YOGIS WITHOUT BORDERS

On the Beach - with friends and family!

2010-03-31T23:15:00.007-05:00

Our last few weeks of international travel passed with friends from home and the farm.
My dear friend Shel, having just graduated with her PhD in math, treated herself to a week on the Thai beaches with Josh and I. Also, Jon, Josh's brother, joined us for three weeks.
We had a blast! How could you not with beautiful beaches like these?

On the left is Ang Thong National Marine Park. On the right is the lookout from Bottle Beach, our favorite beach in the world hands down!

Corona ads have nothing on Thai style beach relaxation.

Weeeeee!

We treated ourselves to very fresh fish for dinner one night.

Long tail boats are the best way to get around when staying on an island.

Because the roads are quite steep and scary.

Our friends Nat and Kim met up with us for one last hurrah on Bottle Beach.

Climbing to the lookout.

At the top!

Ang Thong

The view from our bungalo. What better way to spend $7.00 a day?

Ahhh Thailand! Onto Taiwan for one last stop!

Eight weeks of natural building at Pun Pun farm

2010-03-10T01:42:00.003-06:00

From Pun Pun

Pun Pun farm is a seed saving organic farm and natural building training site. The farm founders, a couple from Thailand and Colorado respectively, started Pun Pun seven years ago with the hopes of providing a greater variety of seeds to farmers and teaching people how to build homes with adobe and other natural building materials. Jo and Peggy's vision has grown into a nationally noteworthy spot for Thai and foreigners alike. During our seven week internship, hundreds of visitors passed through Pun Pun. We feel lucky to have spent such a wonderful time living in community with these wonderful people.

After leaving Kerala, we spent the night on the Koala Lumpur airport floor. We were excited to arrive in the land of a thousand smiles after nearly four months in India. Pun Pun's land and community turned out to be a perfect place to hang our hats and have a life changing experience to boot. As we settled into our adobe home on the top of a picturesque hill an hour outside of Chiang Mai, we wondered what was in store. The internship focused on demolishing and reconstructing the ailing Pun Pun kitchen. It seemed like a daunting task when we first arrived and ate a meal in the eucalyptus and bamboo framed kitchen. Over the course of the internship, we realized a sincere sense of accomplishment by tearing down the old building, laying the foundation, building adobe walls, applying first and second coat plasters, choosing earthen paint colors, fine tuning arched features and finally watching the roof welders finish the gigantic project.

Our group was twenty four strong, consisting of five Thais from Bangkok and one from Puhket, a woman from Singapore, sixteen Americans and a Frenchman. As the weeks sped by, we grew close through working, gardening and sharing meals each day. There were about twenty permanent members, mostly Thai, who also lived in the community. The opportunity for cultural exchange was high, whether we were chopping veggies for the incredible Thai cooks, or learning new words from our fellow Thai interns. Did we mention the food? Homemade tofu and soy milk graced our table a few times a week, garden fresh salad daily, and the main dishes were amazing! It made a huge difference to know that someone was preparing a delicious lunch for us as we worked on the kitchen throughout the mornings. It is possible our productivity was maximized because of the kitchen staff's loving support.

Our main teachers consisted of Joe and Peggy, her brother Nate, and a gentleman from Trinidad by way of England. Jo had recently become a household name in Thailand due to hefty media attention focusing on Pun Pun, natural building, and his simple approach to life. During our stay, hundreds of people came by the farm to see what wisdom Jo could impart on them. Other larger groups visited for a few days at a time, including Red Bull's charitable volunteer division. It was fun to see city folk from Bangkok come and experience what farm life is like, from making compost to home made jam and soaps to playing in the mud to make the heavy adobe bricks.

During the morning and afternoon sessions, our teachers demonstrated numerous building techniques, but then allowed us to work hands on and make our own mistakes. After a few weeks of practice, our confidence grew and we could work on the buildings on our own with little guidance. When asking if we should do a task one way or another, the common answer was to do whichever way would take less work. In a sense we transcended the theories presented in earthen building books and were able to experience first hand the ins and outs of working with earth. We loved being encouraged to try what made sense to us by interacting with each other and the building materials instead of reading lots of books and studying theories. Unlike other community theory foundations, building and growing food on the farm stemed from a minimalist approach.

Working closely with the earth made us think about how all animals use the earth in some form or another to build a home. Some individual animals build homes like a snail or turtle shell, some familial, like a bird nest and some communal like bee hive. But all animals create a home only big enough for their needs. Why build something big and complicated and extravagant if it is not needed? Most animals make shelter in a home, but the planet itself is a big communal living space. Why design a building feature or work plan when something else we be less work and still perform the needed or desired function? We began to ask ourselves what we truly need to be happy, and the farm taught us that it is possible to build our own home and live more simply.

We started most mornings with a yoga class in the meeting hall. We were two of about 7 yoga teachers staying at the farm. So we were blessed with a new teacher on most days of the week. In the evenings, we shared our skills, watched documentaries and had discussions about sustainability. Our group had very diverse backgrounds so our conversations were lively; we frequently questioned each other and the topics of discussion. As the kitchen took shape, so did many friendships. Our new favorite around the world traveling couple hailed from the Bay area. We spent many weekends exploring the natural beauty of our surrounding area with Nathaniel and Kim. They have a witty and entertaining travel blog at www.anotherfuckingtravelblog.com. Check it out!

We ended up staying a few extra days at the farm. Jon, Josh's brother flew in for a three week visit and we wanted to show him some of our new skills. By his first afternoon, Jon was knee deep in mud making cob for the new earthen oven. Our time at Pun Pun taught us much, and time passed too quickly. With only a month of travel abroad left to go, we headed to the beaches of southern Thailand to round out our trip. Stateside on April 7th. Yikes! :)

The Backwaters of Kerala

2010-01-30T23:58:00.008-06:00

We arrived to Ernakulam in the evening after a long 30 hour train ride from Mumbai. Ernakulam is the mainland city better known as Kochi. After checking a few hotels on the mainland, we took a fairy to Fort Kochin (a nearby peninsula) and found a beautiful new guest house. Fort Kochi was a great place to spend our short stay in Kerala.

A short ferry ride and hour long bus ride took us to this nice strech of white sand known as Cherrai Beach.

We found it quite interesting and perplexing that Kerala is somehow a communist state nestled in a Democratic India. We haven't yet found an explanation of how that works.

In addition to communism, Kerala also hosts the largest Christian community in India. Although we did see a few Hindu temples, this was the only place in India we saw numerous churches.

Since our time was short we opted for a guided tour of the backwaters. It started with a canoe ride through the narrow waterways of the local villages.

We met a local villager with a wonderful smile making rope from coconut fiber. We also enjoyed seeing how the locals make Toddy, a cocunut beer brewed right in the coconut tree.

After viewing some of the local vegetation, we were treated to a Keralan style lunch. The food was served on banana leaves and tasted amazing.

After lunch we changed out the small canoes for a larger boat (but still un-motorized).

We moved out of the narrow backwaters and into some bigger canals with great views. The boat had lound chairs and shade. With full bellies and comfy seats, it was all we could do to stay awake.

After the relaxing ride we got back in the canoes and headed back home.
Our stay was short but we had a great relaxing time and would love to come back for another visit to Kerala in the future.

Quick Trip to Bombay

2010-01-30T23:19:00.005-06:00

We decided at the last minute to try Couch Surfing for our short stay in Bombay (which is now called Mumbai by most, but we like the sound of Bombay better). Either luck or fate brought us to Fahad and his family, and for this we feel very thankful!

Thanks to Fahad and his family (pictured above and below), our trip to Bombay was much more fruitful than simply attaining a Thai visa. We had a great time talking with Fahad's dad about Dubai, engineering and cars. Even more fun was staying up late talking with Fahad and his brother Fahaq about everything and everything.

We spent three nights in the Muslim quarter of Bombay, the Azad family has lived in the same apartment in the heart of the city for over 90 years.

We spent three days traveling to and from the Thai Embassy, but also took some time to walk the bay front. The city was beautiful and fast paced, we enjoyed taking in the sights and wandering through the streets.

People watching at sunset.

Za drank chai as Josh took a quick cat nap to recharge.

The skyline of Bombay was truly stunning.

We enjoyed our time in Bombay so much that we hope to visit Fahad and his family again. Josh looks forward to talking engineering robotics and exchanging ideas with Fahad for years to come. Thanks guys!

Ayurveda School in Pune

2010-01-08T01:28:00.009-06:00

We spent the month of December in Pune (pronounced Poo-na) studying ayurveda with our new favorite Americans, Dr. Indu Arora and Montserrat (pictured below). Our schedule included daily lectures, evening clinic visits, and weekend outings.

We attended an Indian wedding our first weekend in town.

We enjoyed eating dinner in our apartment and learning how to cook Indian food from Indu. Now living in Chicago, she is from Delhi and travels internationally teaching yoga seminars.

We went to B.K.S. Iyengar's 91st birthday celebration. What a fun night!

Rickshaw rides were polluted and stinky so we took to wearing scarves for protection.

We toured two ayurvedic hospitals and pharmacies. The tree pictured here is good for skin disorders.

This carving depicts the five elements that govern the life force in all of us.

Aloe vera awaiting processing.

Pomegranate ripening

We searched for more cheap books at this cramped ayurvedic book store.

Our graduating class and some of the faculty from the International Academy of Ayurveda.

After our course, we took a weekend to sight see with Indu. We saw many impressive temples and ate delicious strawberries along the way.

Our weekend trip was the perfect ending to a month of study. We can't wait to visit Indu in Chicago when we return home!

The Taj Mahal

2010-01-05T00:19:00.009-06:00

We thought we could apply for a Thai visa by courier service in Agra and therefore see the Taj Mahal and avoid going to Mumbai. After a long, cold over night train ride from Benares, two birds with one stone became one silly trip to the Taj. It turned out the courier service didn't handle foreign passports through Agra. Oh well, we still had the last sightseeing excursion of Team Tourist (Lee, Steph, Josh and me). We had to get back on the train six hours after we arrived in Agra, so we headed straight for the Taj after taking a quick shower in our Australian friends' room. What can we say? Yes, it's every bit as stunning and beautiful as everyone says.

They wouldn't let me wear my new silly hat from Nepal into the Taj. The hat received dozens of comments and compliments as I walked through town, however.

Breath taking!

It's big.

We did it!

We pinched it!

We did some yoga around it! Until the guards yelled at us that is...

The jewel inlays were particularly stunning.

After a painfully below average lunch, we got back on the train and headed to Pune.

Varanasi is Benares is Kashi

2010-01-04T05:31:00.012-06:00

The oldest living city in the world has the modern name Varanasi, but Prem called it Benares so we followed suit. When we met Prem in Pokhara, he insisted we visit him in Benares when we returned to India. The city had been on our short list for a few months, and Prem's invitation was just what we needed to make the trip. We were excited to have someone to show us around the ancient city since we only had a few days to spare. Prem's artistic pursuits in music and film, combined with his passionate approach to life made him an excellent city steward.

In Benares, over four thousand years of continuous inhabiting creates thick history and thin veils between the physical and spiritual. The guide books report that visitors either love or hate the city, and that it's the quintessential Indian experience. Our three day visit hardly scratched the surface, but we did catch a glimpse of the relentless ebb and flow of this holy city.

