Monday, December 24, 2012
OK OK - I know - it's been AGES since I blogged!
And the reason is, I was busy finishing my book! The great news is - the book is now published!
"Left at the Big White Pig" is OUT and collecting rave reviews on Amazon!
See http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008KPKMTG/
The book has had its own evolution. At the end of the day, it became the story of my year 2011-12, re-discovering myself as an older, wiser woman. The Galapagos trip, whilst wonderful, was a little anti-climactic in terms of the story. But it yielded a super-cool pic of me and a giant tortoise for the cover.
The good news is, nearly 1,000 people have downloaded the book and I have had fan letters!!! One lady said it is the most inspirational book she has ever read. Wow. Another thanked me for reminding her to take her power back from the family she had given it away to. Gratifying stuff.
Other book news: I also put up my 2nd book, "Your Presence is Enough" on kindle, so you can download it now. I'd love some reviews, please!
I have to tell you, launching a book nowadays requires a LOT of time on internet sites and as many of you know, the computer has never been my strong point. Hence the blogging pause.
But I am back on it!!
As 2012 comes to a close and the world did not end on Dec 21st, I get a chance to exhale deeply and look at what I want to create for the New year. Travel, is on the agenda, of course. A trip to Panama is upcoming to see if it's a suitable place to bring my groups. And I'll be taking my Mum to Seville in Spain for a few days in the Spring. Plus the usual trips to Bali and Thailand are already scheduled for the Fall.
I'm wanting to amplify my tantra teaching and will host a tantra workshop in Sierra Hot Springs in July. Plus I am in process of writing a short guide to "The 10 Tantric Powers for better sex." Or some such title. It's about time I wrote this book and I hope to get time to complete it while I am in Central America this January.
Stay tuned.
All that remains is for me to wish you Merry Xmas and an interesting New Year!
see you in 2013..
Julia
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Monkey business
It's not every day I find myself being groomed by a wild monkey in the middle of the Amazon rainforest....but if you had happened to be at the monkey rescue center just outside Puyo, Ecuador, yesterday, you would have seen me with a cappuchin monkey on my shoulder looking for nits. He didn't find any, in case you were wondering!
Monkeys have always fascinated me and it has been a life long dream to get up close and personal with those cuddly-looking fellows you see in movies as opposed to the aggressive grey ones that chase me down the road in Bali.
Here at the rescue center, they had 6 different species, all of whom had been rescued from certain death in the wild. The spider monkey was large and gangly and so affectionate... if he liked someone he would leap into their arms! The cappuchins are small and furry, like little teddy bears, and if you put your arm out and stay still, they sometimes jump up your arm and sit on your shoulder, as happened to me.
This visit was part of a "jungle tour" into the Amazon basin rainforest area. It was what I call "jungle light" as we left our cozy hotel at 9am and were back in time for a nice glass of wine and great dinner at 6.30pm. PLenty of jungle for me with my creature comforts intact! During that time, we sat in a dug out canoe for 20 minutes that rocked like crazy and was wicked uncomfortable, hiked two hours into dense forest to look at medicinal plants and swam at a waterfall.
Whilst wearing wellington boots - or do you say galoshes?
Here is why.
It is very muddy in the forest, because it's a RAIN forest, meaning it pisses with rain pretty much daily for most of the year, hence much mud underfoot.
Having said that, the hike through the trees with a native guide was wonderful. He explained about the medicinal qualities of the trees and plants, some of which were familiar, like cats claw and the ayahuasca vine, some unfamiliar, but potent according to his traditions. They have cures for cancer that no-one seems interested in, plus other medicines that they have always used in their communities.
My hope is that this gets researched while the indigenous people can remember their traditions. It's changing fast.
The traditions are interesting. When the women have babies, they squat holding a wooden bar and pop the baby out in 30 minutes - alone. The men have many wives and if they want one from another village, they start a war and steal her!
AFter our hike, we visited a village to sample chicha, the local brew. This brew is made fron chewed up yucca plant that is spat out and left to ferment. Needless to say, with my weak stomach I wasn't having any of that! But Janice was brave and tried some.
"It tastes like yoghurt," she said!
The previous day we had visited an orchid farm, planted on an arable field from scratch 30 years ago by a family passionate about native plants. Their achievement is unbelievable! It looks like natural rain forest now and has attracted back many varieties of birds and insects. The orchids were equisite...some so tiny we needed a magnifying glass to see them!
It's heart-warming to see some local Ecuadoreans caring deeply about their land. They need afew more like that. Their contryside is amazingly beautiful with deep river gorges and dense forested areas but alas, like many other areas, it's being exploited and rapidly disappearing.
I felt lucky to have seen it at all.
Janice and I have had a month here in Ecuador now and I must say, it's been a lovely experience and a delightful place. Tuesday I fly home to the USA....
Monkeys have always fascinated me and it has been a life long dream to get up close and personal with those cuddly-looking fellows you see in movies as opposed to the aggressive grey ones that chase me down the road in Bali.
Here at the rescue center, they had 6 different species, all of whom had been rescued from certain death in the wild. The spider monkey was large and gangly and so affectionate... if he liked someone he would leap into their arms! The cappuchins are small and furry, like little teddy bears, and if you put your arm out and stay still, they sometimes jump up your arm and sit on your shoulder, as happened to me.
This visit was part of a "jungle tour" into the Amazon basin rainforest area. It was what I call "jungle light" as we left our cozy hotel at 9am and were back in time for a nice glass of wine and great dinner at 6.30pm. PLenty of jungle for me with my creature comforts intact! During that time, we sat in a dug out canoe for 20 minutes that rocked like crazy and was wicked uncomfortable, hiked two hours into dense forest to look at medicinal plants and swam at a waterfall.
Whilst wearing wellington boots - or do you say galoshes?
Here is why.
It is very muddy in the forest, because it's a RAIN forest, meaning it pisses with rain pretty much daily for most of the year, hence much mud underfoot.
Having said that, the hike through the trees with a native guide was wonderful. He explained about the medicinal qualities of the trees and plants, some of which were familiar, like cats claw and the ayahuasca vine, some unfamiliar, but potent according to his traditions. They have cures for cancer that no-one seems interested in, plus other medicines that they have always used in their communities.
My hope is that this gets researched while the indigenous people can remember their traditions. It's changing fast.
The traditions are interesting. When the women have babies, they squat holding a wooden bar and pop the baby out in 30 minutes - alone. The men have many wives and if they want one from another village, they start a war and steal her!
AFter our hike, we visited a village to sample chicha, the local brew. This brew is made fron chewed up yucca plant that is spat out and left to ferment. Needless to say, with my weak stomach I wasn't having any of that! But Janice was brave and tried some.
"It tastes like yoghurt," she said!
The previous day we had visited an orchid farm, planted on an arable field from scratch 30 years ago by a family passionate about native plants. Their achievement is unbelievable! It looks like natural rain forest now and has attracted back many varieties of birds and insects. The orchids were equisite...some so tiny we needed a magnifying glass to see them!
It's heart-warming to see some local Ecuadoreans caring deeply about their land. They need afew more like that. Their contryside is amazingly beautiful with deep river gorges and dense forested areas but alas, like many other areas, it's being exploited and rapidly disappearing.
I felt lucky to have seen it at all.
Janice and I have had a month here in Ecuador now and I must say, it's been a lovely experience and a delightful place. Tuesday I fly home to the USA....
Friday, February 17, 2012
Galapagos - the journey
I am still in Galapagos. It's been an amazing two weeks of discovery. My friend Janice and I spent the first week on a boat with thirteen other travelers, mostly from Europe.
We got super lucky with the group and all got along well.
I have written about our cruise as the last chapter in my book and have pasted an extract below.
The great news is.... I have now completed the first draft of my book!
It's a story in 5 acts...
1.The Past....flashbacks of the important events in my life that shaped who I am today...marriage, divorce, Harbin, Hal, finding the yogic path etc.
2.The present....or at least earlier this year.... feeling crappy with menopausal symptoms and my journey to balance and wellness
3.Asia this last Fall.....because some interesting things happened and it kind of relates to my ongoing tale
4.Dave... our surprise connection.. co-written by him
5.Galapagos... the denouement. Realizations and self-discovery along with the actual journey.
It's very personal, very auto-biographical and I intend to find a good publishing house for its eventual home. That's the next job... polishing the manuscript and finding a publisher.
Enjoy......
GALAPAGOS
Sheets of rain greeted us as our plane landed at Baltra airport, the tiny Galapagos island with the airstrip. I had chosen February for the trip because the water is warmer then and flowers bloom in the rain. The guide books all said the rain would be sporadic and brief. We will hope they are right!
Janice and I collected our bags and met Billy, our local guide and naturalist, at the arrivals hall. Billy is a local Ecuadorean with curly, black hair and speaks great English with a thick, gravelly accent, the kind that comes from smoking two packs of cigarettes a day for too many years. He told us to sit down and wait for the rest of the group that would join us on the boat.
First came Nanita, the Swedish bombshell, 27 years old and traveling alone for the week while her boyfriend dives. Her Dad is Indian and her Mum Finnish. You can imagine how lovely her skin color and features with that genetic combination! Nanita works for a visa office in Stockholm and speaks perfect English. I felt sure all the guys would have huge crushes on her!
