Vexed in Valparaiso, Chile

Belize (continued)

After working all day on Saturday I decided to spend my last day in Belize on Caye Caulker, which is one of the small islands that line the barrier reef that is one of the great attractions of this part of the Caribbean. I took two small planes and then a golf cart taxi to the SeaBreeze guesthouse at the end of the sandy main road that runs through the township. It wasn't cheap, but it was sort of funky in a backpacker way; I could handle that. But I couldn't get the promised reliable internet access, and then there was no water. I decided to pull the plug and go straight to Belize City ready for my flight to Chile on Monday. I checked out of the hotel I'd just checked into and took a water taxi to the mainland, where a major chain hotel was the only viable option. I couldn't get reliable internet access there, either, so I was already in a bad mood when I discovered my room was double the rate they had quoted over the phone. If I feel I've been mucked about and ripped off, I can turn into The Guest From Hell, which is what happened at The Radisson Belize City. I'm sure Belize, and especially the islands, can be appealing, but apart from offering the chance to catch up with an old friend the place didn't do much for me.

Valparaiso, Chile

I flew into Santiago on Tuesday morning after making my connection back in Miami. (Be warned: Getting a connecting international flight after flying into Miami from outside the US is not to be confused with being "in transit".) I'd arranged a car and driver to meet me in Santiago and bring me to Valparaiso, where I had booked a long stay at Hotel da Vinci in the expectation that I'd love Valpo and would be comfortable here while I focused on a heavy workload over the next month or two or three.

Within a few hours, while I was walking around getting my bearings, I was robbed in a nearby street by three young men who suddenly surrounded me. Before I could fully grasp what was happening, one of them grabbed my shoulder bag and yanked it hard, breaking the strap. I screamed and shouted to people further up the street to grab them as they ran past, but they got away and disappeared around a corner. The bag contained a credit card, debit card, cash, my iPhone, camera, keys and a security device for my Hong Kong bank account. I was shaking in shock.

When I got back to my hotel, Enrico the owner was dealing with some new guests one of whom had also been robbed. Enrico, the other staff here (Natalie, Daniel, Luis) and this bunch of nine women from the US were a wonderful support for me. Marsha, Tracy, Barbara (whose stolen bag also contained her passport), Betsy, Edwinna, Dee, Kris, Linda and another Barbara asked me to join them for dinner at a nearby restaurant after I'd given a statement to the police, who came to the hotel. Marsha lives in Northern Chile, and Tracy (a novelist) lives in Peru. The others mainly live in New Mexico and Arizona. They are connected by various networks and were just finishing a trip together through Chile guided by Betsy.

Yesterday morning, Enrico took me to the police station to put my statement in writing. He knows just how it feels: he was robbed just after he arrived in Chile from Italy a few years ago.

The experience has spoiled Valpo for me, and I'm yet to decide where I'll go after I replace my cards. My first choice would be to return to New York, but I need answers to questions about my visa status before I can decide to go that route.

The Mosquito Coast: Belize

I'm spending five days in Central America as a bit of a breather between New York and my next long-stay destination, Chile.

I flew in on Wednesday. Each of the four planes I took from La Guardia in Queens, NY to Corozal in Belize via Miami and Belize City got progressively smaller, until the last one, from San Pedro in the island chain offshore from the mainland, had room for just me, the pilot and a couple from Tombstone, Arizona. We are on the Caribbean coast, so it all looks very tropical. Belize is a developing country, so it's also very ramshackle.

My main reason for choosing this particular place for a break was to see an old friend from my years in Hong Kong. Sue F and I last caught up in 1996, during a quick visit I made to HK that year. She retired to Portugal and then to Belize, and is now moving on to Guatemala. We had dinner here at my resort hotel, The Almond Tree, the night I arrived. On Thursday I did some work, then met Sue, her daughter Kim and K's partner Mark, for lunch at Blue's, a lovely place a short walk north along the bay.

Yesterday we drove to Orange Walk Town, from where we travelled upriver by small boat for about 90 minutes to the site of some ancient Mayan ruins at Lamanai. Saw some stunning birds, a couple of crocs, and some spider monkeys along the river. Back to Corozal for a swim in the hotel pool and an early dinner and chat with some other guests (Patty and Michael from Washington State, and Deb and Irv from Minnesota).

I've been working all day today, catching up on some bitty jobs and clearing up loose ends before I leave on Monday for Chile.

A marathon last week in New York

My New York sojourn ended on a high note with marathon week. Frannie from Albury flew in a few days beforehand to stay with me and take part. She gained entry through the lottery. I gained entry to next year's marathon by running races :-) The unseasonal snowstorm a couple of weeks ago saw my second-to-last race cancelled, but my last one went ahead on a cold but beautiful Saturday a week ago. I was third in my age group in the 5K that went from the United Nations Building to the marathon finish line in Central Park, and Frannie was fourth just behind me!

