Home Safe, Next Blog Olympics 2010

By waking at 4am and driving 12 or 14 hours a day, we set a new Olympic Record from Cancun to Kemble, Ontario in 4 nights and 5 days! A lot of frustration and anger at Mexican "free"roads (really, really bad) and toll roads (really, really expensive). Heavy weapons both sides of the Mex.-USA border(no photos allowed). Tornadoes nearby in Mississippi. Sneaking in the cats to motels that don't want any "pets" when they actually mean "pitbulls that pee on the carpet".

Arriving back in Canada at Sarnia, our relief was cut short as we were pulled over for inspection --- very suspicious that someone would DRIVE to Mexico?? But not very thorough --- they forgot to look in the cartop carrier! Total distance covered was 13, 588km (8493 miles) in 90 days.

Great to drive up the hill at home without snow. Lots of unloading and seeing winter damage (slight) and signs of spring (slight --- only blooms are little white things called "snowdrops"). Biggest problem is no running water. Either a freeze-up or electrical or?? Still working on it.

But today's ice floes and the pouring rain have never looked so good. We are grateful to be home safe after a unique adventure. And thankyou for all your good wishes.

Why the reference to Olympic Record in the first sentence? We will both be working at the Vancouver Winter Olympics next February. So the next Rick on the Road will come from Vancouver B.C. Until then, as our Mexican neighbours said --- "Que vaya bien" ---- may you travel well...

Homeward Bound

We left before dawn today, for our home in Ontario. We've had a dispute with our landlord over the return of our deposit, but that's not the real reason. The weather back in Grey County has been spring-like for weeks and we're told the snow is all gone. We don't want to miss the smells of the earth reawakening, or the first bulbs surprising us with their random colours, or the Easter bunny hiding chocolate eggs, or the ice floes sounding their retreat with distant creaking.

It's been a great adventure, but we still have a 7-day drive ahead of us, and I hope to add to this blog along the way. In the meantime, here are some parting images of where we've been and where we're going...

Dianne Jackson---- "Busy, eh?"

Remember the Caption Contest from the Feb. 28 posting? The winner is Dianne Jackson of Peterborough Ontario! Dianne's most memorable caption was for the guy with the big hose between his legs (Ed. Note: This is a family blog, her caption can't be repeated here.). For her prize, Dianne got to name this blog posting, and she specified "Busy, eh?". Canadians will recognize the ending of that phrase. But what the heck does "busy" mean? We hope it refers to people going about their lives and doing their jobs as most do everywhere.

We have encountered "busy, eh?" at all levels here. There are professionals in all fields, from doctors to sports heroes to glossy TV anchors to teachers, etc. But we've all had a first job, a summer job for money, or some starting point in a career. Those might be the best examples of "Busy, eh?"

How about selling maps at stop lights? Serving meals from the back of your pickup? Manual labour at a construction site? Raking sea grass? Squeegee anybody? What was YOUR first "busy, eh"?

You Shoulda Seen the Ones That Got Away

Snorkelling is our favourite activity on this trip, and a single-use underwater Kodak let us keep some of the memories. The waters here are Caribbean, clear and gentle with lots of places to be amazed at what's just below the surface. It's another kind of fishing --- you never know what you're going to get. Four-foot barracuda hover near the seagrass. 40-pound rainbow grouper keep a constant 20 feet away when you try to get closer. The variety includes tiny neons to graceful sea rays and huge whale sharks. A fascinating but easy glimpse into another world, just by stepping in from shore...

Signs of Spring!!

Happy first day of spring everybody! We are eager to get back north because we've missed the snow melting and we can imagine the spring bulbs ready to pop. It seems ridiculous to notice the arrival of spring here because it has been hot and sunny all along. But along with longer daylight (Mexico doesn't go to daylight savings time til April), there are some unmistakable signs of spring. Look around ---blossoms on palms and cactus, migrating birds, spring breakers, and spring fever!

Now That's a Novel Idea!

Want a never-ending source of beach/winter/evening reading material? In years past we have brought 3 or 4 paperbacks and crossed our fingers hoping to exchange them somewhere on Isla Mujeres. But these days there seem to be piles of books for exchange, free for the taking, in hotel lobbies, coffee shops, and even dive shops. In January we started hoarding, not realizing the supply would be constant.Result ---- an overstocked library on top of our little fridge.

It looks like we will have read about 23 or 24 books in our 92-day stay. Even with side-trips, visitors, walking a lot, and other non-reading days, that's an average of about a book every 4 days! At home we probably won't read a book a year. Go figure. Or better, go read!