Greg and Pat are a retired English couple from Norwich, which is near my hometown of Newmarket. They are keen ornithologists and Pat gets the prize for having the biggest telephoto lens on her camera and the most photographic equipment.
I asked Greg how long they'd been married.
“46 years. Could have done three murders for that,” quipped the funny man.
God, I miss British humor!
Shushky and Christo are also a retired couple, but from Sweden. They seem very quiet and sweet and in their reserved demeanor, remind me of my elderly relatives back in England.
Next to find us were live-wire thirty-somethings Olwyn and Luke from London. Luke is a project manager in finance, currently taking a career break and his girlfriend, Olwyn, is her family firm's accountant. Despite the Welsh name, she is Irish with that lovely lilting accent. I felt pleased to have some London natives on board to catch up with news from my old home town.
Christina is a young, Dutch doctor doing her annual trip with her Mother, Cornelia. She has an engaging smile and warm personality. I immediately felt drawn to her. My Mum and I like to do the same thing... take a few days for a trip each year to create new memories together in the most exciting way we can imagine! I thought it was great that they were taking three whole weeks to be together in South America.
Then there was Katrina and Stany, a young Belgian couple. Stany looks like a young, skinnier Cat Stevens. Katrina is short, cute and bubbly.
Finally, a young, blonde, Dutch couple arrived touting two enormous suitcases plus two medium-sized bags.. I wondered whatever they could need for an eight day boat trip that was so important? Vivienne was five months pregnant. She was tall and wearing a clinging red and black woolen dress that would have looked too tight on a hooker, exposing her extended belly, plus black pumps and tights that would have been better suited to a dance hall. She looked hot and uncomfortable, her legs already swelling in the heat and humidity. Patrick, her husband, was handsome but shorter then her, well muscled and with a determined look on his face. I wondered how he would manage to carry all those suitcases.
The group gathered, Billy packed us into a bus and we drove off across the island. The coastal area sported a barren landscape of lava rock and scrubby bushes, with tall prickly pear cactus trees standing like sentries guarding the land.
“These cactus trees and endemic to Galapagos,” said Billy. “They are the only cactus species that grows like a tree. But watch out for their prickles or you will get a nasty cut!”
As we headed up into the hills, however, the landscape became lush and tropical, with more diversity in trees and vegetation. It also got noticeably cooler. We were headed to a private reserve where there was a good chance of seeing some giant tortoises.
“An adult can weigh as much as 600lbs,” said Billy. “They, too, are a species that are unique to Galapagos and if we are lucky, we will see some today.”
The sun came out and the rain stopped as we donned wellington boots and walked the muddy trail of the tortoise reserve.
“Look Julia, there's one by that bush!” Janice whipped out her camera and got her first tortoise shot.
It's always exciting to see an animal in the wild for the first time and these tortoises really were huge and impressive. The animals in the reserve are free to come and go as they please but they like this area and can often be seen in large numbers eating grass and plodding slowly along by the meadows and ponds. We saw at least a dozen of the prehistoric-looking creatures and got very close for taking some great pictures. They did not seem to mind us at all.
When giant tortoises mate, they moo like a cow, It's the only vocalization they make. Billy had walked ahead on the trail and suddenly we heard him yelling at us.
“Come quickly! I can hear them mooing! They must be mating somewhere!”
Round the next corner, we saw them – a male standing on his hind feet mounting a female!
“It can last up to an hour!” said Billy, as we watched, fascinated, while the male tortoise humped himself silly on top of the female, breathing heavily as he hoisted that great weight up and down.
Back when whalers and sealers discovered these islands in the eighteenth century, the tortoise population was decimated from 400,000 to 10,000. Because the tortoises can survive for up to a year without food or water, they were coveted as a source of fresh meat on the long ship journeys home. Darwin even ate one. Now conservation efforts are bringing back their numbers with great success, all except for the sad plight of Lonesome George.
How would you feel if you were the last of your kind on the planet? Lonesome George was discovered all alone on the island of Pinta in the nineteen seventies. He is the last remaining tortoise from that particular island. Each tortoise has adapted a little differently to best suit the conditions on their home island and therefore George is a unique tortoise. He was brought to the Darwin breeding center on Santa Cruz island and attempts have been made to breed him with other females from different islands. Unfortunately, efforts have failed as George does not seem particularly interested in sex.
One Swiss researcher even spent seven months with George, living in his enclosure and coating herself with the scent of females in heat, hoping to at least catch a drop of sperm from the lonely tortoise, but to no avail. All is not lost, however. Maybe he just hasn't met “the one” yet. He is only about 70 years old and could live another 100 years. There is still hope for his genetic line to continue, albeit as a crossbreed.
A visit to see this famous tortoise was next on our agenda, so we headed straight to the the Darwin Research Center. There we saw one year old baby tortoises that are bred, then released back to the island of their origin. Introduced animals such as wild pigs and dogs and goats have been eradicated on some of these islands to give the tortoises a chance to survive. It seems to be working, as tortoise numbers are increasing.
Naturally we had to visit Lonesome George. He is a bit of a reclusive personality and was hiding behind a rock during most of our visit. He must get completely fed up with all the fuss and bother over him, a simple tortoise trying to live a quiet life!
After our visit to the Darwin Center, Billy loaded us into dinghies at the dock and a couple of minutes later we were boarding “The Gran Poseidon”, our home for the next eight days. It was surprisingly nice. Having been on boats before with cabins way too small to turn around in, let alone swing a cat, I was pleased that our cabin was a decent size and even had a closet! The bathroom was as big as mine at home with a real shower and flush toilet!
The entire boat is made from some exquisite Ecuadorean woods that gives the interior a classy yet cozy feel. Our beds are comfy and there is air-conditioning – luxury! And no wifi... at last I get to disconnect completely from the outside world. No facebook, no checking emails or phone messages.. peace, quiet and nature – heaven!
That evening, Billy asked us all to come down for a briefing on the next day's activities before dinner. He was playing guitar and passionately singing a lovely Spanish ballad when we arrived at the dining hall deck.
“I used to have a great voice, you know, but years of singing in smoky bars and drinking too much whiskey changed that.”
“Don't apologize,” said Janice, ever the defender of musicians, being a folk-singer herself. “It's lovely to hear you play.”
After our briefing, he asked the crew to come and introduce themselves. There were eight of them in total, including two gourmet chefs for our dining pleasure and a barman called Diego.
“I make the best capirinha in all of Galapagos!” he proudly proclaimed.
How could one refuse a challenge like that?
“I'll take one!” I said, eager to begin my celebration of this wonderful week. It was indeed excellent and helped whet my appetite for the delicious buffet meal about to be served.
I was excited to get to know thirteen interesting new people! On that first evening, Janice and I sat with Patrick and Vivienne. It turns out he is a concert and event organizer in Holland, handling big names like Madonna, Cold Play and summer festivals. He works 18-20 hour days regularly, so likes to come away to unwind and let his hair down. Patrick is charismatic and high energy and I enjoyed his lively Dutch intelligence. He told me that he also used to be a Dutch ballroom dancing champion! Quite the over-achiever, that guy. I also noticed that while Janice and I tucked heartily into all the fresh vegetables on offer at the buffet, Patrick ate none.
“I just eat meat and potatoes,” he said with a grin.
Vivienne sat quietly most of the time, smiling adoringly. That first night, I couldn't make out if she was his eye-candy who wouldn't interfere with the way he chose to live his life as long as he kept her in bling, babies and cruises, or his rock. Or both. In any case she had snagged herself a wealthy entrepreneur and seemed pretty happy about it.
Exhausted from the long travel day, Janice and I were in bed by 9.30pm and slept like babies in our cozy cabin, waking only to hear the sound of the anchor being hauled back aboard.
We sailed through the early hours, coming to anchor again about 4am.
********************************
We awoke to the sounds of gulls soaring overhead and sea-lions barking.. a gorgeous sunny morning, the 6am light surreal. We had sailed overnight to South Plaza island and were anchored between it and North plaza island in a lovely sheltered bay. The boat's hardwood floors were perfect for early morning yoga before breakfast and it felt good to stretch out after all the traveling of yesterday.
“I smell sea-lions!” announced Billy as he came down for his breakfast. “Get your good walking shoes, camera, water and sun cream and I'll see you at the dinghy station at 8am.”
I had breakfast with the quiet, elderly, Swedish couple. I had watched them walking around and had loved how he would take her hand in such a caring way. Curious about them, I asked what business he had retired from. Christo's face lit up as he described his work world as an election protocol supervisor for the European Union, mostly in South and Central America. He explained in detail how Venezuela has the most efficient and fool proof voting system in the world, all electronic, with finger print recognition and sound tallying systems. Who knew?
This is what I love about traveling. Everyone has a story and I get to meet fascinating people who would not normally cross my path at home. Listening to Christo's tales of third world travel attempting to supervise elections in backwaters of the world was truly intriguing.
