It's nice seeing my creation, Eagle Eyes Adventure Goggles, out there in the world!
After tons more confusion and plans falling through, I think I now have a new travel plan. It mainly resembles one of my previous plans, to go to Martinique next. The only affordable long-term rental I found on Iles Saintes is unavailable. Found a short-term place instead. I looked up more details and found official EU info that seems to indicate that visa overstays due to COVID shouldn't be an issue. I think it now makes sense to take a shot at Martinique.
Tons of failures and confusion along the way. Keep at it! Adapt, try different things, find a route! :)
When I say "Iles Saintes" to myself in my head, it sounds like "Eel Saints". :)
(Looking back after making the decision, while editing this, I feel like it's much more desirable to go than to stay!)
Somewhat frustrating of a situation. I think that any of my three main options would work fine (stay longer, go to Martinique, go to Dominica), but each has somewhat sizable risks. Stay longer doesn't have a serious risk so much as a lack of interest (risk of wasting time), Martinique has visa issues, Dominica has quarantine risk.
Not that big of an issue, but somewhat annoying. Maybe stay and enjoy the beach? :)
Not sure that I'm excited enough by the alternatives (Martinique, Dominica) to take any serious risks.
I'd find it somewhat annoying and frustrating to stay in Marie-Galante another month, but not that big of a deal.
I think I could get into Dominica or Martinique without any problem, the risks seem quite unlikely, but I really don't want to deal with quarantine or visa issues.
Maybe wait?
Expected values...
Marie-Galante another month: some beach pleasures and some mild annoyances. Seems moderately positive.
Martinique: some annoyances, some mildly interesting new activities, slight risk of serious consequences. Seems maybe neutral due to divergence with high-probability low-reward and low-probability high-penalty.
Dominica: some annoyances, some mildly interesting new activities, slight risk of serious consequences. Seems maybe neutral due to divergence with high-probability low-reward and low-probability high-penalty.
That analysis would support staying another month. Not sure that they'd lift more quarantines in another month so I could face the same decision again in a month. With a bit more time to over-analyze. :)
Fuck COVID fascism!!!!! :)
Maybe deliberately stay for the beach rather than only to wait for the quarantines to lift. Not that great of a beach, but it has its charms.
By my understanding they're not enforcing the visa issues due to COVID:
At least it feels like a gradual continuation of the shift from emergency to normal constraints in travel planning around COVID fascism.
Humans are simple-minded. Post an insightful piece of commentary and get one or two hits. Share a video of a baby goat and get thousands and thousands of hits. :)
Egad. When I'm feeling somewhat annoyed at having to decide which Caribbean island to travel to, Russians and Ukrainians are killing each other en masse in -13 degree weather! Another reminder not to complain!
I think I'm ready psychologically, and now somewhat officially, to go to Martinique? I felt like taking a bit of a pause, especially after the recent attempted robbery against me. Also to laze at the beach. :) Now I feel somewhat more ready for adventure. I called the border police to ask about the visa issue, and they said that it isn't a problem. Still not entirely sure that I'm doing the Martinique plan yet, I wanna confirm availability of rentals, ferries, etc. Also it's now raining, and I want to see if the rain holds off.
Feels much better to have some official confirmation that the plan should work. I also have seen unofficial agreement with this, and it agrees with commonsense. I'm not entirely sure that it wouldn't pose an issue but I think I'm confident enough to take a shot if I feel like going to Martinique.
I'm now aiming to go March 23. I've seen as much of Marie-Galante as I want (or more). Basically if I stayed I'd mainly be in my hotel room or on the beach. Not bad as a backup plan, but I think I'd rather go to explore Martinique (and Iles Saintes). Plus they also have hotels and beaches.
Travel writer: someone who goes to beaches and hotels then writes about what it's like. :)
After spending days or weeks sorting through the complex ferry combinations, hotel rentals, visa and COVID restrictions, and other considerations, I don't really feel like going through that again next month for the same travel plans.
I'm basically planning to go to Martinique in March, unless some new difficulty emerges.
Tons of languages, e.g. French or Spanish, have tons of unnecessary rules. How ridiculous that there are two different words for "you" (e.g. "tu" and "usted"), or more in some languages! And each takes different verb conjugations for each of the different tenses, with the different word endings plus of course numerous exceptions. And that's just one super-basic example. There's also gender, cases, and other useless cruft. Why haven't these languages simplified yet?!?!
Seems like many of the biggest problems facing humanity involve governments. War, COVID fascism, regular fascism. Maybe we should dedicate ourselves more to paring down governments.
I now see myself as (slowly) on the way out of the Caribbean. It'll still take a while for the COVID restrictions and travel moves to play out. However, I at least feel like I can now probably make it in ongoing stages through the remaining countries I want to see.
It's super fuckin' obnoxious how many websites now cover the page with cookie notices and other crud. I generally close those sites like spam, unless I have some specific reason to look at the content like using it for work.
