Calm

-Another round of tests settled. No problems...

I have indefinitely put Thailand, Malaysia, and Philippines on hold. Too dangerous. Violence against tourists is escalating.

-I don't need to return to the oncologist again until November!

It's looking like the Caribbean, or Costa Rica. Vietnam has a rather frightening health risk as bird flu has already killed a few tourists there.

-I love it when the tech knows how to poke a vein ONCE and get it right THE FIRST TIME!

Fiji, Samoa, Cook Islands, Tahiti also are noted in my book. Could be bad weather, so I either take a risk (maybe), or try to plan outside the hurricane belt.

-The last couple dummies kept poking me with that needle and bruised my arm unnecessarily..."you do chemo?" no, ass, so you shouldn't be having any problems. Especially since veins are bulging out of my arms!-seriously how could you miss that over and over you %$#@^!!!

Airfare to Australia has dropped! I see some good deals lately on Quantas. And I found a killer resort in Cairns. Hilarious because vacation companies all across the board are trying to get everyones tax rebate. So they drop the prices, just alittle, to make the numbers look even better.

-One more ct scan and then that's it!...(?) Well, I am not sure I will follow the oncologists train of thought on this, ideally I should continue with an annual ct scan once a year for 3 more years...

I am set on leaving the states for Thanksgiving week. Last year it helped tremendously with holiday blues. Splitting for New Years is also a nice way to even it all out. I'll bet tourists complain for their money back when getting stuck riding out a hurricane. I say fuck it man, you just got way more coolness than what you payed for!

-My oncologist makes funny faces when I try to explain to her that I feel like I have a perpetual air pocket stuck in the area of my thorax.

Maybe this year I just need to stay a bit closer to home. I already went to Mexico twice last year, so again maybe surfing in Costa Rica is what the doctor ordered.

-I am going to go ahead and let them insert a little camera down my throat in order to take a look around and get a view of my stomach, maybe I should swallow a rubber duck- lil suprise!

Naw, I don't want to stay too close to home. Not in the country anyway. There is so much to see. And I just don't want to stay home.

Loreto, Mexico

Loreto, Mexico is beautiful. I know that as long as I am alive, I will continue to return. Here are some photos from a canyon hiking trip outside Loreto, while staying at Danzante eco-resort.

I Miss You

...you saved my life buddy. I wish you were still here.

Flying across the Pacific Ocean

Airfare to Nadi, Fiji is looking so appetizing right now I have to get up and walk away from the flight itinerary before I lay down a payment. I am ready man! Spring fever is kicking in and I want to get up and go. Although Fiji I would book for either October, or possibly November during Thanksgiving weekend. January works well too but the weather could be getting rough by then. But, I have always said that as long as I could get through without any major injury, riding out a hurricane is something I've always thought would be an intense and therefore rewarding experience. It probably wouldn't be though. Most people who decide to ride out a hurricane tend to wish they hadn't and usually end up screaming "I'll never do that again!"

I have a crisis invovling some of my top pics for travel. Palau is a pro-whaling country. This bothers me. In Thailand tourists have been shot relaxing out on the beaches in front of resorts. All of the Caribbean islands are pro-whaling. The Cayman Islands diving industry is sinking like a rock due to overcharging and negligent dive operators that take money first and ask questions later. When a diver dies, they blame the diver. In some cases this may be appropriate, but not when you take novice divers and drop them in to advanced or just outright dangerous conditions. Again money first, questions later. Some of these unethical businessmen are being thrown in jail, but most walk away to schedule the next dive while the body is still being removed from the boat. That is, if they found the body.

Borneo? Well I guess I'll have to just forget about it. Everything there involving the east coast where Sipadan and Kapalai are located is a huge red flag. And, reports are that the tourist industry has already destroyed what was pristine about it. Wrecked coral reefs, sewage leaking in to the ground water, trash everywhere, kidnappings. Well hell, what do you expect when you build 4 and 5 star resorts next to some of the poorest people on this Earth. None of the tourist money from these resorts is used to help the local people. And I am beginning to feel uneasy about supporting any destination that operates this way.

Travel Bug

I am having a hard time not hit'n the road, or the air - whichever gets me to a place far away that I haven't been, experiencing something I haven't experienced. I spend an undisclosed amount of time searching out destinations on Google Earth and then proceed to check price tags on airline tickets and accomodations. Maybe after all that I'll check to see if it's a safe place to be, provided the initial price tag on airfare didn't kill the excitement already. Palau is big on my list, but I will have to save in the background, and check out other sites in the mean time. Palau is impossible on a budget. There is no such thing. There was, until last November when Asian Spirit airlines stopped servicing Palau. That connect at the time, saved whoever was lucky enough to jump on it, about $1,000 per ticket. I wonder if someone at Asian Spirit was payed off by the one airline that still does and always has held the monopoly on flights to Palau. Airfare alone to Palau will set you back over $2,000 per ticket. Often I see $2,200 - $2,500 and this doesn't include a bed and food when you arrive. Manila, Philippines and Taipei, Taiwan are a cheaper ticket. So is Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Bangkok, Thailand - even though they are much further away from Los Angeles. And, in those latter countries, you may pay a pretty penny for the airfare (although not as much as Palau), but once you get there, you can live well. I mean 5 star accomodations for less than $200 night. The problem? Terrorism I guess. Bombs, kidnappings for ransom, etc. The local economies depend on tourist dollars in many of these countries, which is why their governments will set up the military to protect these investments. However if you plan to rough it in these countries, you could be setting yourself up for a problem. Maybe I don't worry enough about it, I still say fuck it let's go.

The above photo was taken in Fiji, looking out towards the Koro Sea. Thousands of miles further is Antarctica, another destination I would like to get to. Probably stop off in New Zealand first though.