“I pity the man who can travel from Dan to Beersheba, and cry, ‘Tis all barren—and so it is; and so is all the world to him who will not cultivate the fruits it offers…” Laurence Sterne, A Sentimental Journey I suppose every young writer’s aspirations include traveling and getting paid to write about it. In my case, a freshman encounter with
I would have turned down a trip to the Riviera Maya, too. I've traveled to most of Mexico, and Playa del Carmen is one the very few places I went to that I didn't like.
I haven't been to Calakmul, and would very much like to go there.
I'll let you in on something; much of the State of Michoacán is still well worth visiting; Uruapan (and the nearby Parícutin volcano) and several beach towns that most people don't know about. There's also Copper Canyon, which is still my favourite area of Mexico.
Traveling was different in 60s. More adventure was possible, meeting people who weren't like the people in your country was something to look forward to. The food was more regional and less cosmopolitan and, not to be shunned; it was cheaper. The left bank in Paris had many hotels that were $5 a day, if you could speak a few words of the local language, you were welcomed. You didn't need to show an insurance card or need a visa to travel in Europe. As a musician, you could work locally and not have to have a permit or pay a fee. After my last move, 10 yrs. ago, I stopped traveling. My age made it more difficult, and the adventure was gone. That and there was a sameness to places. You can find the same music everywhere, find the same books, the same movies, the same food and the same people.
That was a few years ago, I am surmising, but travel now is so fraught with Ryanair deposits of hundreds of tourists on their cell phones, in tank tops in December, and zorries, who appear to have lost the art of seeing what they supposedly traveled for, or maybe it was just the cheap fight. Why not just go somewhere and say you did. Don't get me started on airports......
Perhaps traveling in the mind is still the best voyage.
I would have turned down a trip to the Riviera Maya, too. I've traveled to most of Mexico, and Playa del Carmen is one the very few places I went to that I didn't like.
I haven't been to Calakmul, and would very much like to go there.
I'll let you in on something; much of the State of Michoacán is still well worth visiting; Uruapan (and the nearby Parícutin volcano) and several beach towns that most people don't know about. There's also Copper Canyon, which is still my favourite area of Mexico.
Traveling was different in 60s. More adventure was possible, meeting people who weren't like the people in your country was something to look forward to. The food was more regional and less cosmopolitan and, not to be shunned; it was cheaper. The left bank in Paris had many hotels that were $5 a day, if you could speak a few words of the local language, you were welcomed. You didn't need to show an insurance card or need a visa to travel in Europe. As a musician, you could work locally and not have to have a permit or pay a fee. After my last move, 10 yrs. ago, I stopped traveling. My age made it more difficult, and the adventure was gone. That and there was a sameness to places. You can find the same music everywhere, find the same books, the same movies, the same food and the same people.
That was a few years ago, I am surmising, but travel now is so fraught with Ryanair deposits of hundreds of tourists on their cell phones, in tank tops in December, and zorries, who appear to have lost the art of seeing what they supposedly traveled for, or maybe it was just the cheap fight. Why not just go somewhere and say you did. Don't get me started on airports......
Perhaps traveling in the mind is still the best voyage.
I guess it always was, Suzanne...