Galapagos.........a living laboratory

November 18, 2010

Just got back to the mainland where the ground feels very solid, compared to the Galapagos Islands, where everything seems to shift and change constantly.
I spent so much time on boats and in the water, that at times, my head was spinning
while walking on tierra firma.

Even though I had prolonged my stay at the islands to 12 days, it still seems like I just got back from a whirlwind trip. My mind is full of impressions, images and the sensory overload at 25 meters below the surface.

Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island is a fairly large city for Galapagos standards, with paved roads and a host of tourist shops, restaurants and hotels/Hostals everywhere.
The Charles Darwin Station and Research Center are located a short walk from town,where one can glimpse the first Giant Turtles, Land Iguanas and a host of Marine Iguanas roaming along the coast.
No one knows exactly how old these Giants can get, but one story tells of a captured
Turtle back in 1832, which died in 2005 in captivity. The life expectancy in the wild might be somewhat shorter. The islands are windblown, arid, rocky and seem harsh in nature. Due to the different currents arriving at the islands, there are always sizeable swells and waves, yet there are few big storms.
In the highlands of Santa Cruz, where it is more green with vegetation due to fog, the giant Turtles roam freely. You can have your own backyard Turtle, but you are not allowed to corral or feed it.
I opted for diving on Santa Cruz and was rewarded with 2 caves full of Whitetip Sharks. We also saw a Hammerhead and Galapagos Shark, but kind of in the mist. The visibility was not that great, until you caught a cold current, then everything looked very clear and magnified. The temperature drop from 20 degrees to 16 degrees was a very sudden and frigid experience however, but I loved every moment in the deep.
From Santa Cruz I set sail on the Angelique for 4 days. We visited Genovesa in the North, Bartolome, Santiago and Baltra Island. Each Island is very distinct. Genovesa is home to appx. 70% of all Marine Birds found in the Galapagos. Every day we stopped at different sites of whatever island we visited that day, walked for up to 3 hours amid birds nesting, feeding their young and feeding themselves. The second part of the day was spent either snorkeling or swimming, often with Sea Lions, Fur Seals, Sharks, Marine Turtles and large schools of fish. The Angelique is a relative small ship with only 16 guests capacity and had a great crew and food onboard.
One night the passage we were travelling through was so rough, many passengers got sea sick. It felt like the ship was falling into deep thoroughs and barely was able to climb out of it again, while also rocking and rolling from side to side.
After returning back to Santa Cruz safely, I headed off to Isabela Island with a speed boat. Puerto Villamil is a small city with unpaved roads, few services, a few shops, no Bank or ATM, but plenty of Guest Houses.
I fell in love with Isabela on first sight. One day I hiked up to Cerro Negro and Chico Volcano, which have amazing views of the lava flows, lava waves, parasitic craters and the other Volcanoes on Isabela. We had a clear view of Fernandina to the east and Santiago to the west. In the afternoon I went snorkeling with the aquatic life. The next day I took off on bicycle along the coast, to see the wall of tears, mangrove lagoons and the beaches, which are inhabitated by giant marine iguanas.
Along the way I also met 3 giant land Turtles, lots of lava lizzards, birds and the biggest marine iguanas I had yet set eyes on. I watched two males fighting over territory rights. Arranging a diving trip was a bit of a challenge on Isabela at first, as at least 3 divers are needed, because the sites are at a distance and they do not want to go out with only one or two, or they have to charge you an arm and a leg. Through a series of synchronistic events, I ended up receiving a discount and was able to go to 2 dive sites, that are normally not done together because of distance from each other.
The dives were magical. We came around a bend and started seeing Sting Rays, first one or two, then 4 or 5 together. Pretty soon they were all around us. I had never seen Sting Rays this enormous. They were so gentle, gliding through the water with such Grace or resting on the ground. I felt so much joy comming from them. In turn I was totally in love with them and would have stayed with them, if it was not for lack of air eventually.
Before I had come to Galapagos, I was told a Ruby Seed needed to be planted there. On the flight there, I heard, it needed to be on Isabela, thus I had planed my time on Isabela. In my mind I thought it would be somewhere on the Volcano, but up there, I saw a turtle in the ocean instead and was told to prepare the ruby seed until I would know where the site is.
Our dive sites were called Quadro Hermanoes and Isla Tortuga. It was at the second site where we ran into the giant Sting Rays. Right after the Rays I saw a snow white coral in the shape of a human head. All I heard was...now!
Back on Santa Cruz I had to go for one more dive location:"Gordon Rocks"!
I had been dreaming of seeing Hammerheads cruising above us. Well, they came and visited. It was awesome!!!!!!

