La Huasteca What?

The end of the year naturally gets me looking back on the year that has passed and beyond. I can't believe how far I've come. Recently I've taken it back to what I would call my true traveling roots - driving and discovering new and favorite destinations in Mexico.

I call this my roots because it was when I was driving across Mexico in 2003 when I really began traveling... I mean really traveling - meeting local people, eating local food, speaking local language. Cara, my close friend and I drove down the pacific coast and slept in our hammocks under grass roofed palapas. It was an amazing journey, and it opened my eyes to a new world of travel and a new way of exploring. I learned about something more than hotels and restaurants - I learned about people, culture, and independent travel and discovery. It was during that same journey that I met my partner Pancho. Actually, we met three times: first, Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, second, Palenque, Chiapas and third, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo. It was natural that two wanderers took up wandering together.

In 2005 we journeyed through Jalisco, Mexico State, Guerrero, Vera Cruz, Tabasco and Yucatan. We were aided by a trusty '79 Dodge camper van (the same one Cara and I used in 2003) that found its end on that long, last journey somewhere outside of Villahermosa. I think the van is now someone's sedentary residence - possibly the scrap yard's night watchman. That voyage was full of adventure and comedy. Some of the memories that stick out are being guided by 'el jefe' (a desert nomad) to a 200 meter deep natural mountain hole with a howling outbound wind; battling for hours on a remote beach when the van sunk into the sand and being towed to safety by a kind local family who offered us bug ridden beds for the night; driving through winding, nail-biting 'roads' in the mountains of Guerrero on our way to a destitute little village and buying goat skins from a rancher who also insisted we taste his home-made mezcal (Mexican moonshine); going to a rainbow gathering in Vera Cruz where the ticks were much happier than the campers; and staying three days at the highway-side mechanic's house far from anywhere while we decided how to move the dead Dodge. It wasn't just the two of us who went, our 5-week old daughter, Denya, was also along for the adventure and, needless to say, she was always a big hit with the people we met.

This year our journey had a much bigger trajectory and 2007 began in Beijing, continued in Mexico City and then traveled north to Edmonton and across Canada to Montreal and back to Mexico City again. We bought a little truck and to break it in we decided to take a road trip...

Starting out from Mexico City we traveled to la Huasteca-Potosina. La What? La Huasteca. I didn't know anything about it either. It's a region east of San Luis Potosi. San Luis Potosi usually brings up visions of deserts and cactuses so I was surprised as we crossed through a mountain range and passed into a water-rich region. Actually the area is known for its waterfalls. We went straight to Xilitla after a couple of hitch hikers told us it was well worth seeing. What makes it famous is a surrealist construction in the middle of the jungle begun in the 1950's by an English bloke named Edward James. He was apparently a friend of Picasso, which might give you some insight into his creativity. The construction is spread over about 4 hectares and it consists of stairwells and doors that lead nowhere. Check out the photos. It was like stepping into another world. James constructed his dream in an area with a beautiful waterfall and he 'tamed' the waterfall creating a handful of small swimming holes. The humid, hot air made for a refreshing dip into the crisp water. We made some friends and we were invited back to work at a New Year's festival. I will be giving a poi workshop and Pancho will perform. Destiny had a part in it because I loved Xilitla and so now I will have the chance to go back again. I wanted to stay but because we were on a tight schedule to spend Christmas in Guadalajara we moved on.

Our next destination was something straight out of a 4X4 television program and we ended up giving our new truck a workout up a 20 km stretch of rugged, rocky road. It took us two hours to make the journey to 'el Sotano de las Golodrinas'. We stayed the night in the back of the truck and at dawn we walked a short while to an open pit where thousands of swallows were heading out for the day. To understand this amazing place check out this video I found on youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2bqxZs0iCc. We didn't jump, but we watched all the birds fly out at the break of dawn from the edge of the 400 meter deep chasm. The locals are so humble about their natural treasure, they charge 10 pesos to enter and we were sold some hand-made fruit juice by Guadalupe, a local woman whose small yard has two maracuya trees. She invited us to stay at her home until the birds came back to their nests at sundown. We kindly declined, bought some more maracuya juice and got on the bumpy road back down the mountain.

We stopped to see some more waterfalls on our way through la Huasteca and then headed to the desert valley below Real de Catorce. Near Matehuala, north of the City of San Luis Potosi this desert hides many treasures. I dare not say more and only encourage my readers to find out more about this unbelievable place and its inhabitants. I took away some souvenirs from the desert and among them were dry, cracked lips and a sunburnt nose. I also took away a bit more consciousness. My daughter took away a couple of cactus spines in her hand but she is fully recovered.