We arrived dog tired from Nepal with our new Australian travel buddies Lee and Steph. Although we had been warned not to trust anyone in Benares, we followed a restaurant owner after breakfast to a nearby hotel. The Pooja's seven stories, complete with roof top restaurant, provided a great place to practice yoga and watch the ghats from above. Ghats are huge concrete stairs that lead into the Ganga River, and there are dozens lining the river in Benares. Walking along the ghats was an easy way to prevent getting lost in an otherwise confusing maze of a city. Prem invited us to dinner in Assi Ghat where he lived. Assi Ghat was the last southern ghat in the city, and we were towards the north end of the ghats. Thus began the first long ghat walk of what would turn into a half dozen during our stay.

To walk the ghats, one must be prepared to see, smell, hear or avoid stepping on virtually anything. From one ghat to the next, there is no clear pattern or path to follow. Each step must be calculated to accommodate a high stair, a broken boat, a pile of dung, a sleeping cow, a stream of water or most shocking, a burning body. The burning ghats were mesmerising. Photos weren't allowed, and depending on which locals were hanging around them, women weren't either. Bodies seemed to burn at different rates after watching for an hour or so. We discovered there were different grades of wood depending how much money was used for the cremation. Sandalwood burned fastest. We saw piles of wood hauled in around the clock, and everyone seemed to have a different job to keep operations running smoothly. The strangest part was seeing the body turned over in the fire and then the final unburned bone fragment get carried to the river.

Our few days and nights flew by. We walked the ghats several times a day, people watched and explored the city.

We toured Benares Hindu University, the largest university in Asia. Over five square kilometres, the campus is unmanageable on foot. We hired a bicycle rickshaw to take us to the museum, the Hindu temple and a few of the buildings.

The cycle of life and death seemed closer and faster than ever in Benares. Prem witnessed a funeral procession met with a wedding procession while walking down an alley a few days before our visit. There was hardly room for the two parties to pass. The irony of each element on the Ganga, whether a filthy cloth covering a child or a sparkling pooja offering, contrasted so rapidly that it was hard to take it all in. Truly an overwhelming sensory experience, the moment we saw something that made us smile, the next corner would reveal a jaw dropping gasp.

We noticed this goat outside our hotel nudging through the bathroom trash from our room. A few hours later, the trash had disappeared (thankfully).

There is nothing on the other side of the Ganga because it floods during monsoon season.

This old temple is also underwater during the monsoon.

We spent our evenings playing and listening to music at Prem's flat. He had some funny wigs and played air drum quite well.

Thumbs up on this crazy town!

Two Weeks in the Himalayas

2009-12-06T04:20:00.009-06:00

After concluding seven intense weeks of Iyengar yoga in the small town of Rajpur, India, we were ready for a bit of adventure. With three and a half weeks before our ayurveda training started in Pune, India, we had time for just about anything. The India guidebook we borrowed sat atop our desk, daunting page after daunting page – the possibilities were limitless. On one of the last day of classes, we passed our new friend Tegra (think integral) on the street and asked what she was up to next. She said she had just decided to return to Nepal for the final month of her year long stay in Asia. Our ears perked up and after about five minutes of discussion, she became our newest travel buddy. The native west coast chi kung teacher couldn't have made a more sincere invitation, and since we had tossed around the idea of going to Nepal since the conception of our trip, the decision was an easy one to make.
We took an overnight train to Gorakpur, where we learned how to throw our dinner trash out the window by Tibetan monks. We then shared a jeep with the monks, who were very nice and on their way to visit family in Kathmandu, to the border of Nepal. After a slightly hectic and dusty crossing, we hopped on top of a bus to Lumbini. It seems the majority of Nepal's bus system is run by teenage boys. On the bus bumpers, the phrase “one mistake game over” is painted.

We spent the following day exploring the grounds and small town of Lumbini, Buddha's birthplace. The UN has designated Lumbini as a world peace site, and many countries with a significant Buddhist population are building monasteries there. Our rented bikes wound us through the grounds all day, and we saw the actual rock where Buddha's mother squatted and gave birth (it's under bullet proof glass). Some fotos below from our bike ride...

Our guest house owner arranged for our transport to our next destination, Pokhara. He sold us tickets on the mail truck, which he claimed wouldn't make any stops because it had to deliver the mail by three. We boarded the de-creped beast, no mail in site, and proceeded to sit for nine and a half hours while the bus stopped every hour. Maybe the mail bus had already left. Maybe there is no mail bus. One thing is for sure, our buts were sore by the end of the day. We climbed on another bus to arrive in Lakeside, the tourist district of Pokhara. Just as the sun set, our recent bus memories faded and we walked into what could arguably be the most beautiful place we've ever seen.

The town hugs a beautiful clean lake, and behind is the Annapurna mountain range. With ten peaks ranging from six to eight thousand meters, this section of the Himalayas was truly an amazing site.

We checked into our guest house, the Wood Pigeon, and proceeded to have real cheese and organic Nepali espresso. Delightful! Nepal was closed to tourists until 1960. Judging on the types of services and foods offered here, Pokhara started catering to westerners shortly thereafter. We have visited towns where they think they know what westerners want, and they do their best to provide it. But Pokhara gets it right every time, and they've spent a few decades perfecting it. The real coffee is key - usually quite expensive if available at all in most of Asia. After adjusting to the good food and slight change in altitude, we visited the Buddhist Peace Pagoda on a mountain near by. We took a canoe to get across the lake, then hiked up.

We rented bikes for the week and went to several nearby villages to watch the rice harvest and to go swimming.

Most foreigners arrive in Pokhara to trek through the Annapurna range. Totally unexperienced at trekking (fancy code word for hiking), we didn't think we would go on one during our stay in Pokhara. However, Tegra mentioned she was going on a three day trek with her friend Pascal and we were invited to join. We are very glad we did! The views and hikes were spectacular!

We took a taxi part way up, then hiked for six hours to Panchasee mountain.

Our first glimpse of the Annapurna range was from the hike. The range had been hiding behind clouds all week!

The range is about 40 kilometers from Panchasee mountain.

We made it to the village (consisting of two guest houses) just in time for the sunset.

Morning chi quong practice was great with such a spectacular view!

Fresh harvested millet pancakes for breakfast! Mmm!

We saw lots of bee hives all over the villages we passed on our hike down.

Lots of stairs on the way home!

We hope to return to Nepal the next time we come to Asia. Back to India now!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T23:39:00.008-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving from Pokhara, Nepal!

We are so thankful for all our wonderful friends and family back home as well as all our new friends we have met while traveling the world.

We shared a large feast with about 10 other friends (from 8 different countries) in Pokhara. Except for the 3 Americans it was a first Thanksgiving celebration for most.

We feel so lucky to have come to Nepal for a break and found these wonderful mountain views!

Much love and gratitude to all the world.

Yog: Of the body for the mind

2009-10-16T04:41:00.011-05:00

Since our journey began, it's been operating on a plan as you go basis. We've had a general idea of places to go and things to do, but have mostly relied on the universe to direct us to the right places at the right time. India has been no exception. Of course, there is a slight level of discomfort in the unknown. We knew we wanted to attend an Iyengar yoga school in northern India, recommended by our yoga teacher in Peru, but without a visa or a plane ticket we couldn't exactly reserve a space. Yog-Ganga's website recommends students apply for a course four months in advance. We sent our application in with 7 days to spare. Luckily, in an otherwise full year-round school, there was space for us in the next session.
Within a few days of receiving our visas in Dublin, we found ourselves in the foothills of the Himalayas in the beautiful quaint town of Rajpur, state of Uttarakhand. As our yoga teachers Rajiv and Swati say, we had a featherbed landing in India. Our prearranged lodging was in a sizable home with a marble staircase and massive garden, our dinners were cooked for us, and our twice a day yoga classes were focused and challenging. As we visited with our fellow classmates after orientation, we discovered many of them visit the school annually for several sessions in a row. By the end of our first day at Yog-Ganga, we decided to apply for the following course. The second three week session had an ayurveda focus, something we didn't want to miss out on.

Our home during the first course. Nice!

Outside the yoga school

Outside the studio

Inside the studio

They say “everything's bigger in Texas”. A similar adage can be said for this country : “everything's more intense in India”. To walk down the street is to experience extra sensory overload in many ways. On the ten minute walk home a few days into our first course, we saw a dog's ear falling off while he licked up his dripping blood from the ground, a large colorful dancing wedding procession in the middle of the street, then a preteen girl carrying a dozen bricks on her head to a construction site. It is one thing to witness these events, process them or put them in one's journal and then move on. It is another thing to stay in a place long enough to see the dog's ear heal (somewhat), and the young married girl carry bricks in the same sari for days on end. Staying somewhere makes it a bit more real, for better or worse. Perhaps staying somewhere for a very long time, like home, creates an opposite effect. We are so accustomed to our surroundings that we stop noticing things. It does seem, however, that there's simply more to look at in India.
There is no trash collection in Rajpur, but dozens of well maintained temples. Rubbish is either dumped off the sides of hills or burned. The free range cows munch on sidewalk garbage, as do monkeys and dogs. It is interesting to think that in an American city, we create much more trash, but it is neatly collected and hidden away in a landfill. Seeing the trash created due to higher consumerism makes us more sensitive to it. The trouble here is that prepackaged goods are more modern, so instead of taking your cooking oil can to the store to get it refilled, people buy plastic bottles of oil. Thus, the problem unfolds. Swati, our yoga teacher is trying to clean up Rajpur and to get trash collection going but it seems it is an uphill battle. It is probably very hard to convince people to reduce and reuse when it is opposite to the perception of progress and attainment/status.
On a lighter note, our classmates helped us celebrate Josh's birthday on October 4th by going out for breakfast after class and hiking to a nearby waterfall. Well, the hike had to be delayed for a couple days due to rain, but it was a wonderful trip nonetheless. Thanks to all our friends and family who sent warm birthday wishes via email and Skype.

Nice view on the way to the waterfall

The waterfall

Happy Birthday Josh!

We've had several chances to enjoy and participate in local cultural celebrations as well. There was a grand celebration for Patanjali's birthday (the father of yoga) at our school a week after Josh's birthday. Our class helped decorate the studio by creating sand paintings (called rangolis) and making garlands of mango leaves and marigold flowers. There was a musical performer and a wonderful feast for students and local families.

Getting ready for the celebration

Josh working on the tiger rangoli. After five hours of concentration (and some assistance) his masterpiece was finished!

Our class completed three rangolis

Our tallented classmate Rick snapped the following three pictures:

We used a lot of marigolds!

In the week between yoga courses, we were invited to Mussorie (funny enough, pronounced much like our home state) to celebrate Diwali, the biggest Hindu holiday of the year. The mountain top town has long been a honeymoon destination for Indians, and the views are spectacular. We sat in on a long puja (ceremony with readings of Hindu scriptures, offerings and prayers) and again enjoyed a wonderful feast. We also watched our yoga teacher's faces light up (literally and figuratively) as they lit small fireworks in the yard and watched bigger firework displays below. Situated high up in the hills, we were able to see the fireworks in all of the Derhadun valley below. It was a magical sight. There were no official city fireworks displays, but rather thousands of individuals all over the valley setting off their own fireworks. It was the first time we had watched fireworks from above the explosion line.

