Here's a travel tip you don't hear everyday. If you happen to see a rainbow on your journey, follow it. There's a good chance you'll end up in a good place. Skeptical? I would be, had I not had the following experiences recently.

On our trek from Toronto to Bacalar we were "guided" by no less than 3 rainbows! The first one was spotted on our trip through the Rockies, on beautiful Lake Louise, Alberta, where we had an amazing time. Ok, so it isn't that hard to believe we had a great time in one of Canada's most scenic spots, rainbow or not, but we took note, as well as this gorgeous photo.

The next rainbow came to us in Toluca, Mexico, which is near Mexico City. We had pulled into town and were looking for a place to stay during a major downpour. We didn't know where we were going, the sun was going down, we had already enquired at 2 overpriced hotels and we were beginning to lose hope of finding a place to stay in our budget. We pulled into yet another potentially expensive hotel, and as P was inside enquiring about a room, a beautiful rainbow appeared right next to us. We took it as a sign and decided to stay the night, for sure enough it turned out to be a great hotel at a reasonable rate and we got a really good night's sleep.

The third rainbow helped us near the end of our journey, by appearing at the precise moment we were trying to decide whether to keep driving towards Escarcega or to take a side-trip to Palenque, the fabled Mayan city in the Chiapas rainforest. We were keen to see Palenque, but also exhausted and eager to reach our final destination. While we were debating, a striking rainbow appeared low over the horizon, straight ahead of us, and as it turned out, just above the turn-off for Palenque. So the decision was made to take the detour, based on this fortuitous sign, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions we made the entire trip. We ended up spending 3 amazing days and two restful nights in the jungle, exploring ancient ruins, enjoying great live music nightly, not to mention great food, delicious coffee, all the while surrounded by the serenity of the Chiapas highlands. Had it not been for that rainbow we might have kept driving and missed out on a truly wonderful experience.

Now I'm not a religious person, and these rainbows would probably not be considered "signs" in the biblical sense, but for us they symbolised something special. There's no denying that rainbows are a spectacular phenomena, even if they are just the effect of light passing through billions of tiny drops of water. But for whatever reason, on this trip, they were also benevolent spirits in the sky, guiding us, encouraging us, and ultimately helping us feel like this world really is a special place where magical things really do happen. So pay attention next time you see a rainbow. It could be trying to tell you something.

So what prompted my wife and I to get rid of all our stuff, sell our condo, quit our jobs, and decide to leave our friends and family in Toronto anyway?

Of course we wanted to escape the cold Canadian winters. Yes, we wanted to learn Spanish. But more importantly, we wanted to have a healthier lifestyle.

Despite all of its conveniences and amenities, life in the big city wasn't giving us what we needed. We were working our asses off and still drowning in debt. We were under constant stress from job pressures and environmental stresses. Deadlines, smog, road-rage... We felt like every day that went by was taking a year off our lives. Our health was suffering.

We knew the grass was greener on the other side, we just had to come up with a plan to escape. One of the keys to pulling it off was our firm commitment to each other. We did it because we loved each other too much not to do it. And once we announced to everyone that we were going for it, we didn't look back.

We're still not sure where we're going and we don't know when we'll get there, because we haven't figured everything out yet. Hell, we're just winging it as we go. But the goal is clear and attainable, though it may seem kind of vague: we're looking for a better life.

The above photo was taken at Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, at the highest point in the Canadian prairies.

Where to begin... perhaps at the end is easiest. As you may or may not know, my wife and I are currently living in the tropical Mexican town of Bacalar, in a little casita overlooking the laguna of the same name, learning Spanish, working on various projects, and generally trying to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle. We just got here three weeks ago after a VERY long drive.

The journey to get here began in Toronto, Canada, a couple days after returning from our last visit to Mexico. We had already decided that we would move back down to Mexico as soon as possible, as we felt we needed more time to learn Spanish and we really enjoyed living in the town of Bacalar. We had also agreed that we didn't want to spend the next winter in Canada fighting colds and trying to stay warm. So back in June, while we were still in Mexico, we lined up a small rental house (casita) for the coming winter, and made a commitment to return in the fall. 

