I'm happy to report that even though it's been quite a hectic week, I also managed to do some exciting things, or things that weren't particularly exciting but will hopefully lead to exciting things.
I've joined an outdoor group. I like hiking, during my years living in Scotland I did that quite regularly and even bagged a couple of munros, and I've also been on hiking holidays in Tenerife, Mallorca and the southwest US. Weirdly enough, I haven't done any hiking in England in all my years of living in London. It's time to change that.
I found this outdoor group nearby where I live which was organising a meeting for new members and I signed up for it well in advance. Easy peasy, a couple of clicks on my laptop and it was done. But this week, when the event started getting closer, I wasn't that enthusiastic about it anymore. It now actually meant that I needed to leave my warm and cosy home one night and go out in the dark. What? Leave the comfortable sofa behind? Indeed. And it was a cold night, too. I forced myself out of the house, kicking and screaming and throwing tantrums on the inside, rather wanting to spend the night at home reading.
But I went and I'm glad that I did. I ended up joining and paying a membership fee. I never like the idea of parting with money so immediately when the word fee was mentioned I became very negative about the whole thing which is really ridiculous because the fee wasn't really that much at all. I soon realised though that it probably is better that I had to pay a fee because now the stingy little voice in my head that counts pennies will force me to get as much mileage out of that fee as I can so I'll be more likely to take part in their hikes and walks. I'll be sure to let you know how that goes.
But just so that it's evident that I'm also really doing something exciting in my life and not just talking about doing something, I want to tell about my holiday in Mexico in December. This time it wasn't an adventure holiday, quite the opposite, the main purpose was to just chill and enjoy the sun for two weeks with a friend. That's exactly what I did and a good thing too that there wasn't anything too strenuous on the agenda because my sinuses decided it was a good time to flare up so I was unfortunately a bit unwell the first week. It didn't stop me from lying by the pool though, sipping a pina colada, reading a book and just daydreaming. It was all wonderfully relaxing.
I didn't spend all my time by the pool or on the beach, though. We were in Riviera Maya on the Yucatan Peninsula and there were several sites of ancient Mayan civilisation nearby. I visited two of them, Chichen Itza and the Tulum ruins. Chichen Itza was amazing; the site had several buildings including the famous Mayan pyramid (chosen in 2007 as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World), Temple of Warriors and a Mesoamerican ballcourt. The Mayans were known for their mathematical and astronomical systems and it was evident all over the place, e.g. in the number of the stairs of the temple (91 on four sides + the top platform = 365) and stone pillars that they'd used for calculating time, but the ballcourt really intrigued me. The guide told us that it was very likely that the Mesoamerican ballgame that had been played there during the Mayan civilisation involved human sacrifice; there were stone murals on the side of the court depicting capitulated players. Talk about a risky game...
The guide also pointed out an elderly local woman who was selling crafts at the site, explaining that she was of Mayan descent. Mayans were short and this woman was tiny, barely up to my armpits and I'm not a tall person at all.
What happened to the Mayans, that's what I wanted to know. Even though the civilisation fell, Mayan people remained and their descendants still live in Mexico and central America. But why did the civilisation fall? Soon after coming home I read an article about that and how researchers now believe that a long draught was the cause. I've been reading more about the Maya in general and it's been interesting to learn about them. I wish I'd done that before the holiday, I would've gotten so much more out of it there. But that's just one of those things you realise when it's too late...
Another thing I learnt when doing research on the area was that the asteroid that hit the Earth 66m years ago and is believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs struck the northern tip of the Yucatan peninsula, leaving a crater 12 miles deep and 124 miles wide. I may have heard that before but it just didn't stick with me whereas now that I've been to the area I'm sure to remember it. I'm really quite interested in all things geography and geology and often have thought that I should've studied that, become a researcher who travels the world, trying to figure out what's happening with the planet, how things formed, what seismic activity is going on... Is it too late to do that now? Hmmm....
Something I really like about Mexico are the colourful textiles that they have, blankets, table cloths, bags... I bought two blankets on this trip and one table cloth which I intend to pretend is a blanket and left many behind because it would've been a bit silly buying more blankets that I could ever have use for. Well, the main reason I didn't buy any more was because my luggage would've become too heavy. On my last day I was practically crying on the inside having to leave a beautiful stripy blanket behind. I now think I should've just bought it, I regret that I didn't.
It was a fun holiday but sadly feels like a long time ago already even though I've only been back home for three weeks. The good thing about one holiday being over is of course that I can now start planning my next one.
On a totally different note, remember, this coming Wednesday 21 January is Squirrel Appreciation Day. I earlier spoke about my love of these creatures (read about it here) and then discovered there's a day to celebrate them. Yay! I'm not quite sure how to do it, though. Throw a party for the neighbourhood squirrels? Get something nice for them to eat? Clearly this requires some thinking and planning...
