The new random vacation has been selected!! You are all invited if you want to come. And feel free to pass this along to any friends of yours you think might be interested as well. More info below!

As usual, a budget was determined for the round trip airfare ($726.92 this time) and then random spots were selected until a spot on land came up that was within the budget and not on the current state department warning list. After 9 spots in oceans and spots in Australia and Russia that were over budget, the random spot came up fairly promptly…

Drum-roll please…

The spot is in Mexico!  In the Yucatan! State of Quintana Roo. A few miles outside of the town of Chacchoben.

It is about 100 miles south of Cozumel, or 150 miles south of Cancun. So those might possibly be part of any trip there, they are major tourist destinations after all, but the spot itself is further south, near Chetumal, only about 50 miles from the border with Belize.

The spot itself is only a mile or so off of Route 307.  So even if one could get no closer, we could definately get to within a couple of miles.  And less than 15 miles  he closest major town appears to be one named Chacchoben. 

After some Googling….  

The town of Chacchoben features some Mayan ruins, which are open to tourism and for which one can get guided tours from several places. It is not far from the Atlantic coast, where there are a number of resorts and other good places to stay. Within easy driving distance (or via various tour companies) are many more Mayan ruins, beaches, lakes, kayaking, diving, nature reserves, resorts, etc.

From what I’ve read, although you can fly into the town of Chetumal which has the closest major airport, the better (and cheaper) thing to do is to fly into Cancun, then drive the 5 hours or so down to the area where the random spot is (and the resorts near it are), stopping at many of the interesting places along the way. As well as perhaps spending a little time in Cancun while there.

This is actually looking very interesting. I’ve posted more detailed information, as well as some maps, pictures and links to sites with more information at:

2004 Q3 Random Vacation – Selection

Check it out.

This time around, in addition to the fact that I am just starting a new job at the end of March, by the time I get to this vaction, I will be living with my girlfriend Brandy and her 8 year old daughter Amy near Melbourne Florida.  Amy’s school will make scheduling a little more difficult, but should still be possible.  Because of the additional constraints, we may or may not be able to do a full week, but we’ll work the schedule as best as possible.  Brandy and Amy’s logistics, as well as my own, will have a very strong influence on the details of the trip.

This is to be a 3rd quarter vacation, so that means July, August or September.  Given school and all, July seems very likely over August and September.  Although, I probably would have JUST gotten fully moved to Melbourne, so it may be better to do it later.  Hard to tell right now.  That is one reason why decisions on much of that scheduling and exact plans, etc, will be defered for at least a couple of months.  By June I should have a much better idea of what is possible and what is not.

As usual, if anybody other than Brandy and Amy is also interested in coming with me, please let me know right away, and you can be part of the planning process in terms of figuring out possible dates, where to stay, what things to maybe do, etc.  This one looks like it should be a lot of fun.  And the more the merrier!  And, um, cough, any of you NATIVE SPANISH SPEAKERS, cough, you know who you are…  you would be especially welcome on this trip, and your presence would be much appreciated!!!  :-)  Anyway, Spanish speakers or not, if anybody reading this has any interest in this trip whatsoever, email me, and we’ll work it out.  This should be a blast!