(st.) Pat-Rick Day!

Somewhere along the way we realized that the whole world commemorated us by joining our 2 names to form ---- Pat-Rick Day! It's on your calendar for March 17. Even though neither of us is a Saint, the use of our names has spread such as the Pat-Rick subway station in Toronto. Or one of our favourite actors, Pat-Rick Swayze. (We try to ignore our badboy cousin, the Jeep Pat-Riot.)

So thanks for marching in our parade, and drinking that green stuff, and keeping snakes out of Ireland. Happy Pat-Rick Day 2009!!

Can't Corner Classic Cars in Cancun

Anybody hoping to see a variety of beautiful classic cars around here will be very disappointed. The searing sun fades the paint, the sea air rusts the metal, the pocked roads are brutal on the frame and transmission. And overall you don't sense the car cults that flourish in Canada and the USA. There is one indoor display of about 12 common oldies that's more of a space-filler in a shopping plaza than a tribute to wheels. Otherwise you'll see beaten up relics still in use, and even a homemade convertible that started out as a 60's Valiant! So if you're looking for amazingly restored and soul-stirring rides --- There's no place like home!

Wire Cut, Blog Block!

No blog posts for several days now. Our internet server is on a phone line strung over the lane of our building. Last Monday a truck delivering propane snagged the wire and cut it. There have been promises every day that it will be fixed, but nada so far. Otherwise, all OK. Stay tuned....

Cristopher's Birthday Party: Dale! Dale! Dale!

We just returned from a most special event --- our landlord invited us to the birthday party for his 2-year old grandson Cristopher. A real, genuine, authentic cultural immersion. Balloons were strung in the yard, a hotdog cart served as the pork-and-chicken BBQ, posters from the movie "Cars" hung festively, and we were seated as guests of honour. About 50 or 60 people (seemed like more than half were kids) chowed down on shrimp ceviche, tacos, tequila beer or pop, hot dogs, and cake (from Sanborn's!). I wanted to slide on the giant inflated fun house, but Pat thought the pack of boys would gang up on me and show no mercy. It's happened before.

The main event was the smashing of the pinata, a suspended cardboard figure (from "Cars", naturally). All the kids lined up to take a whack at the car and spill the candy inside. We heard different versions of the pinata's history (Google it) but in the here-and-now it was total glee and bigtime fun.

And we got a language lesson: the song chanted while the pinata is whacked starts with "Dale! Dale! Dale!" Pronounced DAH-lay, it means "Hit it! Hit It! Go-go-go!". Seems right somehow...

CSI Punta Sam

We've read that Canadians and Americans are being warned not to travel in certain areas of Mexico because of the increasing violence and grisly murders over the drug trade. One particular gang, The Zetas, have tortured and beheaded 11 cops, judges, and other good guys near Cancun. We've certainly seen a lot of police and military presence around here ---- municipal, state, and federales.

But there's now some evidence on one of our walking routes that the violence is closer to our neighbourhood. On a very heavily-travelled road nearby there are 2 victim outlines, 2 funereal crosses, and 2 bullet-casing markers. Our impression is that 2 hombres (34 and 22 years old) were executed and dumped here as a warning sign to others. 2 bullets, 2 crosses ---- Good Guys or Bad Guys??

Cheaper Labour, Better Service

One of the eye-openers living in Mexico for a few months is experiencing personal services. I have written before about an oil change for the van, and some basic auto body work. Both were done fast, high-quality, and much cheaper than at home. No lavish shops, no hidden service "fees", no excuses. And actual gratitude for your business!

Another example is our recent mani-pedicure treat (Pat) and haircut need (me). We dropped in without appointment to a store-front shop in a chaotic neighbourhood. The decor was familiar --- posters of models with impossibly beautiful hair on the walls, Latina (Shakira!) fashion magazines on the tables, and staff in white smocks. The prices were posted at the entrance and doing the exchange rate we realized it would cost us about a third of the price back home. (And I do chain-store haircuts at home!) The results were impressive. Despite the language barrier, we got excellent service at a third of the cost, and with smiles and laughter.

And then I got a very stubborn, raspy, sleep-depriving throat infection. Simple solution here --- go to a corner Farmacia where the cashier = the pharmacist = a practicing licenced Doctor . She interpreted my Spanish-gibberish, diagnosed the problem, and came up with a 5-day treatment of antibiotics (that worked). Total cost = C$9.80.