High-quality lightweight stuff goes up, e.g. cream, heated water, cool people. Low-quality waste goes down, e.g. waste water, waste. :)
Downside of an island: It's annoying to go anywhere else. Upside of an island: You're surrounded by coast! :)
Coffee, molasses, soy milk: happiness juice! :)
Weird, the jar of instant coffee that I bought has French and Ukrainian labeling. I think I bought it before the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.
After all that uncertainty over whether it seemed safe to go to the next island or where to go, then finally deciding that I'd be OK going to Martinique, I'm now considering not going this month. It's been raining consistently, and it looks like I may have a bunch of work next week around when I'd go. Also the affordable apartment rental that I found is unavailable and the others seem unreasonably priced. If I wait another month there may also be more ferries to Dominica and fewer restrictions. Haven't re-decided yet. :)
Don't think I'll make my final decision today. It's still raining and forecast to rain for a couple of days, and I don't want to ride in the rain.
I don't really object to staying. It's pleasant enough and quite convenient here. I'd rather go if practical, but the plan's looking somewhat shaky.
Planning to do a small shop today for food for the week that I'm staying regardless of whether I leave town in March. I've read that France recently lifted some of its COVID fascism, so I think this will be the first shop in a while when they don't ask or have signs to wear a slave mask! :)
I got rid of a bunch of stuff in Marie-Galante! I have a hard time packing light. I brought some extra things from Capesterre Belle-Eau to MG that were heavy, which I've gradually used up or given away while in MG. Hopefully makes a noticeable difference for my next long ride! :)
I’m now thinking of holding off on my decision until at least the weekend, then if I’m going book things Monday. It's a lot more last-minute than I'd want considering there's a ferry and a potentially difficult rental place booking. I think it would still be feasible, though, and I don't feel decided enough either way (stay or go) as of now.
Two-ply toilet paper seemed like an improvement over one-ply, then there was three-ply which seemed maybe excessive. Now I've found five-ply toilet paper! It's like the expansion of blades in razors. The five-ply is extremely thick and sturdy, like a fancy hand towel. It feels like a big responsibility just to use each sheet responsibly. :)
Looking through some more information, thinking through some more possibilities... I'm now thinking I may go to Iles Saintes then Martinique this March. I think some of my concerns are a bit exaggerated. Doesn't seem likely to be more than maybe a bit of heavy rain. I can fit my work schedule around a day of ferry travel here or there. There seem to be some affordable rentals. I think I'd probably be better off spending the month there rather than here.
Not that big of a decision, but treating it like one. :)
BTW I think that often emotions and behaviors stem from underlying sources rather than what seems consciously obvious. For example, laughing while thinking of some humorous situation, but this seems to occur often after an unrelated positive event, so the laughter probably derives from that underlying positive event rather than just from the humorous mental image. I think that after a positive event the brain kicks out some humorous mental imagery along with the laughter. Also the weather affects thinking.
Why not just take a shot?!
You could make a wave description of a decision. Your desire to e.g. go to Martinique goes up and down at interesting rates. I wonder what it would sound like as a sound wave?
You could make a wave description of anything! :)
After these months-long pauses I keep feeling like I'm out of touring mode. At least it's fun and easy to get back into touring mode! :)
Fuck COVID fascism!!! :)
Don't expect to solve all your problems as in some naive fantasy, instead focus on doing the desirable activities that you can. There'll be different "problems" (undesirables) and desirable activities available later.
Going's starting to sound considerably more appealing than staying.
I think there's a gradual process of moving towards a decision from your starting point. I can see it visually in my decision spreadsheet. :)
When I started thinking of going to Iles Saintes then Martinique, it seemed like a somewhat far-fetched idea. There were tons of potential hiccups. Now it seems like a reasonable plan, maybe even the MORE reasonable plan.
I think I'm in a decent situation to go. I think I'm gonna go.
Then maybe instead of blogging about travel decisions I can blog about travels. :)
A month's around a thousandth of a human lifespan. Make each month valuable!!!!!
Go now, recover later! :)
Putin must listen to the Beatles. "The Ukraine girls really knock me out, they leave the West behind. The Moscow girls make me sing and shout, that Georgia's on my mind." (Not sure if I mixed up the order of those.) Moscow, Ukraine, and Georgia have been involved in their recent conflicts. :)
A small opportunity's a big thing. You don't need much to make a lot of magic happen.
Do new things. Evolve, adapt, adjust, renew! :)
There's tons of apartments, towns, activities, and other things out there. There's a human tendency to think of what we already have as more desirable than average. To a certain extent there is some additional cost to doing different things, but it's often more than compensated for by the additional benefits.
Paraphrasing Yogi Berra, all of travel is half mental.
I’m feeling ready to ride. After such a long time in Guadeloupe, it feels somewhat surreal to plan leaving. I still remember when I got here, those years ago! A German woman I met around when I arrived was surprised at how long it would be when I told her I planned to stay a few weeks!
