My son came to visit this week, which is a happy occasion because he lives on the West Coast and even though I saw him in June, when I went to visit him and his family, that is a long time for a Mama to wait to see her son.
My son is a husband, father to an almost 2 yr. old baby girl, and a successful chef, who likes, no LOVES to travel. Where he gets his fascination with travelling must be in his paternal genes. I don't travel well, myself. I can travel to familiar destinations, like my hometown, and where my son lives with no problems. But, I have a really hard time travelling outside the US. I've been to the Bahamas, Costa Rica and Panama, that's it. and if I don't get any air-conditioning within a 24 hour period, I get pretty cranky, and if there is no toilet paper, all hell breaks loose!
But my son, well, he travels the world! He's been to Japan, Indonesia, Machu Pichu, Honduras, Nicaragua and Mexico. Before he got married he went to the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas to be exact, on his own, no missionary, no Red Cross itinerary, and worked there, helping rebuild after a hurricane. He lived happily, in a tent. I only sleep in tents if they are air-conditioned!
In one building he was helping to renovate he came upon a place where bats had lived. When I say bats, I mean a whole bunch of 'em, because they left so much doo-doo behind that he was able to scoop up a baggie full of this excrement and mail it home to me. Bat guano, by the way is a very potent, organic fertilizer, and at the time I was growing mesclun greens, and selling them as 'Mrs. Lavender's' home grown salad greens. Isn't guano a prettier name than doo-doo?
Once, he brought home a wooden mortar and pestle, for me, which I have used many times. But I digress, he is a world traveler, and this time he purchased a Jet Blue pass and for $500US he was able to fly to the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Costa Rica, as well as Orlando and Boston, all within a month.
Like I said earlier, when he comes home to visit, especially from his travels, he always brings something. This time he brought some Mamajuana; please don't confuse this with marijuana. Mamajuana is a maceration of local Dominican herbs, rum, red wine and honey. It is said to be medicinal, and Wikipedia reports it is an aphrodisiac by those that imbibe it, mostly local Dominicans and it's drunk out of a shot glass. My husband, daughters and I were pleasantly surprised by the taste.
My son is the kind of guy that feels like a stranger is a friend he just hasn't met yet. And we were enthralled by his tales of travel throughout each country, looking for the perfect surf spot. What impressed me most though was how he started out his travels. He goes with a backpack, and one other bag, a knapsack, that he can sling over his shoulder. His backpack, when he left California was stuffed with baby toys that Anna had outgrown and old clothes of his.
While he was driving the back roads, the roads that regular tourists don't go on, he would stop and give the toys or clothes to people he met on his way.
Now that just makes me proud, and gives me a perspective of my son that maybe alot of mothers don't get, especially when our sons get older and move out on their own. We don't always get to peek behind the scene. But I did, and I just wanted to share that. Maybe it's true, "He that travels much knows much." Thomas Fuller
As for the Mama Juana, my name in Spanish is Juana! and it is also used by my husband, Michael, as one of his endearing greetings: "Hola, Juana, como esta?" Mama Juana says,"Muy bien, bonito, muy bien!"
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