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Journal of a restless traveler: April
Part I of Lori Lovely’s quest for the perfect Encantado Beach
Every trip begins with an urge to get away, to see new horizons, to explore lands and cultures, to search for paradise – or at least some key element missing from daily life. As much as I love my four-legged family and our cozy little home, something inside me compels me to travel. I jokingly blame my parents for taking me across the U.S. every summer, thus instilling a love of adventure and a desire to continually explore new vistas.
For me, planning a trip is part of the pleasure; it extends the trip because as I start researching, I start thinking about the destination, the activities, the scenery, the attractions and the sheer pleasure of spending leisure time with my husband. Typically, I start thinking about a trip within a few months after the previous one ends – after that vacation glow wears off and real life has taken a firm hold.
But planning ahead has a practical advantage, especially for people who travel during high season, as we typically do, and even more especially for people who book their trips themselves instead of working with a travel agent. For a winter holiday trip, it’s wise to have your flight and hotel booked by August. When we went to Paris for the Millennium New Year celebration, I began planning a whole year in advance. That was an extreme situation, but it’s never too early to start researching your trip. The year I spent planning the Millennium New Year’s Eve in Paris was a continual delight every time an incoming fax arrived from one of the hotels in my favorite arondissements regarding their availability, bringing with it images of my favorite city all over again.
And so it begins
Our personal dictum was never to return to the same place twice (except Paris, of course). My list of must-see places is so long, we couldn’t possibly exhaust it, so why limit ourselves? We’ve spent years in motorsports returning to the same venues every year; vacations offer a chance to see the rest of the world.
But something happened to us in Mexico, and we find ourselves returning again and again – and even considering a permanent relocation. With that in mind, it makes sense to familiarize ourselves completely with the area, culture, resources and people. And yet, that old wanderlust compels me to expand our range a little more every time so there’s still something new to discover on each trip.
The chase for Mayan ruins serves as an excuse to satisfy my need to go beyond the bounds of familiarity. This year I’m considering a hop across the Yucatan to Merida and/or Campeche, then a bigger hop into Belize. First things first: research. A trip to the library and some online time have revealed that Merida, while a large inland city that doesn’t sound like it would appeal to us, is within striking distance of several Mayan ruins. Campeche is a former colonial seaport that is nearly convenient, so depending on our requirements – and what’s available in the way of lodging – we might visit only one of them this year. But after reading about the ruins in Belize, that is one stop we definitely have to make!
Mapping out a rough itinerary is an important step before booking a flight, but flexibility in the route, timing and length of stay is important when booking flights and hotels. I have an idea of how many nights I want to spend at each of our destinations, and at this point – especially since we plan to rent a Jeep – I can be flexible about exactly where and when.
Because we plan to move around, I’ll investigate lodgings before flights. I know there will be plenty of planes flying to Mexico when I want to go, but since it’s high season, many hotels have minimum night stays. I need to settle that before it’s too late.
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