I've joined an outdoor group. I like hiking, during my years living in Scotland I did that quite regularly and even bagged a couple of munros, and I've also been on hiking holidays in Tenerife, Mallorca and the southwest US. Weirdly enough, I haven't done any hiking in England in all my years of living in London. It's time to change that.
I found this outdoor group nearby where I live which was organising a meeting for new members and I signed up for it well in advance. Easy peasy, a couple of clicks on my laptop and it was done. But this week, when the event started getting closer, I wasn't that enthusiastic about it anymore. It now actually meant that I needed to leave my warm and cosy home one night and go out in the dark. What? Leave the comfortable sofa behind? Indeed. And it was a cold night, too. I forced myself out of the house, kicking and screaming and throwing tantrums on the inside, rather wanting to spend the night at home reading.
But I went and I'm glad that I did. I ended up joining and paying a membership fee. I never like the idea of parting with money so immediately when the word fee was mentioned I became very negative about the whole thing which is really ridiculous because the fee wasn't really that much at all. I soon realised though that it probably is better that I had to pay a fee because now the stingy little voice in my head that counts pennies will force me to get as much mileage out of that fee as I can so I'll be more likely to take part in their hikes and walks. I'll be sure to let you know how that goes.
But just so that it's evident that I'm also really doing something exciting in my life and not just talking about doing something, I want to tell about my holiday in Mexico in December. This time it wasn't an adventure holiday, quite the opposite, the main purpose was to just chill and enjoy the sun for two weeks with a friend. That's exactly what I did and a good thing too that there wasn't anything too strenuous on the agenda because my sinuses decided it was a good time to flare up so I was unfortunately a bit unwell the first week. It didn't stop me from lying by the pool though, sipping a pina colada, reading a book and just daydreaming. It was all wonderfully relaxing.
 |
| The Caribbean Sea. There were lovely fish in there that would swim all around me so close that they touched me. I felt like a Fish Goddess! |
I didn't spend all my time by the pool or on the beach, though. We were in Riviera Maya on the Yucatan Peninsula and there were several sites of ancient Mayan civilisation nearby. I visited two of them, Chichen Itza and the Tulum ruins. Chichen Itza was amazing; the site had several buildings including the famous Mayan pyramid (chosen in 2007 as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World), Temple of Warriors and a Mesoamerican ballcourt. The Mayans were known for their mathematical and astronomical systems and it was evident all over the place, e.g. in the number of the stairs of the temple (91 on four sides + the top platform = 365) and stone pillars that they'd used for calculating time, but the ballcourt really intrigued me. The guide told us that it was very likely that the Mesoamerican ballgame that had been played there during the Mayan civilisation involved human sacrifice; there were stone murals on the side of the court depicting capitulated players. Talk about a risky game...
 |
| The Mayan pyramid at Chichen Itza, built between the 9th and 12th centuries AD |
The guide also pointed out an elderly local woman who was selling crafts at the site, explaining that she was of Mayan descent. Mayans were short and this woman was tiny, barely up to my armpits and I'm not a tall person at all.
What happened to the Mayans, that's what I wanted to know. Even though the civilisation fell, Mayan people remained and their descendants still live in Mexico and central America. But why did the civilisation fall? Soon after coming home I read an article about that and how researchers now believe that a long draught was the cause. I've been reading more about the Maya in general and it's been interesting to learn about them. I wish I'd done that before the holiday, I would've gotten so much more out of it there. But that's just one of those things you realise when it's too late...
Another thing I learnt when doing research on the area was that the asteroid that hit the Earth 66m years ago and is believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs struck the northern tip of the Yucatan peninsula, leaving a crater 12 miles deep and 124 miles wide. I may have heard that before but it just didn't stick with me whereas now that I've been to the area I'm sure to remember it. I'm really quite interested in all things geography and geology and often have thought that I should've studied that, become a researcher who travels the world, trying to figure out what's happening with the planet, how things formed, what seismic activity is going on... Is it too late to do that now? Hmmm....
Something I really like about Mexico are the colourful textiles that they have, blankets, table cloths, bags... I bought two blankets on this trip and one table cloth which I intend to pretend is a blanket and left many behind because it would've been a bit silly buying more blankets that I could ever have use for. Well, the main reason I didn't buy any more was because my luggage would've become too heavy. On my last day I was practically crying on the inside having to leave a beautiful stripy blanket behind. I now think I should've just bought it, I regret that I didn't.
 |
| My Mexican souvenirs. I love bright colours. |
On a totally different note, remember, this coming Wednesday 21 January is Squirrel Appreciation Day. I earlier spoke about my love of these creatures (read about it here) and then discovered there's a day to celebrate them. Yay! I'm not quite sure how to do it, though. Throw a party for the neighbourhood squirrels? Get something nice for them to eat? Clearly this requires some thinking and planning...
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