Que pasa Joshua?
Did I get the swine flu and fall of the face of the earth? Did the credit crisis cancel my credit cards and life? Did the central americans get tired of my hopeless excuse for Spanish and cut out my tongue? Did Obama fly me off to Cuba to negociate a truce? Well as good as those stories would have been, the truth is a little less extravigant.
I got salmonella in Guatemala!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And I can tell you for a moment there I was in a bad way, all alone, hospitalized in a strange place with people I couldnt really understand. I felt along way from home and needless to say wish I had family there to help me, but as the saying goes, "what doesnt kill you, makes you stronger" and thats how I feel now. The doctor actually was quite amazed because from the blood test he could tell that my body had been fighting the bacteria for 2-4weeks before I finally surrcomed to it. Luckily I had my Guatemalan spanish teacher Pedro come and comfort me (poor guy, I cried like a baby when he arrived), and I must also say thanks to my fellow spanish student and friend Tamara for helping me get back on my feet. To be truthful, and thats what this blog is all about RIGHT, I seriously considered ending the my odysee there and then, but something inside pushed me on. I dont know if it was the shame of not finishing what I set out to do, or if it was the stubborn nature I can possess at times, but whatever it was I am only thankful now, as today I write to you from COLOMBIA.
Before I get into a rant about Colombia, I wanna back track a little and recall as best I can what Ive been doing since March 31st my last post.
So in late March I saw one of the highlights of my trip near San Critobal, Chiapas in Mexico. San Cristobal is deep in the heart land of the indigenous mayan communities of Mexico. On a day trip to a nearby mayan village I visited a church that truly took my breath away. This particular village is vigilant in protecting its cultural heritage and even now practises the healing and sacrificial ceremonies of its ancient ancestors. Unfortunately this vow to protect doesn´t allow picutes inside the church (as one stupid traveller found out, when he was promptly removed from the church by force), so I will describe it to you as best I can. From the outside it looks like just another place of worship, but once inside the true impact of the mayans is felt. Imagine a dimley lit church a wash with thousands of candles burning not only to provide light but also to cast out bad spirits that have entered many of the sick, imagine a constant hypnotic hum of shamen (mayan medicine healers) recalling ancient prayers to heal the sick, imagine the weathered faces of mayan elders starring back at you, deep in prayer for the wellbeing of their communities and families.
I pause here because you may not like the next part of the description, (please dont read on if you find cruelty to animals hard to stomach).
The sacrificial element involves taking a live chicken and gently waving it up and down over the sick persons body to extract the bad spirits, the healer continues with hypnotic prayers of the maya, then the chicken is killed swiflty by breaking of the neck (this was done right in front of me), after the ceremony is completed the chicken is buried to ensure the bad spirits dont return. This was very hard to witness but I do not pass any judgement on the morality of this practice, as this ceremony has its origins hundreds of years ago and the mayan people of today truly believe this is the best way to heal the sick.
Ok so I covered some pretty heavy ground in this blog and Im thinking I will leave it there and will continue when I next write, which I promise will be very soon. Just so you know where and what I am doing now, I am staying in Bogota with the family of a uni friend back home, they are awesome and Ive already had a good look around the city and surrounds, its very cool. Im hoping to go to the amazon on Friday but having trouble with flights, so fingers crossed.
Take care and don´t get salmonella.
Odysee out.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Oaxaca and beyond!
Ok Blogistodres! Get out the disgruntled bull and some red cloth and lets run from the scene like big nambie pambies! And on that somewhat peculiar note, its time for another reader beware instalment of my odyssey, Mexico to the Amazon.
NOTE: I've decided my introductions for each blog update are to become more and more random as the odyssey continues, hope thats OK with you.
What a difference 10 days makes, I'm now deep in the south of Mexico, in the heart lands of the ancient and mystical Mayan civilisation, San Cristobal las casas. But first a quick look back at Oaxaca.
