Calidonia

In Panama City.

Looks like lots of foreginers are here to protect assets.

Richard Halliburton, the love of a lady history professor of mine, swam the length of the Canal and paid 36 1928 cents to do so.

Many Panamians belive that John McCain could, legally, become president of Panama. Seems he was born in the Canal Zone.

Work on the 'new canal' is well begun. It is inended to be much larger than the present Canal and not just the old canal enlarged.

Was walking through the Casco colonial area and thinking that it looked a lot like colonial Havana, accept for the fact that it was well on its way to being gutted and renewed beneath the historic walls. As I thought, A Venozuelan gentleman said that he had just come from holidays in Cuba and that where we were did look just like old Havana including the renewal. Seems the Europeans are very busy in Cuba.

Canal 'factoid:' Freight to and from rhe US, China, Japan, and Chile is greter than to and from other countries.

I´m pleased to be feeling well and have not formed plans for leaving Panama.

I have no spellcheck available here!

Error note: Seems the tallest building here may be 80 some stoies, not 106 as I said earlier.

Panama City

Panama City construction is still booming. For example there are dozens of new condo type buildings of 20, 40, 60, 80 stories. One is 106 stories tall and more being built today. There is a heavy construction equipment convention in the City now.

Just got here.

There is a Hemispheric conference on energy in Uruguay now. Some German interest is evident.

Don´t Know my next stop yet.

Have an English spellcheck again.

La Virgen

Went to the hill of Tepeyac to visit Guadalupe. Walked far, but not on my knees.
Went first to the Basilica where I witnessed a delagation from Puebla, offering song and flowers, being received by church fathers. From there I went everywhere. In one chaple I heard a bit of a homily(?) on health.
While on the hill I was pleased to be reminded of my experience with the Virgen of Juquila.

Mexico City

I´m here.
Mexico is fine. I´m a little old and ill. By the 17th I expect to be officialy a year older and less than a little ill.
Independence celeberations are going on here.
I´ve been invited to a party for tonight, but probably won´t go.
I may visit the Virgen of Guadalupe tomorrow.
My eyes and spelling are both bad and my spellcheck is in Spanish!
Celabrations will continue until Wendnesday, but businesses will probably be doing business again by Tuesday

Mexicali

I am comfortable and well in Mexicali, Mexico.

You may find it expedicious to contact me here via coments.

I feel very welcome here in the Hotel del Norte.

Now I´m off to breakfast and the TJ airport.

bye

Thoughts Sidle

It's Uruguay. I've decided to head toward Uruguay.

The air is pretty clean and clear in western Uruguay. Even Montevideo has pretty good air quality for a capital city. I know an interesting hot water resort area in the country. Not much possibility for river, lake, or canal travel, but two out of three seems good. (see earlier post)

There are good places to visit or stay that are less expensive than Uruguay, but I believe Uruguay is cheaper than, say, Mexico these days. It is not as exotic as Mexico, but it has its attractions. One might call it the Belgium of South America. Also Porto Alegre, Brazil and B.A., Argentina are not far. Uruguay's athletes play ball with the big boys, but it is a small country.

Just because I am heading toward Uruguay is no assurance that I will arrive. I intend to travel slowly so as to give myself abundant opportunity to be distracted.

My first day of travel as I leave 29 may be my most strenuous, but it will be slow: I'll get a bus in 29 and take it to Yucca Valley. From Yucca Valley I'll take a 2nd bus to Palm Springs. In Palm Springs I hope to transfer to a bus that will take me to Indio.
With luck, in Indio, I'll be able to catch a Greyhound to the Mexican border at Calexico.
I have taken the above route, leaving 29 in the Morning and arriving in Mexico City early the next morning. I probably won't try that this time. Instead I will probably spend the night in Calexico or across the border in Mexicali. Then in the morning take a Mexican bus directly to the Tijuana airport and take the first reasonable flight to Ciudad Mexico.

Might stay two or three nights in the Mexican capital. From Mexico I can catch a flight to, say, Panama or Venezuela and on to Brazil. Could take one of the wonderful luxury buses from Brazil to Uruguay.

I can enjoy Montevideo for a week or so and then head for the"termales." There I'll spend much of my time in trunks and bathrobe. I intend to sip mate and eat well too.

But who can say; I might find a lovely villa in the highlands of Panama. I might decide to take some Spanish classes in Merida, Venezuela. Or I might meet a woman of that great Japanese-Portuguese mix in Sau Paulo. Met a girl like that in California many years ago and still have occasional dreams. Then again, I might meet an elegant German-Brazilian matron in Porto Alegre. Women do seem to appear in my dreams.

Its' a trip!

Thoughts of the Adriatic and the Black Sea do sidle into my imagination, but I intend to move my body toward southeast South America.

When Will I Know I"m "There?"

Further consideration of the how of this trip may be called for as well as for the why of it.
How includes conditions, right? I have already written a bit about conditions. For example: flights are to be of less than 10 hours; bus trips less than 5; there must be plenty of sleep and rest. Now I add some conditions: good companionship; good conversation; play in water, travel on water.
It's a lot for me to keep in mind. I hope you find some use for this discussion.

What may I say about the why of this trip?
Why? to:

• get out of town


• get out of the house


• get newness and variety I have craved


• experience discovery


• experience exploration


• experience fun and joy


• experience love and compassion


• go where this man has never gone before


• look for a home (?)


• be energized


• urge myself to greater alertness and awareness


• get into pleasant hot water


• go one step beyond the step beyond


• be where the air is pure


• travel on water in sight of the shore


• enjoy a hot mineral water spa


• play in and on the water


• learn a language


• come to better understand a culture other than my own

There are others, but these come directly to mind.

Which of the items above seem most specific to a particular trip or destination? Most of them could be accomplished on any trip. Many can be done at home. The items most useful in selecting a destination are the destination specific. It's beginning to seem easy and simple. Those most destination specific are:

1. travel on water in sight of shore

2. enjoy a hot mineral water spa

3. be where the air is most pure

So, an ideal destination would include one or more of the three enumerated. There are hot water health spas not far from the Danube. I wonder it there is any very clean air along its length.

It seems I do have reasons to travel and some idea of what constitutes an attractive destination.

There are others,but these come immediately to mind

Which of these whys are most specific to a specific trip. Most of the the whys above I could accomplish on any trip. Most of them I can do at home. I'll note the items which seem particular to more specific trips or destinations: travel on or by water where the

Why: The Trip

My wise and kindly friend, Eleanor, recently suggested that I could benefit by considering the why of the trip. I've made an attempt to avoid her suggestion, but with less than complete success. I do usually hear what I've been told. I also forget.

I have forgotten the order of the journalistic questions (Eleanor has been a journalist as well as a poetess {a poetess is only a bit less than a poet}) of how, what, when, where, why, but have found them useful. For example:
The how of my intended travel seems easy. Choosing between ship or plane, horse or ox, Master Card or Visa seems easy (now)
The what can be well answered with 'travel' or 'a trip'
The when may be answered with 'soon'
The where has begun to seem impossible to answer. This morning I awoke ready to reserve a flight to Panama. There I could think. From there it is easy to get to Trinidad, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, or Samoa. I could get a slow boat to South Africa. Now this afternoon I have changed. I'm learning to spell Seoul correctly and am thinking of Seattle and the great circle route. Where is opaque to me.
Why is a bit clearer. Ah, motive! I can certainly rationalize motive. I may even approach a truer more precise reason for this proposed 'walk about.'

Of course I could grow bored with it all. Have you ever thought an idea to death? I could just decide to stay here and observe the round tails until I discover how the open the bitter gourds.