safe, but not entirely sound

Consider this blog a venting. Of sorts. Believe me, I need to.

I'm here in San Ignacio, after quite a rough bout of traveling, I'm sorry to report. I'm fine, but the Detroit layover was horrendous because I was scheduled to depart from a whole different airport than the one I flew into, which meant I had to wait outside in the cold after midnight for transportation. I wasn't burdened with acoutrement like a coat, gloves, hat, the much-needed "like".

Then, when I made it to the right place, security was closed down so it looked like I'd have to bed on cement outside the revolving doors, when a maintenance person told me how I could get into the Westin and sleep on a couch in the annex to the lobby. It was very comfortable for about an hour and a half (but I couldn't fall asleep because Christmas tunes were blaring at me) until a security guard told me I needed to stay awake if I wanted to occupy that space.

Couldn't sleep on the next flight because the turbulence was horrendous, and then, I almost missed my connecting flight to Belize because we were delayed so much.

Here is the coup de etat: they lost my luggage. I decided to check it yesterday morning and packed accordingly, but just had a sneaky feeling that I would regret it. And, I am. Everything valuable/vital was packed in my carry-on; so, I'm OK, I've just got no clothes other than the ones that I'm wearing, or toiletries. (Or you package for Mark, Kristin!) I do have a small bottle of sunscreen, though, remarkably! The money situation is fine. So, I'm hoping they bring the luggage from the capital tonight or tomorrow. That would be the best of luck.

A very nice cabbie out to Belize city befriended me, and I gave him a card; so, I think he'll do the work of bringing my luggage out on the 3 hr drive to where I am. I'm glad Kristin gave me another small lock. Without it, my luggage would be exposed to whomever has the job to get it to me. And customs. Obama is a very big thing to talk about here -- Belizeans are ecstatic are him being president. My cabbie was citing the rest of the world being in on this sentiment, too! It was a shock logging in to my yahoo account and seeing that Blagoevich was ARRESTED today!!!

I allowed myself to be suckered into what I think amounts to the first significant "deal-making" scheme ever today: struck up a great conversation with a woman at the bus terminal (no longer Novelos, they went out of business, fellow Belize travellers), who offered me a ride to San Ignacio for, like, a million US dollars. Well, I told her I was looking forward to taking the bus, and that lead us to talk about everything under the sun, most notably more corruption in the Belize government, and then we parted ways, her to look for a fare, me to purchase a bus ticket. She came back, mentioning she had a fare, they were also US citizens, never having been in the country before, but would I ride with them to take the fare down to $25 US per person. It's the amount that I paid to taxi to the bus terminal (the standard rip-off), but the bus would have seriously cost me $4.50 US. I came to ascertain that she surmised I would ride with her if I could split the fare with other travellers. What a crock. I tried not to let it affect me too much and accepted the ride, not wanting to be the "gringa" who "took back her word". The conversation in the cab happened to be really great (despite the Americans), and I consoled myself that it was worth the price to ask and get answers to the bazillion questions I had about the country since I left. Some of which is this: both Palacio and Byron Foster have passed away since I've last been here: two sources of whom I considered to be my most promising contacts, gone. I'm redirecting efforts toward the Garcia sisters (nieces of Elijio Panti -- herbalist, shaman, healer who passed away in 1996) and a woman from Crooked Tree that the woman cabbie suggested to me. She's part Yucatec Mayan, and is going to set me up with a meeting. Another benefit to the cab ride.

I do have a beautiful room at Martha's (who have yet to see; she went to run errands on her late lunch as I was arriving) -- different from the one that she told me she was going to put me in (my old one from the teaching days), but exceptionally nicer than that other room (with a private bath) at the same rate, which is great. I'm hoping getting this all out will make me feel better. Honestly, it's not really phasing me too terribly much, which is unbelievably weird to me, but I'd like to dispel this bad travel karma right now. A beer is in my future, which is terribly exciting to me. After a nap. I having slept since Sunday night.

This is a test. This is only a test. Now, the choice is what to do about the knowledge that I'm being tested with. I suppose I've done a lot already by staying on an even keel.

Love you all.

me