Manatee Magic!

Swimming with the manatees in Florida! Sometimes we forget that great things can be close to home, too. We’re “home” in Florida for about six weeks before continuing on our “around-the-world” trip to Egypt, Beijing, and the South Pacific. This time we headed to Homosassa River springs, about 2 hours from Tampa.

Captain Mike’s set us all up with a wet suit, mask, and snorkel. We watched a video about Manatee Manners with coffee and donuts to munch on while we waited to board the “Magic Bus” for the 5 minute ride to the boat

Those first few steps were torture – cold water hitting warm neoprene, and then slowly seeping into the skin. Luckily, it took only a few minutes to acclimate, and then the search began.

Murky water suddenly dissolved into a flipper and the flipper into a 3500 pound creature! A creature looking quite similar to an alien, no less. An underwater alien! The face that materialized wasn’t something I immediately recognized. A bulbous, hairy nose, tiny eyes nearly hidden in rough folds of skin…I fell in love at first sight!

Letting it approach me, I felt my heart quicken at the sheer enormity of this creature moving toward me. I needn’t have worried, as this gentlest of giants meant no harm and was simply as curious of me as I was of her. We both stared at each other for several long moments. Me, trying to memorize every detail of the wrinkles and folds of this manatee sharing her space underwater with me. I reached one hand out and a flipper was extended in return. As instructed prior to the dive, I lightly scratched the area just behind the flipper.

Almost on queue, “my” manatee slowly rolled over on her back. An invitation to rub its white belly seemed the obvious invitation. Of course I obliged without question. I was being given an opportunity few have ever experienced. I shared a morning swim with something I had only read about before in books.

We are one. I felt that way today. I felt part of the harmony of nature. The bonds we share with those animals depending on us to shield them from human-made dangers are an important responsibility. Monofilament line, sharp boat bows, props and propellers can all hurt these gentle creatures that seem so wise. A little bit Yoda, all wrinkled and wizened, but full of purity of spirit.

One of the warden kayakers whose job it was to protect us from hurting these docile giants put it like this, “If you lived here, you’d do this, too.” She works in the mental health field during the week and volunteers with the manatees on Saturdays. I imagine a swim with a manatee to be better than most conventional forms of therapy any day!

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Our first day in Paris didn’t quite go exactly as planned.

It was a 1 and 1/2 hour train ride from Brussels, landing us in the Paris Gare du Nord station. We got great directions to our hotel and proceeded through to the Metro trains. When we got to the last station, Cheryl was coming through the turnstile when a man pushed her forward so she was not able to go forward or backward through the turnstile and within a second, had taken her wallet and disappeared through the next gate. The whole incident happened in literally seconds!

“As I approach the turnstiles to try to make my way through with my back pack and day bag in hand, I did struggle a bit because it was a small aisle to get me and my baggage through. All of a sudden I felt someone up against me. I could not move forward as the body behind me would not allow the turnstile to move. I could not turn around as my backpack would not allow me through the small turnstile entrance. It was all but a moment and the person was gone. I immediately thought that they were trying to get past the turnstile on my ticket – you know a free ride on the train. When I got to the other side, not 3 seconds later, my next instinct was to check for my wallet. Sure enough, it was gone!

Trying to find someone at the station to report the theft to was impossible. Since I was having no luck at the train station I figured it best to head to my hotel so that I might be able to phone my credit card companies and ask the front desk at the hotel where the nearest police station was.

Thankfully I did not have a lot of money in my wallet. About $25 US and 40 Euro. I had 2 credit cards, a drivers license, a few business cards, and the email address of a wonderful mother-daughter couple we had met in Dublin. We were to contact them when we were in the Netherlands so that we could spend more time with them. I keep hoping that they find me somehow. I would have loved to visit them.

Here it was, my first day in Paris, France. So much to see and do, so many wines to taste and new foods to try. Not for us. I spent the next 2 hours on the phone canceling my credit cards. In the hour since my wallet had been taken, there were over $3,000 dollars charged to my Master Card. Some nice clothes were purchased for $1,500. I am lucky if I spend that much in a YEAR on clothes! There were also two purchases at the train station. I mean, really, why waste time when spending someone else’s money?