Most of the couples on the boat were traveling extensively for three months or more, visiting other countries like Colombia or Peru. They inspired me to broaden my own travel horizons and whetted my appetite to see some of these countries that had not even been on my radar. Pat and Greg had loved Botswana in Africa and some of the others had recently been to Kenya and enjoyed safaris there too.
8am sharp saw us gathered by the dinghy station for our first foray onto National Park land. Vivienne, our pregnant Dutch princess, still had her dance shoes on together with a different tight-fitting dress. She and Patrick had not slept well and looked a little out of sorts. Their last vacation had been at an exclusive hotel in the Caribbean favored by movie stars. She'd packed for a five star cruise ship, not an intimate, casual boat trip with hiking excursions on lava rock!
As we landed at the sea-lion colony the strong smell of Galapagos perfume assaulted our nostrils...guara (seabird poop) mixed with sea lion urine. Billy was right – you certainly could smell the sea-lions, in fact you could have smelled them from Texas! As we walked up the trail, I almost stepped on an iguana. They were everywhere...land iguanas plus marine iguanas that swim in the sea. They eat the red sesuvium plants that look a bit like crimson ice plants. Tall prickly pear cactus trees dotted the otherwise barren landscape. Lava rocks glistened in the sun from years of sea-lion bodies rubbing them smooth.
The contrast of green cactus trees, red sesuvium plants, and turquoise sea was startlingly beautiful.
“Oh my God!” Billy sounded excited. “So many sea-lions! Be careful not to get too close to the large males. A sea-lion bite will get infected and is a fast way to ruin your holiday.”
He didn't have to tell me twice. The males make a loud barking sound and bare their teeth when they are defending their territory, which they did when we walked too close.
When they retired, Pat and Greg, the Norwich couple, had both taken up bird-watching as a hobby they could share and were really knowledgeable about the local birds. Ornithology and photography is now their focus for travel and has taken them around the world, on a quest for great photographs of our feathered friends. They are also hilarious. The archetypal married-for-ever couple, she digs at him and he takes it all in his stride, giving it strongly back on occasion. They obviously adore each other....and make a great team.
Pat saw a cactus finch land on a tree and start to probe its beak deep inside the yellow flower.
“That's a Darwin finch, you know. Darwin collected specimens from a few different islands and saw the slight variations in beak, each adapted to the particular flora of their own island. That's how he came to his Theory of Evolution. Now where's Greg with my camera? He's always running off with it like I don't exist. Greg!”
Greg dutifully back-tracked to find his wife, good-natured as ever.
We walked on to the cliff tops and saw giant frigate birds circling above us, gulls with bright red eyes (swallow-tailed gull) and red-billed tropic birds, which are sleek, white gulls with long, wispy tails. The island was small and narrow and I could see the wisdom in limiting the number of tourists on this fragile ecosystem. We were only three groups that morning on the whole island.. about 16 people in each.. and that was plenty.
The Ecuadorean government declared most of the Galapagos islands a national park in 1959 and UNESCO has made it a World Heritage Site. Conservation efforts have been made to return the islands as much as possible to their natural state, restoring habitats, culling imported pests like the black rat or wild donkeys and limiting the amount of human impact on these precious islands.
Something else was evident; a peacefulness on the island, bereft of electro-magnetic frequencies, microwaves and other invisible pollutants of our modern world. The air itself felt at peace, soothing to the soul, with a calming effect on the mind, I felt privileged to be here in this pristine place, so far from madding crowds and the rest of civilization.
While we were walking, I took the opportunity to chat to Billy.
“How many months a year do you travel with groups, Billy?”
“About 4 -5,” he replied.
“And what do you like most about your job?”
“I like meeting the people, and for me it's a rest and I get to play my guitar and read and snorkel and have fun.”
“Well, can't you do that at home?”
“No, because at home I watch a lot of television and then I go to the bar and have drinks with my friends and I don't read. I play football a lot too.
“Do you have a wife?”
“No. I'm too old and ugly and I have no money.”
I am not sure if this was meant as tongue in cheek because Billy was a good looking man in my estimation. And only 51, which is by no means OLD!
“So do you see yourself living here the rest of your life?”
“Yes, why not? I have my own house. I have my friends here. I like it. I go to the mainland once a year to visit my Mother. You know, when I was growing up, we were very poor and did not have enough to eat. My step-father would drink all day and my Mother had to do laundry to feed us kids. When I was 25, a friend suggested I go to Galapagos where people were making good money. I had to study very hard and learn English and very few people passed the test to be a naturalist guide. It took me a year, but I did it! In those days most guides were foreigners and I was one of the only Ecuadorean guides. Since then I have supported my Mother. She left her husband and has a good life now.”
How admirable. What a reminder of how privileged we are, if we were lucky enough to come from a family where there was always enough food on the table. Billy told me, too, that he still dreamed of finding the right woman and even being a Dad. I wish him well.
We got super lucky with the group and all got along well.
I have written about our cruise as the last chapter in my book and have pasted an extract below.
The great news is.... I have now completed the first draft of my book!
It's a story in 5 acts...
1.The Past....flashbacks of the important events in my life that shaped who I am today...marriage, divorce, Harbin, Hal, finding the yogic path etc.
2.The present....or at least earlier this year.... feeling crappy with menopausal symptoms and my journey to balance and wellness
3.Asia this last Fall.....because some interesting things happened and it kind of relates to my ongoing tale
4.Dave... our surprise connection.. co-written by him
5.Galapagos... the denouement. Realizations and self-discovery along with the actual journey.
It's very personal, very auto-biographical and I intend to find a good publishing house for its eventual home. That's the next job... polishing the manuscript and finding a publisher.
Enjoy......
GALAPAGOS
Sheets of rain greeted us as our plane landed at Baltra airport, the tiny Galapagos island with the airstrip. I had chosen February for the trip because the water is warmer then and flowers bloom in the rain. The guide books all said the rain would be sporadic and brief. We will hope they are right!
Janice and I collected our bags and met Billy, our local guide and naturalist, at the arrivals hall. Billy is a local Ecuadorean with curly, black hair and speaks great English with a thick, gravelly accent, the kind that comes from smoking two packs of cigarettes a day for too many years. He told us to sit down and wait for the rest of the group that would join us on the boat.
First came Nanita, the Swedish bombshell, 27 years old and traveling alone for the week while her boyfriend dives. Her Dad is Indian and her Mum Finnish. You can imagine how lovely her skin color and features with that genetic combination! Nanita works for a visa office in Stockholm and speaks perfect English. I felt sure all the guys would have huge crushes on her!
Greg and Pat are a retired English couple from Norwich, which is near my hometown of Newmarket. They are keen ornithologists and Pat gets the prize for having the biggest telephoto lens on her camera and the most photographic equipment.
I asked Greg how long they'd been married.
“46 years. Could have done three murders for that,” quipped the funny man.
God, I miss British humor!
Shushky and Christo are also a retired couple, but from Sweden. They seem very quiet and sweet and in their reserved demeanor, remind me of my elderly relatives back in England.
Next to find us were live-wire thirty-somethings Olwyn and Luke from London. Luke is a project manager in finance, currently taking a career break and his girlfriend, Olwyn, is her family firm's accountant. Despite the Welsh name, she is Irish with that lovely lilting accent. I felt pleased to have some London natives on board to catch up with news from my old home town.
Christina is a young, Dutch doctor doing her annual trip with her Mother, Cornelia. She has an engaging smile and warm personality. I immediately felt drawn to her. My Mum and I like to do the same thing... take a few days for a trip each year to create new memories together in the most exciting way we can imagine! I thought it was great that they were taking three whole weeks to be together in South America.
Then there was Katrina and Stany, a young Belgian couple. Stany looks like a young, skinnier Cat Stevens. Katrina is short, cute and bubbly.
Finally, a young, blonde, Dutch couple arrived touting two enormous suitcases plus two medium-sized bags.. I wondered whatever they could need for an eight day boat trip that was so important? Vivienne was five months pregnant. She was tall and wearing a clinging red and black woolen dress that would have looked too tight on a hooker, exposing her extended belly, plus black pumps and tights that would have been better suited to a dance hall. She looked hot and uncomfortable, her legs already swelling in the heat and humidity. Patrick, her husband, was handsome but shorter then her, well muscled and with a determined look on his face. I wondered how he would manage to carry all those suitcases.
The group gathered, Billy packed us into a bus and we drove off across the island. The coastal area sported a barren landscape of lava rock and scrubby bushes, with tall prickly pear cactus trees standing like sentries guarding the land.
“These cactus trees and endemic to Galapagos,” said Billy. “They are the only cactus species that grows like a tree. But watch out for their prickles or you will get a nasty cut!”
As we headed up into the hills, however, the landscape became lush and tropical, with more diversity in trees and vegetation. It also got noticeably cooler. We were headed to a private reserve where there was a good chance of seeing some giant tortoises.
“An adult can weigh as much as 600lbs,” said Billy. “They, too, are a species that are unique to Galapagos and if we are lucky, we will see some today.”
The sun came out and the rain stopped as we donned wellington boots and walked the muddy trail of the tortoise reserve.
“Look Julia, there's one by that bush!” Janice whipped out her camera and got her first tortoise shot.