Oaxaca is considered as one of the top capitals in Mexico for cultural and culinary experiences, and lets just say it lived up to most of the expectation. Oaxaca given its high indigenous population is also renowned for the artisans who create wonderful souvenirs for tourists. Given all this brilliant creativity and colour, I couldnt help but feel there was an underlying tension in this town between the Mexicans of European ancestory and those of the indigenous peoples. Oaxaca has been the scene of many a show down between the two and these feelings seem to permeate into the streets even now. Generally, the stouts are over land rights and the fact that indigenous people are treated in many regards as second class citizens. Ringing any bells for anyone? Is it the same where you live? It does for me, the aborigines of Australia have suffered the same fate with seemingly no one willing or able to stand up and help create a voice. It never ceases to amaze me how as human beings on this one finite planet, we cant grasp the notion that no one race is any better than any other, no religion is more worthy, no country is above another and so on..... from my travels its the differences that make the planet wonderful not the comformity.
Sorry I digress. The highlight of Oaxaxa was the world's largest living thing, El Tule, it's a tree on the out skirts of town that measures over 58metres in circumference with a height of 42 metres. 58 metre girth is a world record, second best is in Africa a Baobab tree with a girth of 20 or so metres. El tule is over 2000 years old and must have been just a seedling when the Olmecs (mother of all ancient civilisations in Meso America) were setting up camp in these parts. Amazing tree! I also saw a petrofied water fall, this was a real treat I have never seen anything like it. Pretty much petrification of the waterfall occured because large amounts of minerals (calcium carbonate) are contained in the water that ozzes out of the above cliff. Overtime the deposits of calcium build up from the base and reach back up to the source hence the waterfall becomes a calciumfall, hasnt got the same ring, but looked very cool. I almost forgot, Monte Alban (white mountain). Another awesome display of ancient ruins perched on a nearby hill.
The food was amazing too, in Oaxaca mole (a chocolate source) is king. Mole comes in 7 different flavours in these parts and is combined with chicken, beef, vegies etc. I ate in the market for just about every meal, cheap as chips and very very tasty. I must admit if I eat another quesidia (not spelt right) I may just turn into a tortilla with an inside full of cheese.
I begun this blog feeling like I had lots of things I wanted to say about some of the thoughts I've had whilst travelling these past days, but to now I cant seem to remember any of them, lets just call it an early senior moment. So the next couple of days are probably the most exciting for me but also the most challenging. I am off to Palenque (best ancient site in Mexico, surrounded by jungle) tomorrow at 6am, the next day hitting the collectivos (crazy minivans) for more ruins on the Mexican-Guatemalan border, camping in the jungle near an indigenous village, next day taking a boat 22 kms to a very important archaeological site, and then back to cross the border into Guatemala to Flores. Wow its going to be intense but I feel like I can pull it off. These are the feelings I have been chasing. So unless anyone else has any further business, that will be adios from me.
Odyssey out.
NOTE: I've decided my introductions for each blog update are to become more and more random as the odyssey continues, hope thats OK with you.
What a difference 10 days makes, I'm now deep in the south of Mexico, in the heart lands of the ancient and mystical Mayan civilisation, San Cristobal las casas. But first a quick look back at Oaxaca.
Oaxaca is considered as one of the top capitals in Mexico for cultural and culinary experiences, and lets just say it lived up to most of the expectation. Oaxaca given its high indigenous population is also renowned for the artisans who create wonderful souvenirs for tourists. Given all this brilliant creativity and colour, I couldnt help but feel there was an underlying tension in this town between the Mexicans of European ancestory and those of the indigenous peoples. Oaxaca has been the scene of many a show down between the two and these feelings seem to permeate into the streets even now. Generally, the stouts are over land rights and the fact that indigenous people are treated in many regards as second class citizens. Ringing any bells for anyone? Is it the same where you live? It does for me, the aborigines of Australia have suffered the same fate with seemingly no one willing or able to stand up and help create a voice. It never ceases to amaze me how as human beings on this one finite planet, we cant grasp the notion that no one race is any better than any other, no religion is more worthy, no country is above another and so on..... from my travels its the differences that make the planet wonderful not the comformity.