Spirits of the Volcanoes.......what do you see in the mountain...?

October 29, 2010

Just when I think I have my travel plans all worked out in a somewhat linear fashion, since it makes sense to travel north to south, with east and west excursions....everything seems to change again.

Otavalo has been my home more or less for the past 3 weeks, since I had started my training with Don Esteban.
Before I came to Ecuador, I had asked Spirit, to be connected with the Volcanoes. By that I mean, to be connected not just feeling the land, but also knowing it without a doubt in my mind, heart and soul. I was looking for a deep connection, that would be palpable at all times, not just in moments of heightened awareness.

When I first went to Don Esteban, I had no clear idea what to expect or how anything would unfold. Don Esteban and his wife Rosa do not speak spanish. So his grandson, Esteban Jr., materialized to translate from Quichua into spanish. I was told, we would be doing ceremonies, six of them and traditional Shaman treatments.
Over the past three years I had been training in Shamanism with John Perkins and Lyn Roberts, who had worked for many years with Don Esteban. Which is what led me here to Otavalo. Although I was familiar with the treatments and had a general understanding of the ceremonies, I was very much taken by surprise, with the level of intensity it unfolded.
Every weekend I took the bus up the Pan American to the Carabuela gas station. From there it was about a 40 minute walk to Don Esteban´s house. Before I would reach his door, I had to make my way by cows, village dogs and then the pack of dogs that reside at Don Esteban´s house. Not an easy task, considering I often had Sky with me, but we figured it out soon enough. A stick in hand would keep the dogs from advancing to closely, in case one wanted to attack. Some of them are fierce.
The first ceremony was to be with Taita Imbabura. I was told to open my mind and my heart and concentrate on the task at hand, to connect with the spirit of Imbabura.
This involved a cleaning and purifycation process with the help of flower water, eggs, rocks, smoke and fire blowing. It was very intense. I already received visions during the ceremony. That night my homework was to meditate with red candles, wearing a read bandana for the next 24 hours, eating no meat of any kind, onions or garlic or take a shower, as that would weaken the connection.
The ceremony had left me exhausted and I smelled something between the sweet fragrance of Roses and the stale odor of pure alcohol. We made our way back to town the same way we had arrived, although not without catching some strange looks or smiles along the way. Not that I cared. I was very focused on the way my feet felt, when they connected with the ground. Not knowing what to expect, it felt like walking in a dark tunnel when all the senses go into hyper alert. In the evening vision I saw a appx. 10 meter waterfall. I was standing above it looking down. On the other side of the fall sat a young, not yet fully matured Condor. He said:..jump... I looked down again and exclaimed...it´s pretty far and I don´t know if there are rocks in the water. He said:...trust me and jump...and I will take you flying. The next moment we entered through a portal in the mountain, next to a very large rock, into the world of the ancient ones. Then we exited comming by a large rock of gold, from which a golden cord extended far out. The cord was at first thick and strong, but got thinner at intervals. Then the vision was over.
I was excited, but had no clue what it meant.
The next day Don Esteban also got excited. He explained that the waterfall and Portal in the mountain are real places and the Condor is often used to speak through. It has been an intense 3 weeks. Each ceremony was different. Some were challenging. For Mama Cotacachi I had to go up to Lake Cuicocha to receive her vision for me. La Mojanda was pure pleasure and Pachamama was amazing.
It occured to me just yesterday, that I was receiving through Don Esteban exactly what I had asked Spirit for, before I came to Euador.
As our time here is comming to an end, I had been starting to make travel plans around Ecuador. This morning however, when I awakened, I clearly heard....you need to go to Galapagos next.....Wow....that hadn´t really been on my schedule.
Sky and I were walking back to Otavalo this morning from our mountain retreat, when I met a mid thirtyish Ecuadoran. We talked for a while. Turns out, he had lived on Santa Cruz in the Galapagos for many years and worked there as a dive guide. Now he resides in Geneve, Switzerland and works as a life guard. Of course, I got the ins and outs on where to go and what to do in the Galapagos Islands.