It's always exciting to see an animal in the wild for the first time and these tortoises really were huge and impressive. The animals in the reserve are free to come and go as they please but they like this area and can often be seen in large numbers eating grass and plodding slowly along by the meadows and ponds. We saw at least a dozen of the prehistoric-looking creatures and got very close for taking some great pictures. They did not seem to mind us at all.
When giant tortoises mate, they moo like a cow, It's the only vocalization they make. Billy had walked ahead on the trail and suddenly we heard him yelling at us.
“Come quickly! I can hear them mooing! They must be mating somewhere!”
Round the next corner, we saw them – a male standing on his hind feet mounting a female!
“It can last up to an hour!” said Billy, as we watched, fascinated, while the male tortoise humped himself silly on top of the female, breathing heavily as he hoisted that great weight up and down.
Back when whalers and sealers discovered these islands in the eighteenth century, the tortoise population was decimated from 400,000 to 10,000. Because the tortoises can survive for up to a year without food or water, they were coveted as a source of fresh meat on the long ship journeys home. Darwin even ate one. Now conservation efforts are bringing back their numbers with great success, all except for the sad plight of Lonesome George.
How would you feel if you were the last of your kind on the planet? Lonesome George was discovered all alone on the island of Pinta in the nineteen seventies. He is the last remaining tortoise from that particular island. Each tortoise has adapted a little differently to best suit the conditions on their home island and therefore George is a unique tortoise. He was brought to the Darwin breeding center on Santa Cruz island and attempts have been made to breed him with other females from different islands. Unfortunately, efforts have failed as George does not seem particularly interested in sex.
One Swiss researcher even spent seven months with George, living in his enclosure and coating herself with the scent of females in heat, hoping to at least catch a drop of sperm from the lonely tortoise, but to no avail. All is not lost, however. Maybe he just hasn't met “the one” yet. He is only about 70 years old and could live another 100 years. There is still hope for his genetic line to continue, albeit as a crossbreed.
A visit to see this famous tortoise was next on our agenda, so we headed straight to the the Darwin Research Center. There we saw one year old baby tortoises that are bred, then released back to the island of their origin. Introduced animals such as wild pigs and dogs and goats have been eradicated on some of these islands to give the tortoises a chance to survive. It seems to be working, as tortoise numbers are increasing.
Naturally we had to visit Lonesome George. He is a bit of a reclusive personality and was hiding behind a rock during most of our visit. He must get completely fed up with all the fuss and bother over him, a simple tortoise trying to live a quiet life!
After our visit to the Darwin Center, Billy loaded us into dinghies at the dock and a couple of minutes later we were boarding “The Gran Poseidon”, our home for the next eight days. It was surprisingly nice. Having been on boats before with cabins way too small to turn around in, let alone swing a cat, I was pleased that our cabin was a decent size and even had a closet! The bathroom was as big as mine at home with a real shower and flush toilet!
The entire boat is made from some exquisite Ecuadorean woods that gives the interior a classy yet cozy feel. Our beds are comfy and there is air-conditioning – luxury! And no wifi... at last I get to disconnect completely from the outside world. No facebook, no checking emails or phone messages.. peace, quiet and nature – heaven!
That evening, Billy asked us all to come down for a briefing on the next day's activities before dinner. He was playing guitar and passionately singing a lovely Spanish ballad when we arrived at the dining hall deck.
“I used to have a great voice, you know, but years of singing in smoky bars and drinking too much whiskey changed that.”
“Don't apologize,” said Janice, ever the defender of musicians, being a folk-singer herself. “It's lovely to hear you play.”
After our briefing, he asked the crew to come and introduce themselves. There were eight of them in total, including two gourmet chefs for our dining pleasure and a barman called Diego.
“I make the best capirinha in all of Galapagos!” he proudly proclaimed.
How could one refuse a challenge like that?
“I'll take one!” I said, eager to begin my celebration of this wonderful week. It was indeed excellent and helped whet my appetite for the delicious buffet meal about to be served.
I was excited to get to know thirteen interesting new people! On that first evening, Janice and I sat with Patrick and Vivienne. It turns out he is a concert and event organizer in Holland, handling big names like Madonna, Cold Play and summer festivals. He works 18-20 hour days regularly, so likes to come away to unwind and let his hair down. Patrick is charismatic and high energy and I enjoyed his lively Dutch intelligence. He told me that he also used to be a Dutch ballroom dancing champion! Quite the over-achiever, that guy. I also noticed that while Janice and I tucked heartily into all the fresh vegetables on offer at the buffet, Patrick ate none.
“I just eat meat and potatoes,” he said with a grin.
Vivienne sat quietly most of the time, smiling adoringly. That first night, I couldn't make out if she was his eye-candy who wouldn't interfere with the way he chose to live his life as long as he kept her in bling, babies and cruises, or his rock. Or both. In any case she had snagged herself a wealthy entrepreneur and seemed pretty happy about it.
Exhausted from the long travel day, Janice and I were in bed by 9.30pm and slept like babies in our cozy cabin, waking only to hear the sound of the anchor being hauled back aboard.
We sailed through the early hours, coming to anchor again about 4am.
********************************
We awoke to the sounds of gulls soaring overhead and sea-lions barking.. a gorgeous sunny morning, the 6am light surreal. We had sailed overnight to South Plaza island and were anchored between it and North plaza island in a lovely sheltered bay. The boat's hardwood floors were perfect for early morning yoga before breakfast and it felt good to stretch out after all the traveling of yesterday.
“I smell sea-lions!” announced Billy as he came down for his breakfast. “Get your good walking shoes, camera, water and sun cream and I'll see you at the dinghy station at 8am.”
I had breakfast with the quiet, elderly, Swedish couple. I had watched them walking around and had loved how he would take her hand in such a caring way. Curious about them, I asked what business he had retired from. Christo's face lit up as he described his work world as an election protocol supervisor for the European Union, mostly in South and Central America. He explained in detail how Venezuela has the most efficient and fool proof voting system in the world, all electronic, with finger print recognition and sound tallying systems. Who knew?
This is what I love about traveling. Everyone has a story and I get to meet fascinating people who would not normally cross my path at home. Listening to Christo's tales of third world travel attempting to supervise elections in backwaters of the world was truly intriguing.
Most of the couples on the boat were traveling extensively for three months or more, visiting other countries like Colombia or Peru. They inspired me to broaden my own travel horizons and whetted my appetite to see some of these countries that had not even been on my radar. Pat and Greg had loved Botswana in Africa and some of the others had recently been to Kenya and enjoyed safaris there too.
8am sharp saw us gathered by the dinghy station for our first foray onto National Park land. Vivienne, our pregnant Dutch princess, still had her dance shoes on together with a different tight-fitting dress. She and Patrick had not slept well and looked a little out of sorts. Their last vacation had been at an exclusive hotel in the Caribbean favored by movie stars. She'd packed for a five star cruise ship, not an intimate, casual boat trip with hiking excursions on lava rock!
As we landed at the sea-lion colony the strong smell of Galapagos perfume assaulted our nostrils...guara (seabird poop) mixed with sea lion urine. Billy was right – you certainly could smell the sea-lions, in fact you could have smelled them from Texas! As we walked up the trail, I almost stepped on an iguana. They were everywhere...land iguanas plus marine iguanas that swim in the sea. They eat the red sesuvium plants that look a bit like crimson ice plants. Tall prickly pear cactus trees dotted the otherwise barren landscape. Lava rocks glistened in the sun from years of sea-lion bodies rubbing them smooth.
The contrast of green cactus trees, red sesuvium plants, and turquoise sea was startlingly beautiful.
“Oh my God!” Billy sounded excited. “So many sea-lions! Be careful not to get too close to the large males. A sea-lion bite will get infected and is a fast way to ruin your holiday.”
He didn't have to tell me twice. The males make a loud barking sound and bare their teeth when they are defending their territory, which they did when we walked too close.
When they retired, Pat and Greg, the Norwich couple, had both taken up bird-watching as a hobby they could share and were really knowledgeable about the local birds. Ornithology and photography is now their focus for travel and has taken them around the world, on a quest for great photographs of our feathered friends. They are also hilarious. The archetypal married-for-ever couple, she digs at him and he takes it all in his stride, giving it strongly back on occasion. They obviously adore each other....and make a great team.
Pat saw a cactus finch land on a tree and start to probe its beak deep inside the yellow flower.
“That's a Darwin finch, you know. Darwin collected specimens from a few different islands and saw the slight variations in beak, each adapted to the particular flora of their own island. That's how he came to his Theory of Evolution. Now where's Greg with my camera? He's always running off with it like I don't exist. Greg!”
Greg dutifully back-tracked to find his wife, good-natured as ever.
We walked on to the cliff tops and saw giant frigate birds circling above us, gulls with bright red eyes (swallow-tailed gull) and red-billed tropic birds, which are sleek, white gulls with long, wispy tails. The island was small and narrow and I could see the wisdom in limiting the number of tourists on this fragile ecosystem. We were only three groups that morning on the whole island.. about 16 people in each.. and that was plenty.
