As a re-cap, over 7 years ago I was in an industrial accident. The recovery period was over a year, and I focussed a lot of my energy in fighting against the results of the accident.
When you are in a physio program this is very helpful in keeping you motivated and centered on a target. The closer you get to recovery, the more you focus on being as strong, flexible and pain free as you were before the accident. I succeeded in being pain free, but not in being as strong or a flexible, and this has become a bit of a challenge. I have long accepted the new limitaions in terms of what I should not do, running and jumping result in pain. But I recently came to a realization that fighting against my injury is no longer what I am doing. I am now fighting against the changes in my body and the weaknesses brought on, instead of finding the strengths that remain.
The accident re-set my priorities in a big way, and I began to see that traveling was a direction I wanted to go in. The people in my life have allowed me to go in this direction, and I am grateful to them all because of it.
I think the next step is to get stronger within the body I am stuck with and also find a way to generate a little income at the same time.
This is just a few random thought for now, and a few pictures from San Pedro will be posted soon-ish.
Friday 17 October 2014
Tuesday 7 October 2014
Caye Caulker
I went on a snorkeling tour yesterday, and here are a few of the pics I took.
It was a fine day, and even the brief rain squall did not dampen our fun.
The sad note however was in talking to the owner of the tour, Steve about the state of the reef. He has been doing the tours for over 15 years, and the changes in the reef disturb him. There has been a gradual decline in the size and type of fish on the reef. The delicate balance of ecology has been tipped, and he thinks it is past the point of no return. The changes had been gradual until the introduction of Lionfish in the area. They are a predatory spieces who prey upon the young of virtual all the other types. The lack of diversification will mean the death of the ecology of the reef. The difference in the vibrance of the reef, the startling demarcations between living and dead coral show how this is a very dire situation for the reef.
The other disappointing thing I noted was the amount of plastic trash found in the area. It is so sad we humans callously discard so much of it into the environment, with not enough of us caring about the long term effects on the place we all live.
The number of tourists visiting the area is also rising, and the north side of the island has recently received power which will accelerate the development of the tourism, and I do not fault the tourists for wanting to see and visit the area, but a part of me gets down on large scale tourism, wanting the rustic out of the way places to stay waiting for the dedicated wanderer to find.
It was a fine day, and even the brief rain squall did not dampen our fun.
The sad note however was in talking to the owner of the tour, Steve about the state of the reef. He has been doing the tours for over 15 years, and the changes in the reef disturb him. There has been a gradual decline in the size and type of fish on the reef. The delicate balance of ecology has been tipped, and he thinks it is past the point of no return. The changes had been gradual until the introduction of Lionfish in the area. They are a predatory spieces who prey upon the young of virtual all the other types. The lack of diversification will mean the death of the ecology of the reef. The difference in the vibrance of the reef, the startling demarcations between living and dead coral show how this is a very dire situation for the reef.
The other disappointing thing I noted was the amount of plastic trash found in the area. It is so sad we humans callously discard so much of it into the environment, with not enough of us caring about the long term effects on the place we all live.
The number of tourists visiting the area is also rising, and the north side of the island has recently received power which will accelerate the development of the tourism, and I do not fault the tourists for wanting to see and visit the area, but a part of me gets down on large scale tourism, wanting the rustic out of the way places to stay waiting for the dedicated wanderer to find.
Sunday 5 October 2014
Cancun, Mexico
Did not do much in terms of the 'real' Mexico in Cancun. I was treated to 3 nights at an all inclusive resort in Cancun, and although it was nice, the over-all experience was over-rated to me.
I felt too distanced from the real people who live in the area, and it would have been very difficult to break out of the tourist zone while staying at the resort. The resort itself was nice, and very relaxing, but seemed a bit on the expensive side for what you get.
From Cancun, we took a bus south for Chetumal, on the border with Belize, stayed for one night in a hostel, Paakal's, took a walk to a local restaurant, and gorged on a grill special for two. Way too much meat, great sauces, nice tortillas, terrific atmosphere. There were a lot of locals celebrating graduating from college/tech school, and it seemed like every 5 minutes a table was getting a song and celebration from the waiters, along with their name splashed on the tv screens scattered around.
Next day we were off for Caye Caulker in Belize. If the bus had not stopped to have a tire changed, we would have made the 4:30 water taxi, ended up waiting with the friendly staff until 5:30 for the last ride to the island, but Jana really enjoyed the boat ride.
We are set for canoeing this afternoon, and snorkeling tomorrow, and may post some pics afterward.
I felt too distanced from the real people who live in the area, and it would have been very difficult to break out of the tourist zone while staying at the resort. The resort itself was nice, and very relaxing, but seemed a bit on the expensive side for what you get.
From Cancun, we took a bus south for Chetumal, on the border with Belize, stayed for one night in a hostel, Paakal's, took a walk to a local restaurant, and gorged on a grill special for two. Way too much meat, great sauces, nice tortillas, terrific atmosphere. There were a lot of locals celebrating graduating from college/tech school, and it seemed like every 5 minutes a table was getting a song and celebration from the waiters, along with their name splashed on the tv screens scattered around.
Next day we were off for Caye Caulker in Belize. If the bus had not stopped to have a tire changed, we would have made the 4:30 water taxi, ended up waiting with the friendly staff until 5:30 for the last ride to the island, but Jana really enjoyed the boat ride.
We are set for canoeing this afternoon, and snorkeling tomorrow, and may post some pics afterward.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)