A Tale of Two Geckos – The Book

Doug’s long anticipated book is:

Now on amazon.com

Click Here

for Canadians amazon.ca

Click here

What readers are saying:

“This book is a must read for everyone desiring to change their lives and pursue their dreams. I’ll have to re-read it over and over again. These two courageous geckos did it!”

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“I predict the Geckomana will take off as  the new trend after reading this book”

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“I was just going to read one chapter and get back to what I was doing…I couldn’t put it down.
“Life’s Inspiration” written with love, honesty and experience. Loved it!”

Doug Book Cover

 

It is our story about how we transformed our lives and is written to entertain and encourage readers to consider the changes they would like in their lives.

Please enjoy our story and kindly share it with a friend.

joyful travellers

Celebrating Our 1st Year as Nomads

April 7th – As of today Johanne and I have been slow travelling throughout Latin America for 1 year.

It has been a fabulous experience- the best year on record.DSC03764

 

We have lived on the rim of a volcanic craterDSC01736 - Copy

come to experience wonderful Colonial Cites:

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swam on deserted beaches in the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific Ocean and in pristine cenotes.

 

DSC03812 We have climbed Mayan Pyramids and gazed down the throat of el diablo.DSCF4279

 

 

 

We even took a break to honeymoon in Cuba:

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We have met hundreds of people along the way and have  nurtured many lasting friendships that we value immensely.

the joyful travellers

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Discovering Quintana Roo, Mexico

Although I have been in Mexico more than a dozen times I always find pleasant new surprises. It is a country so rich in history and interesting geography.

Currently we are vising Quintana Roo, the state that forms the eastern part of the Yucatan peninsula.

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Chetumal

According to the guide books Chetumal was suppose to  be a place that was not worth visiting however Johanne and I found it to be most enjoyable. It is very safe and largely overlooked by the Cancun crowd.

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Clean and quiet a wonderful malacon stretching for miles along the Caribbean shore.

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How can you not love a place that  has a statue of Bob Marley?

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Bacalar, Pueblo Magico is our next stop, a small town perched on an stunning fresh water laguna.

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The laguna is 42 KMs long and fed from  below by two deep water cenotes.

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Bacalar is rich with history from the days when pirates lurked in the mangroves raiding the Spanish settlements.

The Spanish built a fort here in the 1700’s which was later captured and held by Mayan rebels in the Caste Wars.

 

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Great food and affordable accommodation are abundant.

 

 

 

 

Cenote swimming

 

We are very pleased that we took time to visit this often ignored corner of the peninsula.

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joyful travellers

Uxmal – Mayan Magic

 

Uxmal – Mayan Magic

February, 2017 

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Gazing out over what remains of a once great civilization, so many questions arise.

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Pyramid of the Soothsayer

Many of the answers remain a mystery today particularly what transpired to cause such a rapid and dramatic decline to this once powerful civilization?

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Founded  around 700 AD the  Mayan center of Uxmal was the home of  approx. 25,000 people. It is said to be the most majestic of all the Mayan  cities. There is much Mayan mythology about the city once being ruled by Dwarfs.

I found it interesting that this center was built where there was no cenote for water as is the case with other site.

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Getting up is the easy part.

We were extremely impressed at how well preserved and presented this UNESCO  location is and  our 3 hour walk about was very enlightening.

Getting There:

Uxmal is 65 KMS south of Merida and there are many tours offered stopping here and the other sites on the Puuc Trail.More Information

Johanne and I chose to take the local bus from downtown Merida- it takes about 1.5 hrs. and was  just a few dollars one way. There is also a local bus tour on Sundays

There is also very comfortable  accommodations and restaurants just as you enter the site. Maybe stay a few days and experience this area by moonlight.

Make sure you put the ruins at Uxmal on you “Must Do List”.

joyful travellers

Merida, Yucatan, Mx.

Johanne and I have found this to be a very safe and comfortable city offering many enchanting plazas and parks. Strolling the tree lined streets we discover a variety of interesting nooks and crannies.

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Street Performance
Street Performance

There is free nightly entertainment at various locations in the historical district where you can experience a real local flavour.

Every  Sunday they close off much of the old city around the Plaza Grande so that families can ride bicycles together.

Artists and musicians add to the relaxed atmosphere and there is great street food to experience.

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It is a city steeped with culture and tradition, plus it offers a high quality of life to its residents and guests. We are always greeted with warm and welcoming smiles.

The city is also an ideal starting point for visiting the pristine beaches

dsc02339-copyalong the Gulf of Mexico as well as the numerous nearby Mayan sites such as:

Uxmal.

