Home

It is great to return home, but I seem to always experience a bit of sadness at the conclusion of every trip. It was much, much worse in the old days - returning to normal, organized life from tropical, adventurous locales. Now we get to go the other direction, but the feeling remains none-the-less. I have found the quickest cure to this malaise is a trip to the mercado. No more neat, tidy displays in air-conditioned supermarkets, but rather the joy of discovering fresh fruit available on a truck parked in the shade at the side of the road. You just know these pineapples and papayas were growing on trees yesterday before this farmer transported them to town today. All of a sudden I am smiling at those hot, happy faces around me and I know I am truly glad to be home.