To Set Off, Again

"Traveling with a companion...you are too much of a self-contained world for the rest of the world to be able to penetrate. You're never going to see anything; you're never going to meet anyone. Nothing is ever going to happen to you. Whereas traveling alone, everything happens. Half the point of traveling alone is that you get so lonely, you have to talk to other people."

- Johnathan Raban

Letter to Home, February 8th, 2007

Traveling by myself is tiring: to plan everything and to be vulnerable and alone. At the same time, it can be freeing; when a place or situation is not to my liking, I can leave without much notice. And even when there are periods of loneliness or seeming invisibility, the next moment or day there will be new people to meet and companions who inspire.

The distinction between solitude and lonliness is a difficult lesson to tread while I walk around, a hemisphere away from the people and places I know. But as I sit in this hammock in an overgrown garden overlooking mountains and valleys carpeted in emerald, I find peace and I am alone -- except for all the sounds of Life. And yesterday, I sat in this same hammock -- but with a friend: we watched a thunderstorm blow in and thick clouds sweep through the valley until all was white in front of us. Now I am grateful to be alone. I sense that this is the peace that will keep me anchored when I feel small and sad or far away from those who already know my name.

How does a place become a part of us? Absorbing the memory of how it feels to sit in view of beauty or darkness, to hear the rain fall on leaves, to smell the alpine trees or the decomposing earth, feel the warm sun or the sharp rock; to be suspended in the moment:
pure mind is moment
is on and on.

Besos,

Abby

Return of the Blogger!

Mid-May - I boated back to tierra firma alone, whipping past flooded jungle and puttering through a sea of waterlilies, strange long-necked birds popping up every few feet. Saying goodbye to friends in Bocas del Toro was a little heart-wrenching; we had managed to get beyond the tourist facade and found inspiring friends and a tempting way of life where friends, work, sun and dance are never more than a leisurely spin away.
I bused to and then crossed the Panama-Costa Rica border, a long planked bridge, the most interesting border I've crossed. A very sweaty day.

I stopped in Puerto Viejo, remembering it from a sophomore year ecotourism trip with my school. Arriving alone in a dark and rainy place filled with old memories was unpleasant and I regretted having left Bocas del Toro. I trudged about 1/2 mile to RJ's Rockin' hostel, a mosaic palace of hammocks, tents and unfriendly groups of travelers. I rented a hammock and the next day went on a bike ride to Manzanita to go snorkeling and beaching. Visibility was pretty shabby, though I did have a shark encounter while swimming by myself it scared the pants off me. I met a friendly couple from Vancouver and we ate dinner at a basic soda (restaurant) in someone's kitchen and watched a telenovela.
A half a day in busy, concrete San Jose and I was ready to move on. After choosing the cheapest and most stressful way to get to the airport, I was bound for Guatemala City and the last month of my travels. Costa Rica was frustrating - almost everyone responded to my Spanish with English and I met gaggles of US tourists, in contrast to South America's 6 or so. I could tell I was getting closer to the US. Locals were more wary of foreigners and I sensed a mix of contempt and deference to the tourism machine.
A shuttle sped me through the miles of urban reality of Guatemala City to the tourist enclave of Antigua.
When I first went to Guatemala with Global Visionaries in 2005, Antigua was our base for 1 1/2 weeks of homestays and work projects - but I experienced a complete different city. For me Antigua was a worn Catholic town with soft colors, friendly locals and the 6 or so blocks we walked everyday; this time around it was a loud bustle of moving bodies where tourists sipped Guatemala's finest coffee from throwaway cups to cure a lingering hangover and packs of school kids in uniforms descended on the parque central or walked arm-in-arm down the cobblestones.

Over the weekend I went to Monterrico, a town on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala. Guatemala's seaside gem, Monterrico boasts black sand beaches and a violent ocean bent on slamming you into said sand. At sunset and sunrise, the sunlight filters through the low, thick air to create a glowing sky of orange and pink. Sunday morning at dawn we took a small boat out into the mangroves, a unique habitat that occurs only in brackish water (combo of fresh and salt water) and is the home to many species of heron.



Stunningly alert.

