A wandering mind trying to express itself. I want you to BE where I am through my words and photos.
The warmth of the sun
Thaws my frozen heart to the splendor of the spring
The birds sing wildly
Searching for a mate
My bare skin…Bronzed from this life giving source
A stirring deep inside
Beckons me to be free
Love returns to my weary soul
A calmness of immense silence settles in
The day has begun
Welcome to my morning
The sun began to sink below the horizon
“How beautiful,” the child thought
The sky filled with the most wonderful colors…
Pale at first, then growing deeper and more brilliant.
The deep reds and oranges, delighted the child.
She sat down on a smooth branch and began to sing
The song birds of the sky joined in wishing the sun a good night.
Just then a huge turtle appeared at the edge of the lagoon
His shell was dark brown with green edges from age.
His face was the color of the dark green sea
His eyes told stories of ancient oceans and all the miles he’d traveled
The child went over to turtle and touched his leathery skin
She could feel the silence and loneliness of his life
The turtle took his mighty flipper and scooped the child onto his back and lumbered back into the sea
As they floated he told the child stories of the sky, the stars and the moon
The child fell fast asleep and dreamed of the things the turtle said
She dreamed the most marvelous dreams and when she awoke, she couldn’t believe her eyes
The sky had filled with stars, millions and billions of stars as far as she could see.
She then looked deep into the water… at first she couldn’t believe her eyes
The stars, reflecting in the lagoon, seemed to light up as the turtles flipper cut through the water.
She gazed with delight, giggling as the bluish green sparkles lit up the sky reflected in the still water.
Soon the child fell into a trance of swirling luminescence and stars.
The turtle found some seaweed and gently covered the child as she drifted away into the emptiness.
In the morning, the sun greeted the night and dismissed it filling the sky with pinks and purples.
The child awoke from her sleep, nestled in her hammock at the edge of the lagoon.
Her dream had ended and she stretched to greet the day, smiled at the sun and felt thankful for the new day
One day, a small child was walking along the beach.
She was very sad
So sad, as she walked huge tears fell from her eyes and filled an ocean
The animals of the forest and streams came to see if they could comfort her but they didn’t know what to do
So the child turned towards the ocean and began to walk
She walked and walked until the animals of the forest and streams could see her no longer see her
The child began to see the most wonderful things
There were turtles and fishes, dolphins and whales
She was floating in the ocean
Watching as the colors were illuminated by the sun as it’s splintered light entered the ocean
All at once, the child realized she was running out of air
First the turtle came to see what he could do
But he found his flippers couldn’t hold her up
The turtle swam off to get help
The child began to feel tired and began to drift off
She was dying and she didn’t understand
She tried to breathe but the water filled her lungs
Soon the whale came back with the turtle
They saw the child floating lifeless
They were very sad
The whale drew on his vast knowledge and opened his mouth
He gently scooped up the child and began his journey to the surface
The small child woke up and felt a soft surface in the dark
She snuggled up and began to dream
In her dream she was playing in her favorite field of daisies
The butterflies tickled her nose
As she looked up in her dream to see the sun
The whale opened his mouth
He stuck out his long tongue and watched the small child walk to the beach
She turned around and saw the whale
The animals of the ocean gathered around the whale
There were dolphins and turtles
Whales and fishes
Underwater flying animals with big wings of black and white
There were fishes of all colors and shapes
She giggled as the flying fish performed tricks
The whale softly spoke in whale talk
He thanked the child for creating the ocean with her tears
He told her a secret and the child smiled
Her tears dried and she found peace in her heart
I look into the dark abyss
The darkness seems to go on forever
I can hear the slapping of the waves on the bottom of the small boat
A rhythmic sound that fades into the silence of my mind
I look deeper and deeper
Melting into the depths of the sea until I am the sea
Emerging from the depths I can see the shadowy colors of the silent sentinel of the deep
With grace and finesse in its movements
The slow accent to the surface
Breaking the surface in stealthy silence
The huge head rising up
I gaze into the glassy eye
We look into each other’s soul.