The sun sets behind a "moon line" during the winter months. One of only two places on earth (and Sweeden) where a false horizon is visible.

We also made two overnight trips to nearby Rishikesh, a holy pilgrimage site for Hindus. The Ganga river runs through the city, and there are many ashrams and yoga schools to visit. We especially enjoyed shopping for Indian printed English books. Our ten kilo shipment home consists mainly of ayurveda books that cost three times more in the states.

The Ganga is a beautiful shade of blue

Six weeks of Iyengar yoga classes have almost passed; we feel very fortunate to have found Yog-Ganga. We recommend the school to anyone who wishes to deepen his or her yoga practice, even if you haven't studied Iyengar before. The only danger is, Rajiv and Swati might just turn you into an Iyengar practitioner!

Our classmate performing a traditional Indian dance for our class

Our traditional pumpkin carving...

Happy Halloween everyone!

Om Shanti!

Baile Atha Claith - Dublin and friends

2009-09-19T14:49:00.005-05:00

In our ever conscious quest to save a Euro, we decided to travel to Dublin via train and ferry. For only $45.00, the Rail and Sail special routed us on two trains from London to Holy Head, then onto Dublin by sea. What should have taken about 7 hours, getting us into Dublin in time to meet my best friend Tara (of Nebraska) for dinner, took 26 hours. Due to a British bank holiday, the train schedule was slightly off, so we took three trains to get to Holy Head. The third train arrived fifteen minutes after our ferry left, and the following two ferrys were cancelled due to a storm in between the islands. We had about 14 hours to spend in chilly, rainy Holy Head. Luckily, the ferry line stored our baggage and we were able to go see a movie and have some dinner in town. We slept on the ferry, which departed at 2:00am. Weary and bleary eyed, we were received with a warm welcome by Tara and Ciaran around 8:00am.

We had long anticipated this leg of the journey because it was the only point where we would be staying with old friends. The Irish leg marked the halfway point in our trip, and we were excited to take stock of where we'd been and where we were going. Ciaran and Tara's apartment was a perfect place to do this. Not only did we have our own room with a real bed (a far cry from 34 consecutive nights of tent camping), we had our own bathroom with a bathtub. Rediscovering hot baths was just one delight in a sea of comfort and good times we had with Tara and Ciaran during our three week stay.
Greystones is in County Wicklow (nicknamed the garden of Ireland) and about an hour south of Dublin. Home to a quaint and relatively hip down town strip lining the sea front, the town lacks the suburban feel typically felt an hour outside of a major city. We especially enjoyed visiting the Happy Pear to eat lunch and to buy organic kale, something we hadn't eaten since our trip began. Another store sold tempeh, so we were able to make our favourite dinner to share. We also consumed a few Guinness for good measure, and learned how to make traditional Irish soda brown bread. From the apartment roof, we practised yoga each day and stared at the mesmerizing Irish sea.

Tara and Ciaran are in the music business, and we quickly realized this equals little time to spare in a week. Between gigs, recording sessions, and rehearsals we supported our musical hosts in every way we could. We helped promote the Ishna show by passing out flyers on Grafton Street in down town Dublin. Ishna, Tara and Ciaran's new band, is quickly becoming a Celtic rock sensation. People can find them on www.myspace.com/ishnamusic . Tara's electric fiddle and Ciaran's smooth tenor voice pair up to make a great sound. The audience loved the show, and we delighted in seeing the duo perform original work and arrangements on stage together.

On a rare day off, the four of us visited Glendalouch, an ancient monastic site. We enjoyed frolicking and joking together in the sunlight, and stopped for cake on our way home in pre-30th birthday celebrations for Tara. Ireland has the greenest hills we've ever seen, and during our stay we only saw rain three times. We really lucked out!

Tara had a big solo gig on her 30th birthday, Josh and I dressed in all black and pretended to be part of her technical crew so we could see her perform. She was amazing! The audience loved her, especially us! The previous night, we had a special dinner and night out on the town to celebrate her next decade. It was so much fun to go out dancing with friends, something we hadn't done in over a year. All four of us delighted in each other's company, the laughter during our stay was much needed by everyone. We can't wait to see Tara and Ciaran again! Thank you for the hospitality, great times, and letting us fill up on domestic bliss in your home! We couldn't have enjoyed Ireland more!
During our last weekend, we took an Anusara workshop at Yoga Dublin. Working with Jayendra Hanley on our alignment got us excited to move onto India. Time spent with good friends eating good food was an invaluable component in our preperations for part two of the trip. With our Indian visas in hand, we were ready to fly to Delhi. Well, almost... we had to take the Rail and Sail back to London first. Luckily, our route back went as scheduled and we got into London in time for a night with Sophie and Jane (thanks again ladies!). Onto India!

Look Kids! Parliment! Big Ben!

2009-09-19T13:18:00.011-05:00

London, England was made possible by our friend Sophie and her fabulous aunt Jane. They graciously welcomed us into their home so that we could get to know their fine city a bit better. We hadn't seen Sophie since our salt flats trip in Bolivia and we were excited to catch up in her native environment. They live in a borough of London called Brixton. The southern neighborhood is the seat of London's Afro Caribbean population and we had a great time people watching in the markets and on the busy streets.

Sophie took us on a walking tour of Parliament and Big Ben. We had a great time wandering through the streets of London without having to read a map every few blocks.

We did have to routinely remind ourselves that traffic comes from the LEFT. Za stepped out in front of several cars the first few days thinking the road was clear of traffic.

The London Eye is a huge Ferris wheel in the center of town.

Big Ben was looking rather handsome in the later afternoon sun.

We loved looking at all the lions scattered around town, especially the lions at Trafalgar Square. Sightseeing can be quite drianing so Sophie took us to eat a traditional fish and chips dinner. Josh liked the mushy peas best.

Sophie and Jane were fabulous hosts! We really couldn't have seen London without them!

We took a day trip to the Greenwich Royal Observatory to see the 0'0'0 meridian line. Although we became quite lost on several parts of the day, we had a great time!

The London Underground is pretty straightforward. We know now why they call the subway the Tube: it's very narrow compared to other subways. The network itself is huge!

We enjoyed this sculpture during one of our lost wanders.

We took a canal ride and saw many sights from the Thames River. This is not the London Bridge , but we thought it was much more impressive.

We finally arrived at the Meridian Line!

Josh stood on the line while waiting in line for a photo.

A geography nut's dream!

Our last day in London was spent at the Notting Hill Carnival. Apparently the largest street party next to Rio's carnival, there were wall to wall people covering the city. Sophie and her friend Ben wandered with us throughout the day.

On almost every corner, there was a sound system blasting reggae music.

This was our favorite Rasta man. What a great carnival!

On to Dublin to apply for our Indian visas and to visit our favorite musicians in this part of the world...

Camping in Amsterdam

2009-09-08T12:39:00.012-05:00

As we unpacked our bags, we didn't know we'd be staying for nearly three weeks at Camping Zeeburg. We just couldn't find anywhere else that was less than eight Euro per person a night. Plus we had some great neighbours during our stay!

Zeeburg was on the outskirts of town, a short walk to the light rail that connects the city. The above photo shows only one of the four camping fields, there were also lots of camper car spaces, cabins, a restaurant, bar, shop, kayak and bike rentals available. It was sort of like a little city, with a population base that was constantly in flux. It was fun to watch people come and go during our stay.

When people think of Dutch souvenirs, they may think of wooden shoes, windmills or Heiniken beer. We think stroopwaffles. These delicious honey cakes made a great vehicle for Josh to transport Nutella and peanut butter into his stomach. Luckily, the "stroopies" aren't readily available in the rest of the world.

The city is filled with canals and bridges. Unlike Venice, the water in the canals is refreshed every six days. The system is quite impressive, as are the views! Our camp site was just to the left of this canal.

The population of Amsterdam is around 740,000 people. The bike population is about 700,000. The city is so quaint and compact, it would simply cease to function if everyone drove a car. Bicycle consciousness is the highest we've seen in any city, as a pedestrian one has to look three times before crossing the road! Once for bikes, twice for cars, and a third time for the light rail system that uses normal streets.

We rented bikes for a day and went to the beach and Van Gough museum. However, our bikes were not as colourful as these.

Beautiful statues adorn the squares and canal wallkways.

Since we'd been in Europe for about a month, we decided to make a bit of money to help with expenses. Za has always liked playing with her devil sticks, and she's been making them to sell for about ten years. Each day, we would make a few pair at the campsite and then go hawk them at Dam Square. It was a great way to meet tourists from all over the world, and to watch people try to learn how to juggle. We were supposed to have a permit to sell them, but the cops are pretty relaxed in Amsterdam and we kept a low profile. Over the few weeks we performed, we witnessed cops doing all sorts of non cop-like activities like hugging one another and talking for an hour or two, eating a bbq lunch out of a paddywagon, and playing soccer by the train station.

Josh making a pair of sticks and using his shirt to keep the sun off his face. Maybe we should have taken that turban tying class at the yoga festival after all! There was a hardware store close to our campground where we bought our supplies. Plus, the main material for making the sticks is bicycle innertube. In this town, it was easy to obtain!

After selling a few pairs of sticks, we would go on adventures around town. We liked this sign, and it made for great people watching!

A bar we liked named for a band Josh loves.

Josh took a picture of this neat bridge while he was riding his bike.

The parks throughout Amsterdam were beautiful and picturesque. The leaning tree above was just one of dozens in Wondelpark.

The weather during our stay was gorgeous. Most days were in the mid to upper 70s with lots of sunshine.

We spotted this sculptuure in the middle of a canal.

Hands down our favourite European city thus far! Thanks Amsterdam!

Kundalini Yoga and Road Tripping in France

2009-08-17T06:45:00.018-05:00

Following an all night bus ride to Barcelona, we received a warm welcome from Julia (our yoga friend who used to live in Edwardsville, IL). Since we accidentally left our camera at Sunseed, we don't have many pictures to share. We made the best of our one night stay by sightseeing and wandering the colorful busy streets. Thanks Julia!

An arduous overnight train ride left us at the gates of the European 3HO Yoga Festival in the Loire Valley of France. We arrived a day early to train as volunteers in the kitchen and registration desk. It was fun to pitch our tent in an open field, then watch it fill up with hundreds of tents as the days progressed.

Around 1800 people from all over Europe attended the yoga festival. Yogi Bhajan brought Kundalini Yoga (the Yoga of awareness) to the West in 1968. He founded 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization) to help spread the teachings of Kundalini yoga. Kundalini yoga combines asanas (physical postures), meditation, mantra (chanting), pranayama (breath techniques) and music. Together these techniques help build and maintain a Healthy body, Happy mind, and Holy spirit. Read a great article about Kundalini Yoga on the 3HO website (What is it all about?).

According to Yogi Bhajan's teachings, sadhana (or daily spiritual practice) is the base, or foundation of all spiritual endeavors. Sadhana is whatever you do on a regular basis to clear your consciousness in order to relate to the infinite spirit within you. Every day we encounter new stress and every day we would benefit from some sort of spiritual practice. Include physical exercise, meditation, and prayer to cover all your bases and attune to your highest spirit.