We accidentally chose the hotel that turns into the discoteca on Saturday nights. Abandoning any hope of sleep while the beats shook the walls, we ventured out to the beach and the dance floor. I had some interesting and frustrating conversations in spanish and english with weekend vacationers from Guatemala City. One man denied that the indigenous people living in Guatemala are Mayan because "the Mayan were intelligent." I excused myself.


My aunt, Catherine, arrived in Antigua and we took off adventuring. One afternoon we climbed the volcano Pacaya. A sweaty and steep affair to break through the cloud layer and a step into sci fi as we picked our way over the shoe-melting volcanic rock to get up close to the still flowing lava.
From up here we could see the 3 volcanoes that ring Antigua, perfect blue cones that seemed to float in a sea of clouds.














Lago Atitlàn from the village of San Marcos.
Kaq'chik'el is the language spoken on the this side of Lago. San Marcos is right on the border of the Mayan Kaqchikel state, a rival of the K'iche Maya states. The Kaqchikel actually helped the Spanish conquer the K'iche in the early 1530s.The highlands of Guatemala stretch north from Atitlàn and the people here and in Huehuetenango experienced some of the worst of the genocide in the 1980s.
Haunting views of the volcanoes at dusk.


Catherine and I took a chicken bus (relocated US school bus) up a winding road to the town of Sololà for the Friday market. Very misty and crowded.
Large stands with shellfish, mushrooms, herbs, strange fruits and the usual vegetables from the region. Every inch of land here is cultivated, even the steep slopes around the Lago. Deforestation is a major problem in Guatemala; forests have been cleared for agriculture, firewood and cattle. These practices cause erosion, polluted water sources and a scarred landscape.

Sunday morning Catherine and I hopped a series of chicken buses from Panajachel to Chichicastenango to visit the biggest market in the highlands. The market was as I remembered; crazy big and noisy with sellers and tourists, and the hidden heart where locals eat and sell to each other. Taking crowded buses was the most memorable part - arriving at junction, squeezing past bodies to disembark and being herded to passing bus by a jumble of dusty men. Everyone wants you to get where you're going and the forced closeness of mashing 3 to a seat and 2 in the aisle is strangely comforting.

We walked around for awhile looking for deals and getting an idea of the prices and haggling techniques. Several times we stopped for an agua mineral (fizzy water) to escape the vendors. I found myself guilty of leading on potential sellers because I wanted to chat in Spanish, only to let them down when I cheerfully declined their wares. I bought a reggaeton mix with the most popular jams of the minute and a CD by Manà, a Mexican pop group.




Catherine bought a couple mantle pieces and hangings that are very beautiful and we befriended the buyers and their children. Most vendors are selling someone else's weaving, a hub of merchandise. We visited the lakeside town of San Antonio to see the weaving cooperatives where the artists can eliminate the middleman and keep more of the profit. Very friendly people, also very good charismatic salespeople.




Monday morning I left for Antigua and Catherine stayed in Panajachel for another day of the cooperatives. The ride was long and twisted and I arrived just in time to join Ruthie and some Guatemalan high school students for their construction project. They were preparing the site of a future schoolroom in a neighboring village for the Global Visionaries US and Guatemalan students to construct in June and July. I had worked with them 2 weeks prior and had a blast meeting these kids and hauling bags of sand up a hill. Knowing I was about to explore Guatemala from a more touristy position, I wanted to have another dusty bonding experience before the wonderful feeling of connecting-beyond-culture left me. Working hard and laughing with my Guatemalan peers reminded me of our place in the human family and the joy of fighting toward a common goal.
Pounding the pavement for the last 2 weeks of my travels, I began to see the end. But it wasn't over yet...

´ta cool + happy happy

Success! I found Teshika eating someone else's vanilla banana pancakes in a streetside restaurant in Bocas del Toro, an idyllic archipelago in northeastern Panama. Bocas felt like bliss after 8 hours in Panama City, braving torrential rain and a frighteningly large supermall attached to the bus terminal.
We were, of course, giggly and silly, see banana antics. I was surprised how normal it felt to hang out with a friend from 4 months past. I had to remind myself several times of the amazing feat of being IN PANAMA with one another, not your every day cookie.

Ruthie bopped down from her work in Guatemala for a mini-break with her cousin = more reunions!


