Approach

A little update. Mission: the main thing is to pass legislation on the federal level, and it now appears the best acts on the table are the Safe Climate Act and the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act (one is in the house, the other in the Senate). They capture the best thinking of scientists, economists and lawyers on what we need to do and how we should do it. A potential issue we may need to be concerned with as these bills get considered and passed is how the emission allowances will be administered. They should not just be grandfathered over to the current big polluters. There should be an objective, or at least rational, method of administering the allowances--this is probably already stipulated in the above acts, but I am aware of a campaign is directed at this issue, so perhaps it hasn´t been completely stipulated. I need to research this more.

In light of the time it took for the check card to come in the mail (it came on March 28, six weeks after my dad sent it on Feb 13), and the fact that I am still in Mexico with a little over a month before my sister´s wedding that I want to attend, I am having to reframe and refocus the trip. Overall, I want to establish a route between my house in Maryland and my friends´ house in Brazil that I can take each time I travel between US and Brazil. Now, I have a route established between my house and Catemaco. The question now is whether to trailblaze until the wedding and then fly back, or begin heading back now by bus (North, to Puebla, Mexico City, San Luis Potosi), visiting some friends I made here in Mexico, who I really want to visit, at their homes in the interior of the country, and fly back from some more northern departure point. All of the fossil fuel transportation I use I intend to offset with Driving Green (I already offset the flight with a $16, two-ton offset purchase).

In the long run, I still have to decide if I will try and finish the trip from where I left off, or pursue some other plan.

A question came up about why I chose an expensive hotel when I was in Veracruz. First, I did not choose it; it sort of fell at my feet when the owner´s sons approached me in the town square, very interested in my trip, and told me if I needed ANYTHING, they would do whatever they could to help. As I was penniless without my card, and in the middle of a city, I needed a place to stay. They set me up with a room, and I eventually left three days later without my card, even as they insisted I wait for the card to come. I stayed in touch with Juan by email. On January 30th, still penniless and in Catemaco, I decided to go back to Tlacotalpan for the Candelaria. There, I eventually lost my glasses and my camera stopped working completely, and I was working off money wired to me. When Juan invited me back to Veracruz for Carnival, it made sense to go--I would have a place to stay, I would be able to buy new glasses, a new camera, and wait for my card AND go to Carnival. Immediately when I got to Veracruz, at the beginning of Carnival, I had the card mailed to the hotel. I attended Carnival working off of no money. Even though I had all the numbers of the card, I could not get the glasses or the camera without the physical card, and wiring money costs $35 each time, so I decided against more wiring. Carnival was fun seeing all the artists live in concert--Diego Torres, Julieta Venegas, Alejandra Guzman. But as time went by with out the card coming, I became increasingly frustrated and felt as though the trip was dying. After four and a half weeks waiting, I put my foot down and I had a new one Fedexed for $25. It arrived March 21, and I began to get ready to leave, working on buying new glasses and digital camera. The original card arrived March 28, six weeks after it was sent. Yes, in retrospect, we should have had it Fedexed from the start, but the post office told my dad it would take five to seven days to arrive using First Class! How much more off could they have been? I have learned to not wait indefinitely, and to not use Mexican mail if I need speed.
Turns out, the hotel is very environmentally concerned, both with conserving water and electricity. I treat them now as a sponsor as they put me up for so long, as I waited for my card to come. I appreciate their friendship, hospitality and generosity. They tell me it is my house in Veracruz. Whenever I made a move to leave, they would always invite and urge me to stay longer. Thank you, Juan, Emilio Jr, Emilio Senior, Mrs. Velez, and all the waiters, hostesses, bellboys, cooks, roomcleaners and other staff at Hotel Imperial--a great stay in Veracruz I will never forget!