Ernesto, You Bastard

I don't know if you can zoom in on the graphic here to the left, but if you could, you would see that Ernesto is barreling toward the very island in Belize on which I was planning my holiday. The weather forecast for the country is 100 percent chance of rain, for every hour, of every day, for the next three weeks. Basically this is no bueno for diving, and super no bueno for Roberto. I think I must be being punished for my last post ("Doing Nothing"), for my sloth and lethargy. Typical. Welcome to the beginning of vacation.

After about 24 hours of complete and utter frustration, I am now calm, and I have a plan. People were warning me of said swirling storm, but I paid little attention. It was not until I saw that the government was shutting down one of the other islands (called cayes) that I emailed my hotel to see if I should even make the trek - or if should I find a Plan B. Within the hour I had a very pleasant note in broken English stating that all was well and the skies were muy bonito. Come on down! We look forward to having you! About an hour after that, however, I received a shorter note that said, "I think you should find a Plan B." Panic mode. Minutes later I'm on the phone with Taca Airlines (they also were very confused about why I would want to change my flight... Why?! Because there is a frickin' hurricane ripping through the country!!). Bottom line is even if I showed up at the airport, all they would do is get me on the next available flight to Belize. Again, no bueno.

To my relief, I found an out. Apparently when you buy a ticket with Taca, the trip is good for an entire year. I can move the dates and times of my flight for a nominal fee. So, why not just buy a whole new ticket to a different vacation spot, and then plan on going to Belize sometime else during the year? Preferably during the winter when there are no daggum hurricanes in the realm of possibility. Where to go then? Why not head to Costa Rica early before the rest of the family? Done (although I toyed with Aruba and Panama). Tickets bought. Hotel for the first few nights booked - the rest will be TBA. Welcome to Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica! Of course the downside is that now I have to book another trip to Belize within the next 12 months...

Darn.

Other than Ernesto giving me fits, I haven't had much to do since getting back to DC. I've done a bunch of cooking for the fam, watched a lot of SportsCenter, and for the most part, spent time generally catching up on life events. I could totally get used to this. True to form, however, I haven't waited long to schedule my next activity (i.e. vacation). And when I return, I will have just two days to pack the car and drive up to Boston with Pops. I'm excited to shift gears and try something new. I'm less excited to add to the student debt.

Next Post will be from Costa Rica!