This photo captures the essence of our Bocas experience: sunsets the gentle color of sorbet, playing, laughing and enjoying the strange and wonderful things life brings our way.






The sunkissed divas on Wizard Beach. On this day, the waves rolled gently and the water was a liquid turquoise.
Bocas town is on Colon Island, which features beaches within hikey/walkie/busing distance but they pale in comparison to the beaches only accessable by boat. Popping down to any dock, randy captains immediately try to convice you their boat is sea worthy enough to get you to a remote island destination.
Bastimentos Island has a larger local population and several gorgeous beaches, including Wizard. We also went to Blue Monday, a weekly dance discoteca, with crazy fun results.
The other side of Bocas: drug raids, questionable police behaviour and racial profiling galore. Really, I have never felt protected by the police in Latin America.
One night, Teshika, Ruthie, our local friend Olmedo and I were standing outside of Mondu Taitu, a popular hostal/bar, when a white pickup swooped up and MASKED MEN jumped out and surrounded the bar, yelling "police, police!" and scaring the pants off of everyone. A sting! Over the next 2 hours, they proceeded to strip search and arrest all of the locals, then all of the (very drunk and terrified) male tourists, and finally the women.
Their passports were held and everyone was taken to the police station, released between 4 am and some locals not until 9 the next morning. Olmedo never went into the bar but was picked up because he is a local. Teshi and I watched the whole thing from across the street and glowered at the policemen joking around as they loaded people into pickups. Local young men here are very used to being harrassed by the police; every night police come to bars to question and ask for ID from the locals, ignoring the tourists (who are much more likely to be carrying drugs anyway). Most locals have been picked up several times for questioning without being charged. Frustrating, witnessing but being powerless to change the discrimination.
Hostal Heiki, our little abode. Great balcony and streetfront seating below for watching all of Bocas town walk past. Cooked up some mean grilled cheese sammies in the kitchen.




Ahhhh


Time was spent: relaxing/sweating in hammocks, swimming in bathtub temp water, getting sore bums on bikes, sweating on the dance floor, eating, reuniting.






Lots of delicious food.

Rice and beans cooked in coconut milk, yummy liquados, amazing dinner of calamari, fish and octopus in different caribbean sauces. And all my grilled cheese too.














The view from the dock at Alex and Olmedo's house after I collapsed from our bumpy, sweaty bike ride to Bluff Beach.

Oh afternoons.








Lovey Teshi: I'm so happy and honored to have spent the last week of your trip with you. You and Ruthie reminded me of so many things I'm grateful for: good friends, the strange reality of traveling, and the wonderful things that propel us in new directions. I'm glad Bocas brought you magic as a parting gift.

One week to go - love, Abby

Indecision!

Hello again! I´m only about a month behind, anyone want to take bets on how many more I´ll post before I get home? Let´s be optimistic. My aunt Catherine has joined me in Guatemala - who knows where we´ll end up?

So I emerged from the jungle and my ears were assaulted by the modern world. Then I bought a plane ticket to Panama, sending me into a week of slight panic - a time limit? A little silly (you can get anywhere in Ecuador in less than 7 hours) but I felt very rushed and suddenly had no idea as to what I wanted to do for my last week in South America. So I got movin, albeit randomly.
I went to Baños, the adventure town nestled at the foot of an active volcano. On my first night I ran into some wonderful friends I met traveling in southern Peru and we danced the night away, scaring many locals with our crazy moves and facilitating intercultural exchange. They left the next morning.

We went canyoning, rappeling down waterfalls. Warning: Converse shoes have no friction, do not use for walking on waterfalls. Cold cold water and hot hot bodysuits. The last waterfall was a free hang - 45 m drop and pretty fun.

Stayed at Hostal Plantas y Blanco - thanks for the rec, Don. Great view of strange festivities in the plaza and glowing UFOs floating down the mountain.




The next day, I went with 3 other people on a 61 km bike ride from Baños to Puyo. Advertised as a "down hill ride," the only thing I can say is that the overall direction may be down but there were about 15 instances of coming around a corner to find a fatty uphill. It took us 6 hours and the last hour was spent talking about the kinds of food we were dreaming of: lasagna and cinnamon rolls. You may be able to cycle 61km on a Sunday morning, Dad, but you have a pretty bike.
Worth it for the view as we popped out of the mountains and looked out over the jungle.