Of my two cards I had, the easiest by far to deal with was the American Express Card. Really – don’t leave home without it! They had canceled my card and had a local office that they could have a new card for me within 2 hours! I was thrilled! I knew I was not going to be able to get there until the following day, but the convenience that was offered in having a new card so quickly is one I will never forget. My Mastercard was a little more difficult only because they did not have a local presence and could only send a new card to my billing address. All made to ensure that there is not fraud happening, but given my situation, it was not too helpful. Thank goodness I had a traveling companion more than willing to bring out her credit cards for the next few days while I was getting my act together.

The front desk at the hotel also said that it was required that I report it to the police. I had made my phone calls to the credit card companies first because that was a priority for me. (Side note – it cost me over 100 Euro on phone calls to take care of things related to the missing wallet). So, after a time getting my credit cards taken care of we head out to the police station, They were wonderful there and even had an officer that spoke English. We spent about another hour there, describing what happened, what was stolen, and completing all the paperwork. It was obvious that I was never going to see any of my stuff again. The police officer was really going through the motions of taking all the information, but I am sure she has seen this hundreds of times.

I was still feeling very upset about the whole incident. The feelings of “how could I let this happen” kept returning. I kept feeling that person behind me, taking advantage of my inability to move. Again, feelings of violation were the ones that returned the most.”

After this happened, we did quite a bit of research on the incidence of pickpocket victims in the Paris Metro system and the numbers are staggering! It’s impossible to be totally “pickpocket”-proof, but by keeping valuables in a hidden money belt or under-the-clothes shoulder bag should limit the possiblilities of being in this particular situation. That’s what we do now—hindsight, but maybe it will help someone else along the way.

Safe travels!

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It must be Belgium!

Brussels wasn’t originally on our list of “must-see” places and only because of a bomb scare at Heathrow did we do a last minute change of plans and head that direction from Ireland. Funny how things turn out, Brussels is an amazing gem. Called the Capital of Europe, and with good reason.

So glad we detoured to this beautiful city of grand architecture, excellent transportation systems and very nice people. And not to forget the most important things – the chocolate, the waffles, and the beer!! There are stores with actual working chocolate fountains in the windows, beckoning us inside for a taste.

The Grand Place is one of those town squares just stepping into can literally take your breath away. You are surrounded on 4 sides of this huge square by some of the most magnificent Gothic architecture – with stern statues of crusading knights, caricatures of gargoyle faces, and famous people we aren’t sure exactly who they are, but they must have been important to be immortalized on a building, right? It was more than my eyes could take in at first – we stood for a long time just gazing upward and the most intelligent thing I could think of to say was “WOW!”

Along one of the busier thoroughfares, is the famous Manneken Pis. He’s this adorable statue of a chubby little boy very happily peeing on the streets of Brussels! Legend has it he was sculpted after a child who saved the city by extinguishing an explosive in very much the same manner in which he’s posed today. He’s such a fixture here that the locals dress him up for all types of social occasions—he even has a Mickey Mouse costume!

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We rented a car yesterday for 2 days so that we could explore the Dingle Peninsula. What an experience! In Ireland we had to adjust to driving on the “other” side of the road. Not only that, but the steering wheel is on the right hand side of the car and you shift with your left hand! Lisa was a bit nervous because she gasped several times and mumbled something about being too far on the left side of the road and it looked like we were going to fly over the cliffs.. The roads were quite narrow and had a speed limit in most places of 100km per hour (about 62 miles per hour). These were supposed to be two lane roads, maybe for two small European cars! It seemed like there were many close calls. That would explain Lisa’s anxiety on the road!

The peninsula has several beautiful seaside towns and views that can take your breath away. Along the route we discovered several stone-age forts and bee hive huts. They were quite beautiful and were located on land that had amazing views as well. Each of these forts or bee-hive huts were on a farmers land so we paid the small fee (€1-3) to get in, but it was well worth it.

More than once we encountered a Dingle traffic jam of herds of sheep crossing the road! Some had a herder among them but most were just free roaming sheep. No problem, we just turned off the engine and enjoyed the views while they moved across the road.

Dingle town is a wonderful seaside village with many shops, restaurant, and tourist sites. The biggest draw here was Fungi the dolphin. He has been a presence in this little town for about twenty years. We did not attempt the boat ride to see Fungi (which is fully refundable if you do not see him while touring the Dingle harbor) – mainly because it was cold and a bit rainy.

Our last stop on the tour was in front of a castle we “found” on a small side road where we had our lunch that we packed from the hostel that morning. I can’t imagine a better view for a picnic!