In keeping with his teachings, each day of the 10 day yoga festival started with morning sadhana from 4:30 to 7am. The highlight of the festival was 3 days of White Tantric Yoga. White Tantric Yoga is done in pairs as a group meditation. It is designed to quickly break through mental and subconscious blocks. Practitioners sit facing their partner and do 6 to 8 kriyas lasting 31 or 62 minutes. A kriya is a meditation including a yoga posture (asana), a hand position (mudra), a breathing technique (pranayama), a mental focus, and/or a mantra. The kriyas were intense. Sometimes we meditated for 62 minutes holding our arms above our heads, or linked arms with our partner, chanted a mantra, stared into each other's eyes and did a breathing technique for 31 minutes. That is a long time to be doing something over and over but it makes for a very nice meditation. After a while you just let go and flow. At times we would lose focus and coordination, but often the mantra we were chanting allowed us to recenter and refocus. At times the chanting and breathing techniques took us beyond time as we felt we could continue the kriya forever if we had to.

This year, the White Tantric Yoga was milder than years past We practiced for about five hours a day, as opposed to years past where it was up to ten hours a day. One of our last krias was a 62 minute blind walk. We went in groups of 11 with hands held in a long chain chanting "wahe guru". It was quite a powerful three days of yoga.

When we weren't practicing, we were working with the awesome kitchen group pictured above. We were from about eight different countries, and by the end of the festival we had all become great friends.

We didn't cook meals at Sunseed because we weren't sure how to prepare food for 45 people. Well, we learned how to cook for 1800 during the festival. The above recipe made one day's worth of hot sauce for the festival. We both worked in the kitchen preparing dinner for several hours a day.

Josh was one of four strong men working in the kitchen, so he was called upon several times a day to pour food and tea from the pots to the serving buckets.

Our dish washing operation was massive. During meal preparation, 16 people each stirred a pot to make kicharee. If the pot was not stirred properly, it would stick to the bottom. This made the washing up quite challenging, some pots taking up to a half hour to clean. But we were working with friends, chanting and chatting so the work was never mundane.

The last day of the festival was called Peace Prayer Day, and a large feast was prepared. Za helped all day making the special meal of eggplant, potato and tomato. Twelve batches from the above cooker were eaten! Everyone was so excited to eat garlic bread and butter, it was a nice change of pace after eating kicharee and vegetable soup for a week.

On the last night, there was a huge dance party under the big top. The DJ played lots of Indian dance music and everyone celebrated a great week coming to a close.

Happy Yogis!

We knew we wanted to go to Amsterdam after the festival, but we weren't sure how we were going to get there. We solicited a ride from a supremely nice man from Hamburg, Germany. He said he wanted to take a few days to camp in France, then would drop us off in Amsterdam. We were excited to load into his Mercedes station wagon for a good old fashioned road trip. Volker was a great travel buddy, he liked to stop by the side of roads to make coffee on his camp stove and take back roads because they have better scenery.

We camped for free on the northern coast of France and had crepes before driving through Belgium.

The three days and nights were filled with great conversation, lots of laughter and general camaraderie. We were grateful to have met such an awesome person through yoga. Thanks Volker! We hope to visit you in Hamburg someday!

As our new friend drove away, we were back on our own with a new city to explore. We were looking forward to having some free time after our month of yoga and volunteering.

Sunseed Trust - sustainable living in Southern Spain

2009-08-12T11:12:00.019-05:00

Following our trip to Morocco and back, we vowed never to travel through three continents in four days again. The day we left Chefchaouen, we took a taxi to the bus, then another taxi to the ferry, then two more buses. This route left us in Malaga Spain for the evening. Since the hostals close to the bus station were charging $75.00 a night, we headed down the beach to try out our new tent. Our free camping spot included a fantastic view of the Mediterranean and surrounding city.
The following morning, we went to Almeria by bus to begin volunteering and to take a solar hot water course at Sunseed Destert Technology.

Sunseed Trust began operating in 1986 with the intention of developing low cost technologies to aid 3rd world arid/desert regions. The group, consisting of English ex patriots, settled in an abandoned Spanish village and began experimenting with reforestation and solar energy. Over the past two decades, the project's focus has changed several times. The community is rooted in permaculture principles, an approach to sustainable living developed by two Australians in the 1970s.
Presently, Sunseed occupies four houses in the small village, operates four gardens, and hosts hundreds of volunteers year round. There are nine full time staff residents, and a board of trustees who help operate projects from abroad.

One of the main principles of permaculture is painted on the sign above. The temperatures throughout our stay ranged from 95 to 100 degrees daily. On our first day, we learned how to look after ourselves by locating the fresh water pond in the valley nearby.

The swimming hole was VERY cold and refreshing, and we frequented it daily as it was the only way to escape from the oppressing dry heat and sun. The water was crystal clear, and the turtles nearby mostly left us alone as we swam and waded in the shade.

Bamboo grew near the water throughout the valley. There was also a ram pump to provide river water to the village. The water isn't drinkable because of the high amount of gypsum, but residents use the water for irrigation and dish washing.

The irrigation ditches throughout the village were built by the Moors in the 15th century. It's amazing to think that a system this old functions so well! The river through the
Molinas valley is one of the few that still flow year round. Due to high amounts of gypsum mines in the area, most of the rivers have dried up. This also creates a fire problem in the summer. During our two week stay, we saw three fires and had to evacuate the village for one of them.

The top of the village houses a large yurt for community activities. Canya, or bamboo structures adorn many areas around the village. We taught yoga in the yurt each morning at 6 am during our stay. The yurt also hosted a cabaret show, a movie night, and an acro balance workshop for volunteers. Fun!

Six people participated in the solar hot water course during our second week. It was amazing to learn how easy they are to make! We built the main solar water panel in five days.

First we soldered the copper pipes together (5 long parallel pipes connected together at both ends). Then we attached aluminum fins to the five parallel pipes to increase the surface area collecting heat from the sun. Then we painted the pipes and fins with a primer paint and finally black paint to increase the heat absorption.

Next we built an insulated frame to house the solar collector and finally attached a single glazing of glass across the top of the insulated box. With the insulated box and glass cover, the greenhouse effect allows more heat to be collected. The finished solar collector panel was about 2 square meters in size.

The solar collector is usually mounted on a roof and water is pumped or flows through and gets heated. If the hot water is stored above the solar collector, a thermo-syphon effect will keep the water circulating without a pump. The system can be a pre-heater so that the normal water heater doesn't need as much energy to heat the water or can be the only source of hot water if you get enough sun.

Solar water heating is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to take advantage of solar energy and lower our energy bills. We plan to install one at each of our houses when we return home, and at any of our family members who would like one.

During the summer months, Sunseed's volunteer turnover is quite large. We thought the project had a lot of people during our first week. The communal meals produced massive pots of food for about two dozen people. Then, 22 Belgain boy scouts showed up. Due to a communication mix up, the project leaders weren't expecting the group for another week or so. We were suddenly 45 people, and the hottest days of summer were upon us. The boy scouts camped in a field next to the village the first few days, but then had to move into a few of the project's houses after a fire nearly destroyed their campsite.

It seemed the boy scouts were a bit bored, so we made home made chocolate one night for desert. It was fun to peel the shells, grind the beans and then enjoy the spread on home made bread!

The grinder made the beans into a smooth paste.

Fresh chocolate! Mmmmm! It was exciting to see the looks of surprise on everyone's faces when we told them about where chocolate comes from and how it's made.
Since we had never cooked for 45 people, we didn't elect to cook lunch or dinner during our stay. However, we did learn how to make bread during our stay. We consumed 16 loaves in two days! Those who did cook did a fantastic job, lunch and dinner was a great time to catch up with everyone and talk about the various projects going on.

Our friends Marcus and Marie took us to the beach on one hot afternoon. The Mediterranean was cool and perfect for floating. We spent a few hours sitting on the shore combing through rocks and then enjoyed an ice cream. Thanks Marcus!

Agave grows throughout the valley and has many uses. A local villager and agave enthusiast, Timbo, runs an agave museum in his house. He makes agave drums, lamps, sculptures and didgeridoos. His family works to plant agave in Ethiopia, as the biomass makes great low cost fuel. The plants are hardy and use virtually no resources during their long lives.

Our time at Sunseed was too short. We had planned to stay six weeks, but our schedule changed when we decided to attend the Kundalini yoga festival in France. It was great to meet so many knowledgeable, passionate people. Each day, we learned something new about how to reduce our carbon footprint. Living in an established community showed us that it is possible to live environmentally sustainably and comfortably. We also made great friends and allies for our future community living endeavors. Thanks Sunseed! We hope John, Bex, Rosa, Rob, Vejay (and kids), Jeff, James and Dara can visit us in St. Louis someday! The same goes for all the other awesome volunteers we met during our stay : Fin, Max, Ellen, Shannon, John, Hugh, Lucia, Kiana, Marie, Marcus, Hanna, Hanne, JoJo and all the boy scouts!

Hopping the Pond to Lisbon and Morocco

2009-08-10T08:11:00.009-05:00

We enjoyed watching two movies before Josh slept on the floor of the overnight plane to Portugal. The customs check upon entering Europe was quick and easy, and we found ourselves in the bright morning sun of Lisbon. A five hour time change, combined with the red eye flight made us quite weary.

Our couch surfing hosts Paulo and Sofia were preparing for work when we arrived at their apartment. We had arranged a visit with them before leaving Brasil, and their hospitality was much needed and refreshing. They left us a cell phone and maps to the city. Although we only stayed one night with this awesome couple, we had a great time! We learned about LOMO photography, a low-fi camera brand from Gemany, while we made a delicious vegetarian dinner together. We traded travel stories and laughed a lot throuoghout the evening. For our first couchsurf, we were elated to have this awesome cultural exchange. If we hadn't had our sights so strongly set on visitng Morocco, we would have stayed much longer. Thanks Paulo and Sofia! We can't wait until you visit the US so we can host you in our fair river city! :)

During our one day in Lisbon, we went to the beach. The water was really cold, but we warmed up by practicing yoga on the shore. That night, we caught an overnight bus to Tarifa, where the ferries cross the Straight of Gibralter to Tangiers.

Another night with little sleep made our fist day in Morocco slightly surreal. We took a small guided tour of Tangiers during our first afternoon. He took us to the Medina, the shopping district of the city. The streets are quite narrow and filled with tailors, fabric stores, and food stalls. We went to the roof of a carpet seller to catch this beautiful panorama of the city.

After climbing down the four narrow flights of stairs, the owners tried to sell us carpets and tapestries. They brought out many beautiful samples and we smiled and said they were very nice but we were traveling and didn't want to carry a carpet with us. The prices included shipping home, of course. They persisted by giving us mint tea and showing us more carpets. The situation became quite ridiculous, as they kept shouting at us to name our best price for the carpet, and we just kept smiling and trying to tell them we didn't want to buy anything. This went on for some time until finally we stood up and shouted NO and then left the building. We laughed all the way back to our hostal and promptly went to bed to catch up on some much needed sleep.