Sorry I digress. The highlight of Oaxaxa was the world's largest living thing, El Tule, it's a tree on the out skirts of town that measures over 58metres in circumference with a height of 42 metres. 58 metre girth is a world record, second best is in Africa a Baobab tree with a girth of 20 or so metres. El tule is over 2000 years old and must have been just a seedling when the Olmecs (mother of all ancient civilisations in Meso America) were setting up camp in these parts. Amazing tree! I also saw a petrofied water fall, this was a real treat I have never seen anything like it. Pretty much petrification of the waterfall occured because large amounts of minerals (calcium carbonate) are contained in the water that ozzes out of the above cliff. Overtime the deposits of calcium build up from the base and reach back up to the source hence the waterfall becomes a calciumfall, hasnt got the same ring, but looked very cool. I almost forgot, Monte Alban (white mountain). Another awesome display of ancient ruins perched on a nearby hill.
The food was amazing too, in Oaxaca mole (a chocolate source) is king. Mole comes in 7 different flavours in these parts and is combined with chicken, beef, vegies etc. I ate in the market for just about every meal, cheap as chips and very very tasty. I must admit if I eat another quesidia (not spelt right) I may just turn into a tortilla with an inside full of cheese.
I begun this blog feeling like I had lots of things I wanted to say about some of the thoughts I've had whilst travelling these past days, but to now I cant seem to remember any of them, lets just call it an early senior moment. So the next couple of days are probably the most exciting for me but also the most challenging. I am off to Palenque (best ancient site in Mexico, surrounded by jungle) tomorrow at 6am, the next day hitting the collectivos (crazy minivans) for more ruins on the Mexican-Guatemalan border, camping in the jungle near an indigenous village, next day taking a boat 22 kms to a very important archaeological site, and then back to cross the border into Guatemala to Flores. Wow its going to be intense but I feel like I can pull it off. These are the feelings I have been chasing. So unless anyone else has any further business, that will be adios from me.
Odyssey out.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Mexico city, Cuenavaca and Tepoztlan!
Alright pornstars, who´s ready for another palpitating episode of Mexico to the Amazon!
Well I found out today that my research post in the Peruvian amazon (near Puerto Malcado) is pretty much the place where Che Guevera started his odyssey down the amazon on a paddle steamer. Not to compare his odssey with mine, but good to know I´m not the first to push this boundary.
It´s another warm and sunny day in the heart of Mexico, I´m about 50kms outside Mexico city at the moment, but sometimes depending on wind direction the pollution can make you feel like you smack bang in the middle of the overly inhabited city. After leaving Guadalajara with my couch surfing buddies (there were 9 of us travelling together) we took in Mexico city be it very briefly, saw the majestic pyramids of Teotihuacan, and then took the road south to Cuenavaca. Cuenavaca must hold the record for creating more bottle necks than the coca cola factory, the traffic here is insurmountable for only 300,000 people. Traffic aside, its a really cool place to explore excellent sites nearby. So far I´ve seen Xochicalco, an ancient city from 350 to 600 A.D and the kicker was that I pretty much had the place to myself. Just me and a nice guy from Tokyo, who as per usual was only in the country for 3 days and then back to Japan to start working again. When I said I was travelling until July he almost gagged!
I´ve taken in the exquiste caves del grutas, they are seriously the best thing I´ve seen under the soil and believe me I´ve seen a few. Stretching 1.5 kms into the base of a mountain and reaching heights of 82 metres you kind of get the feeling of insignificance in comparison to mother nature. I will try and post some photos in the coming days, they are magnificent! Ahora en vive Tepoztlan, yes my spanish still sux even after taking two 4 hour lessons. Seriously though I´m staying in a great small hippey like town called Tepoztlan. I´ve been really lucky to stay with a Mexican family here and if they keep feeding me this awesome Mexican tucker I just may never leave. I´ve said this a few times out loud now, ´the best way to get inside a culture is through the palate´. So if this was to be taken literally, I know just about all there is to know about Mexico already. The Mexican food we eat back home and even in the states is rubbish!
Dispelling gringo mis-conceptions on Mexican food, part one.
Tacos are not ready baked
Refried beans are not in everything
I have not seen a burrito
Mild chilli why bother!
