Broadband Wireless Seeps Into Vacation Getaways

As friendly naggers noted, I wasn't blogging for the past couple of weeks. I actually took a disconnected vacation, visiting lovely Isla Mujeres down in Mexico for a couple of weeks - most of which time was spent at a yoga retreat, allowing me to guzzle down guacamole and margaritas guilt-free while getting tan and bendy. I do have one work-oriented anecdote from the trip, however:

My hideaway hotel, Na Balam, intentionally lacks telephones and TVs under its thatched roofs, and my Sprint PCS cell phone turned into a brick once I crossed the border. Regardless, I needed to fulfill every lone traveler's duty: the "I'm not dead" arrival message for whoever's sitting back at home.

Option #1: Making a phone call. The pleasant woman in the hotel's outdoor 'lobby' gave me fuzzy walking directions to tiendas that were likely to have phone cards, and instructed me to ask the shopkeepers for directions to the nearest pay phone so that I could talk to an international operator. Note that according to my local guidebook, this was about the time that most stores close up on the island. Estimated time for completion: 30 minutes.

Option #2: Sending an email. The same pleasant woman gave me a password for free lobby wireless, I grabbed my MacBook Pro, and I sent mail while sitting in the sand. Actual time for completion: 3 minutes.

The worm has clearly turned on global communication. I'm incredibly satisfied that I managed to 'forget' about the wireless after that.