The Spirit of Ecuador

October 18, 2010

It has been easy to foot it through Ecuador. Less things to worry about with the Bus.
Certainly a lot cheaper to travel with public buses, as the fuel is super expensive here. Occassionally an eyebrow is raised when Sky comes on the bus with me, but so far we have not had any problems. I do miss my bus, which enabled me to go wherever we wanted to go in the moment. Without it, I have to think and plan ahead or find myself needing to backtrack, because I saw something interesting along the way.
Some of the roads in Ecuador are so steep, I have my doubts, if Bluebird would even be able to make these grades.
Dropping into Quito was a bit of a shock. The city is humongues. It seemed almost impossible to locate myself on a city map within the old town, without asking for more directions on every other corner. The city does have some interesting sites to visit,
once you adjust to the altitude and can climb the steep streets. We did not while for long there, but headed out to Otavalo, to a more quiet and relaxed setting.
Otavalo is surrounded by 3 large Volcanoes reaching to 4.960 meters, whereas the town sits at 2550 meters. It is pretty quiet here during the week until Friday, when everything shifts into hyper activity. On the weekend the streets are filled with market stands of handcrafts, artesania and clothing. The town is very well known for its crafts and marketdays. Many tourists from Quito and beyond congregate onto Otavalo for this occassion. An animal market takes place every Saturday, where cows, pigs, chicken, rabbits, dogs, cats and whatever else being traded and hackled for.
The villagers from sourrounding areas come to buy, trade or sell their goods here and the food market is brimming with people. It is a phantastic time to watch people, to take in all the colorful traditional clothing, the local food and also an opportunity to make some pictures. For the most part, Quichuas do not like to be photographed by the tourists, which is understandable. Once you get to know someone or a family personally, they have no problems with that and always want a copy for themselves.
We have hiked all around the surrounding villages such as Peguche and it´s waterfall.
Visited the Park de Condors and even found the famous 1000 year old Pucura Lechero Tree. The trails are pretty steep, but it is easy to find your way and the views are amazing. I love all the foot travel and the people we get to meet this way.
One day I ran into a couple of Quichuas, who invited me on a trip, after we had shared some food and juice. They weren´t really clear about where we were going or when we would be back, nor did I ask at the time. So we just took off, rode a couple of buses for about 3 hours and arrived in a tiny village, called Rio Blanco, somewhere northwest of Otavalo. It turned out, we were visiting family members.
A simple, but big dinner was served for all. They had many questions about Alaska, my dog and my life. When they found out I was solo, there were many suggestions who in their family or their neighbors family I could marry. We laughed a lot. Later on we all settled down to listen to one of the brothers play flute, before turning in for the night. The next morning we hiked to a waterfall for bathing and then piled into a pick up truck for a local sightseeing tour for my benefit.
The village sits on the confluence of two rivers in a narrow valley at about 1600 meters.
Everything seemed to grow there. I saw Cotton plants, Tabacco, Pineapple, Banana and many different flower bushes. There was a fair presence of Afroecuadoran people, which I had already also noticed in Ibarra, a town just north of Otavalo. The surrounding area of Otavalo and the town itself is inhabitated by appx. 70% indigenous (Quichua). In the early afternoon we said our good-byes to the family, who heartedly invited me to come and visit again, and rode on buses back to Otavalo. Since then, my new friends, one or the other would call to find out if I wanted to go somewhere or hear some musicians. It has been great. We have hiked around Lake Cuicocha, visited some more villages and listened to local traditional bands.
There are no words to really discribe the sounds, sights and impressions. So many moments of beauty, of shared laughter with passing families, stepping under the crashing waterfall or sharing a snack with a few women and their children working in the field.
Now I have started my training with one of the Shaman in a nearby village and will be immersing myself in the Spirits of the Volcanoes.