Back in Toronto, staying with our amazing friends B and M, we spent almost every single day in our storage locker, going through our personal belongings, determining what items we would need to bring with us to Mexico, what we could sell, what we would give away. Our original goal was to empty out our storage locker, but in the end we were content to go from a 10'x10' storage locker in downtown Toronto, down to a 5'x5' storage locker in Milton. Doing so saved us over $200/month, and forced us to decide what was important and worth keeping, and what would be better off if someone else was using it. So many tough decisions are made easier once you've decided that you don't NEED to keep something in order to be happy. We had also decided that we would like to try living out West, as we had an open invitation to stay with P's sister and family in Kelowna, so we had to figure out how to get some of our stuff from Toronto to Kelowna.

Thus the plan had evolved from "let's move down to Mexico for the winter" to "let's move across Canada, get set up in Kelowna, and THEN move down to Mexico for the winter". Because after all, the drive down the West Coast would be so much more interesting than driving straight South from Toronto... that was the thinking at the time anyway. And so, after spending a month and a half preparing for the trek, including purchasing our first vehicle together, a white '99 Toyota 4Runner SUV, we packed up the Buena Onda (every ship has to have a name, right?), bid our hosts a fond farewell, and headed off into the sunset. Actually we headed north and it was just before noon, but you get the picture.

So here's the 30-second version of our tale: we left Toronto on August 3rd, on a cross-continental trek that involved driving over 15,000 kilometers, crossing two international borders and 4 time zones, passing through 5 Canadian provinces, 4 US states, along with 17 Mexican states, took us from sea level to 8450 feet (2575 meters) in elevation, crossing several mountain chains (the Rockies, the Kootenays, and the Sierra Madres to name a few...), and we spent a total of seven weeks living on the road. We drove through forests, deserts, jungles and marshes, through cities, towns, and villages, over (and through!) rivers, streams and canyons, along lakes both Great and small, right by the ocean and down by the sea. We visited friends and family in Regina, Calgary, Vancouver, Lummi Island, and Oakland. We suffered one broken sway bar link (which we had repaired in Santa Cruz, just before heading down the twisty-turny, cliff-hugging Hwy 1), and got 2 chips in our windshield shortly after crossing the border into Mexico. We somehow "lost" at least one shopping bag of supplies after stocking up outside Palm Springs, and when we finally got to our destination in Bacalar, Mexico, we learned that most of the items we left here back in June had been stolen while we were gone. So we had some ups and downs along the way and by the end of the trip we were totally exhausted, but we were happy to finally reach Bacalar and begin settling into our new home on "the lake of seven colors". And here we are at last!

I'm thinking of posting more stories, photos, and musings of our adventure here in the coming weeks, broken down by region and/or topic. I am also considering writing some informative/how-to type articles, for the benefit of anyone else who may be thinking of doing something similar, or for anyone who's just curious about how we pulled this off. I would love to know what you're interested in, so please let me know in the comments. ¡Gracias!

Images in order: Celebrating dia de los muertos in Bacalar (photo by Patricia); our route, "the long way" (courtesy Google Maps).

In case you're wondering why I haven't posted anything lately, it's because I've been more of less off the grid in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico for the past month or so, learning Spanish and escaping the cold Canadian winter. Before arriving here I was super busy planning and packing and tieing up loose ends. In short, sold the condo, quit my job, and high-tailed it down to paradise. Life is good, and I am enjoying this opportunity to get closer to nature, and live a simpler life. I am currently living on the island of Cozumel, taking Spanish classes with my wife. When we're not studying we are hanging out on beautiful beaches and snorkeling. "¡Qué vida!" as they say. If you're interested in keeping track of my travels, please follow me on Twitter. Postings here will continue to be sporadic, especially once we make our next move to the jungle, on Laguna Bacalar, where we will be completely off the grid, living without electricity. Hopefully all those years of watching Gilligan's Island and Swiss Family Robinson will pay off. :)

It's now been just over 2 months since Hurricane Dean ripped through the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, wiping out the picturesque sea-side fishing town of Mahahual where P and I have spent our vacation the last two years in a row. Information on the status of the town and the people is hard to come by, given that there is no real media coverage down there. Fortunately there are some folks who have set up blogs and uploaded photos to the web...