We only had three days to spend in Morocco, not enough time to visit our first pick, Marakesch (a twelve hour bus ride from Tangiers). A few fellow travelers mentioned Chefchaouen, a city three hours inland, as a good place to visit if time was limited. We made the trip on a croweded hot bus and arrived in time for the town's anual music festival. An otherwise sleepy small town, this hot July weekend was the place to be in Morocco! It was quite nice to see other Moroccan tourists from all over the country enjoying music and relaxing by the cool river.

View of Chefchaouen from the Rif mountains.

The city was settled in the 15th century. Jewish residents painted the doors of the city blue at one time, and this accent color is still visible from every point. A more typical Muslim color would be green, but the color choice persists. Perhaps our top city for inspiring views and vistas, we took lots of fotos!

Each little streeet had a perfect foto waiting to be snapped. It was easy to get lost in the Medina, the streets were so narrow and winding it was hard to tell where you were. The winding walks were full of tourists and children during our three day stay.

The festival had three stages throughout town. It was fun to see Moroccans boogie! Well, there wasn't really much dancing going on but we think everyone had a great time just the same.

The Streets of Salvador

2009-08-10T07:32:00.004-05:00

We left Abracadabra before dawn with Salvador as our destination. The three kilometer hike to town was easier for us because we stashed some of our gear at the local cacao trader the day before. We were lucky to catch the bus, as it pulled up right as we were jogging down the last hill into Agua Fria. A few buses and a ferry later, we pulled into the bay of Salvador -- the only place in Brasil where the sun sets over the ocean. Truly a sight to behold!

Salvador is the home of capioera, the Brasilian martial art dance, and the seat of Afro-Brasilian culture. We watched a drum corps practice near our hostal one day, the children kept the complex Brasilian beats impressively well.

The main square mad a great venue for samba concerts. During our eight day stay, we saw live concerts every night. We heard someone say in passing that if there's no drinking and dancing in the streets, then you're not in Salvador. We found this to be quite true, and although we enjoyed hearing rythms late into the night, we decided to head to a quiet beach for a few days.

Only two hours north from Salvador by bus, we found a cute beach town called Arembepe. Za had joked on the way there that she wanted an individal cabina with a swimming pool right on the beach. We laughed at the unlikely prospect of this wish coming true, as our budget hadn't allowed for such luxuries on our trip. Sometimes though, you do get what you wish for!

We found an amazing cabina right on the beach complete with a mini refrigerator, swimming pool, and sun huts with lounge chairs. This is the view from our bed, truly wonderful.

Nearby our honeymoon suite was an old hippie village. Popularized by Mic Jagger and Janis Joplin several decades ago, artisians still sell crafts and live in huts in the tropical paradise. The artist's house above has seen thousands of visitors over the years.

Still honey mooning! :)

We had the beach virtually to ourselves. Sea turtles nest all around the coast, and we swam with one. Actually, Za ran out of the ocean the moment she saw it, but it was quite cute. Each night we walked into town to eat Bejous, a tapioca pancake with filling. Tasty and cheap!
After our R&R minivacation, we returned to Salvador to prepare for our journey to Europe.

WWOOFing at Abracadabra

2009-07-05T09:39:00.013-05:00

WWOOF:
Willing Workers On Organic Farms
or
World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms

We heard about WWOOFing and knew we wanted to try it in Brazil because the cost of living is higher compared to the rest of South America. WWOOFers volunteer on a farm in exchange for room and board. The minimum stay and hours worked vary from farm to farm and are negotiated ahead of time.

We met a person at our Vipassana 10 Day meditation retreat from Itecaré Brazil who said the town had lots of sun, beautiful beaches, and friendly people. When we started looking for farms in Brazil we found one in Itecaré that had a cacao forest. Sounded like a great place to save some money and learn all about where chocolate comes from.

So after relaxing for 3 days in beautiful Itecaré, we took the local bus to Agua Fria, a small village 2 hours in from the coast. We then started our hour long hike up a muddy, hilly road to the farm.

The walk was supposed to be 3km, but with all our gear and all the hills, it seemed like a lot longer. The waist-strap on my main pack ripped halfway there probably because I was carrying too much weight in it. While still walking the sun set and we had to get out our flashlights to finish the walk. As we trudged along with our heavy gear and aching shoulders in unfamiliar and remote territory, our minds started to doubt our progress: "Shouldn't we be there by now? Did we pass it? Were we supposed to go left at the first fork instead of right?" .... we actually considered dumping our bags and sending one of us ahead as a scout to find the farm. But the mosquitoes came with sunset and neither of us wanted to quit moving.

We finally made it to the farm well past dark relieved and grateful for a warm welcome and meal.

The next day we got a better view of the beautiful land the farm was on and started learning about life on the farm...

The seven or so bedrooms in the house had mosquito nets. The front porch looked out on a big grassy yard. On the back side of the house near the kitchen, was the only running water on the farm - a sink fed from a natural spring - that was used to wash the dishes as well as fill the water filter for drinking and the large bucket behind the tarp used for showering.

The kitchen was outdoors but covered by a roof. We usually made a fire and cooked on the woodstove, but there was also a gas stove for baking and heating some water for tea or coffee when we weren't already making a big meal. The dining area next to the kitchen also served as early mornning yoga studio, and mid-day lounge area. There was also a detached Dry Compost Toilet - dry meaning, go pee in the yard or the forest.

We often walked five minutes to this beautiful waterfall for a mid-day break or to rinse off after a hard day of work.

Probably 60 or 75% of our food was grown right on the farm, either in the large organic vegetable garden next to the house, or on the many fruit trees (banana, jackfruit, citrus, nuts and others).

Below are our friends Haraldo and Eyal - the owners, operators, and our gracious hosts at the farm.

Work on the farm varied from day to day, but was not usually more than 4 hours a day. The most fascinating part to me was helping with the CACAO (pronounced ca-cow), or chocolate harvesting. The cacao fruit grows to the size of a small football on trees that are 10 to 15 feet tall. The flowers form right on the bark anywhere along the trunk or branches in the shade of the leafy trees. The fruit starts out as dark green or dark purple and ripens to yellow, red or light green depending on the variety of cacao tree. The trees produce fruit year round but June and July are the big harvest times.

We collected large piles of ripe cacao fruit from the trees and ground. With all the fruits from an area of the forest collected, the fruits were opened with a machette and the seeds (the cacao beans) were dumped out or scraped out and collected. The seeds are covered in a white, juicy pulp.

The seeds from the freshly ripe cacao fruits were collected separately and the juice from them were collected to make a magical drink called cacao honey. The seeds are dumped in a mesh bag which is twisted and squeezed so that the juice in the pulp surrounding the seeds can be collected and drank - usually right there in the forest. After working and sweating for a couple hours in the forest, the awesomely sweet cacao honey was a great treat. I never imagined that the counter part to the bitter cacao bean was a deliciously sweet juice.

All the beans were carried back to the house and after being left to ferment for a few days, were dried on the roof, or when the weather was rainy a large wood-burning cacao dryer was used. Most of the dried beans were then taken by horse or mule into town and sold to the local cacao buyer. Of course a number of the beans were left at the farm for residents and volunteers to enjoy. We roasted the beans just long enough to make removing the light brown skins from the beans, leaving the dark bitter cacao bean. My favorite snack on the farm was to eat raw cacao beans interspersed with bites of fresh bananas. That reminds me, the large green stalks that the bananas grow on are not trees. The banana plant is actually a type of grass, a ginormous fruiting variety of grass - who knew? We also made some fresh chocolate by melting the beans along with fruits and sugar for sweet a great treat.

And after the harvest, hundreds of cacao shells are left to decompose and feed the following generations of cacao fruits.

In addition to our cacao work, we also worked in the organic vegetable garden, usually weeding and occasionally planting new vegetables as we did in the heart shaped plot shown below.

One day our job was to pull ticks off one of the horses. A thoroughly disgusting job that was rewarded with a pleasant ride on the horses around some of the farm land.

One afternoon I got to sharpen my engineering skills (and save my fingers) by planning out and carving a doorknob for the door to our room. The door closed snuggly even without hardware, but our fingers were getting scratched up reaching in the hole to open and close the door.

We also planted trees one morning, to help reforest the land. The local tradition has been to burn large fields and forest area to clear the trees and/or grasses and plant a monoculture. So one of the main goals of the farm is to reforest the land and add diversity to support the local ecosystem.
Four of us planted 10 trees one morning and it was suprisingly quite a bit of hard work.

Only working 4 hours a day, there was also plenty of time to party and celebrate. We helped the local live-in family (who are doing construction and most of the cacao harvest) celebrate Gabby's 3rd birthday. A great homemade cake and the classic game of hitting baloons in the air trying not to let any hit the ground made for a great evening.

Speaking of the local family, 2 year old Kaike is shown below with one of his favorite toys - a machette. If he didn't have a machette in his hand, he usually had a steak knife as his other favorite toy. We thought we should take them away at first, but the sooner you learn to be skillful with a blade in this remote environment, the better.
After practicing with a machette (cutting grass and sweating profusely) for 30 minutes, I later watched Keike's father, chop an area of grass much larger than mine in only 5 minutes.

Overall, life at the farm was simple, hard, and extremely fulfilling. After traveling, vacationing, and being a typical tourist for 3.5 months, it was really nice to do some work to contribute to something and get a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. It was also satisfying to get up and go to sleep with the sun (a necessary adaptation when there is no electricity). It was nice to be able to work and take a break to read some books or go to the waterfall and then work some more. It was also easy to see the value in the work we did - rather than sitting inside all day to earn money to buy food, a lot of our work was simply taking care of the garden and eating from it. Some of the books I read at the farm were manuals about earthen architecture - we hope to grow our own food and build a cob house (mud and straw) when we return home. WWOOFING was great for our pocketbook and great for our spirits. We're looking forward to our next WWOOFing vacation from vacationing!

Above is the river in a nearby village, where we sold cacao, bought some rice and beans, and checked internet.

Carioca in Rio

2009-06-30T10:17:00.006-05:00

From Wikipedia:

Carioca" is a Portuguese adjective that refers to the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The original word "Kara'i oca" comes from the indigenous Amerindian language of the Tupi people, meaning "White Man's House".

According to a survey published in American Scientist Magazine, the Cariocas of Rio de Janeiro exhibited great friendliness and offered to help in various situations. A quote from the article mentioned the following:

There is an important word in Brazil: simpático. (Actually it's a Greek origin word meaning sym-pathy that you feel very concerned (almost the same) about someone else's suffering). It refers to a range of desirable social qualities - to be friendly, nice, agreeable, and good-natured. A person who is fun to be with and pleasant to deal with .... Brazilians, especially the Cariocas of Rio (as citizens here are known), want very much to be seen as simpático. And going out of one's way to assist strangers is part of this image.

Our time in Rio was short, but we did have a few days to witness the Carioca lifestyle and all the culture and music that makes Rio such a great city.

We went to Ipanema beach to look for the Girl from Ipanema, but we didn't find her. We had a great yoga session instead.

We took a day trip to the Modern Art Museum. This impressive structure was designed by Oscar Niemayer, an amazing architect. He has many structures throughout Brasil and the world.

We went out with some couchsurfing friends one night, and discovered that the sidewalks are called "Brasilian rugs". The black and white stone work adornes most city blocks, and although it's nice to look at, the women hate it because it's dangerous to walk on with high heels!