Marathon day was stunningly beautiful. I went over to Staten Island with Fran to see her on her way to the start, then came back to Manhattan. I watched bits of the race with Joanne on 1st Avenue, where I saw Marie, Steve and Maria. Caught Maria again on 5th Avenue. I didn't see Fran at all, who finished about 15 minutes faster than she'd expected. Both she and Maria had a bad time with cramps, but they still did really well and really earned their medals.

Frannie flew out to see her daughter in the Mid-West on Monday and I packed up my New York life before flying south on Wednesday.

On other notes: During my final week I saw three one-act plays (including one by Woody Allen) on Broadway, and saw a few films as part of the NYC Documentary Film Festival: one about Charlotte Rampling, who did a Q&A afterwards; a fascinating account of the life and work of Charles and Ray Eames, which I saw with Maria; and 'Girl With Black Balloons' (about a long-term resident artist of the Chelsea Hotel). I visited the 9/11 Memorial and saw the water features that occupy the footprints of the original South and North Towers. I had four morning runs with the usual suspects, whom I'll miss incredibly over the next six months. And I joined in the NYC Marathon opening ceremony and Parade of Nations with Fran.

On my last morning I had coffee with architect Kate, with whom I have so many things in common it's uncanny. I also spent time the last week getting to know John Boy and Anne from 96th Street a little better. I'll really miss them.

Au revoir, New York!

Snow Falling on 97th Street

Engineers' Gate, 90th Street and 5th Avenue, New York: The start of most of my morning runs

I arrived back in New York about ten weeks ago, in summer, and today it's snowing! I can hardly believe what I'm seeing, but I know it's cold enough. At 8 am I ran the last 10 miles (16 km) of the New York marathon course with a bunch of friends and it was damned cold by the time we'd finished and I was walking home. It's now settling on the trees and ground as snow. Gorgeous.

Too much has happened since my last post on 4 October to catch up now. I feel so at home here and I go about my day like any other New Yorker, so it doesn't really feel like I need to keep a travel blog. That will change soon when I fly south for the winter.

My family had a scare mid-month when Mum, in Australia, had serious heart issues and had to have a pacemaker installed. Once the procedure was done she was out of any danger, which was a great relief for us all. I've changed my plans so that I can go back in late February for a week.

Some highlights from the past month: Staten Island half marathon (my best half mara time since 2009 and a third place in my age group); New York Film Festival, including "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia" and "The Ballad of Mott the Hoople" (which I saw with Albury pal Mary-Jane); my own mini film festival: "Bombay Beach", "To Be Heard", "Texas Killing Fields", "The Way"; catchup birthday meals and a run in Toronto with Hong Kong pals Sarah and William, and Frances; Niagara Falls marathon: a personal best time of 4:13:00 and a fifth place in my age group on a beautiful day; catchup with my "B" mate Di (Bali, Berlin, Broadway/Brighton Beach); and pre-dawn runs in Central Park three mornings a week with some or all of Maria, Sung, Sarah, Lissy, Heather, Joe, Marie, Steve, John....

I'm really going to miss friends from 96th Street: Chloe, John Boy and the rest of the crew.

Hallelujah!

Morningside Park, New York City

I'm counting all my blessings and feeling very grateful for my good health and the special people in my life.

I've run three races since my last update: the Fifth Avenue Mile, an 18-miler (30K) and a half marathon (13 miles/21.1K). My best effort was the mile, which was 5 seconds faster than last year and was of "national class" for my age, according to the New York Road Runners' calculations. I also took 8 minutes off last year's time for the 18-miler, and gained 5th place in my AG in both races. Had brunch after the mile with my Dead Runner mate Josh, last seen in Maine last year. This weekend's half marathon was a 6th place (out of 57). I followed that with a scenic 10-mile run with Maria yesterday in Central Park, up to Morningside Heights and down the Hudson before returning through the park.

Made a return visit yesterday to Shiloh Baptist Church in Harlem with some visitors from Oz, including Liz, an in-house editor for one of my main clients. The pastor used a very detailed baseball analogy (it now being the season playoffs), which was pretty funny. He was swinging a baseball bat and the congregation was getting very worked up. I'd been to a baseball game on Tuesday night with this bunch (and runner pals Heather, Joe, Joe's brother David, Lauren, Steve and Tim) – New York Mets vs Cincinnati Reds – in Flushing, Queens. It was a lot of fun doing The Wave and being pumped up by the music.

I've signed on for next year's Green Mountain Relay (I did this 200-mile event in Vermont in 2009) after being talked into it by team leader Tavia at lunch recently. I also caught up this past week with another former GMR teammate, Tamar (for brunch and later a movie). Our team in 2009 was called "New York Running Chicks and a Few Dudes".

I've been up very early most mornings for regular training runs in the park with some or all of the 5.30 a.m. crew: Maria, Sung, Lizzy, Sarah, Sun, Steve, John, Heather and Joe. Caught up with Joanne for a lunchtime run when she came into town last week from Pelham, and with Marie, just back from a cycling holiday in Sardinia. Had a massage appointment with Marie on Friday.

