So it looks like I won't be going to Republica Dominicana today. The ferry leaves every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I'm still aiming to go this week, if feasible.
While happily "stuck" in Puerto Rico, I plan to do some more work, and see a few of the remaining parts of San Juan, the capital. As I've mentioned previously, I already feel like I've seen most of what I want to see here, but there remain a handful of places of interest.
Some of my stuff continues to fall apart or remain broken -- e.g. the bike, which I plan to fix in RD, since I don't plan to do any more riding in PR. Other things seem to be improving, like my electronics, which have thankfully remained functional for quite a while.
Tons of rain, or as the weather forecast calls it, sunshine.
I like the tropics. Many of my favorite fruits and vegetables come from this region. However, my body does not come from the tropics, so I often find it hard to handle the humidity, and the more intense heat. I do, however, appreciate the lack of cold weather. An occasional cooler night for having a fire could be nice. Anyways, not complaining about lack of winter, which I've mostly forgotten!
I also am coming to appreciate the advantages of small islands. While they're much harder to get among than a single large continent, the islands by being so also prevent many of the problems of the mainland. Also, it gives a feeling of satisfaction to go from one country to another so quickly.
Puerto Rico is a country of comfort. People here like their air conditioning, cars, sodas, soft foods, beaches, etc. Anything insufficiently smooth is removed.
I like it here, it's pleasant. I'd be fine staying here for a while longer. However, I'd rather go to more interesting places, which I have not yet seen.
The search for novelty. Is that what travel is fundamentally about? One goes to a different place any time one wants.
I get bored easily. I travel often. I think that people who rarely or never travel have not much boredom. I have a low threshold for boredom, and as such have much boredom if I don't do something about it. Travel requires a ton of different styles of thought and action, introduces different emotions, etc. Travel is my anti-boredom.
I don't think I can exhaust the novelty. The planet is so big and complex -- even a small part of the planet is so big and complex -- that I can easily find interesting things to do for as long as I expect to live.
There are so many possibilities, in travel as at the hardware store. Maybe it's all that possibility!
Any day, a traveler can decide to see, or eat or drink or dance or hear, a never-before-tried item. That freedom -- so many choices!
By contrast, in one place, one faces the same choices each day. Same walks, same shops and restaurants, same people, same languages, etc.
I guess it depends on your personality, what you like. As for me, I do like some routine, but I also have a serious desire for variety!
It's funny how opposite Puerto Rico and Cuba are in some ways, given how comparable the two are in other ways. Both share nearby locations, geography, ecology, heritage, etc. Yet, Cuba is communist and has no commerce with America, while Puerto Rico is part of the United States and in some ways more commercial than America.
Travel, as with many other activities, is an activity that responds to how one does it. Many people think that travel is too hard, or expensive, or dangerous, to do except in the most limited of circumstances. However, by basically pushing oneself out to the places where one wants to go, one can often arrive quite easily, affordably, and safely. Not to minimize the costs of travel (or other activities). It does include some added difficulty, cost, and danger. However, these are often manageable, and they're not totally absent from staying at home.
If you want to go somewhere, I say take a chance. Don't wait too long!
I find it interesting to watch (and participate in) how belongings develop. One maybe starts out with a bike that one picked up on a whim, then later one adds some more parts, makes some replacements. Maybe one replaces the entire bike. Likewise with other equipment -- also attitudes, thoughts, emotions. Eventually, one becomes a different person with different belongings!
I've often been shy. That's part of my basic personality. I do have an outgoing side, I'm not at the extreme of the shyness scale by any means. However, I think that my shyness has prevented me from undertaking some endeavors, making some sales, etc. Travel is an effective way to overcome one's shyness, although the shyness itself still remains underneath one's abilities to overcome it. Travel forces you to get out there, to interact, etc.
Puerto Rico mixes its cultural influences from native, Hispanic, white, etc. sources.
The Puerto Rican people seem to me smooth (sometimes bordering on bland). I like them, although I think I'm quite different from them. I have a hard time picturing Puerto Ricans eating spicy food, being moody, or doing some of the other things I do.
Biking seems fairly popular here as a recreational activity. I've seen numerous road cyclists, a few groups of mountain bikers, and maybe a handful of urban commuters (although not much bike delivery). I don't think I've seen any other touring cyclists, whether from here or abroad.
I'm recovering from my exhaustion after the first few years of travel. I'm now out there working and looking for more jobs, traveling and looking forward to more places, doing different activities -- and still spending some quality time at the beach. :)
It can sometimes be hard to relate to the more normal parts of society, after engaging in some unusual activity like spending a few years traveling. Not that I was the most normal person beforehand, but it's definitely changed who I am.
Overall, I prefer to have the experiences and outlooks from traveling.
Some of the costs -- not just financial, but also missing out on some normal things -- can occasionally feel sad, but in my opinion they're more than compensated for by the uncommon benefits. Plus, I can still do many of the normal activities, e.g. go shopping or ride a bus or whatever.
Each person gets to choose to a large extent what to do. Especially with modern society, technology, etc. Not just one choice, but many. I'm happy with some of my choices, sad about others, but overall positive. Looking ahead to make more decisions and take more actions!!!
There are many ways, and they are often confusing. In my humble opinion, it makes sense to go for your goals, adapting along the way.
Have fun! :)
Last night, walked to a park looking for a quiet place to camp. The park was fenced and locked, of course. Camped outside the park. As it got dark out, a bright light on the outside of the park wall went on. Fell asleep anyways. Woke up in the middle of the night to a huge motorcycle parade! Engines revving, music blasting. So much for the quiet night, but at least it was entertaining.