannot fully digest and appreciate all the new stuff I am involved with.
So I am thinking that now what I am going to do is chill here for a few more days, then Diets and I are going on a cruise around various other islands for a week or so, then I need to plan to get to Port Elizabeth around 8th January ... to spend a month or so with my family ... many of whom I have not seen in over 18 years !!!!
Amazingly, in early 2011 my Dad turns 70, my daughter turns 21, and my sister turns 40 ... so it is the perfect excuse for a re-union.
Jesse and Amy will fly over from New Zealand for a couple of weeks, then Jesse will head back and Amy will head up to Europe for 6 months or so as a break from study prior to her post-graduate studies ...
At this stage my plan, after a month or so with family, is to then catch up with Donald (old school friend) in Cape Town, Duncan (in Joburg), Janice (not sure where she is), and a few others, before heading up to Zimbabwe (for the first time in 30 years) and I also want to visit Botswana (where I was born) ... it is going to be interesting.
Once I have done this I will then either carry on my travels up through Africa, or to South America ... or else I might just head back to Auckland and take stock for a while.
Whilst I still think about living elsewhere in the world, I am not sure that anywhere has gripped me strongly enough yet to top New Zealand ... which is still currently my home.
I am looking forward to South Africa, etc ... to review and see why I left there ... and at an outside possibility ... why I should not return to (for example) Cape Town ... my old uni town which I still love ...
Clearly anyone reading this will know that I really don't have a good plan yet ... it is time to start getting a few things sorted in my head now ...
But ... as I have realised many times before ... the cycle needs to complete first ... once I have once again stood upon the earth where I was born my life will have come full circle, and hopefully start to make some sense.
My only issue at the moment is to plan what route I will take to Port Elizabeth ...
I am thinking of purposely missing out South America ... leaving that beauty untouched by me for now ... knowing that at some future date I still have a whole continent of wonders to explore
Not sure yet ... will plan in a few days after I know exact dates of the cruise from Diets ...
PS:
Puerto Rico is lovely and chilled ...
It has all that Cuba and Jamaica have ... except none of the annoying people trying to sell me all sorts of stuff, treating me as a tourist ... it is so nice just to be able to get on with my stuff and enjoy the place for what it is ...
I am about halfway through seeing it all, some awesome stuff ... Old San Juan, the Bioluminescent Bay (a real high), Rincon ... and tomorrow I am going to see that huge radio telescope that you see in all the Sci Fi movies about trying to contact aliens, etc ... should be fun.
My only issue with Puerto Rico is that it seems to have attracted that worst breed of Americans here (sorry to my American friends) ... but what is wrong with these people ... oh I wish I had a volume control for their voices !!!
I simply don't get the arrogance / ignorance of people that feel that they need to shout in order to speak ???
Don't they care about the noise they make?
The intrusion into other peoples spaces?
Yep ... this is the difference between the British and the Americans ... modesty, respect for others, awareness of surroundings ... a god forbid ... just a little reserve !!!
Not sure I could ever live in the USA ...
Comments
Not planning to visit any of your old friends from the syntax days then? ;-)
Hey ... how are you?
Been a long time since syntax days ... is it still going?
Are you on facebook?
connect with me ... craig.myles@xtra.co.nz
yes, i'm on facebook, i'll connect with you...