Puerto Rico thoughts
Mixing up a fresh batch of work, activity, life!
I like work, from time to time.
Work keeps you honest, contributes to society, improves your function/competencies, etc.
Also, obviously, it pays the bills -- enables you to eat, have shelter, fix bikes, etc.
Summer in the Caribbean. The heat and humidity are unbelievable. It's like 33 C and cloudy, I feel so heavy and sleepy. It feels like I'm wearing a 400-pound blanket. I can hardly stand up, and I feel short on breath. When I lie down, I start to drift off to sleep. It's beautiful, comfortable, but hard to do anything!
Some people ask me if I regret not having a regular job in a regular place. Not much. Traveling globally by bicycle is a lot more interesting and exciting than most jobs.
I feel like I am in an uncommonly lucky position, having the skills and opportunity and other requirements to travel widely. Not that I ascribe much to skill. I think I've had tons of luck. Many people can do the same basic activities, like riding a bike. It's more a matter of chance, desire, commitment, work, luck, etc.
Also, my joints are severely stiff, which also comes from the cycling. My hips in particular are feeling sore.
And my face is super congested.
Annoyingly (for me, anyways), the most interesting things are often very different from the most paying things.
I think you can tell a lot about a place from the vehicles people drive, and a lot about a person from the vehicle. Puerto Rico seems to be a land of Jeeps, Mitsubishis, Toyotas, and Suzukis. This says to me that it's a place for outdoors activities, not an extremely wealthy but not extremely poor.
Long days/daze!
I like spending a long while on one type of activity, whether lying on the beach, or working, or riding, or socializing, then have another day for a different activity, perhaps much more than having days mixed up with some of this, some of that. Maybe it's more efficient. Anyways, I get into a mood, a frame of mind, an attitude, and it feels easier just to continue with that instead of shifting gears. Let's say I'm in beach mode, then I feel stressed at even the thought of socializing or working or cycling or doing anything other than decomposing on the beach. Likewise, if I'm working, then I don't want to stop, even for basic biological needs.
The weather contributes substantially to my moods. On a gray, cloudy, rainy day, I hardly feel like socializing or going to the beach anyways (usually). I'm thankful that my moods correspond somewhat to what's convenient for the weather, which I suppose my moods probably evolved for.
The longer I'm in Puerto Rico, the more I like it. This seems to happen with most places I go. I think there's also such thing as overexposure, too long in one place. Right now, I'm somewhat sad that I'm almost around the island. Also, quite happy to look forward to more countries!
Overall, I feel much better while having a long-term mix of activities: travel, work, socializing, thinking, relaxing, etc. I think that it's important for humans to have this balance. Each activity provides different benefits. We need some exercise, some quiet rest, some cameradarie, and much more.
The tropics are hard on my body. The climate favors certain activities, the ones more typical of the tropics like lying around eating fruit, socializing, etc. However, as Puerto Rico plainly shows, you can also get on with it and do your job anyways!