vagabum.com

Once I realized that I had a 3 week break after the end of my Contract and before the start of a contract renewal or another round of interviews I quickly jumped at the chance to travel abroad and salvage some adventure from what little was left of a semi-disappointing 2009. The question was where to go that was not too far away, too expensive and with tolerable weather. As a long time traveler I always have 5 or 6 trips floating around in my head and when given the opportunity I make a last minute decision on which to take based on length of travel, the latitude/geography/season and cost. For this time of year Russia was out, and Morocco was way too expensive and far so I opted for Central America. Since I have traveled through every country there but Panama I had my sights set on seeing it but the costs of a direct flight to Panama City at Christmas were prohibitive and so I ended up with a $450 cheaper flight to Costa Rica and had a mental plan to make my way down overland to Panama. Although Costa Rica is not my favorite destination in Central America due to it being very touristy and expensive in the most popular destinations I felt the savings were more than worth it and I could spend my Christmas in Manuel Antionio which I had not visited on my previous visit two years ago.

I am currently abroad on my latest adventure and this time my main destination is sub-Saharan Africa. My loose plan is to start in South Africa and work my way North and East up through Kenya and Uganda to Ethiopia.

Please return to visit Vagabum.com periodically over the next few months to follow my journey, read my journals, view my photos, sign the guest book, and comment on or rate the posts.

These are the countries I plan to visit:

• South Africa
• Swaziland
• Namibia
• Botswana
• Zambia
• Malawi
• Tanzania
• Rwanda
• Uganda
• Kenya
• Ethiopia
• Thailand (after 3 months in Africa I will need a vacation from my vacation!)
• Cambodia (I might return)
• Borneo (if I am not burnt out on wildlife)

Greetings Vagabum Viewers (that sounds so sordid),

The word of the day is, “preemptive”. Can you say, “preemptive”, children?

preemptive

adj : designed or having the power to deter or prevent an anticipated situation or occurrence; “a preemptive business offer”.

Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University [via dictionary.com]

So, I accepted a new job in Agoura Hills (over the hills North of Malibu, CA) on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 and then I promptly deferred my start until Aug 21 and set out on Thursday for a new 3 week trip and vacation to Yucatan, Guatemala and Belize. As I was unable to negotiate for vacation time (I will have to revert to 2 weeks of vacation per year) I figured I would take a preemptive jaunt to delay any near future travel withdrawels that may result (ok, I am actually planning for a trip to Africa circa Spring/Summer 2008, but that is not the point, here). Besides, I clearly needed a vacation from my job searches and interviews of the past 6 months…

My planned itinerary for this trip is listed below and I will update that as I go, so feel free to check back here often for updates, new travel logs and photos, or to browse the logs from previous trips. I am currently writing from Cancun, but heading out in a few hours towards the Western part of Yucatan to Merida for more Mayan pyramids and ruins (Uxmal and Mayapan).

So, come along for the new jouney and if you wish to view the other travel log posts from any of the previous Vagabum trips from the past 6 1/2 years, select a trip from the side panel, or from the header drop-down menu.

Hasta lluego, caiman (see you later, alligator),

- Vagabum Mike (aka “Indiana” Lopez)
July 28, 2006

Final Trip Itinerary

July 28, 2006 – Depart San Diego International (SAN)
July 28, 2006 – Arrive Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico (CUN)
July 29, 2006 – Travel by bus to Merida, Yacatan, Mexico
July 30, 2006 – Visit the Mayan ruins of Uxmal
July 31, 2006 – Bus to Spanish Colonial Campeche, Campeche, Mexico
Aug 01, 2006 – Bus to Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico
Aug 02, 2006 – Visit the ruins of Palenque
Aug 03, 2006 – Visit the Mayan ruins of Yaxchilan (Guat. border)
Aug 04, 2006 – Boat/Bus to Flores, Guatemala
Aug 05, 2006 – Revisit the ruins of Tikal, Guatemala
Aug 06, 2006 – Bus + Mini bus to San Ignacio, Belize
Aug 07, 2006 – Bus to Belize City, Belize
Aug 08, 2006 – Caye Caulker, Belize (epic SCUBA diving + beaches)
Aug 10, 2006 – Boat / Bus to Playa Del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Aug 13, 2006 – Return to Campeche, Campeche, Mexico
Aug 15, 2006 – Visit the Mayan ruins of Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico
Aug 16, 2006 – Visit the Mayan ruins of Edzna’, Campeche, Mexico
Aug 16, 2006 – Bus to Cancun
Aug 17, 2006 – Boat to Isla de Mujeres, QR, Mexico
Aug 19, 2006 – Return San Diego International (SAN)
Aug 20, 2006 – Move to Canoga Park, CA
Aug 21, 2006 – Start new job
April 01, 2008 – Awaken Vagabum persona for next trip (see my Travel Route Voting Poll for potential trip destinations).

About the Site

If you have found this post you know that Vagabum.com is my new travel website, where I have posted all my travel logs (aka web-logs or blogs) for my various major trips over the past 6 years. You may have noticed that some sections of the site (i.e. History and Gallery) are still being worked on, so please excuse the construction and note that I hope to be able to get the Gallery section up and running during this trip. While browsing vagabum.com, please feel free to rate any post (using the simple Netflix style rating system of 1-5 stars), to vote in any of the survey polls, or to comment on any or all posts. If you register you can save typing in name and email for comments (I promise to keep all personal information private and away from any 3rd party lists). Please have fun with the comments, but keep them somewhat respectful.

Greetings Imperialist-Infidels,

As I had expected the job hunt to slow for December I thought to myself, “What better place would there be to spend a Christian holiday than in the Middle East?” So after some serious searching and haggling I found a sweet last minute fare to Cairo and with about 72 hours of time to plan I fired up the flight (rushing to get my shots, extra passport pages, booking a place to stay for the first night and other general preparations). I arrived in Cairo on the 19th of December and have been charging forwards ever since. I hope you enjoy hearing of my experiences. Feel free to stop in and sign the guest book.
Merry New Year,

- Vagabum Mike

Trip Itinerary

Dec 18, 2005 – Depart San Francisco International (SFO)
Dec 19, 2005 – Arrive Cairo, Egypt (CAI)
Dec 21, 2005 – Pyramids at Saqqara, Dashur & Giza
Dec 23, 2005 – Aswan, Egypt
Dec 26, 2005 – Sailing on the Nile by Felucca
Dec 27, 2005 – Luxor, Egypt
Dec 30, 2005 – Sharm El Sheik, Sinai, Egypt
Jan 03, 2006 – Dahab, Sinai, Egypt
Jan 05, 2006 – Through Isreal to Jordan
Jan 06, 2006 – Petra, Jordan
Jan 07, 2006 – Wadi Rum, Jordan
Jan 08, 2006 – Amman, Jordan
Jan 10, 2006 – Jerusalem, Israel
Jan 12, 2006 – Tel Aviv, Israel
Jan 14, 2006 – Evil 13 Hour Bus Trip back to Cairo
Jan 15, 2006 – Cairo Museum Revisited
Jan 16, 2006 – Alexandria, Egypt
Jan 18, 2006 – Giza II & Cairo’s Khan-Al-Khalili Market
Jan 20, 2006 – Return San Francisco International (SFO)