The next chapter........

We arrived in the outskirts of San Jose a week ago, in a small town named San Rafael. I had met John, Max and Bill in Granada, Nicaragua. They are all expats living in Costa Rica for many years and had offered me a place to stay.
My plans to ship Bluebird from here to Ecuador fell apart upon learning,the Roll on/Roll off
service has been suspended indefenitively from here and there hasn;t been any from Panama for some time. I could ship Bluebird in a container for appx. $ 2000 from either here or Panama, but that is a lot of money. The cost from Panama to Colombia is just about the same.

So our trip came to a grinding halt. Now what.....?
It rained for at least 5 days straight with intermittent downpours. Although we have a comfortable place to stay, I felt stuck.
Many calls and more research on shipping possibilities led to nothing new. Brrrr.....
Max offered his garage to park Bluebird securely and we could fly to Ecuador, knowing that the bus will be okay. It had already occured to me to leave the bus behind and backpack into South America instead. But what about my stuff? I can not backpack with the guitar, the drum and a slew of other things, besides the necessary clothing and shoes.
I spent a few days struggling through the mace of thoughts and what I knew deep down, that needed to happen. John and I drove all over San Jose from one government agency to another, figuring out how to get an extension on my car permit and the mandatory insurance, but ran into one block after another. Leaving without the proper documents was not an option either, as there would be hefty fines and taxes to be paid later.
When it comes to dealing with government agencies, Costa Rica is still very much black and white. Finding the agencies is even more of an adventure. They are tucked away in inconspicious buildings, with no signs or hints of their existence, all over the city.
By the first of October I had enough, something needed to shift. I realized, I still had not really made a decision on how to proceed or what I wanted to do.
I had a dream the night before. We arrived in Ecuador with a backpack only, but when I opened it, there was nothing in it. I had forgotten all my clothes. "Oh gosh", I thought,
I will have to go back and get it."
I decided that morning, to fly to Ecuador....since my inner compass had been urging me to get there and come back later to pick up Bluebird, drive to Panama and then cross to Colombia and drive from there to Peru eventually. Somehow I know, that portion of the journey is to be made with someone else. Why...? I have no clue.
Miracously, on Friday, everything fell into place. There is such a thing, as suspending the car permit, by parking it in a custom;s certified secured lot, where I can pick it up whenever and have the remaining time left on the original permit. Very simple...and it only costs $ 16 a month. The same day, the veterinarian called, to let me know, he had obtained the stamp from the Ecuadorian embassy for Sky,s papers and we are good to go.
Wow...what a process! I am so happy today, dancing around the apartment and clapping my hands to music inside my head.

Costa Rica...Past and Present

September 24, 2010

If it wasn´t for cell phones and computers I would have no idea of what day, date or time it is. Maybe that sounds like a luxury, but it seems strange to me by now, to direct our lifes by a calendar. I am observing many things that do not make sense to me anymore. Here in Costa Rica...Tourism is b i g business. Adventure is promised on every sign, thrills are offered throughout the country.You can zipline over the Jungle canopy, rappell yourself into the Canyons or go canyoning, whitewater rafting and whatever else. The young and affluent from all over the world are hurling themselves with gusto into one activity after the other. Even the older folks are out there on the Zip Lines etc. They just take it a little slower.
This rush for experiencing something new or something exciting, artificially created just for the tourists, appears out of rhythm to me.
Does Mother Earth not have enough to offer anymore, that it has to be enhenced, in order to be appreciated. And what really is being appreciated..?

