Independent Travellers Like Choices and Control - check out our GO TO TOUR COMPANY for day trips!

  
our GO TO TOUR COMPANY for day trips!

A common response to "I've been all over the world," is "Oh! What's your favorite European country?" I found this question quite strange: Ummmm I said the WORLD - think Exotic!
People found my answer strange: Ummmm, I've never been to Europe.

So as of last year, I have now been to Europe AND have done my first ever tour vacation. (As I write that, I thought I'd better check my memory. Wrong, my second.)

I chose to do a 6 day tour of Ireland  through Paddywagon and 2 day trip tours in England for two reasons. 1) SHORT time frame, much of which was taken up just getting there and home. 2) I have driven cars "all over the world" and in CRAZY situations - but never on the 'wrong' (Left) side of the street.

Search for a Paddywagon tour here.

The first multi-day tour that I originally forgot about, was a Yucatan Mexico tour of Mayan ruins. I chose that for safety reasons of driving in remote areas of the Yucatan as a woman and after a tri to Mexico previously in which it was hard to rent a car with automatic transmission. When I FINALLY got one by saying I couldn't drive a manual car, it died in the middle of nowhere and no one had cables to jump the car, though everyone offered to push start it...

Ultimately though, I like the control of time flexibility and being able to visit the less popular locations, hard to reach spots, or popular places at different times, and avoiding the large buses (and, if you know me I HATE long bathroom lines!).

Therefore I tend to choose booking hotel and air, sometimes a rental car, and doing my own thing. Then here and there getting a great day tour option. Hop on Hop off tours are AWESOME for the combined flexibility and assistance. And they often offer "SKIP THE LINE" passes, a perk that is a  MUST! Otherwise you may end up seeing 1 or 2 things on your bucket list, and a whole lot of tourists standing around complaining...

How I WISH I'd done that in London. So much wasted time and late arrivals from walking and figuring out bus schedules. :( 

One day or short multi-day tours simplify your life in unknown countries even when you want to do much of your vacation your own way.

Get Your Guide is a GREAT option in these situations because there is great variety, smaller group options, a variety of prices for the same trips (my thoughts) and they actually promise:

• Thousands of unmissable activities for all ages and interests
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• Stay flexible with easy cancellation up to 24 hours before
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• Friendly and knowledgeable customer services, available 24/7 in your language

  

So whether I want to visit a Lava Cave in Iceland

  or do a two volcano hike in Costa Rica

 

GET YOUR GUIDE has us covered!

Be blessed My Purposeful People! Heather
Wearable Art - Heather J Kirk's VIDA Collection: http://shopvida.com/collections/heather-j-kirk 
and https://artofwhere.com/artists/heatherjkirk 
Art by Heather J. Kirk http://heather-kirk.pixels.com 
and http://AEC.pixels.com
Literature by Heather J. Kirk http://www.photographicartistry.citymax.com/Books.html 

Some links in my blog are Affiliate, some are not. but I will only suggest products and services I like!

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Queretaro, Mexico - April 23, 2012, Part 2 - alone in the evening

April 23, 2009 – the evening in Queretaro, Mexico

I loved sitting on the roof garden - watering the plants there, or viewing the city and the sunset.

That night Nancy encourages me to go into town alone. She says that, like her, I have had a lot of travel experience. She knows I won’t be afraid to go out alone, and because my Spanish is so good (something I am quickly doubting) she is sure I will get along just fine.

I now realize why my Dominican story starts here…Nancy told me I could do it, had confidence in me being able to travel safely and confidently in a Spanish speaking country, long before I knew I would even go to the DR, especially alone.

I attend a poetry reading at the Galeria Libertad, and new art gallery – mid conversion, with an upstairs room for events. The reading is packed, and though they run out of folding chairs and many are standing in the back, a man gives up his seat for me – right in the middle of a row.

Poet Antonio Deltoro reads from his book “El Quieto” for a short time, and then a university professor and two students read really long academic papers evaluating him. If I understood a small portion of the poetry (at least the genre leaves room for personal interpretation) I am completely lost during the horrendous academic readings – I sit for an hour and a half trapped. My Spanish education, starting in 7th grade going through four years of college plus working as a bilingual counselor in schools for 8 years having ZERO value – with this master’s level literary criticism Spanish coming toward me at break neck speed.

Afterward, I peruse restaurants around Plaza de las Armas. At Ristorante 1810 two men look over my shoulder at the menu, so I walk away to let them see better. At the exact same time the waitress asks “Mesa por 3?” One man asks, “Aren’t you going to eat, did we cut in front of you?” I say, “I thought you’d prefer a table for two”. Misinterpreting what I am saying, the two attractive men look at each other, then suddenly step away from each other, insisting they are just friends. I laugh as they tell the waitress, ‘Yes, a table for three, please.’ So I eat with them.

Because my mind is mush after the poetry reading, it is a good thing that when my Spanish falters, they understand English perfectly. Yet they refuse to translate one item on the menu – Escamoles. And although they do say in Spanish exactly what it is “huevos de hormigas” I can’t remember what hormigas are. They say it is the Mexican version of caviar. I explain I don’t eat fish or fish eggs. They laugh and say, “Let us order.” They order everything – every appetizer, a plate of this, a few of those. Most things I enjoy greatly, but after a bite of their ‘caviar,’ which is not horrible, but certainly not good, I suddenly remember hormigas are ants!

