Headed South to Stare at the Future

On the first of January, I'll be getting on a place for Cartagena, Colombia, by way of Phoenix and Fort Lauderdale. After a few days there I'll be going to Medellin for a couple of weeks before retracing my steps. This trip has three objectives. The first one is that I'll meet up with J. Lee Porter for our first face-to-face meeting. He and I are working on an exciting project--a series of novels about the way Cryptocurrency is changing the world, focusing on the ways people, governments, and institutions (regulators, banks, law enforcement agencies...) respond to its benefits and threats. It's also about how people who are unwilling to relinquish their freedoms fight back.

It's been going along well, but it's going to be great to sit down and talk over some facets. The world is changing faster than we could imagine and much of what we thought would come to pass soon is happening already.

We've got a great team helping us with the books... a pro cover designer (Elizabeth Mackey) and interior designer (Domini Dragoone) will make the books even better. Elizabeth has already done the ebook cover for the first book: CRYPTO SHRUGGED which will be ready for preorder in Q1 of next year (toward the end, don't get too impatient). When we get closer, I'll post the cover so you can get as excited as we are.

We will also be researching Colombia as the locale for one of the upcoming books. The feel of a place, the way it strikes you, is more important than facts about it. What it smells and sounds like stay with you. We want to capture some of that.

The third reason for looking forward to this trip is simply that I've never been to Colombia. I've been in Venezuela and Ecuador and now I'm looking forward to Colombia.

I'll post some photos from the trip and keep you advised of our progress. As I said, this is an exciting project.

Getting Ready to Go

So I'll be heading to Ecuador at the end of January, making a three week run to check out a new place. My brother Dan is going for the first part of the trip--he has the idea that Ecuador might be a good place to retire in a couple of years. So he's doing the right thing by getting his butt down there to see if it's anything like he thinks it is. (If it isn't, no harm done.)

You never really know about a place until you have boots on the ground. No amount of research will substitute for being there, getting the feel of a place, smelling the air. No travel guide can do it for you. What you want and need at that precise time in your life is unique. Only you can know if you are going meld with a place. Even a trip or two gives a superficial sense of place. That's why wise folks like Andy Graham over on hobo traveler recommend that you do not even consider buying a place until you've lived in the new place at least a year, preferably more. The way things work in your new home will not be like it was at home, not matter where home was. Even the meaning of property rights is different where there are no (or limited) zoning or noise ordinances. In some places they liked to party--loud. Even in pretty, idyllic locales that in your (or my) opinion should be tranquil and relaxed.

Another problem with research is that it can make you overthink a place. For instance, much of the time the US State Department is trigger happy in issuing travel warnings. If you are traveling to the major cities wearing suits and staying in five star hotels they can apply when hanging around with locals at a guest hour is perfectly safe. All places have safe and unsafe areas and times, and trying to guess what those are from a thousand miles or more away is a sucker's game.

Besides, information changes rapidly. When we went to Koh Kong Cambodia, at least half the places in The Lonely Planet Guide (which is a good guide) were out of date. The turnover is high there and many businesses were gone or had changed completely. The guide was still useful, but getting your expectations set too firmly wasn't going to make for a happy trip.

At any rate, I love exploring, and Dan and I will be ranging from Quito to the coast to see what there is to see,

And in the meantime, I have a novel that takes place in Cambodia in the works. I'm intending to get it out next year... I need a fantastic cover for this one.