I saw the play "War Horse" on the recommendation of one of my authors. Fantastic life-size puppet horses. Some 8 million horses died during the First World War. The play includes scenes of trench warfare, and of horses being caught up in the barbed wire. Very harrowing.

Visited the New York Art Fair the week before last and was relieved not to feel compelled to buy something! I've also been continuing my movie streak with the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center: On Saturday I saw "The Separation" (Iran) and "The Loneliest Planet" (USA/Germany). Both were excellent. Tamar and I saw the German film "3" on Friday down in the East Village. Albury artist pal Mary-Jane is visiting New York for a few weeks and we saw "The Help" after our walk in the park got rained out last week.

I'm feeling very tired tonight and will soon be in bed with a book. It's cold and damp outside, and I don't need to be anywhere but here. Hallelujah!

Walking on the mild side

The Palisades

I've spent a bit of time recently with new pal Louise, a writer and traveller whom I met through writer/playwright Julia. Amazingly, we have a mutual friend in Ubud, Bali, the writer Cat Wheeler. It's a very small world indeed. Lou has now moved on to the UK, so I wonder where we'll meet up again... Julia is also in the UK, packing up her life there in preparation for returning to NYC at the end of the month.

My training is going very well. I was put to the test this past weekend with my first races since the half marathon I ran in Thailand way back in February. In the Fitness Mind, Body and Spirit 4-mile race in Central Park I dug deep to maintain an average pace of 8:02-minute miles. This was an improvement on last year of a minute overall and two places. (I placed 4th out of 58 in my age group.) On Sunday I went to Yonkers (further up the Hudson River) and ran the 86th Yonkers Half Marathon with NY pals Joanne and Heather. Joanne has just moved out of the city to Pelham, so it was a good opportunity to see her. We three started together. After about mile 6 I took it up a notch and managed to come in at 1:59:45, which gave me a 1st place in my age group (out of 6). In places there were great views across to The Palisades, which line the western shore of the Hudson River for some distance north of the George Washington Bridge.

As there is no rest for the wicked, I joined Maria and Sung for a 4-miler yesterday morning and a 6-miler today (also with Tuesday regulars Sarah, Lissy, John and Sun). (Sung answered an ad I placed on the New York Road Runners website and has joined the 5.30 am group.) I'll resume my weekly massages with Marie when she returns from cycling in Sardinia.

There are two more events coming up this weekend: a 1-mile sprint down 5th Avenue on Saturday and an 18-mile marathon tune-up on Sunday. They will give me five of my required nine races for guaranteed entry to next year's New York Marathon.

My movie marathon is also continuing: "Love Crime" (French, with Kristin Scott Thomas), "Chasing Madoff" (about Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme and the attempts by four whistleblowers to get the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate him), "The Future" (written and directed by, and featuring, the artist Miranda July), "Hedgehog" (a really enjoyable French film, which I saw with Chloe), and "We Were Here" (documentary about the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco).

I've also seen some 9/11-related exhibitions at the International Center of Photography, the New York Historical Society, and the Time Warner Center lobby (portraits taken in the weeks and months after 9/11 using the huge Polaroid camera that was used in Albury by Anne Zahalka and Petrina Hicks to photograph the Fruit Fly Circus kids in 2006).

I've met up with my friend CY, who is looking gorgeous and doing very well after a really difficult 18 months.

I'm now one month into my 10-week stay. It feels longer than that, as I've met so many people; but I know the remaining time will pass far too quickly.

Right on schedule, the weather changed a week after Labor Day. It's officially autumn this week and it's turned cool. A beautiful time of year to be in New York!

One step at a time

There is nowhere in the world I feel quite so much at home as in New York City.

I've settled into my training for the Niagara Falls Marathon and have been really lucky to be able to pick up where I left off with some runner friends I made in past visits. Heather and Joe, and Marie have, in turn, introduced me to Joanne, Maria and Lissy. I ran circuits of Central Park with them at 5.30 on three mornings last week, and then on Saturday morning I was able to complete a 20-mile (32K) run on not much of a base purely because of the company and support of Joanne and Maria. A full circuit of Central Park, and then a run down the Hudson River to near Ground Zero and back to 97th Street, is a very good way to start a long weekend.

I've caught up with my photographer friend Holly for breakfast and a film about NY photographer Bill Cunningham. Holly is creating a buzz as a drag photojournalist. I've also seen "Higher Ground", "Brighton Rock" and "Rebirth" (a 9/11 documentary).

During the week I went to a writers' group, where I met some very interesting people. Through that group I've become friends with Julia (a playwright/theatre director/writer) and Chloe (a painter/social worker). They are both in my neighbourhood, so it's been easy to catch up with them on most days.

This Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer, but to me it feels like a new beginning. I just need to take it one step at a time.