I have always thought it would be nice to find a place that put chilli on everything, and by crickey I have most certainly found it! How about a chilli coffee, or is your beer boring? Lets put chilli on the rim of your glass! Ok thats enough of the odyssey for now, next time I write I will be in one of the best colonial cities in Mexico, Oaxaca. This place sounds exciting, and coming from a natural perspective, is home to one of the biggest trees in the world, 11 metre girth WOW!
adios pornstars.
Odyssey out.
Well I found out today that my research post in the Peruvian amazon (near Puerto Malcado) is pretty much the place where Che Guevera started his odyssey down the amazon on a paddle steamer. Not to compare his odssey with mine, but good to know I´m not the first to push this boundary.
It´s another warm and sunny day in the heart of Mexico, I´m about 50kms outside Mexico city at the moment, but sometimes depending on wind direction the pollution can make you feel like you smack bang in the middle of the overly inhabited city. After leaving Guadalajara with my couch surfing buddies (there were 9 of us travelling together) we took in Mexico city be it very briefly, saw the majestic pyramids of Teotihuacan, and then took the road south to Cuenavaca. Cuenavaca must hold the record for creating more bottle necks than the coca cola factory, the traffic here is insurmountable for only 300,000 people. Traffic aside, its a really cool place to explore excellent sites nearby. So far I´ve seen Xochicalco, an ancient city from 350 to 600 A.D and the kicker was that I pretty much had the place to myself. Just me and a nice guy from Tokyo, who as per usual was only in the country for 3 days and then back to Japan to start working again. When I said I was travelling until July he almost gagged!
I´ve taken in the exquiste caves del grutas, they are seriously the best thing I´ve seen under the soil and believe me I´ve seen a few. Stretching 1.5 kms into the base of a mountain and reaching heights of 82 metres you kind of get the feeling of insignificance in comparison to mother nature. I will try and post some photos in the coming days, they are magnificent! Ahora en vive Tepoztlan, yes my spanish still sux even after taking two 4 hour lessons. Seriously though I´m staying in a great small hippey like town called Tepoztlan. I´ve been really lucky to stay with a Mexican family here and if they keep feeding me this awesome Mexican tucker I just may never leave. I´ve said this a few times out loud now, ´the best way to get inside a culture is through the palate´. So if this was to be taken literally, I know just about all there is to know about Mexico already. The Mexican food we eat back home and even in the states is rubbish!
Dispelling gringo mis-conceptions on Mexican food, part one.
Tacos are not ready baked
Refried beans are not in everything
I have not seen a burrito
Mild chilli why bother!
I have always thought it would be nice to find a place that put chilli on everything, and by crickey I have most certainly found it! How about a chilli coffee, or is your beer boring? Lets put chilli on the rim of your glass! Ok thats enough of the odyssey for now, next time I write I will be in one of the best colonial cities in Mexico, Oaxaca. This place sounds exciting, and coming from a natural perspective, is home to one of the biggest trees in the world, 11 metre girth WOW!
adios pornstars.
Odyssey out.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Hola from Guadalajara!
Hi groovers time for my first 0dyssey update! The excitement is overwhelming but just try and stay calm. It's been a wonderful first couple of days in Mexico. I feel really blessed to be living this odyssey and I often wonder what did I do to deserve it. Something unbelievable fell on my lap in the last couple of days, and no it wasn't a Mexican mistress. I guess if it was to be taken literally, a parana has fallen on my lap. Ok so now this is getting weird. Seriously though I have been offered a researcher spot by a woman documenting fish species and habitat at the head waters of the Amazon in Peru! She sent me some details so here they are;
Now come on that is just crazy huh, I will be a glorified fisherman who learns to ID fish in one of the most pristine and biodiverse places on earth. Make sure you click the link to see the area and details on how to get there (very isolated). This is exactly what I wanted to give my odyssey more of a direction and something kind of tangible I can take back to Australia and build on. I'm over the moon, just hoping I have enough money to make it.
Do you ever postulate or ponder why good things happen to you? Is it chance? Is it destiny? Is it good bloody luck over and over again. No I dont think so. I am begginning to think it has some interconnection to how we deal with the bad things that happen in our lives aswell. Its kinda like reaching a tipping point of negativity, if we let the not so nice parts of our day overcome the balance of good vibes from the day, we close ourselves off to the possibilities of life. I think in the past I had a tendency to blame others when bad situations presented themselves, and this only perpetuated the bad luck, the bad things just kept happening. These days I try to take the responsibility for everything that happens to me and thus far it has made me feel stronger mentally. It has also given me a bounce in figuring out how to solve the problem rather than looking for someone to blame. Remember its not bad luck, its just a different kind of good luck.