Fuck COVID fascism!!! :)
I'm somewhat confident about the boat, the place, and the visa. Sounds like it's time for adventure!!!!! :)
I think that the combination of being somewhat more risk-averse now that I'm middle-aged, and the higher risks from COVID, and the higher logistical costs from island-hopping have made it quite complicated to travel. Hopefully when I hit the continent again and COVID fascism subsides I can make much better headway.
There's a lot of uncertainty and risk in life, with extra if you travel. I think it makes sense to gauge those risks, make reasonable-ish evaluations, then take your shots when you can.
Super thankful that my job involves reading and writing instead of shooting and being shot at!
Russia: 30 million beautiful females? US: 1 million beautiful females?
Poor Ukraine. Tons of cruddy laws in the West. Russia and the West each have their problems. Ukraine seems like a mainly blameless victim.
I say ignore the war and go to sexy tropical places! :)
The Ukrainians deserve to live in relative peace but millions of people around the world are disgusted by what's happened to the Americans, and the Russians smell blood and are taking what they want, e.g. Ukraine, Venezuela. There are some decent things about the West but also some indecent things.
The US is like an ad for Russia, and Russia is like an ad for the rest of the West! :)
I've been attacked like ten or fifteen times by Afro-Caribbeans while traveling. Fortunately I've generally won.
Fuck COVID fascism!!! :)
Fuck, people are stupid!!! :)
Poor Ukraine but their buddies in the West are weak. Go Russia, go Ukraine, sort it out like men I guess. :)
Science: Russia is stuck in traditional mode, US and Germany and other buddies are stuck in postmodern mode. Poor Ukraine is a modernizing country trapped between the two fucked-up extremes.
At least the Ukrainians have a decent Jew at the head! :)
Fuck the ignorant assholes! :)
Russia and China versus US and EU. Russia and China have better sex laws. :)
Shit, the West's anti-sex laws alone justify a pro-Russian stance even if they're dictators. :) Poor Ukraine too, though. They shouldn't buddy up too much with the West but also with the East!
Destroy all the politicians!!! :)
Viva la libertad!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
Let's be serious for a sec. The West fails to understand basic facts like race and sex, and Russia fails to understand weird advanced notions like gender fluidity. Neither is fatal. We can sort things out but there'll be lots of body bags.
For those who want the dirty deets, the West has blinded itself with false notions like social constructionism, while Russia resides in a literal headspace. Neither is fatal on its own but they battle each other.
Weird. There's more Jews than Nazis and the Chinese and Indians win the popularity contest. ;)
Putin compared the West to Nazi Germany. Not a totally fair comparison, but both Nazi Germany and the modern West are propaganda/marketing-based technocratic societies.
Instagram and the other jackass companies are boycotting Russia. Boo-fucking-hoo. Great opportunity for Russian entrepreneurs. Chorosho! Meta, Google, and the other liberals have taken some loud political stances lately. Not to agree with the Russian statists, but shit at least they can rid themselves of some vile American propaganda. :)
Better to have two houses divided (Russia and US/EU) instead of global fascism!
Viva la libertad!!!!! :)
With the crappy COVID fascism that US/Canada/France/etc. have had at least it's nice to have Russia not on the same team. Sorry Ukraine!!!!!
Just say no to politics! :)
Peace for the victims of war in Ukraine!
US/EU: Overpriced as fuck!
"I am art." Do women often think this?
I'm going to Iles Saintes!!!!!!!!!!
Then Martinique!!!!!!!!!!
If the visa situation isn't a problem!
Finally decided just to take a shot at it. While it's somewhat comfortable in this place I'm hungry to get out of Marie-Galante. Ready to ride, explore, live!!!!! :)
Booked the boat. Booked a place, kinda sorta. The only place I'd found where I wanted to stay, I was too buy to book during the week and when I went back today it was unavailable. Page taken down on local classifieds and on Booking.com. I called a number I found on the internet though, and turns out they still have a place available for at least much of the time there.
The person on the phone seemed decent about it, even found an alternative place for some of the days when the place I'd looked for is unavailable. Makes me wanna stay there and support the person. Big difference versus the rude uncompromising people I'd talked to at another place I'd considered renting. Money goes to the more decent people!
Can hardly believe it! Going! Leaving Guadeloupe!!!!! :)
Fuck COVID fascism! :)
Next I have to make it there, with a way-too-early-in-the-morning ferry, plus the visa situation.
I'm feeling way done with Marie-Galante now. This seems like a 99-1 decision. I'm glad to take a shot, even if it becomes somewhat complicated. :) Seems like it often works out better to go than to stay! :)
So exciting to go! That's a huge advantage of long-term travel, the frequent experience of leaving the old for the new! :)
So many of the uncertainties during the planning become things that you just find a way to deal with while traveling!
Go now!!!!! :)
When to leave MG has been a somewhat confusing if not that big challenge. I've waffled around for much of the month. Anyways now feeling super stoked to go!!!!! :)
Dying to just go out there and travel again!!!!! :)
Use limited time to travel, live. More so while in the good weather season!
Life: Offer valid for a limited time only. :)
Rock & Roll!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)