The Ecuadorean government declared most of the Galapagos islands a national park in 1959 and UNESCO has made it a World Heritage Site. Conservation efforts have been made to return the islands as much as possible to their natural state, restoring habitats, culling imported pests like the black rat or wild donkeys and limiting the amount of human impact on these precious islands.
Something else was evident; a peacefulness on the island, bereft of electro-magnetic frequencies, microwaves and other invisible pollutants of our modern world. The air itself felt at peace, soothing to the soul, with a calming effect on the mind, I felt privileged to be here in this pristine place, so far from madding crowds and the rest of civilization.
While we were walking, I took the opportunity to chat to Billy.
“How many months a year do you travel with groups, Billy?”
“About 4 -5,” he replied.
“And what do you like most about your job?”
“I like meeting the people, and for me it's a rest and I get to play my guitar and read and snorkel and have fun.”
“Well, can't you do that at home?”
“No, because at home I watch a lot of television and then I go to the bar and have drinks with my friends and I don't read. I play football a lot too.
“Do you have a wife?”
“No. I'm too old and ugly and I have no money.”
I am not sure if this was meant as tongue in cheek because Billy was a good looking man in my estimation. And only 51, which is by no means OLD!
“So do you see yourself living here the rest of your life?”
“Yes, why not? I have my own house. I have my friends here. I like it. I go to the mainland once a year to visit my Mother. You know, when I was growing up, we were very poor and did not have enough to eat. My step-father would drink all day and my Mother had to do laundry to feed us kids. When I was 25, a friend suggested I go to Galapagos where people were making good money. I had to study very hard and learn English and very few people passed the test to be a naturalist guide. It took me a year, but I did it! In those days most guides were foreigners and I was one of the only Ecuadorean guides. Since then I have supported my Mother. She left her husband and has a good life now.”
How admirable. What a reminder of how privileged we are, if we were lucky enough to come from a family where there was always enough food on the table. Billy told me, too, that he still dreamed of finding the right woman and even being a Dad. I wish him well.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
off to galapagos - finally - sort of!!
GALAPAGO
Quito
It was dark and raining as we pulled up to the curbside at Sacramento International airport. I sleepily grabbed my bag and leaned over to give Dave a kiss.
“Have a wonderful time and don't worry about me. I'll miss you but I'll be fine,” he said, a little unconvincingly.
“I'll miss you too, but the month will fly by and before you know it, I'll be home.”
I looked deeply into his eyes, fearing that this lengthy separation would be hard on him. I was going towards the trip of a lifetime. He was staying home in rainy Sacramento with a heavy workload and a hole in his free time now that I would no longer be there to monopolize his every free moment.
We had been pretty much inseparable for the last few weeks, catching up on ninety-nine combined years of life. To our great mutual joy, we had found ourselves amazingly compatible in almost every way. We enjoyed the same foods, both appreciated the same restaurants and had the same taste in movies, so going out together was easy, smooth and fun. Dave was such a competent, in charge kind of man that he allowed me to relax into my feminine nature, trusting his decisions. He quickly learned my likes and dislikes and soon knew exactly what would surprise and delight me the most.
He also loved my community, especially what he called my “mystical women.” He reveled in getting to know my large group of friends and students, joining in with the jnana groups, proud of the work I did with people, even encouraging his own friends to join us. In short, he fit right in with my lifestyle and I in turn got to receive the blessing of his love and support.
We locked lips one more delicious time.
Yum. I'll never tire of Dave kisses... but the 6am flight to Houston was boarding shortly and it was time to go.
It was a little hard to believe I was actually taking a trip just for myself. Normally when I travel I am meeting a group and guiding a tour. This time, it was just for me, like in the old days, when I would pack my trusty backpack, hop a flight somewhere sunny and disappear for a few months. Except that my old backpack would no longer fit my needs! Instead I had bought a nifty, new and larger roller bag that converts into a backpack for walking up flights of stairs or boarding boats. As I picked it up out of Dave's truck, I hoped those occasions would be few and far between – this puppy was heavy! Still I had managed to stuff all required clothing for both tropical and mountain weather plus my dive gear into the bag. That plus a small day pack and passport purse and I was set to go and as mobile as possible.
In my thirties, I traveled way lighter! No bag of supplements needed then. No computer, ipod or headphones to lug around. A camera was my only nod to electronics in those days and a bottle of Lomotil for possible tummy upsets, my only medicine. Still I was only bringing one bag and no extra baggage fees applied.
I had mixed emotions as I watched Dave drive off.. On the one hand, this was a trip I had dreamed of my whole life... I had worked hard to make the money to afford it and had spent all year preparing to take this month off. My life set in order, bills paid and classes put on hold, it was a precious time out for me, away from my usual obligations and teaching schedule.
But after meeting Dave, the last few weeks had felt like a whirlwind. I hadn't even had time to think much about the trip, just arranging the most basic necessities of a hotel in Quito and a time and place to meet up with Janice. I felt sad to leave my man after so short a time together, but we both agreed it was best for me to to go for the whole time as planned. He would be there when I got home and I would return richer for the experience.
I walked over to Continental Airlines to check in and slept most of the way to Houston. On arrival my body started to wake up and demand food. Now as airports in the USA go, Houston ranks as one of the better ones as far as choice of dining establishment. I settled on a Deli where the food looked at least somewhat real and fresh and deciding on a chicken salad roll, proceeded to engage in ordering said item with Audrey.
Audrey looked like she had just eaten a lemon. Short, chubby, with orange hair, black skin and an attitude, I doubt this was Audrey's dream job when she left school and truth be told, she would probably have rather been elsewhere at 11am on a Wednesday morning than in an airport helping frazzled customers. Still, it would have helped if I could have understood her!
“I'd like half the chicken salad sandwich please on a roll.”
'Would you like matoes, picks, onjuns and letts with that?”
“What?”
'Would you like matoes, picks,onjuns and letts with that?”
“Oh... yes tomatoes and lettuce only please. No pickles or onions.”
“You want may and must?”
“I'm sorry, what did you say?”
'You want mayo and mustard?”
“Oh... yes just a little please.”
“Wanna tata salad or yogit as a side?”
“Pardon, I didn't quite catch that?”
“Tater salad or yoghurt as a side?”
“Oh... I'll have the potato salad please.”
Oh God please let that be the last decision I have to make...
Audrey probably thought I was yet another buffoon foreigner who spoke lousy Texan. I was glad to get out of there and nurse my sandwich in the dining area away from her scathing eyes.
Continental airlines had boasted of a meal on board the next leg of my journey to Panama, being a posh international flight and all that. However experience has taught me to be mistrusful of the culinary delights of American airlines.
I was not wrong.
When “lunch” was served, I bravely chose the chicken wrap. The stewardess handed me some foul concoction of bean paste mushed up with a meat that only vaguely resembled anything familiar, served with an iceberg lettuce salad complete with high calorie dressing and zero nutrition. Thank God I had eaten beforehand. Thanks be to Audrey.
Still all was not lost. After a mere four hours, we landed in Panama and transferred to a Copa Airlines plane. A snack was served consisting of REAL unadulterated turkey meat in a tasty sandwich and as much free wine as I could put away in two hours, which by then was quite a lot. Yes, even this two-bit Panamanian airline could serve recognizable food and decent Chilean vino. And people wonder why American airlines lose money...
I took advantage of being cooped up in a flying tin can to open my “Lonely Planet Guide to Ecuador.” The great news is, there are tons of exciting places to visit after our Galapagos trip and I can't wait to see them all! Rainforests, old colonial cities, laid-back beach resorts on the Pacific coast.... we will be spoiled for choice... and Quito, as a designated UNESCO world-heritage site, sounds amazing.
A little later we landed.
“Welcome to Guayaquil,” the stewardess said over the loud speaker.
Guayaquil? Surely she must be mistaken? We are in Quito.
“Doe to bad weather, we cannot fly safely into Quito airport. Please take your personal belongings and disembark. We will try again to fly to Quito in another hour.”
Ah shucks. These things always happen when we are the most tired.
I got off the plane with all the other passengers and spent an hour wandering around the terminal lounge. It felt good to stretch my legs but, my gosh, I surely could have used some shut-eye.
An hour later we were all back on board as rain pounded down outside. We took off for Quito. After about an hour, I felt the plane start to descend. Then the captain came on the intercom:
“We are so sorry, but the visibility in Quito has once again deteriorated to less than a kilometer and we cannot land. We are heading back to Guayaquil.”
A collective groan echoed through the cabin.
By then I was so punch drunk tired I was beyond feeling any resistance to the situation. Anyway there was absolutely nothing to be done except surrender to the fact that I was still sitting on an aeroplane.
We landed. And sat there whilst the pilot negotiated on our behalf. Eventually we all disembartked again but this time, went through passport control and got on a bus that took us to a hotel. It was 5.45am. No worries,... I was about to lie flat and get sleep! Good night!
Quito
It was dark and raining as we pulled up to the curbside at Sacramento International airport. I sleepily grabbed my bag and leaned over to give Dave a kiss.
“Have a wonderful time and don't worry about me. I'll miss you but I'll be fine,” he said, a little unconvincingly.
“I'll miss you too, but the month will fly by and before you know it, I'll be home.”