From San Luis we headed over to Guadlajara to celebrate a lovely Christmas with our families alongside Lake Chapala.

This is the kind of traveling I love - the kind where I don't need a plan. I have two wonderful companions, always ready for the next adventure and each time that we journey out I'm reminded that there are always more beautiful destinations to discover.

We're engaged!

Okay, so we know it's not our turn, but just a brief announcement: As of Christmas morning, we're officially engaged!!!!!

Ghosts and Going

Pee'e mai chu, mai chu, mai chueah (I don't believe in ghosts)
My original topic for this blog was ghosts, Thai ghosts in particular. But as it becomes time to write, I find that once again the winds of transition are stirring my landscape. Living in a Buddhist country, I shall take my clue from the Middle Way and address both topics, but neither to obsession.
Thailand, and most of Asia it seems, is a land steeped with a tradition of ghosts. An informal poll among my students reveal an 80% belief rate. This rate seems only to increase with an older demographic.
When I was living in a temple in North Eastern Thailand, there was a room the size of a walk-in closet in my home. Rather than containing clothes, it stored the bones and ashes of the departed. I grew accustomed to the occasional knock at my door, and the respectful request to enter and pay respects to a relative.
Most of my Thai friends were aghast at this arrangement, and just the discussion of it could cause the hair on their arms to rise in apprehension.
Recently I was at a job fair that was hiring Thai students to work in the States for their school break. One of the employers, a hospital and nursing home, was having trouble attracting applicants until it was explained that they would not be in contact with dying patients, and thus ghosts.
Two months after the 2004 tsunami, I was living in Phuket, one of the islands devastated by the killer wave. None of my Thai friends came to visit. Ghosts....
Now, three years later, Phuket is rebuilt and the tourist numbers have returned. Except for Taiwan and Korea, whose arrivals are still down 90%. Ghosts....
Not surprisingly, there have been many post-tsunami ghost sightings in Phuket. During the stage of body recovery, a number of volunteers heard tourists laughing and singing on the beach, only to find the area dark and deserted. Other sightings include a woman crying for her child along the shore. More than one taxi driver in Phuket claims to have picked up a foreigner and his Thai girlfriend, with all their baggage, only to have them disappear before reaching the airport.
Some mental health experts believe that these sightings are a culturally effective way of dealing with the massive death toll and horrible sights that the tsunami caused. Thai psychologist Wallop Piyamanotham says the ghost sightings are a "type of mass hallucination that is a clue to the trauma being suffered by people who are missing so many dead people, and seeing so many dead people, and only talking about dead people."
The average Thai seems to have a less cerebral take on the issue.
Ghost are also an accepted part of the Buddhist doctrine that is widespread in Thailand. Ghosts are considered to be one of the six realms of existence among sentient beings (humans beings are another).
Personally, I have had no ghostly encounters during my time in Thailand, not even with bones and ashes in my closet. I tell my friends that Thai ghosts are shy around foreigners.
But I do have stories from elsewhere, as most of us do....
I was living in a small town in Northern California, and one day I was driving around with the friend who had rented my house before me. He talked about how the light in the bedroom would go off and on at unexpected times. He said that his girlfriend of the time had an explanation for the this: It was her spirit guide, wanting to contact her.
That night, laying in my bed and listening to music, I thought, 'why not try to get in touch with my spirit guide?' I was only half, maybe a quarter, serious, and I wondered if I should get up and turn off the music so I could more fully concentrate. But, mostly as a way of dismising the whole endeavor, I had the distinct thought that 'if my spirit guide wants to talk with me, IT can turn off the music. Instantly the tape player clicked off. It clicked off mid-song, which it had never done before and never did since. Of course, being totally unprepared for anything really happening, I quickly got up, turned on the lights, and read a book until dawn.
There is a Chinese saying: "If we do no evil in the day, we need not worry about ghosts knocking on our doors at night. The ghosts outside of us are not nearly as frightening as the ghosts inside of us."
As far as my own world view goes, I am neither a believer nor disbeliever of ghosts. I do believe however, that it is a human tendency to draw a small line through reality and say that this is all there is. The truth, I think, is much wider.
Part Two: Winds of Change
There is an incessant influx of novelty into the world, and yet we tolerate incredible dullness. -Henry David Thoreau
Since changes are going on anyway, the great thing is to learn enough about them so that we will be able to lay hold of them and turn them in the direction of our desires. Conditions and events are niether to be fled from or passively acquiesced in; they are to be utilized and directed. -John Dewey
The New Year is about to begin, and I am halfway through the current semester at the Thai university where I teach. Something tells me that when the semester finishes, I should finish as well. No blaring sirens or flashing lights accompany this sense. Just a small still voice, encouraging me further down the road.
Here is what I envision, but this new chapter is still in changing form and may morph considerably before occuring.
I will work here until April; grading the final tests, divesting of possesions, clearing up lose ends. In April itself I will do some Thai travelling, both in the north and in the south, in the mountains and on the sea. Then the long flight back to America.
Visits with friends and family in early May, followed by a three month job somewhere beautiful (maybe with the help of coolworks.com). In August I plan to hike the John Muir Trail in the Sierra's, something I first did (gulp) 35 years ago.
In September, begin teaching in China, maybe in one of their autonomous regions such as Mongolia or Tibet. This will pave the way for a future dramatic exit either by train to Europe, or overland into Nepal.
As I said, this new chapter is still in changing form. But now as I go about my days, I will become a magnet to the freedom of new possibilities. Some may be brief flights of fancy, and some may lay the groundwork for my future direction.
By next blog, this direction should have a more solid form.
Happy New Year!