Part 2 of running around Ecuador: Mindo cloud forest.

After some spiffy busing, I rumbled into the tiny town of Mindo, isolated in a watery cloud. I met a German girl and we went to a rustic lodge on a river. I then realized I had about $30 for the next 3.5 days and proceeded to eat the cheapest food I could find (I eventually bailed a day early so I could go to the parks/take the bus home/not die of starvation).

Spent a day hiking in the Mindo Cloud Forest Reserve, very beautiful and wet. Found some waterfalls and this fun rope swing!







The orchid garden had over 250 species, my favorite flower because they are so vain and perfect. Haha hopefully not a reflection, I just like that they are divas and individuals. The garden was also a hummingbird haven.








3 full days left! what to do?

Otavalo! Actually, this place was the last on my list of places to go in Ecuador, only because the Saturday market is such a cliché tourist destination. Otavalo is about 3 hours to the northeast of Quito. Otavaleños are the most successful indigenous group in Ecuador, famous for their weaving. They wear their traditional clothes proudly (and drive their SUVs proudly, I´m sure). Anyway, arriving on Thursday afternoon allowed me to see normal life for the people in this region.

On Friday I hiked around Lago San Pablo. The walk started off by getting bitten by a mean dog and trudging along a highway in the rain. After turning off the main road, things got better, but the mountains I wanted to see were hidden in the clouds.

I interacted with lots of different local people on the hike, I was the only foreigner the entire time. One woman asked me why I was there and I said, "Oh, just walking around the beautiful lake." She seemed to think that was okay.

Stopped in the big time town of San Pablo, the central plaza filled with school kids. From my table in a tiny restaurant, I watched the kids pack onto buses, pretty funny.

The food there was really tasty, good enough to get me really sick that night. Great.

Finally some sun! Lots of idyllic pastures with cows.

The market in the late afternoon sun. This was Friday, now imagine the streets filled with stalls and tables too, streching all the way down main street. I succumbed to the beautiful pressure of all the handicrafts - even though Bolivia already cleaned up - and bought a few things from cheerful vendors. A new hammock is my favorite - lots of shades of green to wrap myeslf in.

Met a wonderful woman named Madeline from Australia and we went back to Quito together. She went off to Colombia (ohhh I want to go there) the next day and I to Panama.

The animal market in Otavalo - buy, sell, trade yer livestock. Then see if you can drag it away.

The end of my South America adventure for the moment - but I´ll definately be back. I miss traveling in that continent already, something about the people, the mountains, the history and the frightening bus rides.

Lessons from my frantic week? Stop fighting. Traveling blindly and quickly makes appreciating where you are RIGHT NOW that much harder.

See you soon! love, Abby

Encounter. Enjoy. Repeat.

My experience in the Amazon was peaceful.
Hours paddling in dugout canoes in black water lagoons and rivers, walking through the primary forest and learning about animals and medicinal plants, getting up early to search for toucans, macaws, parakeets and a million other uniquely festooned and crooning birds.
I did not find shamans nor uncontacted native peoples, exotic poison weapons nor 10 foot-long anacondas. I probably could have found those parts of the jungle and someday may return to find them - but only via culturally and environmentally sensitive tourism, a tricky catch.
When I remember the Amazon, it is a very simple feeling of happiness, of freedom from the things we carry, and the joy and curiousity that comes from being surrounded by unadulterated nature. Every sense is delighted and confused; the jungle is alive and at once deceptive and forgiving.


I spent 5 days in the Cuyabeno Reserve, a flooded rainforest and one of the most remote parts of the Ecuadorian Oriente. Cuyabeno and Yasuní are the only reserves in Ecuador that sizeable animals like the jaguar, agouti, capybara and harpy eagle have not yet abandoned because of human encroachment.
This was my introduction to the Amazon: leaving the oil town of Lago Agrio - a sprawling, muggy concrete creation - via bus took us past oil refineries and the terrible pipeline draining the jungle.


3 hours on the bus and 3 more by motor canoe brought us to the Cuyabeno Reserve. The community of Playa Cuyabeno is about 30 minutes from our lodge area. We saw pink dolphins in the wide river in front of the community.

