At long last....

Feb.28th 2011,Cuenca Ecuador

So here I am a year later, a year older and hopefully a year wiser.I got dragged kicking and screaming to the computer shop to finally break down and buy a laptop.Seems I learned nothing from last year's travel binge.To tell you the truth, I enjoyed going to the internet cafe daily .There was something about the ambience of a room full of travelers and locals alike, busily tapping away on their keyboards.It felt inspiring and I was inspired.But, the problems that arose from using a different computer everyday I did not foresee....again..I had spent 8 months back in Victoria using my trusty desktop,the one I had owned and trusted for 10 years,the one I never blogged on either because I felt that my blog was about traveling and dealing with the issues of having a compromised immune system and not about living and working in the lovely city of Victoria.

This morning I find myself sitting in a cafe with my now trusty laptop committing fingers to keyboard and trying to get back into the swing of writing a daily blog.
I left Victoria Jan.5th with no idea (once again)where my travels where going to take me. I knew that I was going to start of in Los Angeles for 5 days where I was going to hang out with my friend Will, a recording engineer who has worked with John Lennon, Paul McCartney and is presently working with Tom Petty. He has lived in Hollywood for 30 years and who better than he to introduce me to the fabled Tinseltown. It was damn cold there, much to my surprise but I knew that it would only be a few days before I was to be complaining of the humidity and heat of my next stop, Merida Mexico.

My old work buddy Lyle had recently moved to Merida after threatening to for as far back as I can remember.He had been there for the first time on his honeymoon in 1980 and had returned many times over the years.We had talked about this place extensively and I couldn't wait to see what all the fuss was about.I had also read about it in International Living magazine...as I had about Ecuador which was to be my next stop.
After nearly a month where I holed myself up in a 3 bedroom condo on the beach in Progreso, about an hour's bus ride from downtown Merida,I was ready to journey into the unknown;a brand new country ,a brand new continent.On Feb. 1st I flew from Merida to Mexico City then to Panama City and finally to Quito Ecuador where I, as usual arrived too late to see the mountains and city lights.I liked it this way.Saving a surprise for as long as I could stand it.