Notes from Ireland – make friends with the folks behind the bar. While telling us of his mountain climbing adventures, a local gentleman from the Dingle Peninsula fell off his stool. A bit embarrassed, he left that bar to walk to another one down the beach. Our bartender was telling us a little about this regular when she noticed he left his sweater so she promptly ran out the door and down the street after him to return it. There is just something about a small town!

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Kilkenny, Ireland

Just a month before we left for Europe, I booked the first hostel on-line at HostelWorld.com. “It’s haunted!” I’d tell anyone who would listen. “We’re going to be staying in a haunted hostel in Ireland!” I got lots of raised eyebrows and even a few, “wow, that sounds great”s, too.

According to the experts at the BBC television show Ghost Hunters, at Foulksrath Castle - a 16th Century Gem, “their machines recorded the best ghostly sounds of any place they visited in Ireland.” Whispers and murmurs, it was said. I couldn’t wait to visit!

We made our way to the hostel the LONG WAY (more on that later), but once we arrived, I started to get a little nervous. It had the perfect look of a haunted castle and the gray, drizzling day didn’t make it look any brighter. While we waited for the heavy wooden door to swing open, the shadows seemed to lengthen and I seriously questioned my level of sanity when I made the reservations.

Castle steps

Once in, I couldn’t stop staring around in wonder. We were inside a real castle! Jack, the caretaker of the castle and our host, took us to his studio to “check-in”. Lugging our heavy bags up the first staircase wasn’t too bad, but when we trudged up the steep spirals, going round and round as the steps seemed to get smaller, the cool dampness settled in on us like only the walls of a castle can.

The two nights we spent here were magical. Our rooms high in the castle tower overlooked fields of sheep and rainbows. At night, the dining room was lit with candles and it was as if a knight from King Arthur’s court might drop in at any minute. We had no ghostly encounters while we were there, only the sense of living within the pages of a 16th century history book!

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We got started off right with picking Dublin, Ireland as the first place to begin our adventure! Getting off the plane in Ireland, our flight attendant asked if we liked wine…but I guess that had been pretty evident by how much we’d consumed on the flight from the States ...we said, “yes, of course” and he gave us an entire bottle they had just uncorked up in First Class. Welcome to Ireland!

While in over 40 years, this was the first time either of us had ever even seen a hostel, we couldn’t have picked a better spot for people contact. Dublin International was staffed by a friendly, vibrant group of people who couldn’t have been more fun.

As our first evening begins, a small group starts to gather in the “Chapel” room with us. The first energetic guy we meet is named Garrett. He is from Texas and unfortunately will be leaving Dublin within the next few days. He offers to take up a money collection and go buy a few bottles of whiskey and rum so we can all continue our fun evening.

Tanya, Garrett, Paco, Luis , Jose, DeDac, Sergio, Aude Marie, and Cassidy – almost every person is from a different country and there are very few shared languages except for a few common words. Somehow we start to have a very enjoyable evening of card playing and songs with this eclectic bunch of people.

It starts when Garrett asks Cheryl if she knows how to play Texas Hold ‘em. She says “Yes, of course” and now he wants the two of them to teach the rest of this group how to play. Now, Cheryl speaking no language other than English, and Garrett speaking a smattering of Spanish and most of the others in the group knowing just a little bit of some other language in addition to their own—teaching a group like this the rules and strategies of Texas Hold ‘em was going to be interesting at best. Well, we had a few bottles of liquor, a deck of cards, and a large number of beer bottle caps found somewhere to use as our chips. Within an hour we were all somehow engaged in a nice, yet internationally competitive game of poker.

After the game settled down (I think Sergio from Spain finally won), someone brought out a guitar. A few of the group seem to have experience playing and the guitar is passed around while they tune it and practice some songs. Eventually we are all singing along. Now, what would you expect a group like this to sing? The most popular music came from the Beatles. We sang “Twist and Shout”, “Yesterday”, “Yellow Submarine”, and “La Bamba”. The instruments that we played, along with the guitar, included 2 spoons, several bottles, and a chair. Needless to say it was a fun night. We could not believe this was what hostel life could or would be! Dublin was indeed a special place.

Next…A Haunted Hostel!

