I chose a red-eye flight. It left PDX at 10pm and after a two hour layover in Atlanta and another flight, we arrived in Cancun at noon. When we checked in to our resort all stiff and sleepy, it felt like we had stepped into a quiet paradise. There was something missing. The cantinas were TV-less. How refreshing! After watching the devastating effects of the earthquake in Turkey, I had wondered, Should we cancel our trip? How would that help? The latin origin of vacation/vacate (vacare) is “freedom from”. A vacation is to go free of those heavy burdens while the mind rests. Not that I didn’t think about the difficult things we face, but it’s in the background while enjoying the beauty in the foreground. When was the last time you went on vacation? For me, it was before COVID.

I pulled my carry-on past the pool over-dressed in my shoes, pants, and jacket when everybody around me wore the bare minimum. Bright red Canadians soaked up sun like there might not be enough. (The sun may be the one thing we won’t run out of!)

Now we hurry in our swimsuits to find empty lounge chairs while a blender crushes ice at full speed for another Margarita and Bahama Mama. I order one because it’s fun to say. Quisiera una Bahama Mama por favor. A raucous game of waterpolo makes waves in the giant sapphire pool. We are greeted with smiles as our shiny brown neighbors raise their Coronas to us, pale-skinned new arrivals. A few days of listening to ocean waves pound the surf and a greater sense of compassion rises.

After the hair tucks under the hat and smears of sunscreen, I take in the view of our beach. Before my bare feet on warm, white sand is at least three shades of blue: Navy, Turquoise, Azure and Aquamarine. Perfection. Natural beauty that cannot be improved upon is a joy that refreshes the soul.

These hues of blue are worth the red-eye.

Counting Crows, Big Yellow Taxi

www.convoyofhope.org (Suggestion to help the earthquake survivors)

Paradise at the Playa

Happy Surprises

Open Spaces