So, where was I? Ah Mexico! I learnt yesterday that unlike the Western world where death is considered a sad and somber occasion, here in Mexico its almost a party. You see they believe that death does not represent the end of a life but the continuation of a life in a parallel world so why not celebrate the death instead of wallowing in sorrow. Got to admit this is making a whole lot of sense to me or is that just the bottle of Tequila talking. The day of the dead in October where Mexican families actually spend the night partying at the cemetary follows on from the belief of the Tarasco people (pre hispanic times) that the dead can return to their homes one day each year. I think its such a great idea, think about it, if you die what would you rather, family and friends coming and crying at your grave or having a fiesta?
Ok time to wrap this puppy up with a little montage of a couple cool things I've been up to.
I went to the actual town of Tequila today where the famous drink was founded, toured a distillery and even managed to score a 750ml $15 bottle of 3 yr old Tequila, try and get that at home! I've been rock climbing and hiking already on the outskirts of town and managed to score an invite to a great couch surfing (couch potato for mum) party the 1st night I arrived. Mexicans are really friendly and like talking to foreigners like me.
Odyssey out.
Hi Joshua,
Great to hear from you. Basically, I will be doing part of my dissertation research this summer using stable isotope analysis to look at what primary producers support the food web in lagoons and the main channel of the Tambopata River, and doing some work measuring net ecosystem productivity in the two habitats as well. If you came to help, you would most likely be doing a lot of seining, cast netting, and fishing with rod and reel in the two habitats, and learning how to id Neotropical fish species. If you decide that you want to come, make sure there is room for you at the Posasa Amazonas research station for the $15 per night rate. Here is a website about the lodge http://www.perunature.com/pages/pa_about1.htm if you want to get a better feel for the area.
Now come on that is just crazy huh, I will be a glorified fisherman who learns to ID fish in one of the most pristine and biodiverse places on earth. Make sure you click the link to see the area and details on how to get there (very isolated). This is exactly what I wanted to give my odyssey more of a direction and something kind of tangible I can take back to Australia and build on. I'm over the moon, just hoping I have enough money to make it.
Do you ever postulate or ponder why good things happen to you? Is it chance? Is it destiny? Is it good bloody luck over and over again. No I dont think so. I am begginning to think it has some interconnection to how we deal with the bad things that happen in our lives aswell. Its kinda like reaching a tipping point of negativity, if we let the not so nice parts of our day overcome the balance of good vibes from the day, we close ourselves off to the possibilities of life. I think in the past I had a tendency to blame others when bad situations presented themselves, and this only perpetuated the bad luck, the bad things just kept happening. These days I try to take the responsibility for everything that happens to me and thus far it has made me feel stronger mentally. It has also given me a bounce in figuring out how to solve the problem rather than looking for someone to blame. Remember its not bad luck, its just a different kind of good luck.
So, where was I? Ah Mexico! I learnt yesterday that unlike the Western world where death is considered a sad and somber occasion, here in Mexico its almost a party. You see they believe that death does not represent the end of a life but the continuation of a life in a parallel world so why not celebrate the death instead of wallowing in sorrow. Got to admit this is making a whole lot of sense to me or is that just the bottle of Tequila talking. The day of the dead in October where Mexican families actually spend the night partying at the cemetary follows on from the belief of the Tarasco people (pre hispanic times) that the dead can return to their homes one day each year. I think its such a great idea, think about it, if you die what would you rather, family and friends coming and crying at your grave or having a fiesta?
Ok time to wrap this puppy up with a little montage of a couple cool things I've been up to.
I went to the actual town of Tequila today where the famous drink was founded, toured a distillery and even managed to score a 750ml $15 bottle of 3 yr old Tequila, try and get that at home! I've been rock climbing and hiking already on the outskirts of town and managed to score an invite to a great couch surfing (couch potato for mum) party the 1st night I arrived. Mexicans are really friendly and like talking to foreigners like me.