I can tell by the look of the Chinicuiles that I don’t even want to know what they are. But I bet you do!
Blogger: Heather J. Kirk

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April 22 -23 (Part 1), 2009: First days in Queretaro, Mexico - Taxis can't find us

April 22, 2009. Arrive in the Queretaro Airport at 8:08 pm, and take a taxi to La Loma Dorada (the Golden Knoll / Hill). At first I thought the name was because the area high above town was fairly wealthy, but it turns out that during part of the year the hillside is covered with yellow flowers that turn it ‘golden”. A much more poetic reason. (Though not in bloom in my picture - so clearly not in April.) A 40 minute taxi ride costs me about $15.

April 23, 2009. The house is old Spanish style architecture, with a courtyard and fountain in the center, and many doors leading to the two bedrooms, the kitchen, the living room and an office. There are gardens around the outside of the house, yet inside a locked perimeter wall. Several male renters live in apartments below. Every morning we have fresh squeezed orange juice that is out of this world. A maid comes every few days to clean, do laundry and perhaps make a simple meal. I try to help with the animals every morning and night, but although the birds are exotic and beautiful, they make lots of noise and peck when you feed them or clean the cage, so I let Nancy handle that. When their cages are covered at night they calm down, thank goodness! The dogs are fierce and wild, but I prefer them because of the security they provide. Periodically they escape, but only once did we have to chase them down, as they know where the food comes from and they return on their own.

Nancy always lets me call for the taxi. The first time I didn’t mind, but became more nervous with every call. In spite of them getting used to my voice and saying they knew where to send the taxi, it always came to a different spot. We eventually started standing in the middle of the main road up the hill. Though I will leave out the house number, here is what I had to say. “La Loma Dorada, Retorno Loma de Queretaro Numero X, espero en la Esquina con Paseo Loma de Queretaro.” Yes, I say I’ll be waiting at the corner of two different streets with similar names. If that didn’t work I gave them a completely different house number and street address – which sometimes helped, sometimes didn’t. The first day we go into town and walked around the square – full of restaurants with outside tables, churches, museums, art galleries. Amazing architecture, parks, fountains, families playing, couples strolling, all the park benches full of people watching or talking or reading. I am immediately enamored.

Heather J. Kirk

Invitation to Queretaro

April 2009

Perhaps a visit to Queretaro, Mexico, in April of 2009 is a strange place to officially start “Calendar Memoirs,” a blog about my 8 months in the Dominican Republic in 2010. But I have put off starting for so long, perhaps I had to reach back to the true beginnings.

Cousin Nancy (my father’s cousin) was special to me for many reasons, but one was that, other than my brothers, I considered her the last living relative of my deceased father. They were very close as children on into adulthood. Nancy and I had many shared interests, and I hope calling myself an intellectual like her is not too presupposing. We both love art, learning, museums, and history within the cultural context.

Nancy and her second husband Hank lived in various countries teaching English as a Second Language, and as an older adult Nancy started taking Spanish classes. Nancy decided to house-sit for a month in Queretaro, Mexico, and asked me to join her for the week following Hank’s return to their home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I think there was something comforting in having me with her, as one of my degrees is in Spanish.

Heather J. Kirk

Calendar Memoirs - The Blog I Won't Regret

January 21, 2012: I "read" a new book every few days – the quotations around the word 'read' are because I actually listen to downloaded audiobooks while I check my e-mail, surf the web, work on photos. It helps pass the time and keep me going when I would otherwise get bored, tired (unfortunately too often) or want to quit.

(Yes, that's a picture of a digital bookworm - I sure wish it was cuter.) If you live in the Phoenix area and have a library card from your own city, you can check out digital audio books and download the WMA software here. If you live elsewhere, find out if your city has a Digital Library by googling.

The power of story is my motivator. How fitting then that a few lines from last night’s book are what make me start writing Calendar Memoirs – the blog I’ve been putting off for 6 months, maybe more.

Ask For It: How Women's can Use the Power of Negotiation by Linda Babcock, WMA Audio Book (Or buy Ask for It in paperback - Their first paperback book that led to this one is Women Don’t Ask)

Part Two, Phase 1, Chapter 2 (00:00): “What will you regret? Researchers have found that people experience two different kinds of regret. Regret about things they've done and regret about the things they didn't do. … When asked to identify the biggest regret in their life, people are 2 to 3 more times likely to describe something they didn't do instead of something they did.

So try approaching the question of what will make you happy from a different angle altogether. What will you regret not doing? … Is there's something you always planned to do but never got around to? How sorry will you feel if you never make it happen?“

This quote summarizes the number one reason why I am thankful that I stopped everything and moved to the Dominican Republic on January 19th of 2010. I felt so strongly that I was supposed to go, and even though I can’t tell you exactly what I was supposed to do there, or what I accomplished, I can tell you I will never have to wonder “What if…?”