Christ the Redemer statue is visibile throughtout the city. What a beautiful landmark! Our hostal was also a highlight during our visit in Rio, and we wish we could have spent more time getting to know people. We had to press on, however, to volunteer up the coast. . .

The Indra Devi Foundation - yoga for the people

2009-06-06T14:54:00.007-05:00

Indra Devi was born in 1899 in Riga, Latvia. She was fascinated with India and moved there in 1927 to dance and act in the film industry. She found yoga in 1937 and trained with Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, a Yoga master whose other students included B.K.S. Iyengar and K. Pattabhi Jois. Often referred to as the first lady of yoga, Indra Devi brought the practice to Soviet Russia, China, Vietnam, South Africa and eventually Mexico and Argentina. She moved to Buenos Aires in 1982 and set up the Indra Devi Foundation : Yoga, Art and Science of Life.

She dedicated her life to bringing yoga to all people. At age 100, she was still practicing Ardha Sirsasana, Janu Sirsasana, Ardha Matsyendrasana, and Padmasana. She died just shy of her 103rd birthday in Buenos Aires. Her students refer to her as Mataji, a rare honor for a woman who exemplifies Yoga´s principles.

When we arrived in Buenos Aires, we picked the studio closest to our hostal to go make some contacts. Luckily, we met the two individuals who run the foundation and teach throughout the city. David and his wife Iana welcomed us with open hearts and arms. We signed up for classes and started to work on our Spanish anatomy right away. Our teachers and their youth class are pictured below.

We attended classes at four of the six locations throughout our stay. Each location is beautifully decorated with artwork and fotos from decades of yoga lineage. There is a room in one of the studios that holds many of Indra Devi´s favorite things from her life.

The class structure is quite different than that of an American yoga class. The pace is slower and more relaxed. There is not as much a sense of competition. Each class started with chanting Ohm, followed by neck warm-ups. The classes were primarily asanas, but also included pranayama, mantras and mudras dispursed throughout the class. Class was usually followed by a short dharma talk or a candle light concentration/meditation. The pranayamas were simple but effective. Just when I thought the asanas were getting too hard and I was exhausted, our teacher would have us do a simple short pranayama that would quickly relieve the stress in my body and calm my mind.

The students were of all kinds - skinny and large, short and tall, young and old, new and advanced, pregnant and not. The sun salutations were slower paced and started and ended in child´s posture. But in some ways, they were harder, like transitioning from downdog to updog in a flow while bending your arms and lowering your head rather than just lowering the hips and keeping the head high.
Most asanas were taught with 2 or 3 difficulty levels and each version was demonstrated starting with the easiest. I think it is nice for a beginning student or less advanced student to see the easy version demonstrated first as opposed to demonstrating a hard posture and then explaining in words how to make it easier. This may be one way that the Indra Devi schools keep a wide range of students coming back to class. The classes were challenging for all students regardless of their flexibility and strength.
Every class ended with "Ohm signifies love and Shanti signifies peace. Ohm shanti." And then every or almost every student hugged and kissed the teacher and other students with the greeting "Ohm shanti". It was an akward experience the first day of class as rarely do students hug their yoga teacher in the US, let alone hug and kiss everyone in the room. But it was a nice experience that really helped to strengthen the sense of community and family among the class.

David invited us to several activities, including a six mile walk around a rose garden and breakfast on a relaxed Sunday. He gave us rides home several times and this gave us an opportunity to ask questions about Mataji´s life and his experiences with her over twenty plus years. We enjoyed our time at the Indra Devi studios and hope to bring more yogis from the US to study for years to come.
Om Shanti!

The Lovely and Beautiful Buenos Aires

2009-06-06T14:43:00.013-05:00

Buenos Aires from the 22nd floor of a Palermo building

After 48 hours of travel, including a six hour border crossing from Bolivia to Argentina, we arrived in Buenos Aires. The subway provided a quick ride to rejuvenation. We found a quaint four room hostal on the edge of Palermo Viejo, a neighborhood close to the city center. We negotiated a good rate for our 18 days stay and settled in for our adventures. The weather was gorgeous for our first week in the city, mid to upper seventies and ample humidity. Getting back to sea level brought us our first deep easy breaths since we entered the high altitude of the Andes nearly three months ago. Our dry skin recovered in about two days. Although we adored Bolivia and Peru, it was nice to be in a place where toilet seats and paper, and shower curtains were standard.
We quickly adapted to big city living by acquiring several good maps of the city bus and subway routes. Throughout our entire stay we probably averaged many miles of walking a day. The first few days we explored so much on foot that we literally collapsed into bed.

We met a nice gentleman in our neighborhood painting his new house. We want to be his neighbor!

We thought about parking our souls here for a day, but decided to go eat ice cream instead. The ice cream in Buenos Aires is amazing. We made sure to eat some everyday so we could understand the flavor structure and quality variance in each part of town. Josh pictured below demonstrating ice cream drainage, a technique used when the cone isn´t as fresh as it could be.

When we weren´t studying yoga, we spent our afternoons playing chess on our new Incas vs. Spaniards chess board (Incas go first). Za was keeping score of wins and losses until she decided part of love is not keeping track. Our games are still pretty average, but we´re getting better.

The city is full of monumental architecture, quaint cafes, and tango music. The makeup of the city is heavily European, and Italian culture seeps into the language and people. People in Buenos Aires say ´no por favor´instead of ´de nada´after someone says ´gracias´. De nada means ´of nothing´ or ´no problem´, and no por favor means ´no please´. The way people say it is quite funny though, as if saying OH PLEASE!!! It made us laugh a lot. Our Spanish skills improved throughout our stay, and although we aren´t fluent by any means, we felt the people of the city were open, polite and friendly. We found it challenging to go see live music, as concerts and dance clubs don´t begin festivities until midnight. A typical schedule appeared to be : eat dinner between 9:00 and 11:00, either nap or drink espresso from 11:00 to 1:00 and then go out until 6:oo in the morning. Needless to say, we couldn´t hang.
Our adventures through the various boroughs were always entertaining, even though the weather changed significantly throughout our second and third weeks. Luckily, we left before true winter hit.

Impressive bridge downtown.

View of a street downtown near the tango district.

Diagonal Norte, a huge monument in the city center.

Our last day in town, we went for a day trip to El Tigre with our two friends from Venezuela. Just 20 kilometers north of the city, El Tigre is a huge delta where hundreds of rivers run into the ocean. We took a boat ride and ogled at this impressive museum on the river.

Za and Marshia in Rio de la Plata, El Tigre

Adventures in an ´82 Land Cruiser

2009-05-22T08:56:00.015-05:00

Sunset from the train on the way to Uyuni, Bolivia

When traveling internationally, certain skills are learnend quickly. For example, we rarely return in the same form of transportation that we arrive in. On a day trip, we might take a collectivo (minibus) and taxi to get somewhere, and then return on a large bus. A great excercise in letting go, we just figure out how to get somewhere and then the method of return presents itself depending on various factors such as time of day, money and amount of people traveling. Other international travel skills have prooven difficult for us to acquire. Namely, never go with the first offer on the table. Whether considering a taxi ride or a three day trip through the Salar de Uyuni (salt flats of Uyuni), it´s better to shop around.
Both skills were ignored on this excursion - we returned in the same vehicle we left in, and we went with the first offer that came our way . We spent over 24 hours in a beat up ´82 Toyota Land Cruiser that made our butts hurt and knees sore. What an adventure!

Juliet snagged our group of three (our friend Shanti, Josh and I) the moment we got off the train late at night. Her price was consistent with what we´d read in the guide book, so we agreed to go with her tour agency the following day. As about two dozen new or newer Land Cruisers prepared to leave, we eagerly awaited ours. The last to arrive, our jalopy pulled up and we cringed. It all seems a bit funny now, but driving through extremely treacherous dusty roads with windows that don´t roll up was not the most enjoyable of experiences.

Our first stop was at a train grave yard. All the trains that stopped working throughout the 1940s were deposited here. The grafitti on the side of one read "experienced mechanic needed".

Our next stop was the salt flat. Over 4,00o square feet, this prehistoric dried up lake bed is located at the crest of the Andes and contains over 10 billion tons of salt. The salt is very hard, shortening our afternoon yoga practice because it hurt our hands!

We stayed the night in a hostal made entirely of salt! We met some great musicians from Argentina and had a lovely open mic night full of accordian, fiddle, guitar and flute. Below is the dining area of our hotel. The walls, floor, chairs and tables are made entirely of salt. Even our mattresses sat atop salt frames!

The following day was filled with short stops at various lakes, rock formations and parks. Pink flamingoes migrate to the lakes near the salar, but we only saw a few because winter had almost arrived.

Our last night on the tour was freezing! Everyone in our group of five slept with all clothes on, and several blankets each. We awoke before dawn and headed for a hot spring. It was so fabulous we decided to skip a two hour trip to another lake and soak instead. Feeling quite refreshed, we loaded once more into the trusty Land Cruiser (which had only broken down once on the trip) for the seven hour drive back to Uyuni.

A Peek At La Paz

2009-05-08T15:23:00.010-05:00

La Paz at a distance, taken from Valle de las Animas

We didn´t have much strength when we arrived in the world´s highest captial city (12,00 feet), but we did have a contact of a Bolivian family who has ties to St. Louis. Michelle, a wonderfully kind woman from St. Louis had given us Paul´s name before she took over for Za at Scholastic. She mentioned he owns and operates a veggetarian resturaunt and has apartments for rent. We found the location of the resturaunt on our first morning, and celebrated its name, NamásTé, by having our first of many ´almuerzos´. A set lunch with four courses, this eatery knows veggetarian delights. For only 15 Bolivianos (just over $2.00), we broke our Isla del Sol fast happliy. We met Paul after filling up on lunch, and he showed us his only available apartment. After feeling the wonderful energy of NamasTé, and securing a time to teach yoga at the resturaunt, we decided to stay for two weeks. We were delighted as we unpacked our bags and settled into the spacious two bedroom apartment. As we stacked the two week´s supply of toilett paper in the bathroom, we felt satisfied and relived that we were going to stay a while.

NamásTé resturaunt is part of a four story apartment complex, built by Paul´s father sixty years ago. The family lived in St. Louis for 26 years, and one brother still lives there. Gonz, one of Paul´s brothers is a painter. His work fills NamásTé and several other spots in the city. Below is his mural on the Prado, the main street that runs through the heart of the city.

We loved walking up and down the Prado during our stay. Below are coca leaf readers telling fortunes during the Sunday artisan´s fair.

NamásTé also hosts musical concerts over the lunch hour. We learned about the insturment below, the hang, when our new friend Andrea gave a concert. This Austrian born invention sounds melodic and peaceful, and looks like a space ship or inverted steel drum. Its player, also from Austria, has one of the most beautiful voices we´ve ever heard. Later in the week, Za also played a concert over the lunch hour with her violin.

We heard La Paz is famous for guitar making, and felt inspired by Andrea´s (and her boyfriend Bruno´s) music. Josh negotiated a good price on his new travel guitar during the first few days of our stay.

Yoga classes drew four to six students three days a week, and our time was filled with music and friends. We went to see Los Fabulosos Cadillacs with our friends, and about 11,000 other excited people.