I reach out my hand and this gentle giant nuzzles it
The release of its breath
I inhale
This bohemoth rises further into the air as if weightless
Sleek
Powerful
Graceful
Ancient
The sound of the waves
Lapping at the shore in the darkness
It needs not be seen in the light
I’ve seen it so many times
It is burned into my memory
I can see the froth
The glistening sand as the water recedes
I can hear the rocks rolling as the waves recede back into the inky blackness
I can smell the salt air and feel the coolness
The stars in the heavens are doubled in the reflection on the sea and the endless horizon bends ever so slightly
The moon shimmers on the ripples as they return to the sea
I get goose bumps as I open my eyes and feel the cool night air
I sit back, take a drink and breathe
Ahhhh…
Living in the USA, we all feel entitled, if you will, to everything from beautiful groceries at the market, clean water, good healthcare and creature comforts we seem to feel we need. All of this comes with a huge price to pay.
The world is aware that our crazy commander and creep has made it his mission to take as many of the above away as he can. Of course he is “rich” and can afford medical care, medical insurance and the sky high deductibles that we are forced to sign up for in order to bring down astronomical premiums.
Then you look at treatments like dental work. Even if you do have insurance for this, you will still pay hundreds and hundreds of hard earned dollars in order to get a painful tooth handled. It’s not like you can ignore it until it’s more convenient… therein lies the reason for this post.
Chris broke her back molar a year or so ago and went to the dentist who “patched her up”. Temporary fix $400. Last week she was on a trip for work and the “temporary fix” fell off. She was in immediate pain and called the doc. They quoted her $1200 for a permanent crown. OMG! So $400 plus $1200 is way too much and hard to stomach. Enter Mexico…
For years I have been reading about Medical Tourism. Hundreds of thousands of people travel to other countries for life saving treatments, why not travel for dental work? Why not travel for minor procedures that at home would be outrageous?
A few years back I twisted my knee chasing some howler monkeys on a muddy trail in Costa Rica. It swelled up and became too painful to bear weight. I had travel insurance but they required me to go see a doctor in country. I took a taxi to the doctor’s office. It looked like a small storefront shop with a shingle hanging outside with the doctor’s name. I walked in and was warmly greeted by a young man who spoke perfect english. His office was quaint with a few chairs and a coffee table, a small TV and AC.
He took me right into his exam room which was clean and looked like any exam room you’ve ever been in. He asked me a barrage of questions and then proceeded to examine my injured knee. He called his assistant in to take me to get an x-ray right in the next room. Twenty minutes later I walked out of his office with a full explanation of what he felt was wrong and a knee brace and pain medicine… all for $50 USD. At home the x-ray alone would have been more than $50, PLUS the doctor would have buzzed into the room pulled and pushed on my leg and left the room never to be seen again. In a week or two I would receive a bill for $650 for the inst-care.
To wrap this up, if you are afraid and nervous, that’s fine. Just as in the US or where ever you may be from, do your homework. There are hacks everywhere. There are sites you can access that give you step by step instructions. They have done research and you can reach out to them if you have questions. The world is a much smaller… and expensive place. If you are too scared and need to live in your little comfortable box, I get it. There’s a lot out there… outside of your little box. LIVE!
This is the dentist we just used:
More reading and links:
www.patientsbeyondborders.com/medical-tourism-statistics-facts
Sometimes pictures are more powerful than words… Hotel Reina Roja isn’t as scanky as it looks. It was actually an amazing find. If ever in Playa del Carmen… do find it and wander through. It takes quite a bit of creativity, insanity and balls to design a hotel front desk, bar and restaurant in an eclectic, erotic and almost S&M type theme.
Playa del Carmen, Mexico: Day One 2/21/2016
We decided to take a “tourist” vacation this time to Mexico. Of course it helps to be a traveler when things go not as planned.
The flight went well and we hopped in the bus to head half hour south to Playa. Back packs and day packs we hoofed it a couple of blocks to the hotel.
The street was full of reminders of our tourist destination. Sunburned Europeans walked aimlessly through the streets.
Arriving at our hotel they informed us that we didn’t have a room but had made arrangements at another hotel. Reina Roja Hotel is a cool boutique hotel but it reminds me of the Red Light District in Amsterdam. LOL. Jokes on us.
Two Travelin' Chicas... 