All in a Years Work!

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  DON'T FORGET TO MOVE

So this blog officially marks one year on the road! And what a year it has been. Full of life, laughter, love and a continued passion to persevere with what I've started. Travelling continues to unravel the mysteries of life and along the way it has been one solid investigation. When i reflect and ponder over my travels I sometimes feel that a year is a super long time in the context of what has occurred. Other times i remember when I'm back home just how fast a year can pass you by without even recognising any significant alteration in your life. Travelling is like an icy bucket of water waking you up in the morning. A less than subtle explosion of alertness that sharpens your wit and tests your judgement. I can tell definitely say that this last year of travelling has been pretty intense and I'm starting to think it's affecting my brains capacity to hold onto memories. So many things have happened in the last year that I feel absolutely blessed to have experienced even a slither of what I have. My life right now feels like one of those really awesome YouTube compilation videos that crops all the best parts of an adventure into one continuous play and thankfully leaves out all the tedious aspects such as; traffic jams, petrol prices rising, who's dating who in the movie world, the latest Twilight saga, political controversies and that thing we call full time work. Just an action packed episode of new friendships, long bus rides to seek out the world's treasures, sleeping in sketchy places to save a buck, seeing wonders, testing my boundaries, learning, loving and living!

This blog goes out to all the people that are following the journey and have been enjoying it. It's been awesome hearing all the well wishes. Although I'm far away, and in my own words having a blast, I do get homesick every now and then. I think about all the amazing people I've left behind and i miss those friendships and connections. Here's hoping that no matter how long I'm away for, that nothing ever changes. For people home and far away! Especially those in far away places, both physically and mentally, who think that the world has suddenly become bigger. Never forget that you're only just a plane ride away from getting back into it.

So how do i break down the year that has been? It's a pretty daunting effort. I can compare it to recent trivial events like the Oscars. You want to make sure you recognise everything and everyone for being a part of it, but you know as soon as you step off that stage you're going to kick yourself for forgetting that someone special! I'm going to break this down into a snapshot of the main categories; people, places and experiences and hope i get the main gist of it!

People

Once again a massive emotional journey of friendships along the way. I've met some rad people, shared some good times and as always had to reluctantly say goodbye to them. It's the nature of the travelling beast. Although we come for all parts of the world, we'll forever be closer than distance dictates for the memories we created together. PSF peeps! You've been a major part of my life this last year, especially the first 6 months at PSF. There are too many people to mention specifically, but you know who you are. If i was gonna mention any i guess it would have to be my incredible girlfriend Christine :) We're a month off spending every single day together for the last year, sharing this adventure completely together, and I couldn't have done it without her. Massive props... the girls alright! Everyone on the road can vouch for that, and everyone back home you'll just have to wait a little longer before you get to see how awesome she is! Here's to many more years of wherever our life takes us. And here's to not worrying about the future too much! Other crews that have played a good part along the way are the Williams for sharing their home with me over the holidays in San Francisco and of course Christine's friends who welcomes me like one of their own. To everyone else I've met along the way... it's been a hoot!

Places and Experiences

Since arriving into Santiago a year ago it feels like it's been nothing but a constant flurry of exciting, and sometimes erratic, adventures. The places have been breathtaking and the experiences have been lessons in life. It all kicked off with volunteering in Pisco for 6 months... and it hasn't slowed down since. Pisco took a lot of the memories, and here are some of the best ones. 50 hour bus trips to get home to Pisco. The abundance of Pisco parties! Partying in some hilarious costumes (He-Man and Orko combo, Cool Runnings team, ninjas, wrestlers). Couple of loose Huacachina trips. Doing site assessment with breast feeding mothers. Not having running water for a week. Subsequent beach runs for water. Typhoid and parasite outbreaks amongst volunteers. Getting an injection in the butt in front of a Peruvian family. Giving Christine a lap dance for her birthday at the club Los Friales. Watching a cock fight in the very same club on a different night. Mandatory safety meetings with the crew. Visiting the old Pisco families from 2010 and reminiscing. Rugby days at Pisco Playa. Riding in the LeBaron likes Pisco pimps. Eating carapulca at Ludoteca with the Peligroso Boys. Pisco punches. Drinking crates of beer after completing The Pitch! Building Mystery Modular. The art gallery night. Making mini-golf. Driving the PSF truck for the last month before she died. Witnessing a parrot riding on a dog. I really could go on...

