HAMMOCKMAN PAUL HAS DEPARTED

Paul, of Hammockman blog, and Marc, of An Alaskan in Yucatan. February 2012, Sisal MX

My wife and I first learned of Merida from watching a food show. I began researching the city, and encountered Hammockman blog from someone who would soon become a dear friend. We came to Merida on vacation for three weeks in 2009, staying at a B&B near the bullring. Paul walked from his home on c.61 to greet us. A rich friendship ensued. (I had begun blogging a few years earlier, at yahoo, which later “vaporized” my digits when Microsoft bought it; and at Travelblog — see entries for hat making in Becal, Campeche; and at Ballenberg, Switzerland.)

“Three amigos” weekly coffee @ Flor de Maya, Sanitago Plaza, Merida

I met Marc at a bloggers conference in 2010. The three of us began meeting weekly for coffee. A fourth friend, blogging at BackyardNature.net captured our attention from further afield. Jim Conrad is a modern-day Thoreau whom I’ve written about in these pages, here, and here, etc. Paul’s wife Susan, “graduated” earlier this year. And overnight, he moved on, too. My life has been enriched for knowing them.