it's morning again in mexico

I may  be turning into one of those old men who wants to do do nothing more in life than to sit home and order the dogs around.

At least, that is how I felt when I walked into the courtyard of my house on Saturday afternoon.

There was something comforting in returning home after being gone for a month. But it was more than returning to the cosseting familiarity of routine.

The first thing I noticed was the list of chores that faced me. Weeds that need pulling in the street in feint of the house. Vines to be trimmed. Meals to be cooked. Miles to be walked. Books, magazines, and newspapers to be read. They all gave me a certain sense of -- well, not really satisfaction; maybe purpose.

I guess that is it. I come from a family whose unofficial motto is laborare est orare -- to work is to pray. 

The idea is not original with us, of course. The very essence of western philosophy is that work provides purpose to our lives. Aristotle may have said it earlier, but Stephen Hawkings, as he almost always did, summed it up simply: "Work gives you meaning and purpose, and life is empty without it."

Rather than slipping into an old man attitude (even though my age qualifies me for the adjective), I suspect what I felt when I arrived home was a rekindling of that force that has driven me all of my life. I have work to do. I have purpose. I feel better.

Having work to do and having a purpose is extremely easy to lose on a cruise. Passengers are as pampered as white South Africans under apartheid.

Everything is provided. Once you pay your money, all you need do is shuffle from the breakfast buffet to the progressive trivia game to the dining room for lunch to your freshly-made up cabin for a nap to the Italian specialty restaurant for dinner and then off to the evening's entertainment.

I should apologize for making cruises sound like something out of a bad rest home horror tale. They are not. Otherwise, I would not have taken the 40-some cruise I have since 1975.

But there was something a bit numb-minding on this cruise through the Panama Canal. And I am not certain why. Even though I am going to give you a lot of reasons.

I have always enjoyed several aspects of cruising. The most important is visiting countries where I have never set foot or re-visiting some favorites. This cruise was no exception.

The Panama Canal was just as thrilling as the first time I saw it in 2000. Cartagena was new to me and its colonial city charm was a pleasure to visit. Nicaragua and Guatemala offered up challenging volcano hikes.

I also had three of the most interesting traveling companions I could have asked for. And I had time during the day to get in my exercise and reading.

There was no reason I should have not given this cruise high marks. Unfortunately, I let circumstances get in the way.

After a really frustrating day dealing with the unusually-crowded facilities and trying to navigate around my fellow passengers who seemed to have been repeatedly stunned with tasers, Roy, Nancy, Sophie, and I sat down for a re-cap of the day.

Roy and I were withering in our criticism. Nancy and Sophie concurred until Nancy observed: "We are criticizing the exact things people mention when they say they refuse to cruise. Are we cruised out?"

It was a good question. And I still do not have an answer for it. But, I have two cruises on my calendar (northern Australia to Singapore this spring and a 2020 Singapore-Thailand-Sri Lanka- India-Oman-Dubai cruise) to which I am looking forward.

There were a couple of special circumstances that made the Panama Canal cruise difficult.

First was cost. Low cost. Bargain basement clearance cost.

Panama Canal cruises are usually very expensive. But Norwegian charged only about half of what a similar cruise would cost. Frankly, that is one reason I was on the ship. I am not a son of Adam Smith without reason.

The second derives from the first. As a result of the low cost, the cabins were sold out. That meant that all of the ship's facilities were crammed.

The third may also derive from the first. You get what you pay for. By not paying for much, I should not have expected much.

Food is the perfect example. As cruise lines have cut costs, the quality of food on cruises has slowly declined. I am accustomed to that.

But the food on this cruise was egregiously bad. At times, it was difficult to find anything that I could eat with my new lifestyle. And, when I did, it was bad. Even my backstop cuisine -- Indian. Even it was regularly inedible.

The fourth circumstance was the most disappointing. Cruise lines are famous for the efficiency of their staff. For some reason, on this cruise, almost the entire staff was switched out in Fort Lauderdale. Most of them had not previously served on a cruise ship.

The result was a disaster. And I felt sorry for them. Most knew little of their duties. When presented with a question, the response was almost universally unhelpful. There was seldom any attempt to find a resolution of issues.

That is the company's doing. Too few staff are hired. And, when they are, they are obviously not given sufficient training to do their duties. My steward skipped cleaning my cabin twice on the excuse that it did not need cleaning because I was so organized.

In the end, it was fine. But it was a symptom of a company that has lost its way.

So, I sit on my terrace this brisk Monday morning with a pot of rose green tea, my newspaper, and a book, chatting with you good people who have stopped by.

When you head off to your day, I am going to indulge in my morning walk and then come back and start on my house chores. After all, this is about purpose, not sinking into an old man attitude -- even though I suspect it is the same thing.

Yesterday afternoon, I transitioned back into a more pleasant life by making something as simple as a soup. A Thai chicken red curry soup. With a big twist of fusion.

Chicken, red curry paste (several years ago, I would have doubted it would be possible to obtain high quality red curry paste in Mexico), onion, garlic (lots), ginger, fish sauce, a dash of soy, a sweet sake-chicken broth blend, lemongrass, and, of course, 3 serranos and 2 habaneros. I would have added cilantro, but I had none readily available.

It turned out better than I expected. I may add some rice vinegar or more fresh lime when I eat another bowl for lunch today.

So, yes, it is morning again in Mexico. And I am enjoying being at home -- with a purpose.

Thanks for stopping by.