Next Trip: Central Mexico
It’s time to brush up on my Spanish again.
During Memorial Day weekend, Julie and I will be Mexico-bound. We’ll be: (1) attending our friends’ wedding; but mostly (2) cavorting in nearby San Miguel de Allende, a historic (1542!) town in the middle of the country that has a large ex-pat community.
San Miguel de Allende is known for its gorgeous colonial architecture and hot springs. It was a popular destination for 1960s counter-culturers like Ken Kesey and Neal Cassady. Turn on, tune in, drop out…
UPDATE 5/11: The wedding, and our trip to Mexico, has been postponed due to the swine flu outbreak. It could be rescheduled as early as next month. In the meantime, we’re also finalizing plans for yet another wedding (that of Julie’s sister) in the U.S. Virgin Islands in July.
UPDATE 5/20: OK… So the wedding, and our trip to Mexico, is back on. We’ll be south of the border June 25-29. We have added one day in the picturesque city of Guanajuato. Looking forward to seeing the colorful homes climbing up the side of the mountains.
Happy Chinese New Year
Sometimes I get to travel right here at home. Today, for example, I watched as tens of thousands of New Yorkers partied like it was 4707. Dragon and lion dancers, heavy drum beats and confetti-filled “firecrackers” were all part of the 2009 Chinese New Year parade in New York City’s Chinatown. It’s the Year of the Ox.
The color red is thought to ward off evil spirits and bad fortune. Ditto the drum beats.
Here’s a video I shot.
Photos From the D.R.
Here’s a slideshow of photos from the trip to the Dominican Republic!
The Mariachi’s Revenge
“Beware the Mariachi,” comes the dark warning from the British chap at the lobby bar, in so many words. I should have heeded John’s advice. El Mariachi is the Mexican component of our resort’s four “international” restaurants (the others are Italian, Japanese and “American steakhouse”). The resort, Catalonia Bavaro Resort & Casino on the Dominican Republic’s eastern coast, has been fantastico, but the food (included with airfare and all the drinks you want), well let’s just say the food is not its strong point.
“C’mon,” I tell the British chap, “El Mariachi can’t be that bad.”
“Oh, but it can,” he sneers.
“Can’t be worse than that bland buffet over there,” I say, pointing toward the no-reservations-required, no-shirt-no-problem livestock pen known as the Gran Caribe.
John hesitates for a second but concludes, “It’s worse.”
Julie and I look at each other and chuckle a bit nervously. But, hey, it’s Mexican food — how bad can it be? Warm up a tortilla, sprinkle on some cheese, bada boom bada bing it’s a Mexican thing.
Three hours later Julie keenly surmises something might be wrong when I suddenly dart up in bed, grabbing my belly and grimacing in pain. “What’s the matter?” she asks, but we both know the answer. Between stomach cramps I am able to mutter two words as I raise my fist in anger: “El Mariachi!”
I fight off the cramps for a solid three hours, timing them and pushing back, before the Mariachi finally gives up, taking leave as suddenly and as silently as he appeared.
Other than that, things are great.
Next Trip: Dominican Republic
Tentative plans for a weeklong jaunt to the Dominican Republic in October. More details later …
UPDATE 8/5: This trip will be quite a bit different from my usual off-the-beaten-path jaunts. I will be ditching the backpack and trading it for marble bath tiles at a fancy-dancy, all-inclusive tourist-filled resort. The weeklong stay in Punta Cana, on the island’s easternmost tip, will be at Catalonia Bavaro Resort & Casino. Joining me will be my main squeeze, Julie. What’s the deal with the all-inclusive resort, you ask? In a word: it’s cheap. OK, that’s two words. But it’s true. Did you know that you can book a suite with a terrace in a five-star hotel overlooking a beautiful tropical beach (tops optional for the ladies) for one week, throw in roundtrip air fare, include all manner of unlimited fruity cocktails and three delicious square meals a day, plus snacks and bottomless minibar, for under $850 per person? Believe it, baby; it’s possible. The catch is this: it’s during hurricane season. Well, just in case, we’ve added on emergency helicopter evacuation insurance for a mere $40 more. [Date of trip: October 15-21.]
