homeward bound

From the United States, May 14, 2001
(The post below is from a group email I sent to my friends and family while traveling years ago. I include it in this blog as an archive to my travels. It remains in the the raw state that I originally sent it, foolishness of younger years intact, typos and sics untouched.)

so yes, i've finally made it back to the
states... i'm still not quite sure how i feel about
this but i'll get back to you. after over a year and a
half on the road, the past four months in mexico and
most recently the past few weeks of visiting jungle
covered mayan ruins and white sanded, turqioused
watered beaches of southern mexico and belize, the
time has come for me to make my return. well i'm not
quite sure it is the time that has come, but the lack
of money probably has more to do with it... anyway the
countless nights sleeping in my hammock hung from
cabanas and palapas bombarded by scorpions and other
audacious insects, the howler monkeys, my countless
snorkeling adventures in strange waters, the
interesting food stall delicacies and the sought after
indigenous sugarcane and maize moonshines are no more.
monday i flew into miami from belize and made my way
to fort lauderale where i've been spending some time
with my g'ma (ole grum grum!) and my unlce dave and
aunt sally. just relaxing, recounting, and catching up
with all i'ved missed out on. i got filled in on the
whole 'survivor' phenomenon and have been told i'd be
perfect for the show. i could use a million dollars
too so if anyone can get me on the program i'll give
them 10% and give them all the gossip i'm not
authorized to release... and since when do we have
dollar coins again? and what was wrong with silver
dollars? what is this bronze stuff all about and who
is that supposed to be on the head of the coin,
pocohantas or someone? did disney have something to do
with this? i suppose its just its just a bunch of
little things that have changed as well as now having
a funny looking president (yes i did hear about the
election, but gladly not much more than that!). and i
do find myself a little disturbed in the supermarket
finding absolutely everything wrapped in plastic. i
don't know if i'm too big a fan of this 'plastic
freshness' concept. but it is so nice to be able to
drink water from the faucet again! so the
readjustments are minor and i'm handling it well so
far... i've been in florida just a couple days ago,
and i already landed a job on a 50' sailboat, working
as crew in delivering it up to new york. actually a
50' New Zealand built wingmasted sloop, and i'm just
working for passage. there's just three of us on board
and the owner seems to think we can make it in a week
sailing round the clock. lets hope the winds are
good... it was either this or hitching up the coast,
and i think this will be a lot more interesting
despite the hard work involved. and so it goes, i hope
to be sailing into NYC and docking the "Black Magic
II" just opposite manhattan by next weekend. i assume
i'll be out of email contact for a while, but i just
wanted to let you i'm still around and maybe i'll be
seeing all you new yorkers sooner than you may think
(or wish...) and to the rest of you, now you've got an
excuse to visit... good luck and happy trails to all,
drop me a line at your leisure...> jeff

no longer homeless!

From Mexico, January 23, 2001
(The post below is from a group email I sent to my friends and family while traveling years ago. I include it in this blog as an archive to my travels. It remains in the the raw state that I originally sent it, foolishness of younger years intact, typos and sics untouched.)

that´s right i´ve finally got my own place! its in a
beautiful little complex on the upper west side, three
blocks from the beach. we´re talking melrose place
mexican style. or probably more accurately, barrio
style. my neighbors love ricky martin and celine dion
and seem to think i do too because they are nice
enough to play it loud enough so that i can hear it
too. but alas, its a roof over my head, only $130 a
month, and its mine. and only three dogs chased me on
my way home last night... (one actually got a hold of
my leg last week, god bless Dr. Rabies and his
vaccination)

it is a one bedroom, and in fact one room place,
completely furnished with absolutely nothing. the good
thing about mexican homes is that they have hooks
built into the wall for hanging hammocks. thus my bed.
and my lounge chair. and my desk.

it also has a bathroom! i am so happy about this. most
of the tiles are intact and there is only one hole in
the wall where the plumbing is. it comes complete with
running, cold water and a wobbly toilet seat.

for roommates, i share the place with a few spiders.
they´re real nice and tend to stay to themselves. i
think its just because we haven´t properly bonded yet.

it may sound like a bit of a tight squeeze, but let me
assure you that there is plently of space in the guest
quarters. so any and all of you are (maybe not all at
the same time however) more than welcome to wake the
hell up and get down here to paradise. if the sun and
the sea aren´t enough, you good have the best looking
dive master on the island! but don´t forget: it´s
B.Y.O. Hammock/Bed, Couch, TV, Cable, VCR, Shower
Curtain, Hot Water, Kitchen, Stove, and Refridgerator!

keeping it real,
jeff