I looked deeply into his eyes, fearing that this lengthy separation would be hard on him. I was going towards the trip of a lifetime. He was staying home in rainy Sacramento with a heavy workload and a hole in his free time now that I would no longer be there to monopolize his every free moment.
We had been pretty much inseparable for the last few weeks, catching up on ninety-nine combined years of life. To our great mutual joy, we had found ourselves amazingly compatible in almost every way. We enjoyed the same foods, both appreciated the same restaurants and had the same taste in movies, so going out together was easy, smooth and fun. Dave was such a competent, in charge kind of man that he allowed me to relax into my feminine nature, trusting his decisions. He quickly learned my likes and dislikes and soon knew exactly what would surprise and delight me the most.
He also loved my community, especially what he called my “mystical women.” He reveled in getting to know my large group of friends and students, joining in with the jnana groups, proud of the work I did with people, even encouraging his own friends to join us. In short, he fit right in with my lifestyle and I in turn got to receive the blessing of his love and support.
We locked lips one more delicious time.
Yum. I'll never tire of Dave kisses... but the 6am flight to Houston was boarding shortly and it was time to go.
It was a little hard to believe I was actually taking a trip just for myself. Normally when I travel I am meeting a group and guiding a tour. This time, it was just for me, like in the old days, when I would pack my trusty backpack, hop a flight somewhere sunny and disappear for a few months. Except that my old backpack would no longer fit my needs! Instead I had bought a nifty, new and larger roller bag that converts into a backpack for walking up flights of stairs or boarding boats. As I picked it up out of Dave's truck, I hoped those occasions would be few and far between – this puppy was heavy! Still I had managed to stuff all required clothing for both tropical and mountain weather plus my dive gear into the bag. That plus a small day pack and passport purse and I was set to go and as mobile as possible.
In my thirties, I traveled way lighter! No bag of supplements needed then. No computer, ipod or headphones to lug around. A camera was my only nod to electronics in those days and a bottle of Lomotil for possible tummy upsets, my only medicine. Still I was only bringing one bag and no extra baggage fees applied.
I had mixed emotions as I watched Dave drive off.. On the one hand, this was a trip I had dreamed of my whole life... I had worked hard to make the money to afford it and had spent all year preparing to take this month off. My life set in order, bills paid and classes put on hold, it was a precious time out for me, away from my usual obligations and teaching schedule.
But after meeting Dave, the last few weeks had felt like a whirlwind. I hadn't even had time to think much about the trip, just arranging the most basic necessities of a hotel in Quito and a time and place to meet up with Janice. I felt sad to leave my man after so short a time together, but we both agreed it was best for me to to go for the whole time as planned. He would be there when I got home and I would return richer for the experience.
I walked over to Continental Airlines to check in and slept most of the way to Houston. On arrival my body started to wake up and demand food. Now as airports in the USA go, Houston ranks as one of the better ones as far as choice of dining establishment. I settled on a Deli where the food looked at least somewhat real and fresh and deciding on a chicken salad roll, proceeded to engage in ordering said item with Audrey.
Audrey looked like she had just eaten a lemon. Short, chubby, with orange hair, black skin and an attitude, I doubt this was Audrey's dream job when she left school and truth be told, she would probably have rather been elsewhere at 11am on a Wednesday morning than in an airport helping frazzled customers. Still, it would have helped if I could have understood her!
“I'd like half the chicken salad sandwich please on a roll.”
'Would you like matoes, picks, onjuns and letts with that?”
“What?”
'Would you like matoes, picks,onjuns and letts with that?”
“Oh... yes tomatoes and lettuce only please. No pickles or onions.”
“You want may and must?”
“I'm sorry, what did you say?”
'You want mayo and mustard?”
“Oh... yes just a little please.”
“Wanna tata salad or yogit as a side?”
“Pardon, I didn't quite catch that?”
“Tater salad or yoghurt as a side?”
“Oh... I'll have the potato salad please.”
Oh God please let that be the last decision I have to make...
Audrey probably thought I was yet another buffoon foreigner who spoke lousy Texan. I was glad to get out of there and nurse my sandwich in the dining area away from her scathing eyes.
Continental airlines had boasted of a meal on board the next leg of my journey to Panama, being a posh international flight and all that. However experience has taught me to be mistrusful of the culinary delights of American airlines.
I was not wrong.
When “lunch” was served, I bravely chose the chicken wrap. The stewardess handed me some foul concoction of bean paste mushed up with a meat that only vaguely resembled anything familiar, served with an iceberg lettuce salad complete with high calorie dressing and zero nutrition. Thank God I had eaten beforehand. Thanks be to Audrey.
Still all was not lost. After a mere four hours, we landed in Panama and transferred to a Copa Airlines plane. A snack was served consisting of REAL unadulterated turkey meat in a tasty sandwich and as much free wine as I could put away in two hours, which by then was quite a lot. Yes, even this two-bit Panamanian airline could serve recognizable food and decent Chilean vino. And people wonder why American airlines lose money...
I took advantage of being cooped up in a flying tin can to open my “Lonely Planet Guide to Ecuador.” The great news is, there are tons of exciting places to visit after our Galapagos trip and I can't wait to see them all! Rainforests, old colonial cities, laid-back beach resorts on the Pacific coast.... we will be spoiled for choice... and Quito, as a designated UNESCO world-heritage site, sounds amazing.
A little later we landed.
“Welcome to Guayaquil,” the stewardess said over the loud speaker.
Guayaquil? Surely she must be mistaken? We are in Quito.
“Doe to bad weather, we cannot fly safely into Quito airport. Please take your personal belongings and disembark. We will try again to fly to Quito in another hour.”
Ah shucks. These things always happen when we are the most tired.
I got off the plane with all the other passengers and spent an hour wandering around the terminal lounge. It felt good to stretch my legs but, my gosh, I surely could have used some shut-eye.
An hour later we were all back on board as rain pounded down outside. We took off for Quito. After about an hour, I felt the plane start to descend. Then the captain came on the intercom:
“We are so sorry, but the visibility in Quito has once again deteriorated to less than a kilometer and we cannot land. We are heading back to Guayaquil.”
A collective groan echoed through the cabin.
By then I was so punch drunk tired I was beyond feeling any resistance to the situation. Anyway there was absolutely nothing to be done except surrender to the fact that I was still sitting on an aeroplane.
We landed. And sat there whilst the pilot negotiated on our behalf. Eventually we all disembartked again but this time, went through passport control and got on a bus that took us to a hotel. It was 5.45am. No worries,... I was about to lie flat and get sleep! Good night!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Last installment of the Dave romance...beginning!
This is my last post about the Dave romance.
Don't worry - it's all going very well thank you - it's just that I am about to leave for Ecuador on Wednesday and want to get back to writing about the theme of the book.. I just took a little romantic detour, that's all!
And there are a lot of you secret blog readers out there it seems, who want more of Dave's point of view!
So here is the rest...if it doesn't touch your heart then I don't know what would!
another deep breath from me..
Dave writes:
The Group...
My move? Really? She actually granted that kind of licence? Amazing. I played it cool and suggested a few openings in my schedule and played it brave and mentioned my plan to go to Wilbur Hot Springs for a soak later in the week.
Her response was a very clear invitation to join her Yoga Circle held every Tuesday night and to see her in action. I was honored and really wanted to come and it just seemed like the right thing to do. I inquired about what to say to the "how do you know Julia" question which had already been thrown at me on Massage Night by an arriving friend who needed comfort. She answered with integrity. "Just tell them we have had a couple dates". Simple. In the mean time our email chats flowed.
I arrived to her Tuesday group not knowing what to expect and also knowing it was the perfect place for me. She greeted me warmly and I figured out right away that she wasn't going to hide the fact that she liked me in front of her friends and clients. This is really such an honoring thing for a new person in someone's radar and I was overjoyed. The group was dynamic and amazing and I soaked it up. She's a great teacher and leader and I would be a fool not to recognize that she was now my teacher.
Can I date my teacher? Sure. Of course. I need great teachers and can separate the two. It's not like some Van Halen song or teen boy fantasy. I just think a man has to recognize the idea that a woman who needs to be honored in her majesty can be without the man's loss of ego. This is really one of those things I don't get. Julia Tindall is damn good at what she does and I could learn from that. Romantic possibilites inside, aside, upside down, this is a truth.
Maybe she knew it and maybe she just did it, but Julia did two things to seal the deal with me on that particular point. First, as the group got into circle, she made a place for me right next to her. As a new guest, I felt welcomed. As a potential "man", I felt special. My energy soared. Second, after the final Om's, she came and sat next to me and put her arm around me. I had seen her be affectionate with others, but in this instance, it was more than that. She claimed me. Marked her territory. Showed everyone in the room that I was important to her. My fragile male ego drew immediate strength from this. I was to be counted. I mattered. And I'll tell you, that, ladies, is how to win a man. Win. Win. Win. I was high as Everest Base Camp in that moment and "warm glow" just doesn't cut it for explanations. I spent time meeting and talking with others and as this happened, I always felt her eyes on me. Checking on me. She would breeze by and touch me. Perfection.