I had been to Costa Rica 21 years ago on a 3 month stay. Many things have changed of course. There are roads now everywhere, Condominium developments, big hotels, cities where there used to be none. The country is still very beautiful and incredibly rich on wildlife and fauna, where the areas have been preserved as Reserves or National Parks...and there are many.
For me Costa Rica has been a mixed bag. Shortly after crossing over the border, I had picked up a young couple hitchhiking with two young dogs. We traveled together to Tamarindo Beach, Jaco and Manuel Antonio. Dogs are mostly not permitted in Hostels. So they were glad all our dogs could sleep in the bus. We did run into some drug dealers, that took great interest in Bluebird. We almost stayed at a place, we later found out, was known for robbing their guests and a few other less fun encounters.
Thank God, we had our wits together and got out of an area when needed or found something else, because it just did not feel right at the moment.
Fernando and Ulli eventually continued on south to Panama with their two puppies.
I had been halfway down to Panama, along the coast, where things were quieter and you could still see Scarlet Macaws flying around, hear the Howler Monkeys and observe wildlife, without paying an entrance fee to a National Park.
On my way back up toward San Jose, I got sidetracked, to come to Volcano Arenal.
We arrived here late on the 21st and it was clear a Ruby seed needed to be planted.
This planting was very different from all the others. I was shown to open up a cermony and hold it for two days. The first day took me to the sacred hot waters of Pele for cleansing and initiation )Equinox). The second day was spent with drumming, meditation and a hike to the foothills of Arenal for the planting of the Ruby seed.
Thank you to all my friends in the US, Mexico and Guatemala for participating in anchoring the incomming frequencies through the many portals along the Rim of Fire.

I feel exhausted today, but will leave for San Jose later on. Bluebird needs to be serviced. I need to check on paperwork for Sky to fly and reservations to Ecuador for both of us. And God willing, find a ship to take Bluebird south as well.

Content in Nicaragua

September 11, 2010

It has just been fabulous in Nicaragua.
Granada, the crown jewel of Nicaragua on the northern end of Lake Nicaragua is a beautiful, old colonial city. Although a bit more touristy, it still was nice to be there and enjoy the comforts of a pleasant city.
The journey to Ometepe island in Lake Nicaragua turned out to be magical. The island, actually it looks more like two islands, each having a Volcano on it and joined together by a peninsula, is dotted with small villages around each Volcano. Concepcion, 1640 meters, is still active and a perfectly shaped cone with very steep ascends. Maderas is lower by 400 meters and more moderate. Getting to either takes some effort. Since this is still the rainy season, the roads were disastrous around Maderas and the great waterfall at San Ramon could not be reached, unless I wanted to ride a horse or an ox. As soon as we had stepped on the island I could feel this energy of peace and beauty there. I was content to explore the villages and hillsides around Concepcion, which has a semi paved road. Later on I did venture on the dirt track to one of the villages of Maderas, but the driving was dicey.
We hiked a lot, howled with the monkeys, watched birds and swam in the lake. Many of the villages are indigenous (Nahautl), farming the land and raising cattle. As a matter of fact, Nicaragua is full of cows. You never drive far anywhere without meeting a herd of cows on the road. Life on the island has a slow pace and the people always seem to smile or laugh. It was such a pleasure being there, just hanging out with the villagers. Ojo de Agua, a fresh water spring on the Isthmus, between Maderas and Concepcion, shaded by large old trees, was the perfect place to find relief from the intense heat of the day.
By now we have arrived in San Juan del Sur, near the Costa Rica border, on the Pacific. It is a cool little town, with plenty of international Surfer Dudes. The waves here are impressive, maybe not quite as rough as in El Salvador, but supposedly a highlight on a Surfer´s itinerary. Getting to the beaches is another matter. It requires a boat ride or up to over an hour on a shuttle over incredible rough terrain. And that is only possible if it hasn´t rained much, otherwise the rivers can not be crossed.
The reward are unspoiled beaches. Right now the Survivor Nicaragua serious is being filmed at Yankee Beach, about 12 to 15 km´south from San Juan. I came by there one day, while on the way to El Coco, to the La Flor Reserve, to look for Olive Ridley Turtles. It looked like the Survivors were living in the ¨Jungle¨in a compound and the helicopter is flying back and forth every day numerous times.
I am enchanted with Nicaragua. The country is very diverse and so beautiful. From what I heard, the eastern part would also be worthwhile to explore, but that should be done in the dry season.
It is funny to hear how the citizen of each central American country rate each other.
According to Guatemalans, El Salvadorans and Nicaraguans....Mexico is the most dangerous place for them to travel to. Guatemala is next for Nicaraguans and El Salvadorans. Guatemalans think it is dangerous for them in Honduras and El Salvador also. Looking back, I realize, that I had projected a lot of fear about El Salvador.
Traveling through there, was like a right of passage. Since then, I have reached a new level of feeling content. No matter where or what country I was in, the people have been amazing with their generosity, love and hospitality. It is so beautiful to connect with all people from the heart, leaving behind any pre-conceptions of differences and embracing all there is.