“We can highly recommend Merida as a place to visit and enjoy”.

Hint: (It is very HOT in September)!!

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the joyful travellers

Resource: The Yucatan Today is the best Travel Companion magazine we have seen. Great maps and current events.

To Drive or Not to Drive in Central America?

 

Is it safe for me to drive in Central America?

I have recently been confronted with the above dilemma and you may well be too.

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Let me share with you what I experienced when I mustered up my nerve and got behind the wheel of a car in Nicaragua.

Chaos like you cannot anticipate meets you as you pull out onto the road. All of your senses come to full attention, adrenalin rushes in.  I don’t remember this being on my driver’s test – ever!!

Be prepared for a myriad of massive trucks, barreling buses, taxis, horse carts, tuc-tucs, scooters, bicycles, and pedestrians all vying for the same narrow ribbon of concrete that is misnamed a highway. To me, there is no rhyme or reason, but somehow it all seems to have a flow.

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The roadway itself is littered with the pesky potholes and heavily camouflaged speed bumps. Don’t be looking for signage or directional arrows for guidance as they are most often forgotten or misplaced. Sometimes what you think is actually a road headed back to town will instantly morph into a goat trail or alley into someone’s yard.

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Oh and that one way that I headed down in the wrong direction? The locals were generally amused and forgiving.

I have yet to mention the living moving obstacles which will include; dogs, chickens, horses, cows, lots of cows, and the old guy pushing an ice cream cart.

Little kids laugh and play unsupervised along the sides of the road and the buses load and unload at will.

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The other day I found myself in the driver’s seat staring down a very large bull that had little interest in giving way to little old me. In good time he and his buddies shuffled along down the road.

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Of course, this is what you see in the light of day;   don’t even consider venturing out after nightfall, lighting is optional.

So did I answer the question?

Not really but maybe you get the picture.

the joyful travellers           

Cruising down the Baja in an RV.

We are happy to feature Anders and Liz Treiberg and their travel blog. Doug has been friends with these two for several decades, all the way back to the Realty World days.

They travel extensively and are living their dream as Two Geckos with a camper.

Their website is very informative and rich with travel tips and photographs.

Just click on the link here to follow their amazing adventures.

Liz and Anders

Thank you Anders and Liz, and hopefully our paths will cross someday soon.

joyful travellers

La Vida en la Ometepe, Nicaragua

 

As house sitters we have the opportunity to immerse ourselves in a variety of local environments.

I have heard the term “slow travel” used, it offers a “feel” for the place that a few nights in a hotel does not.dsc03095

Currently we are on Ometepe Island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. We have tried to capture what everyday life looks like in photos:

dsc03139Living in the shadow of 2 volcanoes accentuates the temporal aspect of life.

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Ruta De Evacuation

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 Well at least you will have time to enjoy the shade:

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Wash Day

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Puppies Always Bring on a Smile

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Mystical Surroundings

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Contact us if we can House/Pet Sit for you.

the joyful travellers

 

Our Cuban Honeymoom

 

Our Cuban Honeymoon

 

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Johanne and I were very thrilled to have the opportunity to travel to Cuba in October to celebrate our wedding. It was a little break between our  steady House Sitting assignments.

I have always had a lot of questions and curiosities about the island and Johanne was eager to explore with me.

When you start contemplating Havana, people will say “it is noisy, dilapidated and the air pollution is bad”.

Yes it can be all of that but what we also discovered was a vibrant city full of magic, colour and cultural surprises.

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Even Johanne who is adverse to the  crowds of big cities, thoroughly enjoyed our meanderings up side streets and down wide shady boulevards.

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We were told to be prepared for a country economically on it knees after 57 years of a crippling US blockade however we did not see that at all.

The quality of life appeared to be higher than most other Latin America countries, and the expected shortages were not obvious to us.

dsc02900Many  pre-revolution buildings are crumbling, at the same time the government is doing their best to restore what they can.

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Cubans are very resourceful and are quite accustomed to making due with what is available.

We were warmly welcomed and everyone was so polite.

click on A Day in The Life Here

And then there are the cars:

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See more Yank Tanks Here

Most obvious to us after just one week was:

-how  squeaky clean the streets are with virtually no litter in the cities or on the beaches. (Being poor is not an excuse for throwing trash everywhere).

-the level of education of the population with 99.8% literacy the 10th highest globally

-the family unit seems to be well in tact with the average family having just 1.4 children

We also to a side trip to Varardero which makes for a wonderful beach vacation.

So after just one week I would say a few of our questions were answered but many more are yet to be answered.agreatcar

Put Cuba on Your List!!

the joyful travellers