Our friend Ceciilia, whom we met in Cusco and caught up with in her home town just south of La Paz, showed us Valle de la Luna. Also a yoga teacher, we enjoyed taking her class and learning how to make home made raw chocolate at her house. The view behind her house is below, quite stunning!

Just shy of a full moon, we walked around Valley of the Moon until we couldn´t see our hand in front of our face.

We made lasting connections in La Paz, and were very sad to leave such a wonderful spot. Paul´s family opened their home, resturuant and hearts for us and for this we are so greatfull. Thanks to everyone who showed us this brilliant city.

Valle de las Animas

2009-05-08T15:12:00.008-05:00

We took a day trip to Valle de las Animas with four of our travel buddies. The climb was intense, but worth it! At first, we had to climb through a deep crevasse. Walking between two huge mountians, with only a few feet on either side, was an excercise in overcomming claustrophobia. The rocks were loose and Za had to breathe deeply and remind herself not to look up several times.

Upon exiting the crevasse, another vast expanse of mountain unfolded. We couldn´t belive how much futher we had to go.

Our group halfway up.

Almost there!

We´ve never seen rock formations quite like this! Za had hoped we could take another route down. After seeing the sharp drop off, she knew there were no other alternatives.

We had sandwiches at the summitt and oggled at the distant capital. As the sun began to set, we played music with our cold fingers. What a perfect day!

Lake Titicaca and bad fish

2009-04-26T16:29:00.009-05:00

Machu Picchu is a hard act to follow, but we had our sights on heading straight to Bolivia after the wonderful excursion. We were told Isla del Sol, nestled in Lake Titicaca, was not to be missed. From Cusco, we took a rickety "direct" bus to Copacabana. After the freezing over night ride, we awoke to a man alerting us to get off the bus in order to make the border crossing. Reluctantly, we squeezed onto a minibus and began to fill out paperwork. As Americans, Josh and I had to pay $130.00 to get into Bolivia (Israelis and US citizens are the only ones who have to pay to enter). During the hectic crossing, I started to develop signs of girardia, a nasty parasite which gives you wicked sulphur tasting burps and horrid diarrhea, and Josh injured his back by lifting his backpack in a hurry. We were a sorry site by the time we reached Copacabana. We decided to press on and take the hour and a half boat ride to Isla del Sol after Josh received some reflexology and brief massage from a rather crazy woman in town.Calcium bentonite clay saved me once again, as the boat had no bathroom. The boat docked on the south part of the island, and we proceeded to climb up the side of the mountain to find lodging. It was all I could do to take a few steps, then rest on a rock (avoiding copious amounts of poop scattered about everywhere) to catch my breath. I kept thinking if we could just get to the center of town I could get my bearings and feel better. There is no center, however, just more steps and winding paths. Josh took off with a teenage boy to find a hostal as I sat trying to get my burps to calm down. We finally found ourselves in a lovely hostal overlooking the Peruvian side of the lake.
Isla del Sol is the birthplace of the Incan empire. The people on the island speak Aymara and some Spanish. Electricity came to the island six years ago, and the tourists came with it. Water on the south island is a big issue, so when we asked the hostal owner if we could do a bit of laundry, he told us to go down to the beach. So down the other side of the mountain we went. The steep rocky path took an hour to descend.
Josh relaxing after a vigorous yoga practice to help his back heal. The laundry dried in the strong sun in about two hours.
The restaurants on the island serve two dishes : trout, quinoa soup. and pizza. We treated ourselves to pizza on our second night. I played some fiddle for the proprietors while we waited for our food to arrive. It is hard to play when your fingers won't warm up. The island is very cold at night.
The infrastructure on the island is not very developed, and many of the locals we encountered didn't seem very excited about our presence. Most people I saw seemed totally bewildered that we were there. They have no point of reference to relate to us, and it is quite puzzling to them, I'm sure, that we have the resources to come to their country and spend the same amount of money on a meal as they may spend all week. We were told routinely not to use any water where we were staying, and obtaining something as simple as hot water seemed to inconvenience and annoy. On our fourth day, we decided to head to the north island, where we heard we could stay right on the coast.
Our new spot, the Pacha Mama, was right on the beach and we immediately started to feel better about the island. We spent the afternoon on the beach playing frisbee with the local kids and watching them catch trout in the lake. The process was quite amazing to watch, as the kids circled up and splashed the fish into the net. Their excitement was incredible when the came up with a huge load of fish to take home for dinner.

Josh gave yoga lessons to some curious boys.

After a lovely hike, we went out for trout, as this is the only thing semi-vegetarian available option on the north part of the island. Josh's trout was undercooked, and he contracted a wicked case of food born illness. He spent the next day and a half in bed or in the bathroom. It was not a very fun way to spend our last two days on the island. We left Isla del Sol bewildered and weary, similar to how we felt when we arrived. I think we may have had a better experience sans digestive issues, but we made the best of it.
After siphoning gasoline by mouth to start the boat, our captain navigated the entire ride back to Copacabana with his foot. We played chess and fiddle with friends and looked forward to La Paz.

Machu Picchu

2009-04-25T15:33:00.010-05:00

Words can not describe the beauty and wonder we felt as we walked and yoga'd throughout this awesome place... so we'll let our pictures do most of the talking.

We stayed the night in Aguas Calientes (the nearest town at the base of the mountain ruins). The town is accessible only by train, which we enjoyed taking after waiting a few extra days in Cusco for the train strike to end.

We awoke before the sun, ate a tomato, onion and cheese sandwitch (the first of eight throughout the day) and started the steep two hour hike up to the entrance of the park. The park rules state that no water and no food can be brought into the ruins, but if we had listened to them, we would have either spent fifty dollars on food or passed out from hunger by nine in the morning. Sometimes you have to break the rules.

The day passed quickly as we covered the grounds of the park, taking time to explore some of the further away ruins, make friends with llamas, and practice yoga.

The clouds began to clear up as the day progressed.

The flowers were as stunning as the ruins!

Josh in unsupported headstand.

Za working on her alignment.

Just one of thousands of nooks to chill in.

Beyond the wall, the train tracks at the left show where we started our walk up to the ruins. Parts of the winding road can be seen to the right.

These terraces would have grown a variety of crops for the nobility that lived at Macchu Picchu. Now they grow grass for the noble llamas.

As the sun started to set, the park became less and less populated. Although it wasn't too crowded throughout our day, it was nice to see the ruins without hundreds of people filtering through them.

Happy Birthday ZA!

2009-04-13T20:16:00.007-05:00

Happy Birthday to Za!

This past Wednesday, April 8th was Eli(Za)beth's birthday! I left the house at 7am and made it back an hour later with coffee, flowers, and chocolate cake with a Winnie the Pooh candle. Not bad for an hour on foot before most of the stores were open. We had just enough time to eat a quick bite and then we co-taught a yoga class at Yoga Inbound studio.

For lunch, Priyanath and Laksmi made us a scrumptious lunch and shared some awesome stories and advice about traveling in India. We can't wait! Priyanath is a great cook! I love kichiri and ghee!

Later in the evening, we attended an awesome high energy yoga class with Chaitanya. One of the best classes we've had in Cusco. Then Chaitanya led us and a group of fellow yogis and house mates on a Pizza Pilgrimage for dinner (it was soo worth the walk). As an added SURPRISE, Laksmi brought a homemade CAKE that was soooooo DELI DELI.

Thanks to all our awesome Cusco friends for helping make Za's big day so fun!
Thanks also for the love, good vibes, emails and voice recordings from our friends and family back home.

We are so blessed! Love you all!

Three Cozy Weeks in Cusco

2009-04-12T17:10:00.016-05:00

When we arrived in Cusco, we didn't know we'd fall in love with the town and end up staying three wonderful yoga and friend filled weeks. Nestled in the Andies mountains, which are very green right now, the town has enough charm, Incan ruins, and food to keep us occupied for months. Although it is very tempting to stay longer, starting tomorrow our travels will continue on to Machu Picchu for a few days and then on to Bolivia.

Top Ten Reasons We Love Cusco and Wish We Could Stay (in no particular order) :

10. Fruit Salad - we've started each morning with a massive bowl of fruit with yogurt, local granola, and maca. Que Rico!!!
9. Coca Leaf Tea - although illegal in the US, the leaf from the coca plant steeped in hot water makes a delicious tea that provides a nice pick me up, but not the let down of coffee. This is also ecommended by the US embassy to prevent altitude sickness.
8. The Yoga House - before we arrived in Cusco, we made contact with a yoga teacher, Priyanath. He recommended we stay at a non advertised hostel he currently oversees. Complete with yogis from all over the world, a spacious room for practicing yoga, beautiful yard, kitchen and hot showers, we've enjoyed calling this spot at 516 Pumacurco home.

7. The Scenery - It seems no matter where you turn in this town, there is a beautiful vista, a winding cobblestone street, or blooming flowers to gaze at.

6. The Markets - We've particularly enjoyed eating at Govinda's lunch counter in the San Blas market. For three soles (about nintey cents), a happy cheerful vegetarian Hare Krishna serves a three course meal. The larger and more hectic San Pedro market supplied us with plenty of fresh cheese, veggies and jugos throughout our stay.
5. Yoga Inbound - Our yoga teachers Chaitanya and Priyanath, and their families welcomed us to Cusco in every way. We took eight classes a week at the Cultural Center where they teach, and ended up teaching a few towards the end of our stay. Both our teachers also took us on day trips to their land, had us for lunch, and even read our Vedic astrological charts. Our practice is stronger than ever now, and we look forward to returning for a visit with other yogis. Chaitanya has started building a yoga retreat center on some beautiful land an hour from Cusco. We are tempted to stay and work to build the center!

4. Yoga Picnics - We ventured out on several picnics in the Sacred Valley to eat and practice yoga with our friends. The surrounding towns, and bus rides to get to them, are quaint and beautiful. Josh is pictured here in a crazy new favorite yoga pose!

3. Friends - We've met so many lovely people here in Cusco! We've spun fire poi in the yard, played a concert with violin and accordian at a local cafe, hiked ruins and made many bakery runs with our house mates and their freinds. Fun!

2. Cake - For some reason, perhaps it's being 11,000 feet up, we've craved carbohydrates on this leg of our journey. The tortas here are simply amazing, as are the breads and mini mango pies. A habit that would eventually begin to show, we've endulged in local baked goodies each day.
1. Day trips - The Sacred Valley has been fun to explore by bus and foot. The Temple of the Moon and Temple of the Monkey are two of our favorites. We went up to do yoga one day, the practice was easy after a strenuous forty five minute hike uphill!