Odyssey out.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Mexico The start of an odyssey
Introduction to the Odyssey
I chose the word odyssey to describe my endeavous because thats what I feel sums it up best. The word odyssey is derived from a greek hero Odysseus and his long journey home following the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan war. Alright so I know what you are thinking my god he is comparing himself to an ancient greek hero (what a wanker). I am no hero, although does it make it more credible that I have been to Troy and hungout in the giant horse? Jokes aside, the comparison lies within the feelings that even Odysseus must have had thousands of years ago arriving to a new place apprehension, wonder, excitement, doubt, bewilderment and so on. These feelings are of an ancient making but live still within each and every one of us as we pass through our own journeys big or small.
Mexico is a place that conguers up thoughts of ancient civilizations on their own odysseys through unfamiliar lands most likely in search of food, water or even glory. Not to mention the hard work in building humungus pyramids the size of small modern day sky scrappers.
I'm not here to build a pyramid or even to walk in the aztecs' shoes (although I may try to learn some of the ancient Nahuatl language), I'm here to experience the basic feelings and wonders that have stood strong through time when even great civilizations have failed. It's hard to describe how intense your own thoughts are when you are on the road, the smallest thing can set your mind into places you seldom go. Here inlies the challenge of being a world citizen, daily you are confronted with a seemingly easy and uncomplicated lifestyle, but you ask anyone who has lived the transient existence independently for even a short time and they will tell of the intense feelings of highs and lows, both connection and disconnection. Whilst these emotions are strong and sometimes uncomfortable, to not experience them would be like not tasting a ripe avacado at the height of its goodness. Why the avacado in the metaphor? Because it was a good change from an apple and they are native to Mexico. All told they produce over one billion kilos of avacado each year. Here is the best part though, Mexico only exports 5% of one billion kilo of avacodo annually, do the math thats alot of guacamole staying here in Mexico.
So this blog is gonna be a little deep for some, perhaps not deep enough for others but be assured it will be truth. I wont write about everything, hell I might decide to write about nothing but when I do write it will be from my heart and sometimes even worth reading.
Odyssey out.
I chose the word odyssey to describe my endeavous because thats what I feel sums it up best. The word odyssey is derived from a greek hero Odysseus and his long journey home following the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan war. Alright so I know what you are thinking my god he is comparing himself to an ancient greek hero (what a wanker). I am no hero, although does it make it more credible that I have been to Troy and hungout in the giant horse? Jokes aside, the comparison lies within the feelings that even Odysseus must have had thousands of years ago arriving to a new place apprehension, wonder, excitement, doubt, bewilderment and so on. These feelings are of an ancient making but live still within each and every one of us as we pass through our own journeys big or small.
Mexico is a place that conguers up thoughts of ancient civilizations on their own odysseys through unfamiliar lands most likely in search of food, water or even glory. Not to mention the hard work in building humungus pyramids the size of small modern day sky scrappers.
I'm not here to build a pyramid or even to walk in the aztecs' shoes (although I may try to learn some of the ancient Nahuatl language), I'm here to experience the basic feelings and wonders that have stood strong through time when even great civilizations have failed. It's hard to describe how intense your own thoughts are when you are on the road, the smallest thing can set your mind into places you seldom go. Here inlies the challenge of being a world citizen, daily you are confronted with a seemingly easy and uncomplicated lifestyle, but you ask anyone who has lived the transient existence independently for even a short time and they will tell of the intense feelings of highs and lows, both connection and disconnection. Whilst these emotions are strong and sometimes uncomfortable, to not experience them would be like not tasting a ripe avacado at the height of its goodness. Why the avacado in the metaphor? Because it was a good change from an apple and they are native to Mexico. All told they produce over one billion kilos of avacado each year. Here is the best part though, Mexico only exports 5% of one billion kilo of avacodo annually, do the math thats alot of guacamole staying here in Mexico.
So this blog is gonna be a little deep for some, perhaps not deep enough for others but be assured it will be truth. I wont write about everything, hell I might decide to write about nothing but when I do write it will be from my heart and sometimes even worth reading.
Odyssey out.
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