Two years ago today, I boarded a bus from London to Sydney, full of excitement and intrepidation at the adventures that lay in front of me.
One year ago today, I was fishing off a houseboat on Lake Kariba, already halfway through my overland adventure in Africa.
Today...I am woken from my deep slumber in my huge, luxury, soft bed with crisp white sheets by the soft hum of the aircon, open the patio doors to the large verandah with its Jacuzzi, big sofas and thatched roof to provide shade from the blistering heat, look at the clear blue skies and reflect on whether I should wander the few steps to the white sands and clear turquoise waters of the Caribbean or relax by the oasis of the hotel pool. Will it be Margueritas or Mojitos tonight?
‘What? I hear you ask with incredulity. ‘Has Vicki gone soft in her old age? This not the Vicki we know. Where is the adventure? What happened to clinging to edge of the Himalayan mountains, fighting off lions and bravely tracking rhinos on foot in the African Bush? Where is the girl who nearly drowned descending grade 5 white water rapids in the Nile and jumped out of a plane at 10000 feet in Namibia with a strange man strapped to her back?’
Fear not , for this next chapter may well start with a calm before the storm.
This adventure may be starting in the Caribbean playground of Americans in Playa del Carmen, Mexico but it will continue through the Central American hotspots of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama using only public transport, risking life, limb and bandits.
And like Batman had Robin, Holmes had Watson, Wooster had Jeeves, and Shaggy had Scooby , this time Vicki will have Caroline to accompany her on this adventure...
Why Central America?
Many moons ago, in a former life I once did a day trip to Costa Rica and fell in love with it. A day trip to Costa Rica? With a Friday business meeting in Trail, British Columbia and a Monday morning meeting in Lima, Peru, it kind of made sense to stop off in Costa Rica on the way down.
I am a little concerned that I might be getting rather blasé about my adventures as, unlike my previous trips, which were endlessly researched and worried over for months before D Day, once my route was decided I gave the trip very little attention until about a week before, when I suddenly realised I had no accommodation booked, some of my vaccinations needed updating and I would need to get some malarial prophylaxis, never mind working out what to pack.
Still somehow I managed to get myself ready to jump on the flight to Atlanta where I would be meeting Caroline before going to down to Cancun, Mexico.
Its a brief goodbye to the family at Manchester airport as my younger son is moving into his university halls on the same day. My irritation at not having a seat allocation on check in is quickly dissipated when I discover I have been upgraded to economy comfort, where I find myself sitting with Judy and Cecilia. Although we are all happy to be able to stretch our legs out and trip unsuspecting passengers as they try to take the shortcut in front of our seats to the toilets, we had not realised that with upgrades comes responsibility.
It seems that when most passengers leave home to get on a flight they leave their brains at home too. Our inflight entertainment provides a constant source of humour as they approach the toilets and push on an ashtray on the wall, expecting a door to open. When pushing fails, they try pulling it. When that fails, they are feeling their way along the wall, like a blind person might, pushing gently at different points, with increasing need and embarrassment as they entire cabin monitors their progress. Cecelia, Judy and myself quickly recognise the importance of our position as unofficial Directors of Ablutions, and offer helpful advice to the bewildered individuals in search of relief. “Left a bit. Up a bit. Right a bit. Now.” Its like the Golden Shot. With an apologetic smile, they can finally relieve themselves. Despite close observation of the technique, many passengers fail to acquire the necessary skills and some become repeat offenders.
Time passes quickly and it doesn’t feel like 9 hours has passed as I wave goodbye to Judy and Cecelia and go hunting for my new partner in crime, Caroline.
One year ago today, I was fishing off a houseboat on Lake Kariba, already halfway through my overland adventure in Africa.
Today...I am woken from my deep slumber in my huge, luxury, soft bed with crisp white sheets by the soft hum of the aircon, open the patio doors to the large verandah with its Jacuzzi, big sofas and thatched roof to provide shade from the blistering heat, look at the clear blue skies and reflect on whether I should wander the few steps to the white sands and clear turquoise waters of the Caribbean or relax by the oasis of the hotel pool. Will it be Margueritas or Mojitos tonight?
‘What? I hear you ask with incredulity. ‘Has Vicki gone soft in her old age? This not the Vicki we know. Where is the adventure? What happened to clinging to edge of the Himalayan mountains, fighting off lions and bravely tracking rhinos on foot in the African Bush? Where is the girl who nearly drowned descending grade 5 white water rapids in the Nile and jumped out of a plane at 10000 feet in Namibia with a strange man strapped to her back?’
Fear not , for this next chapter may well start with a calm before the storm.
This adventure may be starting in the Caribbean playground of Americans in Playa del Carmen, Mexico but it will continue through the Central American hotspots of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama using only public transport, risking life, limb and bandits.
And like Batman had Robin, Holmes had Watson, Wooster had Jeeves, and Shaggy had Scooby , this time Vicki will have Caroline to accompany her on this adventure...
Why Central America?
Many moons ago, in a former life I once did a day trip to Costa Rica and fell in love with it. A day trip to Costa Rica? With a Friday business meeting in Trail, British Columbia and a Monday morning meeting in Lima, Peru, it kind of made sense to stop off in Costa Rica on the way down.
I am a little concerned that I might be getting rather blasé about my adventures as, unlike my previous trips, which were endlessly researched and worried over for months before D Day, once my route was decided I gave the trip very little attention until about a week before, when I suddenly realised I had no accommodation booked, some of my vaccinations needed updating and I would need to get some malarial prophylaxis, never mind working out what to pack.
Still somehow I managed to get myself ready to jump on the flight to Atlanta where I would be meeting Caroline before going to down to Cancun, Mexico.
Its a brief goodbye to the family at Manchester airport as my younger son is moving into his university halls on the same day. My irritation at not having a seat allocation on check in is quickly dissipated when I discover I have been upgraded to economy comfort, where I find myself sitting with Judy and Cecilia. Although we are all happy to be able to stretch our legs out and trip unsuspecting passengers as they try to take the shortcut in front of our seats to the toilets, we had not realised that with upgrades comes responsibility.
It seems that when most passengers leave home to get on a flight they leave their brains at home too. Our inflight entertainment provides a constant source of humour as they approach the toilets and push on an ashtray on the wall, expecting a door to open. When pushing fails, they try pulling it. When that fails, they are feeling their way along the wall, like a blind person might, pushing gently at different points, with increasing need and embarrassment as they entire cabin monitors their progress. Cecelia, Judy and myself quickly recognise the importance of our position as unofficial Directors of Ablutions, and offer helpful advice to the bewildered individuals in search of relief. “Left a bit. Up a bit. Right a bit. Now.” Its like the Golden Shot. With an apologetic smile, they can finally relieve themselves. Despite close observation of the technique, many passengers fail to acquire the necessary skills and some become repeat offenders.
Time passes quickly and it doesn’t feel like 9 hours has passed as I wave goodbye to Judy and Cecelia and go hunting for my new partner in crime, Caroline.
RSS Feed