As people left, she made sure that I knew I was to stay and once the last person closed the door we fell, nay we nearly leapt onto her Magic Couch and melted into each other's arms. Moments later our lips found what I knew I desired (and as it turns out so did she) and I was kissed the kiss of a lifetime. Just writing about it turns me into a shivering yarn ball of nerve endings. That kiss, the most perfect of my 45 years on the human stage was so very potent in meaning and depth that whatever pain I had over relationships past went headlong into the void never to be returned. My friend, if you are reading this and have not been healed by a kiss, I feel for you. It can not be better.
There were words exchanged. Some fool effort to try to get me to see her flaws. I was having none of it. The Divine will tell of what I an not to judge, not her. And we kissed, for hours that night, well into the wee predawn of the following morning and I knew then that regardless of how or what the future were to bring, my life had just changed. Forever. It's not a sappy Fabio covered book. It's the ultimate desire of my heart to have real and spectacular romance.
Here, with this small woman of gigantic power it came when least expected and most needed.
Don't worry - it's all going very well thank you - it's just that I am about to leave for Ecuador on Wednesday and want to get back to writing about the theme of the book.. I just took a little romantic detour, that's all!
And there are a lot of you secret blog readers out there it seems, who want more of Dave's point of view!
So here is the rest...if it doesn't touch your heart then I don't know what would!
another deep breath from me..
Dave writes:
The Group...
My move? Really? She actually granted that kind of licence? Amazing. I played it cool and suggested a few openings in my schedule and played it brave and mentioned my plan to go to Wilbur Hot Springs for a soak later in the week.
Her response was a very clear invitation to join her Yoga Circle held every Tuesday night and to see her in action. I was honored and really wanted to come and it just seemed like the right thing to do. I inquired about what to say to the "how do you know Julia" question which had already been thrown at me on Massage Night by an arriving friend who needed comfort. She answered with integrity. "Just tell them we have had a couple dates". Simple. In the mean time our email chats flowed.
I arrived to her Tuesday group not knowing what to expect and also knowing it was the perfect place for me. She greeted me warmly and I figured out right away that she wasn't going to hide the fact that she liked me in front of her friends and clients. This is really such an honoring thing for a new person in someone's radar and I was overjoyed. The group was dynamic and amazing and I soaked it up. She's a great teacher and leader and I would be a fool not to recognize that she was now my teacher.
Can I date my teacher? Sure. Of course. I need great teachers and can separate the two. It's not like some Van Halen song or teen boy fantasy. I just think a man has to recognize the idea that a woman who needs to be honored in her majesty can be without the man's loss of ego. This is really one of those things I don't get. Julia Tindall is damn good at what she does and I could learn from that. Romantic possibilites inside, aside, upside down, this is a truth.
Maybe she knew it and maybe she just did it, but Julia did two things to seal the deal with me on that particular point. First, as the group got into circle, she made a place for me right next to her. As a new guest, I felt welcomed. As a potential "man", I felt special. My energy soared. Second, after the final Om's, she came and sat next to me and put her arm around me. I had seen her be affectionate with others, but in this instance, it was more than that. She claimed me. Marked her territory. Showed everyone in the room that I was important to her. My fragile male ego drew immediate strength from this. I was to be counted. I mattered. And I'll tell you, that, ladies, is how to win a man. Win. Win. Win. I was high as Everest Base Camp in that moment and "warm glow" just doesn't cut it for explanations. I spent time meeting and talking with others and as this happened, I always felt her eyes on me. Checking on me. She would breeze by and touch me. Perfection.
As people left, she made sure that I knew I was to stay and once the last person closed the door we fell, nay we nearly leapt onto her Magic Couch and melted into each other's arms. Moments later our lips found what I knew I desired (and as it turns out so did she) and I was kissed the kiss of a lifetime. Just writing about it turns me into a shivering yarn ball of nerve endings. That kiss, the most perfect of my 45 years on the human stage was so very potent in meaning and depth that whatever pain I had over relationships past went headlong into the void never to be returned. My friend, if you are reading this and have not been healed by a kiss, I feel for you. It can not be better.
There were words exchanged. Some fool effort to try to get me to see her flaws. I was having none of it. The Divine will tell of what I an not to judge, not her. And we kissed, for hours that night, well into the wee predawn of the following morning and I knew then that regardless of how or what the future were to bring, my life had just changed. Forever. It's not a sappy Fabio covered book. It's the ultimate desire of my heart to have real and spectacular romance.
Here, with this small woman of gigantic power it came when least expected and most needed.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
dave's viewpoint...
hi everyone
Apologies for taking a break from posting here... I was in costa rica and waiting for Dave to get his next piece to me! Now it is here and so many of you have asked for more.. so .. I take a deep breath and lay it out below...
Julia, The Stone Treatment
This little one plays it so cool. I've been sending my daily mediative quotes to her and she always comments but doesn't say too much. But this time it is different and she came right out and just asked when I was coming to give her my 7 Stones Treatment. Signs of being much more free. We quickly set up a date and time and I sent the usual speech about Do's and Don'ts for this powerful treatment. She offered to do dinner and I didn't want to say yes partly because I didn't want her to go to any trouble and partly because I don't usually eat before doing this work. It is intense and I don't like the feeling of any energy going to my digestive system when my other systems need to be engaged. But she really wanted to and because of the time of day, it really made sense.
Dinner was amazing. She did a wonderful rice pasta (we are both into largely gluten free eating) and this really strong sauce that only needs a couple of tweaks to be world class. She says she's a simple English cook, but I think there is more foodie there than she admits. Dinner over, I offer to help clean up, but she makes quick work of it and I'm busy setting up my stone warmer and gear. What is cool is that she is REALLY up for this. She doesn't do much in the way of asking questions, she just wants to get to the experience and that makes me happy.
My "7 Stones to Reiki" treatment is pretty special and was learned from a true master and adapted to fit to my style. I use a combination of Colorado Basalt (Black) heated stones and Colorado Marble (white) cool chakra stones. The idea is to sandwich the victim in hot upwardly radiating energy and cool earth seeking energy and the stones as trying to meet in the middle. Temperature is critical and the hot stones can be really really hot, but I back off to a safe temperature and go with my feelings. She's a high energy person and the cold stones are really the most key thing, says my intuition.
I put Julia face up with a spinal layout below her and begin to tuck in pairs of dark stones under joints and key points. Two "flight control" stones are placed in her hands and some small toe stones are put between her toes which she says immediately that she loves. The 7 Chakra stones in the form of animals, drums, etc are placed on top of her and immediately she relaxes into the weight of the large cold stones. It's my job just to be the cruise director and let the gang of stones, Spirit and Ancestors do the work. A guided mediation begins and I run symbols and the Reiki kicks in hard.
This one is a receptor.
And for the next 45 min she receives, hard, and I watch the flow and colors change and I'm sweating like a banana farmer in a monkey sanctuary because everything about this woman is big big big. Big like no one who has ever been on my table. I'm overwhelmed.
The stones quickly accomplish the work and when the flow is perfect and my touch yields balance it is time to start taking off stones and time to bring her back to life. Simple. I'm out of the way. It's not me and I know this and that makes my nerves feel better.
The next event was a bit of shocker to me.
As I get her up and bring her to the now, she asks me if I'd lay down on her big davenport sized couch and "cuddle" with her... "have a cuddle" was how she put it. And we simply and quickly fell onto the couch as if we had been doing this forever. A little talk and a lot of chill and I remember touching her hair and kissing her on the top of the head as if to say, "relax, I'm OK". She did. There wasn't really a romantic moment. It was more of a spiritual thing and she talked about how she felt and what was important to her at the moment. So much in "the now". So awesome.
Before I knew it, it had become very late and I was totally exhausted. Packing up my gear wasn't very easy. It seemed like I was in a haze. Driving home seemed to take forever and I remember very little beyond that.
The next day I sent a heartfelt thank you:
Thank You for a lovely dinner. For a lovely time. For a chance to bring my gifts.
You are confused about me. I get it. Don't be. We have something to explore. Could surprise us both, I think.
Blessings.
-Dave
To which the reply came quickly:
Good morning!
So I slept well and hard - for 6 wonderful hours and woke at 8 feeling
very refreshed.. how about you?
Yes a lovely night...and as an intrepid explorer I say yes.
Your move....
j
Apologies for taking a break from posting here... I was in costa rica and waiting for Dave to get his next piece to me! Now it is here and so many of you have asked for more.. so .. I take a deep breath and lay it out below...
Julia, The Stone Treatment
This little one plays it so cool. I've been sending my daily mediative quotes to her and she always comments but doesn't say too much. But this time it is different and she came right out and just asked when I was coming to give her my 7 Stones Treatment. Signs of being much more free. We quickly set up a date and time and I sent the usual speech about Do's and Don'ts for this powerful treatment. She offered to do dinner and I didn't want to say yes partly because I didn't want her to go to any trouble and partly because I don't usually eat before doing this work. It is intense and I don't like the feeling of any energy going to my digestive system when my other systems need to be engaged. But she really wanted to and because of the time of day, it really made sense.