Although we moved faster in the motor canoe, I much preferred streaming along in the dugout canoes, sitting close to the warm dark water.

One afternoon, I sat in the very front and really flew around the soft bends in the river.

Night walking = lots of strange insects and some tarantulas.

Once I entered the jungle, it was like this switch was thrown and I wanted to know everything about everything. My journal has pages of pictures and notes about plants and animals, Quichua phrases and thoughts about the Amazon. I was in a new world, completely unknown and entirely fascinating. I think I was in daze of wonder the whole time.

One day we went paddling for a few hours up a little river and kept hitting all these branches and low fallen trees. I was designated front-of-the-canoe for most of the trip, the one who hurls herself into the foliage to push the canoe to freedom. Lots of shrieks as we went under spider covered logs. Our wonderful guide Domingo had to get out of the canoe at one point to hack through all of this - below him is just water, an impressive feat that he managed to clear the path without falling in.

Walking in the jungle is crazy - it is so dense it looks 2D, like it has no depth, when it is hugely unknowable. You get the feeling that the forest is watching you. Once, in a sassy mood, I pushed some leafy branches out of my way and they immediately slapped me in the face - as if the forest laughed at me for trying to run the place.

Anyway, back to this incredible lightness of being that kind of bubbles up - it´s addictive. Dancing in the moonlight on the wood planked walkways in our campsite, drumming with my feet. Going barefoot or tromping in lovely rubber boots. Swimming under the stars off of the dock in the secretly swift Cuyabeno River. Finding real emotions coming to the surface.

Ok now for some photos.




Tiny mushrooms. So many delicate things grow in the forest.

A tiny frog.

A centipede, scared and rolled up.

I forget what this was, but it´s a medicine! haha. It´s the fiber of a plant all mushed up with water, I do believe you drip it in your ear for earaches but I might be very wrong. It´s written somewhere.

Every 5 or 10 minutes, Domingo would stop and pull a vine or a leaf and talk casually about what crazy curative properties it has. Native peoples followed hunches and ran lots of tests to discover the secrets of the forest: a treatment for nearly everything, poisons, birth control, tumors...

The forest provides in other ways as well. Domingo showed us how to make a very fashionable backpack out of palm fronds for carrying whatever fruits you may be hunting. In a downpour, he quickly built a palm frond shelter. We also made leaf crowns.

Domingo shook him up to make him dizzy and more photogenic.

a crazy spider

Lemon ants! They taste like an explosion of lemony goodness. They live in the branches of trees and their acid causes the ground to be completely clean of other vegetation. Strange. Tasty.

Also ate some tree larvae. I was not too keen to eat these squishy buggers, very much like the Lion King when Simba doesn´t want to eat the grubs. But how often do you get the chance to eat tree larvae in the Amazon? They tasted like coconut creme. Ask to see that picture.

The dock where we went swimming/bathing every night. Very much like Amazonian river sirens.
The first night I went by myself and was convinced that every current was a caiman coming to eat me. Oh the unknown can be made so much worse by an active imagination.

We did go search for caiman at night and found several: devilish orange eyes of fire glowing in the dark. Scary! We managed to startle several into thrashing around in the water. Of course we all screamed.

Domingo was really like an older brother to me. He knew I loved the jungle and was fascinated by its mysteries. He was patient in explaining the different plants and animals and stayed up late to tell us stories about the forest. Instead of disappearing after his guiding was done, he hung out with us in the hammocks, went fishing with us, really just kicked it and was very friendly. Domingo asked me, "You aren´t afraid of the jungle, are you?" I said not really, just that I knew it could be understood. I think this is why we got along so well, we respected the forest and I was a willing student.

We were supposed to have an English speaking guide as well, but only Domingo showed up = spanish the entire time. Luckily everyone spoke some.
The water in the Cuyabeno is black because of decayed foliage and fallen Wito seeds - their dye can be used for tattoos, so of course we made some.

On the last night, we stayed up late and drew tattoos by candlelight. I chose "el buho," an owl. Owls have become my favorite bird, they are so stoic and regal. I had never before seen or heard one in the wild. A very haunting and lovely memory is sitting in a canoe in the lagoon at night, listening to the erie song of the Madre Luna owl.