I'll be home for Christmas...If only in my dreams

One of the hardest parts of working seasonal jobs is that you can't go home for the holidays. Ski resorts, bed & breakfasts, lodges, hotels, and ranches are busiest during the holiday rush. Your family Christmas is most often sacrificed so that other families may have their own memorable holiday... but that doesn't mean the Grinch has stolen our Christmas spirit. Being able to share Christmas with each other is still warm and wonderful, and we've made some special memories of our own over the years.

In 2003, we were at a ski resort in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. It was definitely a white Christmas! That winter, we had over 600 inches of snow, and we learned about "interlodge." Interlodge is what happens when you are literally forbidden by law to step outside, for fear of avalanche. The snowdrifts were over our heads, and Begee was constantly shoveling the car out before we could go anywhere. When we did get shoveled out, we could usually find our way into Salt Lake City, and the night before Christmas, we walked around, looking at the lights in Temple Square. We also made a gingerbread house (though it didn't taste as good as it looked), and when we opened our presents from family and friends, we thought about how loved we are. We also had a company party, where our boss dressed up like Santa, and it was nice to share our first Christmas together with other people also away from home.

In 2004, we worked at a bed & breakfast and canoe & kayak rental company in the Florida Everglades. The staff was much smaller, and because of that, we were much closer with them. It really was like spending the holidays with a seasonal family, and we felt very blessed to know them all. We had a wonderful Christmas party, where our boss cooked ham, and Erin had a great time decorating the lobby of the bed & breakfast. There were alligators in Santa hats all over the Christmas tree, and stockings for each employee! We went to the town Christmas tree lighting with our co-workers, and as we ate cookies and drank punch, we all marveled about Christmas without snow. It didn't feel right to see palm trees with Christmas lights on them and Santa in flip flops, but somehow it worked.

In 2005, we worked at a lodge near Yosemite National Park. By Christmas, we hadn't had any snow, so we put up a big Christmas tree in the middle of the courtyard. Our boss loved pink flamingos, so one of the crafts for guests and employees alike was to decorate them! We all decorated pink flamingos - Erin's was Santa, Begee's was Hawaiian - and put them around the resort, as well as circling the Christmas tree. Later that night, everyone met in the Recreation Room, where we made our own stockings to hang, ate s'mores by the fireplace, and sang Christmas carols before lighting the Christmas tree. At our employee party, everyone fought over the toys, and we had a lot of laughs.

In 2006, we worked at a hotel in Seward, Alaska. It was a cold, cold Christmas! We went to the town Christmas tree lighting and drank a lot of hot chocolate before meeting Santa. We borrowed the hotel van and drove into Anchorage, where it was -20 degrees, to see "The Nutcracker." It was beautiful and magical, and the soundtrack danced in our heads for weeks. We cooked a wonderful dinner, complete with Begee's famous sweet potatoes and marshmallows, and we savored the beauty of the mountains in the winter. It was a quiet Christmas, unlike all the others, and that made it special too (so did the Moostletoe - moose droppings in the shape of mistletoe!). We made a little snowman and enjoyed being so near to the North Pole, even though we still didn't get to see Santa

and the reindeer fly by!

This year, we're at a ranch in Arizona. Here we have cactus with Christmas tree lights on them, and while there hasn't been any snow, we have had rain! Last week, we went to Phoenix and had a great time watching the Rockettes put on their Christmas Spectacular. Last night, we drank hot chocolate and walked around at the Phoenix Zoo, looking at all their holiday lights. And we had an early Christmas present: when we got back to the ranch, we saw some javelina (wild desert pigs), which we've been wanting to see ever since we arrived here. Our Christmas this year is getting off to a good start, even though we have 12 days to go. We're looking forward to a lot of kids here for the holidays (as Erin is the Kids' Counselor), and it will be busy busy busy. It should be fun, though, too - complete with a Christmas Eve tree trimming and Santa riding in on a horse-drawn carriage Christmas morning.

