After two weeks in the chilly, rainy UK, which has reminded beautifully of home in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, I’m headed to warmer climates for a while.  My first stop will actually be back in San Diego – my ticketing for this trip just turned out to be much cheaper to fly round trip from SD to the UK.  It’s not efficient in terms of flight times or my carbon footprint, but it does have some benefits.   First, I get to see family and friends one last time before I split for a long long time.  Second, I get to do some laundry.  Third, I get to re-pack my luggage – by doing things this way, I was able to bring warmer clothes to the UK, and I’ll be able to swap them out for lighter, cooler items for where I’m headed next.  Fourth, this two week stint of travel has been a nice little te st run for how to prepare for the rest of the trip – I know what I packed but didn’t need, what I need but didn’t pack, and I have a better feel for  how to pace my travel.

My next destination, as the post title indicates, is the Caribbean/Latin America.   My first stop is Puerto Rico.  I’m very interested in talking to people there and observing some things about USAmerican colonialsim.  They are in a unique condition of being  quasi-represented state of the U.S., but without full statehood.  They also occupy a unique place in terms of Latin American/Caribbean culture.  After that, I will be headed to the Dominican Republic, and then Costa Rica, with one other possible stop TBD.

So, one week from today, I’ll be in the warm sun, rather than the chilly rain.  I’m sure it’ll feel nice for a while, but I actually will miss the colder winter.  I’m not complaining . . . I just don’t want to leave anyone with the impression that I dislike the UK’s weather.