forever young

well, friends, it´s been a while. turns out its not that easy to park myself in front of a computer to write about all of these amazing experiences because i am too busy having amazing experiences. without my handy dandy iphone gadgetry i was using to write and edit on the buses, it takes hours to transcribe my notes to this here blog. rest assured, though, that during my hibernation period in new orleans (before voodoo fest...dear lord what have i gotten myself into) i will be adding more stories...and there are plenty.

but first, a little bit of reflection. in just a couple of days i turn 30. i have had lots of time to ponder on this fact during long shuttle rides, wicked hikes, and sleepless nights. sure, it´s a mark of time that we as humans have set up to be of some signifigance, and doesn´t necessarily need to be taken with any seriousness, but i´d like to think there is a reason we pause on such occasion to study our lives. so i have.

i wanted to do something really different to celebrate, and i knew i wanted to travel. so i worked like crazy to make this trip happen, and now in the blink of an eye, it´s almost over. there has been some difficulty, some bruises and maladies: vicious bug bites, hikes that are meant for people waaaay more in shape than i, theft of my phone, sunburn, animal attacks, less than savory sleeping situations. and there is a time in every backpacker´s journey when the money runs out and you must swallow your pride and send word back home to friends and family that you need help. i also had the experience of learning of the unexpected death of a very dear friend, wayne sawyer, while i was all alone in leon, nicaragua. all i wanted was to fly back, to be with my friends who i know and love to help with their sadness and to deal with mine.

from all of these negative things one may assume i would have been in misery, would have cried for home, maybe done things differently. truthfully, i ended up finding the beauty in all of those things despite the trouble they caused. i felt accomplished after busting my ass on that volcano. and now that i have slept on a hammock and on a seriously crammed boat, i feel like i can sleep anywhere. and the support and help from my friends and family only reminds me just how freakin´ lucky i am.

when the memorial for wayne was happening in atlanta, i was on lago de nicaragua, on a boat toward isle de omotepe, witnessing the most gorgeous sunset. i held my own memorial.

i am not where i thought i would be at 30, if you asked me, say, ten years ago. i don´t have a husband or kids, or boyfriend, or even a plant. i don´t have a successful career in lounge singing, as i once thought i would. i don´t own a house. or a 401K. but i have friends i consider family, and family who are my friends. i am getting to see the world, in the way that i want to see it. and hey, i ain´t got no money, but honey i´m rich on personality...

and however did i convince three amazing women to come out here to peru to help me celebrate? the first three weeks had me traveling solo, but, you are never really alone unless you want to be. meredith met me in costa rica, and we surprisingly went to panama as well. beth and joy both met us in peru, and now we are four strong. i never dreamed i´d be in peru of all places on this day, let alone in such fabulous company.

the other day on the train to the inca trail head, the bob dylan song ´forever young´decided to pop up. i had to play it over again, more than once. once we started hiking the trail our guide took us to some ruins along the trail, before machu picchu, called wiñaywayna. wiñaywayna is quechua for ´forever young´....

may god bless and keep you always
may your wishes all come true
may you always do for others
and let others do for you
may you build a ladder to the stars
and climb on every rung
may you stay forever young
forever young, forever young
may you stay forever young.

may you grow up to be righteous
may you grow up to be true
may you always know the truth
and see the lights surrounding you
may you always be courageous
stand upright and be strong
may you stay forever young
forever young, forever young
may you stay forever young.

may your hands always be busy
may your feet always be swift
may you have a strong foundation
when the winds of changes shift
may your heart always be joyful
and may your song always be sung
may you stay forever young
forever young, forever young
may you stay forever young....


thanks, bobby d. and to you, friends, i wish you nothing but happiness, and that you stay forever young.

san pedro, lake atitlan, guatemala

was able to get a "shuttle" from antigua to panajchel, by lake atitlan. shuttle turned out to be a family of six, two parents and four kids. it was like crashing a family car trip, but since i had recently left some great travel buddies and was on my own, it was exactly the comfortable situation i needed. we stopped for roasted corn on the side of the road, the children shyly handing me an ear with lime and salt that their father had bought. the kids warmed up to me in no time, and though we did not speak the same language we had so much fun playing games and mugging for my camera. we spent almost an hour waiting for a landslide to be cleared before making it to the boat dock at panajchel. they gave me their email addresses to send them the pictures from out road trip together.
crossed lake atitlan by night to san pedro. san pedro is one of the beautiful towns surrounding the lake. lots of foreigners (gringos) fall in love with the spot and decide to stay on, or come back after visiting to continue life there.
i spent my time there walking around, exploring the steep and broken streets. i also hiked to the top of la nariz, which means "the nose" as the mountains look like the profile of a indian lying down. my guide, matt, is from the UK and moved to the lake after visiting there. he is a geologist, so i got the whole spiel about the volcanic activity that created the lake and its surroundings and the three volcanos in the area: san pedro and toliman, which are extinct, and atitlan which is dormant. the lake itself is also a volcano. the mayans believed that the lake was the birthplace of the world, that everything just kind of spewed from the spot and the lake and mountains and volcanos sprung up from the hole everything came from. i'd buy that for a dollar.
all in all i wish i could have stayed much longer at lake atitlan. san pedro has a few very cheap spanish language course that i would love to go do, even if only for a month. or longer....
BUT for now i had to make it on down to san salvador, el salvador to visit an old friend, jeannine. the weekend was approaching and since she is a school teacher and had those days off i needed to, once again, ramble on.