Iquitos and the 48th kilometer

2009-03-30T16:30:00.010-05:00

Whenever Josh and I fly, he usually tries to get an emergency exit row seat assignment. As a short person, I never knew this row was highly sought after for its additional leg room. On our flight to Iquitos, we were able to secure the seats and this is how we met Aaron. Standing at six foot four, he became a key component of our experience in the Amazon river basin. We knew we wanted to visit an Amazonian shaman during our stay in Iquitos, but didn't have any concrete plans. Through talking to Aaron, we discovered he was going to visit a very well known shaman and stay on his land for a week. After retrieving our luggage from the lone baggage claim, we hopped into a taxi with Aaron and Carlos, the shaman's apprentice.
Instead of staying in Iquitos and sorting out which shaman would be the best to work with, we were relieved to have our week sorted out so easily. The taxi bounded out of town on the only road in Iquitos. We were headed to the 48th kilometer, and into the jungle. When it's not raining, the walk from the road to the center takes a half hour. There is no real road to the center, but rather a muddy path with a series of small wooden planks and bridges to traverse the really wet marshes and creeks. Sun high in the sky, carrying our packs and trying our best to balance, we arrived at the center hungry and drenched in sweat.
While waiting for our cabins to be set up we were taken to the Maloca to rest and visit. An octagon shaped wooden building centered over the river running through the property, this is where evening ceremonies are held and everyone gathers during the day. Beautiful paintings adorned the room and two altars - one for the shaman and a smaller one for his apprentice - were the only furniture.
The walls were simple and screened in to keep most of the insects and animals. After a short stay in the Maloca we were led to our cabin. The cabin was also a simple wooden structure with screens and woven palm leave roofing. Our cabin had two beds set up with mosquito nets and also two hammocks. After a bit of unpacking, Alcie, the Shaman's father and center's always smiling and always working servant brought us a simple meal of unseasoned rice with lentils and vegetable soup. We didn't realize it at the time, but this was one of our most fancy meals during our week stay. The next morning we started on the "strong diet" of farina (dried ground up yucca) and ajos sacha (a garlic flavored tea). The strong diet is designed to cleanse the body and allow our energy to be spent healing the mind and body rather than digesting complex foods.

The slow pace of the week gave us time to reflect and meditate. We did make a trip into town one day, and just as others had told us, Iquitos is like another world. Motor cars speed by with no marked lanes to contain them, the herbal market had hundreds of foreign remedies and wise women pedaling their wares. Josh's belt had become too big, so we had a hole punched in it so it could be tighter. Things are just simpler in the jungle, it seems. It was nice to return to the center, where the only noises were birds and running water. As the week drew to a close, we felt stronger than when we arrived, and we felt a connection with the jungle and the center. Josh and I would like to return some day. We had to push on to Cusco though, another chapter of our journey beginning.

Our week in Lima

2009-03-11T10:02:00.012-05:00

Our intention upon arrival in Lima was to take a week to get acclimated, see some sights, and soak in the sun. We accomplished these things, some on purpose, others by chance. Since the weather has been so warm, we went to the beach and shaved Josh's head. He then took a swim with all the Limenos (people from Lima) and the copious amounts of floating debris and funny looking foam riding the waves. Later, we had the good fortune of meeting Kitty, a woman visiting from Trujillo. The second largest city of Peru is an eight hour bus ride up the coast, with a population just shy of a million.
Kitty invited us to her son Ricardo's Marinera dance performance later that night. We didn't know what Marinera was, nor that we would be on an adventure with her until four in the morning, but we gladly accepted. The performance was an hour and a half south in a coastal shopping mecca everyone compares to Las Vegas, NV. Despite the absence of casinos, tall buildings, and dazzling lights, it was just like Las Vegas. We were relieved to arrive before dark after a three shady buses and a taxi ride.

The performance did not start until ten, but it was well worth the wait. Marinera is beautiful, complex and flirtatious. A live band provided the music and the dancers were of all ages (from about 6 years old - as in the video - up to perhaps 60 years old). Ricardo showcased a new variation of Marinara dancing - 5 males taking turns soloing accompanied by a lone drum. The grand finale included all the dancers, lots of confetti and ginormous puppets.

We spent the following day with Kitty and her son, Ricardo, wandering the streets of Lima. Our discussions were half in Spanish, half in English, but always interesting. The evening ended playing frisbee and devil sticks with all the little kids in the park near our hostel.
I recall someone making me promise we would post not only the cool things that are happening on the blog, but also the gritty icky things too. Hmmm. Well, since we arrived in Lima I've broken out with the worst case of fever blisters I've ever had. I thought it was due to the yellow fever vaccine suppressing my immune system, but am not sure. The entire circumference of my lips is covered, the condition has hindered my ability to smile, talk and eat for a week now. Josh has also been fighting off his first bout of traveler's diarrhea the past few days. Thankfully, we have enough calcium bentonite clay to cover our GI tract for months to come. Both annoyances will be gone soon though, and we are excited to fly to Iquitos tomorrow. We will stay in this Amazon river basin city for a week.
Last fun tidbit before we go to yoga class :
This little invention is the coolest! No more slimy soap dishes! No more soap slipping into the sink! I absolutely love this thing!!!

Back Up

2009-03-06T19:56:00.008-06:00

After passing out our new Yogis Without Borders business cards to people we've just met, I feel the need to elaborate some of the finer details of our trip:
Beyond our mission statement, why are we doing this?
1. Presently, there are few professions or corporations, and even fewer people our age in them, that support decades of commitment. Although we have friends who have had the same job for over five years, this is by far the minority. Unlike generations passed, taking a break from a profession or switching professions is pretty common these days. So the idea of leaving a corporate job to travel around the world to study yoga seemed like a good one.
2. The economy is struggling, people are getting laid off and taking pay cuts left and right. What better time to duck out and get away from the negativity and media fear machine that seems to be possessing the air waves? Besides, we are tired of waiting for an administration or elected official to solve the world's problems. Real lasting change will have to come from the bottom up and yoga is the most grass roots unifying practice we can think of.
3. We're in love! Who could possibly turn down a year long honeymoon?
Sheer will aside, how are you doing this?
1. No, we are not spending trust fund money nor did we win the lottery. We saved money for years to do this, and went through extensive preparations to make it happen. Two additional factors are making the trip possible : Pam (Josh's mom) and autopay. Thanks Pam!
2. Manifesting the life you want to see is pretty fun. It takes practice, but once you get the hang of it, there's nothing out there that's out of reach.
What did you bring with you?
- steripen (we can drink tap water thanks to this compact device)
- a few pairs of clothes for warm weather, a few for cold
- some books about yoga, a guide book and Spanish dictionary
- yoga mats (ultralite, given to us from LuLuLemon)
- skeletool (like a leatherman but light weight)
- duct tape, superglue, sewing kit
- collapsible bucket to wash clothes
- dr bronner's soap
- our little computer (Asus 901 Eee Pc)
- fiddle and harmonica
- flip flops, street shoes (I choose Keen's, Josh has Earthshoes)
- camera
- forks, spoons, cups for each of us
- calcium bentonite clay, amongst other natural remedies in the first aid kit
- sleeping bags, eye mask and ear plugs
- a good open mind and attitude

Look out world, here we come!

2009-03-05T21:16:00.008-06:00

Well, Josh and I had been traveling the US since January 28th, and with each destination we were met with hugs, smiles and warm wishes. We certainly won't forget all the awesome energy and support we accumulated over the past five weeks!
We will cherish the memories of cozy evenings in Fort Collins, putting on the green in Sun City Grand, impossibly ridiculous yoga classes and hikes in LA, dolphin watching in Santa Cruz, and reeking of garlic in San Fran as we traverse the globe. Thanks to all who gave us beds and kitchens!
We are now safe and sore in Lima, Miraflores to be specific. Tonight was our first Spanish taught yoga class, and after not practicing since before our ten day Viapassana meditation retreat (more on this soon), it was quite challenging! We met a few other yogis in class, and plan to return tomorrow. Our hostel has a good WiFi connection, so Skype is absolutely encouraged!
namaste

2008-08-30T18:27:00.011-05:00

Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other
but in looking outward together in the same direction.
~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field.
I will meet you there.
~Rumi

"There are four questions of value in life... What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only love."
Don Juan deMarco

Yogis Without Borders

2008-08-25T16:29:00.010-05:00

Yogis Without Borders was conceived by Joshua and Elizabeth while hiking on a weekend camping trip in the spring of 2007. We wanted a way to travel and connect with people in different cultures around the world. The idea of using yoga as a vehicle to reach out to others across the globe became a dream and soon to be reality.

Mission:
To unite individuals across the globe through the study and sharing of all forms of yoga. By encouraging a dialogue and practice with yogis of different cultures, we aim to gain an understanding of ourselves and the world we live in.

In February 2009 we leave Saint Louis to embark on our year long journey around the world.
Our preliminary schedule is as follows:
Ft. Collins, CO
Phoenix, AZ
Los Angles, CA
Santa Cruz, CA
North Fork, CA (for a 10 day meditation retreat)
San Fransisco, CA
Cusco, Peru
Bolivia
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Brasil
Lisbon, Portugal
Morocco
Spain
Ireland
India
Thailand
Australia
New Zealand

Yogi Union

2008-08-20T17:24:00.008-05:00

Josh and Za (eli-ZA-beth) met at Yoga Source yoga studio in St Louis Missouri in the summer of 2006. Za had noticed Josh (and liked what she saw) when he started showing up to Keith’s Sunday afternoon yoga classes. When Pascale (a mutual yogi friend) brought him to Za’s halloween party and he was dressed as Edward Scissor Hands (one of her favorite childhood movies!) she knew it was meant to be.

Wedding Location

2008-08-08T19:48:00.015-05:00

Pere Marquette State Park Lodge
Sunday December 21st
Wedding - Great Hall - 4pm
Reception - Banquet Room - 5:30pm

Pere Marquette Lodge
13653 Lodge Blvd
Grafton IL, 62037
618.786.2331

View Larger Map

Coming from St. Louis Airport
Take I-70 West to Lindbergh Blvd.-North. Exit onto I-270 North (to Chicago). Take Rt. 367 North to Alton, IL and continue into Alton. Turn left off the Alton Bridge and go through three stoplights. Turn left at the 3rd light onto Rt. 100. Follow Rt. 100 into Grafton, IL and then 5 miles beyond to Pere Marquette State Park and Lodge. The Lodge will be on the right just past the campgrounds.

Coming from Chicago and Springfield, IL
Take I-55 South to Litchfield. Exit right onto Rt. 16 West. Follow Rt. 16 through Jerseyville and Fieldon to the Rt. 100 junction. Turn left onto Rt. 100 South and continue for 10 miles until you reach the Lodge on your left.

Places to eat in the area:

for lunch and dinner:
Mississippi Halfstep - 618.786.2722

for coffee and tea:
Beyond the Bubble - 618.786.2758

The lodge restaurant also has breakfast, lunch and dinner available:
Pere Marquette Lodge

RSVP

2008-08-04T19:45:00.002-05:00

Click here and enter password from invitation for RSVP form.

Registry

2008-08-03T19:38:00.013-05:00

Your attendance is gift enough...

As you now probably know, we are traveling around the world for a year soon after our wedding. For those who would like to support our journeys, there are a few things we'd love from our favorite travel store:

REI

registry number : GR1849059

Money is another great way to support our trip around the world. ;)

Otherwise, feel free to make a donation in our name or just come and celebrate with us as your presence on our special day is more important to us than money or gifts.

The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation

Please send cards to :

Joshua Hill & Elizabeth Goodbrake

4521A Flora Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63110

Guestbook

2008-08-02T19:35:00.002-05:00

Please say hello by posting a comment!

Contact Us

2008-08-01T08:24:00.001-05:00

Joshua Hill
jwhill2@gmail.com

Elizabeth Goodbrake
zazagoodbrake@gmail.com

Skype: Joshua.W.Hill