Nicaragua....Telica Sunrise

September 2, 2010

When I look at my last entry it appears almost unreal to me, because I am not there anymore. Now we are in Nicaragua and have already seen and experienced so much, that the time in Guatemala seems something of a distant past, although not forgotten.

I guess, if I was to go back to the USA anytime soon, I could neatly organize my experiences and pictures and at a later time process all that happened. Since I am not, it feels very intense in the moment, but is just as fast a distant memory.

Our path through El Salvador was relatively short. It rained on the coast for 2 days straight, so we headed to eastern El Salvador...Alegre, a village up in the mountains. I liked the area of eastern El Salvador a lot, but could never quite get used to all the gun toting guards, guarding I don´t know what. The people of El Salvador however are just awesome. They were so welcoming, so warm and so interested in talking to extranjeros. Almost like visitng some distant family members that you meet the first time, but already feel part of.
We had sort of a very chaotic border crossing into Honduras and the most expensive one as well, even though to pass through that part, it only takes 3 hours driving.
To top it off, just 5 km before the Nicaraguan border, I got napped by the transit police for some Multa. Apparently Honduras requires every driver to have a fire extinguisher and 2 safety triangulars. At last they let me go with ten of my dollars in their pocket. Oh well....!
The entry into Nicaragua was relaxed, but I still had to pay another Multa to the police there as well, so they would allow my Bluebird to enter. It is all nogiciable... I really can not complain about anything. We have had smooth sailing through all of Central America this far.
The roads in Nicaragua are pretty good except for the potholes every so often. Some could swallow up your whole car. There is hardly any traffic outside of cities, because the fuel costs $ 4.50 a gallon. The dirt roads are another matter. They quickly turn into mudd pits, if it rained recently, or are simply washed away and look more like a creek bed than a passable road.
We first stayed up in the mountains near Esteli and later Matagalpa to visit the cloud forests and the Miraflora area. All of which are coffee growing regions as well as sugar cane. I loved it up there. The northeastern region suffered much during the war and the people endured great hardship. Nearly every family lost sons and loved ones during that period and the pain is still now very evident. And so is the distrust toward government, because the guys in local and regional government are still the same people. Nicaraguans are very nice also, but have a little bit of an edge and appear more serious. The move toward progress in education, environmental protection and sustainablitity is evident by the many grass root projects, but is very much dependent on the influx of outside volunteers and money.
We have been in Leon for the past 6 days and hiked Cerro Negro and Telica, both active Volcanoes, along a chain of Volcanoes stretching across the Pacific Rim of Nicaragua. Amazing experiences. You walk right up to the rim of Telica crater and look down about 200 meters to the steaming bottom. It was scary. There are cracks along the rim and who knows when that will break off. At night we could see the lava glowing. The most spectacular views are at sunrise, especially when you can see the whole chain of Volcanoes stretching in either direction. Sky did so well on the hike. It took 6 hours to get up. Walking here, is like exercising in a steam bath with a backpack on. But it was worth the effort. The way back down was only about 4 hours, through beautiful terrain and a small village, that has boiling mudd pooles.
Some farmers came and asked what we were doing with our packs on. They don´t seem to understand what the attraction to the Volcano is or why we don´t ride a horse there. For much of the population, horses are the main mode of transportation. The question made sense to me. Maybe we westerners just like to suffer this way, because we really don´t suffer much in our every day lives, compared to the style of life in most of Central America.