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Our FIRST hostel experience! Dublin International Hostel

From Cheryl: We had room 305, beds 3 and 4. I took bed 3, the bottom bunk , and Lisa took bed 4 – the top bunk. Looking back no one is sure why we would EVER let Lisa have the top bunk. She is quite a bit smaller than I am, and let’s just say she is not the world’s most graceful person! I was always a bit fearful that she might stumble as she got in or out of bed. As the trip progressed, she took many a top bunk and did a fabulous job of NOT getting hurt.

Okay, it was time to rest – our bodies think it is 4:25 am EST after an all night flight with no sleep. We ended up sleeping – quite nicely I might add – for about four hours. The room was pretty clean, but well worn.

The hostel looks like it might have been converted from an old church. The phone booths are old confessionals, and the dining area/restaurant appears to be the main area where sermons were once performed. There is a kind of musty or old smell about the place but the staff is great and I slept wonderfully! After about twenty minutes we were able to locate laundry facilities, the communal kitchen, library/sitting area, and the desk for help with tours. We were settled in!

By 6:30 pm I made my way into the restaurant area which is only open for breakfast. The restaurant is a nice place to read, relax and observe the few folks that are in here. Many are doing the same as I am, just meditating and chilling out in the beautiful room. This room might very well have been a place where sermons took place, or even perhaps where prayers were taken. It has beautiful stained glass images you would see in a church.

One of the girls is giving haircuts to all the other travelers. I saw a sign up that she charges €10 per cut and she wasn’t hurting for business! I saw her take on a new customer, a nice looking young man from Spain. I later learned his name was Luis. The concern I saw was that she did not speak Spanish and he did not speak English! So, here he is trying to explain how he wants his hair cut. He is getting opinions from all the others around him, including us, on how he should get it cut. My guess is he was also hoping for a bilingual translator!

What an interesting way to live for a period of time. Backpack, live in hostels, haircuts in a dining area by the traveling staff where you are unsure of the outcome. I really enjoy watching them all. Right now, I am new to this lifestyle, but if it all goes well, these will be my people soon enough.

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A bottle of wine and competitive girl friends don’t always mix well. We should have learned the first time this happened…Cancun, tequila shots, and a swim-up bar ended up with a contest to see who could hold their breath under the water the longest. Lisa judged, Cheryl won, and Julie wanted a rematch. This time the consequences would be much more dramatic.

“What if you could do anything you wanted? Go anywhere? See anything? What would you do? What if you had no boundaries at all?” The wine had been opened and so had our thoughts.
The campaign was on and it went something like this…
“I’d go on an African safari.”
“Why just a safari? What about petting a lion? I’d work with Big Game predators in Africa, close beside them, and get to touch them.”
“Well, I’d become a professional wildlife photographer, shooting photographs close up of the Big 5 and would live in the bush, eat leaves, and survive on my own skills.”
And so on…

Our mantra that night became the words Helen Keller had used, “Life is either a great adventure or nothing.” Each of us was a place where we thought we were ready for more of that adventure adrenaline. So why not?
In the weeks that followed, we began to put those words into a concrete journey. Julie decided to stay behind and give moral support, but Cheryl and Lisa set the course for what their respective friends and family thought surely must be a case of temporary insanity. We quit great jobs, sold houses, cars, a motorcycle, and most things that wouldn’t fit in a large backpack. We booked hostels, picked destinations, bought an around-the-world plane ticket, and signed up for volunteer work with Global Vision International projects scuba diving in the Mexican jungle and exploring the African bush.
We stressed over everything from what color backpack to order to how many pairs of underwear to pack. Exofficio® advertises “17 countries, 6 weeks and 1 pair of underwear”, but neither of us was ready to buy into the thought of bringing along only 1 pair! And Priscilla, the purple stuffed octopus who had previously adorned the dashboard of Cheryl’s Jeep, now had prime passage in the top of whoever’s backpack had extra space.

Lisa and Cheryl’s past travel styles were quite different, with one generally preferring 5-Star and the other being quite happy with Dive Bars. A strict budget had been drafted to keep our traveling going as long as possible, so 5-Star was out and hostels were in. This was going to take some getting used to from both of us, but we were excited about the possibilities.
The day finally arrived and ready or not, we were heading out to the great big world to see, feel, absorb, and taste it. Lugging huge, heavy backpacks with more stuff than we would ever need (or could carry) – our around-the-world adventure had begun!

Next…Our first hostel stay EVER in Dublin!

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