The tattoo lasted 10 days.

Part of this travel is to learn about myself. This is a time of new experiences, but also a chance to recognize the recurring qualities in the places, people and ideas that I am drawn to. What could be more wonderful? The idea is: find what brings you joy and then follow it.
I´m beginning to see what I need right now is peace. Inner, outer, natural, global, of mind and body, lovely peace.

I´m going to Guatemala tomorrow, very nearly my last month. A big kiss to Teshika for her final day in Central America, I loved finding you in Panama. Con amor, Abby

Galápagos: Animal BONANZA and a New Feeling

Oh, the world.
In the last 3 weeks I´ve experienced so many different faces of the natural world, seemingly unspoiled by our big, messy footprints.
The islands are a place of raw beauty: jagged geological formations, open ocean and a perfect world without the noise of people. As we stuck to our marked paths on the Galápagos Islands, the wild animals observed us with indifference and sometimes curiosity. I had never before seen a human step aside so a slow-moving iguana could pass. It was interesting to see people show such reverence for animals; as if we secretly admire the natural world just as surely as we destroy it.

Blue-footed Boobies! Besides Darwin´s finches, the other representative for the Galápagos. In the middle of their mating dance, a succession of honking, whistling and plenty of blue-foot lifting that resembles flippered snorklers awkwardly maneuvering on the beach (also on display in the Galápagos). Several other species of boobies inhabit the islands. One afternoon, we watched BFBs and pelicans diving for fish among the mangroves.




The land iguana hanging out under a holly tree- these buggers really seem prehistoric, lumpy heads and spines. They sit like stones in the shade or the sun and once in a blue moon, they move with the utmost precision.
The marine iguana is darker with a smaller head and long tail to propel itself through the water. They evolved from their land brother in order to eat sea greens on the rocks. Kind of frightening to see a mini-dinosaur swimming next to me.






Yes, you all left tanner than you arrived. Even you, Reed.

Ham Toast!








Sea lions are everywhere! They make the funniest sound I´ve heard come from an animal, a cross between a loud burp and a bark. I was constantly giggling when the sea lions were around.
On land, these playful guys lumbered around on mini-legs and seemed to be trapped in a restrictive bodysuit. Once they´re in the water, they glide, jump and spin. Very flexible, doing yoga-like backbends to yap at an annoying neighbor. Sleep on the beach lined up like sardines. Little sea pups abound, curious and approached to sniff our knees.


Penguins!
Another awkward flapper on land, but perfectly graceful in the water. I swam with a few and have some underwater photos to share. They entertained my presence for awhile, but then took off like torpedos into the dark blue.








Giant Galápagos Tortoises at the Charles Darwin Research Center. I felt a little squirmy at this place, it felt like a zoo. There are lots of politickys around the Center, it would be interesting to learn more about what they actually do for the conservation effort besides rereleasing young tortoises. The last male of a species now resides there - unwilling to mate with another species, it looks like he´ll live out his days in captivity rather than enjoying his bachelor status in peace in the wild.

San Bartolomé - lots of different geological stuff going on here.

Spent most of boat time with my legs dangling over the bow or sleeping on the deck. Felt very free to be moving so swiftly over the water.

Dolphins! I never knew I loved you so much!

Out cruising the ocean, these lovely and powerful animals came to play in the wake of the bow. Whistling and showing off, they were perfectly coordinated and so graceful and joyful. I leaned over the bow as they flew underneath and they seemed to carry the boat on their backs. Dolphins are cool.

My thoughts about the Galápagos are still swimming around my head. Can you teach people new tricks? Connecting with animals on such a basic level might jolt people into seeing the similarity between all living things and the necessity for sharing the one planet we have. A beautiful place and a wonderful time with you, family.

Going to Panama on Sunday to meet up with Teshika. Goodbye South America - until next time! Love, Abby

Frustration

I made a wonderful entry about the Galápagos. It was full of info, stories, pictures of animals. I was very proud of this entry. It erased itself.

I am now mad at the Galápagos.

Just wanted to say hello before I disappear into the Amazon for 5 days. Going to the Cuyabeno Reserve via the oil town of Lago Agrio. You will get your Galápagos fix in a week, or just talk to Mom, Pop or Bro! Love, Abby