Dinner was amazing. She did a wonderful rice pasta (we are both into largely gluten free eating) and this really strong sauce that only needs a couple of tweaks to be world class. She says she's a simple English cook, but I think there is more foodie there than she admits. Dinner over, I offer to help clean up, but she makes quick work of it and I'm busy setting up my stone warmer and gear. What is cool is that she is REALLY up for this. She doesn't do much in the way of asking questions, she just wants to get to the experience and that makes me happy.
My "7 Stones to Reiki" treatment is pretty special and was learned from a true master and adapted to fit to my style. I use a combination of Colorado Basalt (Black) heated stones and Colorado Marble (white) cool chakra stones. The idea is to sandwich the victim in hot upwardly radiating energy and cool earth seeking energy and the stones as trying to meet in the middle. Temperature is critical and the hot stones can be really really hot, but I back off to a safe temperature and go with my feelings. She's a high energy person and the cold stones are really the most key thing, says my intuition.
I put Julia face up with a spinal layout below her and begin to tuck in pairs of dark stones under joints and key points. Two "flight control" stones are placed in her hands and some small toe stones are put between her toes which she says immediately that she loves. The 7 Chakra stones in the form of animals, drums, etc are placed on top of her and immediately she relaxes into the weight of the large cold stones. It's my job just to be the cruise director and let the gang of stones, Spirit and Ancestors do the work. A guided mediation begins and I run symbols and the Reiki kicks in hard.
This one is a receptor.
And for the next 45 min she receives, hard, and I watch the flow and colors change and I'm sweating like a banana farmer in a monkey sanctuary because everything about this woman is big big big. Big like no one who has ever been on my table. I'm overwhelmed.
The stones quickly accomplish the work and when the flow is perfect and my touch yields balance it is time to start taking off stones and time to bring her back to life. Simple. I'm out of the way. It's not me and I know this and that makes my nerves feel better.
The next event was a bit of shocker to me.
As I get her up and bring her to the now, she asks me if I'd lay down on her big davenport sized couch and "cuddle" with her... "have a cuddle" was how she put it. And we simply and quickly fell onto the couch as if we had been doing this forever. A little talk and a lot of chill and I remember touching her hair and kissing her on the top of the head as if to say, "relax, I'm OK". She did. There wasn't really a romantic moment. It was more of a spiritual thing and she talked about how she felt and what was important to her at the moment. So much in "the now". So awesome.
Before I knew it, it had become very late and I was totally exhausted. Packing up my gear wasn't very easy. It seemed like I was in a haze. Driving home seemed to take forever and I remember very little beyond that.
The next day I sent a heartfelt thank you:
Thank You for a lovely dinner. For a lovely time. For a chance to bring my gifts.
You are confused about me. I get it. Don't be. We have something to explore. Could surprise us both, I think.
Blessings.
-Dave
To which the reply came quickly:
Good morning!
So I slept well and hard - for 6 wonderful hours and woke at 8 feeling
very refreshed.. how about you?
Yes a lovely night...and as an intrepid explorer I say yes.
Your move....
j
Thursday, January 5, 2012
dave part 4
More quotes followed. I felt I was being wooed.
Dave had told me of his stones, his connection with the stone people, how the stones when laid out on the body will relax and heal the muscles and energy centers. I wrote and asked to feel them.
Sunday December 18th
Dave at my door with table, sheets, and this time, stones and stone heater. This time, I cooked dinner for him first. I'm not a great cook but I make a mean buffalo bolognaise. Dave was appreciative and we dined well. The feeling between us was relaxed, fun.
Then he set up the table and laid out the hot stones, laying them under me, on me, placing small ones between my toes, large ones in each hand, running reiki energy through my field.
I was GONE! It relaxed me so deeply, my spirit went to some far away corner of the universe to play with the angels. Once again, I was blissed out and happy. In the zone..
Who IS this man?
When we were finished with the healing treatment, I could tell he was being polite and awkward about what to do next, so I took the reins. “Would you be willing to cuddle me on the couch?”
He didn't need to be asked twice!
I laid myself on top of this giant of a man, and let his arms unfold me. Oh he was SO comfortable! I nuzzled my head against his gigantic neck and settled in, softening. We lay there, still, till 2 in the morning, letting our stories pour out. Talking, sharing, enjoying each other. But not once did I kiss him. No sirree, I was still in the confusion; confused I was feeling attracted to this very large man,not sure yet about taking it any further.
At last I kicked him out but invited him back, to join our jnana group on Tuesday.
“I know you are feeling confused.” Dave wrote me. But sometimes we get what we need, not what we want.”
That following morning I woke up with Dave on my mind. I could not shake it. He stayed with me that whole day, that night and the following morning, as though I was being stealthily courted on some other plane. His energy somehow visiting me on the etheric level, getting inside of me, battling down my resistance.
Tuesday morning I woke up excited about the evening. I think I had already decided to go to the next level, in fact, couldn't wait.
Jnana group was intense. We looked at self-forgiveness. I knew Dave had some of that work to do and thought it would be great for him to see what I do with groups, but I had already told him I do not sleep with my students. So I wrote to him that day that although I wanted him to come, I insisted he came as my guest as otherwise it changed the rules of the game. I guess that gave him a message. I was starting to open!
After group, people left and we returned to the couch. I call it my magic couch as once you have sunk into it, it's very hard to get off! And this time as I lay myself down next to this powerful man, I did kiss him. Again and again.. deliciously, slowly, quickly, allowing myself to open my energy more and more to his strong, masculine presence. I came up for air and lifted my head.
“Listen, I have to tell you, my ex thinks I am bossy, opinionated and demanding.”
“I love a girl how knows her own mind.”
“I'm a terrible cook and for a domestic Goddess you'd better look elsewhere.”
“I loved your food the other night. But luckily for you, I LOVE to cook. My Dad was a trained cordon bleu chef and taught me everything he knew.”
“I travel a lot. I'm gone for weeks every year.”
“Well absence makes the heart grow fonder. Or I'll join you.”
Well OK then. I'm testing this man, pushing his limits and he eats my words and spits them right back out. All in his stride.
With that he put his lips back on mine and we kissed again, for another couple of hours...
The deal was sealed.
Dave had told me of his stones, his connection with the stone people, how the stones when laid out on the body will relax and heal the muscles and energy centers. I wrote and asked to feel them.
Sunday December 18th
Dave at my door with table, sheets, and this time, stones and stone heater. This time, I cooked dinner for him first. I'm not a great cook but I make a mean buffalo bolognaise. Dave was appreciative and we dined well. The feeling between us was relaxed, fun.
Then he set up the table and laid out the hot stones, laying them under me, on me, placing small ones between my toes, large ones in each hand, running reiki energy through my field.
I was GONE! It relaxed me so deeply, my spirit went to some far away corner of the universe to play with the angels. Once again, I was blissed out and happy. In the zone..
Who IS this man?
When we were finished with the healing treatment, I could tell he was being polite and awkward about what to do next, so I took the reins. “Would you be willing to cuddle me on the couch?”
He didn't need to be asked twice!
I laid myself on top of this giant of a man, and let his arms unfold me. Oh he was SO comfortable! I nuzzled my head against his gigantic neck and settled in, softening. We lay there, still, till 2 in the morning, letting our stories pour out. Talking, sharing, enjoying each other. But not once did I kiss him. No sirree, I was still in the confusion; confused I was feeling attracted to this very large man,not sure yet about taking it any further.
At last I kicked him out but invited him back, to join our jnana group on Tuesday.
“I know you are feeling confused.” Dave wrote me. But sometimes we get what we need, not what we want.”
That following morning I woke up with Dave on my mind. I could not shake it. He stayed with me that whole day, that night and the following morning, as though I was being stealthily courted on some other plane. His energy somehow visiting me on the etheric level, getting inside of me, battling down my resistance.
Tuesday morning I woke up excited about the evening. I think I had already decided to go to the next level, in fact, couldn't wait.
Jnana group was intense. We looked at self-forgiveness. I knew Dave had some of that work to do and thought it would be great for him to see what I do with groups, but I had already told him I do not sleep with my students. So I wrote to him that day that although I wanted him to come, I insisted he came as my guest as otherwise it changed the rules of the game. I guess that gave him a message. I was starting to open!
After group, people left and we returned to the couch. I call it my magic couch as once you have sunk into it, it's very hard to get off! And this time as I lay myself down next to this powerful man, I did kiss him. Again and again.. deliciously, slowly, quickly, allowing myself to open my energy more and more to his strong, masculine presence. I came up for air and lifted my head.
“Listen, I have to tell you, my ex thinks I am bossy, opinionated and demanding.”
“I love a girl how knows her own mind.”
“I'm a terrible cook and for a domestic Goddess you'd better look elsewhere.”
“I loved your food the other night. But luckily for you, I LOVE to cook. My Dad was a trained cordon bleu chef and taught me everything he knew.”
“I travel a lot. I'm gone for weeks every year.”
“Well absence makes the heart grow fonder. Or I'll join you.”
Well OK then. I'm testing this man, pushing his limits and he eats my words and spits them right back out. All in his stride.
With that he put his lips back on mine and we kissed again, for another couple of hours...
The deal was sealed.
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