32 Dear André

Dear André,

You are not online this morning, I see, so I imagine you are doing some things about your farm, or perhaps out shopping in the village. I hope you have good weather for your activities.

It is cold and foggy this morning, here on Vashon Island in Puget Sound, but it is expected to become sunny towards mid-day. I hope so, because it is expected to rain all week beginning tomorrow. Yuk. I am tired of the cold rain of North America's Pacific Northwest. I am eager to head south toward my tropical home...

Clic map to enlarge.

Denise and I reviewed our schedule and possible routes last night after dinner. We have decided to depart Washington State on Sunday morning 16 March or Monday the 17th at the latest. We try to choose a different route for each trip (this will be the third time Denise and I have made the drive to Belize**), and this time we will again follow mountains: first the Cascade Range through Washington and Oregon, then past the volcanoes at Lassen to the Sierra Nevada of California, past Lake Tahoe and Yosemite and Owens Lake, then across Death Valley to Las Vegas where we will drive The Strip. Then on across to Zion National Park, across Glen Canyon Dam, and a loop around the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. Then straight south past Phoenix to Tucson, Arizona, where we will meet up with some friends.

Where we will cross into Mexico, and which route we take south, is still unsure. This will be decided when we get to Tucson. For the first time we have the luxury of a loose schedule on this trip, so we intend to do more sightseeing this time. Denise has a paid annual pass for the USA National Parks*** and we plan to use it as many times as possible on the USA part of the adventure. The main routes we're considering through Mexico are the central and Pacific Coast routes. Either way, once we get south of Mexico City we will head into Chiapas and take a rest day in San Cristobál de las Casas, where I want to meet some people doing work with the poor.

Leaving Chiapas, we intend to start very early, take a short break to visit the Classic Maya city at Palenque, then rush along our usual route across the Yucatan to Chetumal and the northern frontier of Belize. If the crossing into Belize goes well we should make it home to Stann Creek by late evening, exhausted. This should happen around 28 March, but perhaps as late as 31 March.

I can hardly wait.

Meantime, there are just a few more minor repairs to make to the car we bought for this journey...

Did you bring home something nice home for dinner?

Besos,

'Lena

** As I mentioned, you can read the real-time diary of the first trip here.

*** You can read Denise's blog of her around-the-USA road-trip here.

Galena Alyson Canada 18 February 2008 Vashon Island, Washington, USA