I have been daydreaming about doing some collecting trips this summer — I have been seduced by the exotic opportunities of tromping around the southern part of Minnesota, place like Pipestone and maybe even making forays into South Dakota and Iowa. Yeah! Get wild with it!
And then, the American Arachnological Society announces the location of their 2024 meeting. It’s going to be in Chetumal, Mexico.
Chetumal is located in the south of the state of Quintana Roo, on the border with Belize. It’s a small town surrounded by mangrove swamps and forest, lagoons such as Bacalar, home to numerous chelicerates in addition to Mayan remains. It faces a gigantic bay that is a reserve for manatees and is located at the gateway to the Caribbean.
“home to numerous chelicerates” isn’t normal advertising copy for a travel destination, but you’ve got to know your audience. Think of the spiders you could find! Suddenly, the south of Minnesota looks tepid and boring.
I have some trepidations. I have zero confidence in airlines anymore, after that catastrophic collapse of my last trip to AAS (the meeting was in upstate NY, couldn’t even get there because airlines kept canceling flights, ended up sitting in the Minneapolis airport for a couple of days). I don’t know if I can scrape any money out of my university travel budget after that expensive debacle.
On the plus side, I do have some Patreon savings I could use — and of course I’d have to fill my Patreon page with travel photos of beautiful Chetumal. You know, the usual touristy things of closeups of spiders in the mangrove swamps. I’ve never been on the glitzy side of scientific conferences, so this might be my last chance. And it’s Mexico! I love Mexico!
So now I begin a period of indecisive agonizing, to go or not to go. I may end up looking at my budget and deciding it’s not possible, but as long as I haven’t done any accounting, I can dream.
Each year it
Someone: “Oh! I just love Autumn and Winter. Summer’s are just too hot and miserable!”
Me: “Really? You enjoy living in a dying or dead world–cold, dark, gray, and lifeless–versus the sunlight, warmth,and green of summer? Really?”
Edit: Each year it’s the same…
Sigh, I miss bikini season! Alas, newer environmental regulations prohibit my wearing a bikini any longer.
I went to a niche conference in Chile in January last year, and that was a lovely break from Montana winter! But looks like AAS is in June, so you don’t get quite the same relief when escaping Minneapolis. Also, they’re just announcing the location 4 months ahead of time? I had to submit abstracts last month for a conference in June (in Minneapolis, actually!)
Baffin Island is covered in spiders.
That does not surprise me. You got mosquitos and gnats and flies, you got spiders.
The Caribbean is very hot and humid in summer- it is one of the hottest places in the western hemisphere you can go as a tourist (I am ruling out dry places like Death Valley).
It would make more sense to go there in winter, but that collides with teaching students.
On the other hand, I am told it is optimal weather for the yautia to go hunting on Earth, so there is that.
chigau @#5 — I’ve actually been to Baffin Island…for an unplanned stop at Iqaluit International Airport, then known as Forbisher Bay. No spiders for us though. We didn’t even get off the plane…for 4 hours. Perhaps the person who did wanted to see the spiders and pulled the emergency stop cord.
Hey PZ, long time since you’ve been to Australia…. Just sayin’.
I know. I was in Australia before I became obsessed with spiders, and I clearly missed an opportunity.
I got there before on organized atheism’s dime. I don’t think they’ll ever invite me to such an event ever again — they still prefer Dawkins/Harris/Coyne anymore.
Quintana Roo is beautiful but 1) June is when the hurricane season really gets underway and 2) it’s brutally hot and humid in Mexico in June. Given your general skin tone, you can skip the sunblock and just wear a hooded poncho since June will also give you maximum sun exposure.
Reportedly, there is a small island in the Cancun area that is pretty much only spiders. I wanted to go, my traveling buddies did not, so I was overruled. (We agreed to go snorkeling but not caving instead.)
Chetumal. Get a cheap flight to Cancun, and rent a car to drive there, stopping at various places to sample the local spiders. But be careful on the main drag in town. The local cops get their lunch money from unsuspecting tourists who run non-existent stop signs, Typical bribe `$10. Enjoy.
@10 Yes a long time ago when you were just a young ichthyologist…A zoologist friend and I introduced ourselves and you were very polite to a couple of ageing atheist zoologists (he a malacologist, I a herpetologist). The Australian Atheists have been very quiet of late with no conferences, only partly attributable to covid I think. I don’t know if there are any flavors of the day UK or US atheists. Dawkins decline was only just beginning in 2012 (?) but even so I remember he was whisked in by security on to the stage and whisked straight out to the airport after his talk – no interaction with other conference goers (or indeed Australians) at all.
You’d enjoy spider hunting here, although around my area the numbers seem still reduced after the massive bush fires of 4 years ago.
I’m in southern Australia, and I too have been daydreaming about summer. It has been so cold and wet, barely a day above 30c.
And now, swarms of butterflies.
@1. Akira MacKenzie
Depends where you are. Winter – and Spring & sometimes Autumn are when are creeks staare flowing, its nice and cool and lush and green. Summer is when it tends to be hot and worrying for fire danger and definitley my least fave season -cricket aside. Spring when w ehave the wildflowers out and everythings at its lushest is probly my fave season.
Our creeks are flowing. In Summer they are dry, dusty beds.
Living in the Adelaide hills, South Australia, here for those who don’t already know.
Summer is when we regulary get extreme heataves that froce us inside, make it ery difficult to do much -including sleep – & Bushfre season. Winter is much nicer and more pleaseant climate~wise here and a s noted Spring is when most of our native flora flowers.
FFS! Sorry folks. Clarity fix :
Summer is when we regularly get extreme heatwaves that force us inside, make it very difficult to do much – including sleep – & Bushfre season. Winter is much nicer and more pleasant climate~wise here and as noted Spring is when most of our native flora flowers.