I also know that many of my life lessons from that time have come months or even a year later. And like many of you, I learn a lot about myself by writing. I created a list called “What I learned about life while in the Dominican Republic” that I’ll share with you in this blog – perhaps a little at time. Those who have seen it feel what I learned has opened their own eyes about their own lives, wherever they are – because oddly, the lessons have nothing to do with the location.

Share with me as I flit from year to year and place to place in Calendar Memoirs. Insight and philosophy based on day to day habits and adventures - what I see and what I learn, hopefully helping you to see your own lives and relationships in new and amazing ways, and of course what I’ve done (a bit of a travel guide – in Dominican Republic, Mexico, Arizona, Chicago, California, even your own town). We’ll take walks, go to art galleries, the theater, see movies, read books, take nature hikes and take photos, visit friends and family and eavesdrop on my life.

Heather J. Kirk, Photographer, Author, Graphic Designer."We..." an e-book at: photographicartistry.citymax.com/Books Find her art at: Artist Websites and HeatherJKirk.com

Thanks for your prayers for my new apartment

I thank you, my friends and prayer warriors/protectors, prayers have been answered.

I had a big, long list of things that would be included in my "perfect apartment." Of course that list looked more and more like a Penthouse everyday, and I was frustrating real estate agents with my "list" and my "price requirement." Though I found (and ultimately decided against) a beautiful, new, small apartment with many of those "requirements" at a modest price, it was not a modest price I was looking for. Plus gas, plus internet. Also, since I could not find anyone who actually paid for their electricity, the potential for a huge wildcard electricity bill was looming in my future. Everyone said, "As long as you don't use the air-conditioning." Of course, since there was an air conditioner, I would have used it.

I was looking for, well, cheap! Yet still being a picky American, there were things that were simply unacceptable. I walked for days, following up leads and taking down phone numbers from rental signs. Two different people made numerous phone calls for me because, as we have learned in an early lesson, Dominicans get different prices and different terms than foreigners. Foreigners pay one or two months as a deposit, another month rent as a commission to the agent, and then may also have to pay a month in advance. The place I ultimately decided against wanted another $100 for the lawyer's fee. (A lawyer is always involved, I was told.)

So, when I found a new friend who previously had worked in "Bienes Raices" - or Real Estate rentals and purchases, I received very different terms. But think part of that is because it is a very different place. The owners live on the top floor (the Penthouse), much of which is an open terrace with most rooms opening directly to this terrace - plenty of breeze passing through. I paid one month in advance, negotiated (or my friend negotiated for me) less than a month's commission, and a $100 deposit. Now lawyer’s fee. No contract. No minimum months required. I think this is very rare. I think it is perhaps miraculous.

The room is a studio, yet larger than other studios I saw. It also has a half wall separating the bedroom from the seating and kitchen area. This is a fantastic addition to the studio concept! Guests don't look at my bed. I have a separation between where I sleep and where I work. I have room to walk around (a little). Internet (cable) added for $20. Women, you will notice the closet!! The bathroom is small, but I saw worse - MUCH worse. It has a ceiling fan. Electricity is included - therefore no surprises at the end of the month.

I was told by one person that Dominicans don't have fans in their homes, and I am prone to believe it. Since electricity is rare in many areas, it wouldn't work anyway. And they all love to take a chair out to the street and sit in front to talk, drink or to play dominoes!

What does it not include?

No air-conditioning (and yes, it's awfully hot here.)

No balcony - something I long for desperately. There is one in the owner's building on the second floor, and after asking five times to use it, they finally said I could call up and ask to be let in periodically. But they won't give me a key. A bit uncomfortable. Then one of the chairs was stolen and I am afraid they have become even more insecure about an unknown person having access to thier home.

No hot water - anywhere - even homes, apartments and many hotels that have hot showers don't have hot water in the sinks (not even the kitchen). I felt the lack of hot water in the shower was not a deal breaker. Not because I don't "need" a hot shower, but because I knew a shower head with a heater could be attached to the spout in place of the regular shower head. It costs about thirty dollars at the local hardware store (local meaning on el Conde street where foreigners shop!) It must be battery operated, and my mom and I had one in our aparta-hotel. It created warm water at a low pressure. So I signed rented confidently. Then I tried to buy one on a Saturday night (closed) and a Sunday (when EVERYTHING is closed), and have now learned how to put my hands in the shower first, then slowly my arms, then my face, then my hair. In a short time, I'm in completely and not even shivering.

No guarantee that I won't be killing bugs every day for the rest of my stay, mosquitos included.

And so, I have a new home! Use the Converter Tool on the right side to find out how much I pay per month for rent, internet, electricity, water and gas. Make sure you use the Dominican R. (DOP)(not the Mexican Peso) and US Dollar. I pay RD$ 10,700.

Praises be to God for answered prayers. May God hear all of your prayers and bless you fully! Heather

Heather J. Kirk, Photographer, Author, Graphic Designer"We...a spirit seeking harmony for a world that's out of sync" - purchase an e-book at: photographicartistry.citymax.com/BooksFind her art at: Fine Art Americaand HeatherJKirk.com