Not to brag too much but the 6 months post PSF are pretty sweet as well. Surfing the world's longest lefts in Huanchaco. Floating down the Amazon river in a hammock for 3 days. Entering the Amazon jungle and seeing all kinds of crazy creatures. The world's sketchiest black market in Iquitos. Cruising the island of San Andres in a golf buggy drinking beer. Peeing in the sink of a restaurant next to a midget chef cooking chicken (as advised by the chef). Wrestling crocs in the Amazon. Catching piranhas and eating them. Chilling in the Sierra Nevada, Colombia. Sleeping in an airport to save money. Riding in a 4X4 off road to Cabo de la Valle with 14 people, 3 goats, a pig, a chicken and 3 huge desert tortoises on the roof. Eating lobster straight off the Caribbean coast. Ocean showers. Spending 12 dazed hours in the Big Apple NYC. Becoming a vegetarian (still going strong since Xmas day). Eating my first tofurkey. My first (and second) Thanksgiving. Visiting an ethical farm in California. Exploring all of San Francisco. NYE in SF. Going to my first NBA game... Go Warriors! Getting into the harsh Mexican sun. Bring bitten by a zebra on the coast of Mexico. Staying in the house of the famous Mexican film star El Indio. Sitting in Frida Kahlo's kitchen. Carnaval in Veracruz, the most incredible party I've ever been to. Hitting up a Lucha Libre Mexican wrestling match. Witnessing a bird migration that would have made David Attenborough jealous. Singing songs with mariachi bands. Shredding some waves at Zicatela... and eating my way through the whole of Mexico... one delicious meal at a time!

So there is my year in a very digested, but reader's choice selection. If I've forgotten anything big let me know. For now the days keep counting and the stories keep accumulating. Tomorrow's another day and it presents another mystery. If it's anything like the last 365 i know it's going to be a good one! Hasta luego amigos!

Start Small... Dream Big!

Adios America and Buenos Dias Mexico! The next stop on our Latin American tour started at the beginning of January and if the next year is anything to go by these first few weeks, then it's going to be an incredible trip. In already only two weeks we have encountered some fate like opportunities and it honestly feels like the universe is alinging in our favour. So far we've stayed in the house of the famous late Mexican cinema actor/director Emilio 'El Indio' Fernandez (who is actually the model behind the Oscar trophy), visited the house of Frida Kahlo and sat in her kitchen, spent a crazy Carnaval in Veracruz dancing the weekend away, saw 10,000 birds migrating in perfect unison, met incredible friends and local generosity and have hooked up with a perfect fit non-profit that will teach us all we need to know about setting up in Mexico and making our dream come true.

Mexico for many people, like many of it's Latin American neighbours, still carries the stigma of danger, corruption, kidnappings and drug fuelled cartel crimes. While many of these stigmas still hold some truth; the majority of it is media hype and misrepresentation from foreign press. That's not to say Mexico doesn't still suffer problems, it's just that overall as a nation they are steadily on the ascent. In reality Mexico is a country on the move. Kidnappings have been and still are significantly on the decline from 15 years ago and it is rarely heard of these days. Corruption comes mostly in the form of opportunists or people who have nothing anyway; no different to corruption in our Western world countries that happen behind close doors of the people entrusted to represent us. Drug crime, although still common, is isolated from all but a few cities and only happens within the cartels. And the overall level of danger is no different to riding the New York Subway at night or trying to get a cab on King St after 3am.

In a land dogged by negative releases and false representations it is often forgotten that it is primarily a country of rich culture, national pride, passionate souls and amazing food, music and fashion. With a mixture of ancient beliefs, colonial imposed influences and contemporary culture Mexico is slowly moving away from the shadows of yesteryear’s and into a progressive stage of transition. The youth of today are educated, globally aware and are making their mark on the traditionalists of Mexican culture. They are moving towards unity, cohesion and are making Mexico a country of strength.

We have spent a lot of our time here so far CouchSurfing (check out www.couchsurfing.org if you're not sure what I'm talking about) and really trying to intertwine ourselves into the national psyche. So far our trip has taken us many places and led us to a number of vital networking opportunities just by being open to the immersion of cultural exchange. In fact before we even landed on Mexican soil we had the ball rolling on our plan to start our own non-profit organisation. We happened to bump into the executive director of the largest woman’s fund group in Mexico called Semillas. There primary goal is large scale fundraising through grants and individual donors in order to distribute grants amongst many smaller Mexican non-profit groups helping to support women in domestic violence issues, land rights, workplace relations and sexual education. After meeting with them recently we are happy to say that we're going to get involved with them for a few months and join their team as volunteers. It's early days yet but we're hoping to incorporate some of our previous experience in non-profits, education, leadership, etc into their already established operations. Primarily though it will be from here that we learn all about the ins and outs of professional non-profit work in Mexico and it get us in touch with many different communities in need from all over the country.

In the months that will follow it will be all about working towards our own goal to set up a community based non-profit that assists rural communities in Mexico. This is our dream! This will be our reality! Start small, dream big!