So while every year, we hope to be home for the holidays next year, we've been able to experience some magical Christmases together. We miss our families and wish we could see them opening up the presents we send them, but our hearts are always with them in the gifts and cards we send. Whether it's Santa on skis, Santa in flip flops, Santa in snowshoes, Santa on a snowmachine, or Santa in cowboy boots, we've had fun experiencing Christmas traditions around the country and coming together with our fellow seasonal workers.

To everyone who reads this: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We hope that wherever you are and whomever you're with, love finds you home for Christmas...If only in your dreams.

Miracles in Sri Lanka

Miracles may happen everyday, but when I'm traveling, it seems as if they are happening ever hour. I landed in Sri Lanka without any clue of what awaited me. The decision to come to this island nation was so natural it hardly required consideration. It should have been scary landing in such a foreign country without a guidebook or even an idea of where to go. But sometimes miracles just seem to happen when we live in harmony with the world around us.

Immediately, I was overwhelmed by what I experienced. If I had arrived with expectations, they would have been shattered at once. Nothing could have prepared me for the simple beauties of this country. I was so relaxed I could hardly look beyond the moment. The restlessness that usually pushes me from one destination to the next did not surface even for a moment.

As I walked through the town of Negombo, I found a strange sense of satisfaction washing over me. In the smiles of the people I passed on the street, I discovered a sense of acceptance and interest that slowed my busy mind and forced me to appreciate each encounter. My first two days in the coastal town were so much like a dream that even I had to question the reality.

I ran for miles on a beautiful sandy beach and felt as if my body were moving effortlessly through the sand. I savored each step as my feet glided across the beach and felt completely at peace. I dove into the ocean and swam in tranquil waters, my eyes closed and body floating as if I were drifting upon the clouds above. I walked out of the ocean feeling as if I had just been baptized and cleared of all my sins and worries.


I accepted the invitation of two locals to walk the beach and soon found myself surrounded by cuddling couples, children playing in the sand, and grown men swimming in the ocean with youthful excitement. It was Sunday on the beach and locals came from all around to enjoy a day of rest and relaxation. I watched as children covered their faces with melting ice cream and adult men teased the others who couldn't swim, and I felt as free as the birds that circled overhead.

As I dined at a restaurant on the beach, a taxi arrived and dropped the next miracle at my doorstep. Stephanie, from Switzerland, joined me and immediately we fell into a wonderful conversation. I listened as she shared her experiences about living in a remote Sri Lankan village. Her love for the country and its people somehow validated my impressions of Sri Lanka and helped me realize that my 'dream' was every bit as real as the sand at our feet. I thought about my time spent living in a village in Fiji and realized that our experiences shared one main thing in common. In every country there are people with a capacity for love and generosity that we can only experience when we open ourselves up honestly and share with them the beauty that exists in each of us.

I bid Stephanie farewell and as she walked away I smiled knowing that she had been brought to me for a very important reason. Because weeks from now I might not even remember her face, but I'll never forget the inspiration she gave me. I turned around and faced the western horizon where a blazing orange sun was setting behind a dense bank of clouds. I smiled with satisfaction, feeling as if my life were in the perfect place, and then watched as the entire sky became a scene of fire and wondrous color. It was the best sunset that I had seen in Asia thus far, and I knew that it was Mother Nature's way of keeping the fire lit that was burning inside of me.

My two local friends appeared just as the colors disappeared, and asked me to join them for Sri Lankan tea. I walked with them down narrow alleyways and into their home where I was greeted by their mother. The whole family piled in to meet me and I found myself surrounded by beautiful smiling children who looked at me with big, eager eyes. I sipped her delicious tea and flipped through pictures of the family, feeling like a distant relative who had just arrived after so long gone. We all laughed as her 1-year old granddaughter stared at me with big brown eyes, clutching her mother's legs despite their urging her to walk to me. I looked around at the concrete walls, the pictures of Jesus that graced the walls, and thought of the many homes in which I had sat like this. I felt as humble as I did then as their mother offered me food, more tea and then insisted I return before leaving so she could fix me a proper dinner and throw a farewell party for me. As I attempted to relate the extreme gratitude I felt inside, I found myself choking up and completely at a loss for words, unable to express the intensity of my emotions.

This trip has felt so much like a dream, I hardly have any sense of time. I feel as if I'm living in tune with the sun that rises and sets each day and I hardly have time to question what is happening or what will happen next. I'm simply sitting back and letting the miracles happen; and one by one they're carrying me through one of my best journeys yet.