Wherever you go...

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So here I am. Finally made it to mexico...let´s see, getting down here was a trip in itself. Me and Tess spent our first night in the big sur on a big hill, that rose above the fog, which covered the ocean. We slept under the stars on pads, but the grass we were on was so bumpy we hardly slept at all, despite being very tired. Then we made it to LA and stayed with Tess´s friend Shelby. Thanks Shelby!

Man, keeping this travel blog is harder than I thought. I don´t really know what to say. Sometimes travel leaves you lost for words like that. We decided to just relax for a bit and write some.

A lot of things I realized going to Europe are coming back to me. I had a profound revelation

there is so much you can say without words
when playing piano I say more by saying less
speak without talking
and tell without showing.

Tess and I are having a really hard time writing right now and concentrating,
so I decided to break into poetry since that is generally more broken. Is it the mexican heat in the internet room, or is it something else? Is it that I can´t find the colons, dashes and other hyphenation? I mean, punctuation.

There is so much you can say just by smiling and nodding.

One adventure worth mentioning:
Last night we ate at this restaurant with live music,
played on a giant kind of marimba. It was so happy and lively,
but it stopped just as we sat down there.
I was content, for it was just a taste of what´s to come
and I smiled, the sound lingering on in my heart

We ordered the specialty, I don´t remember the name.
there is too much to remember, you are bombarded with strangeness
different things than you are used to
you break out of your rut and for a moment everything is fresh and new.

Anyway, it was delicious, and after we got the bill and paid clumsily.
I keep thinking everyone is trying to overcharge me,
and you never know, some of them are
but not all.
So I asked, but it was correct...
we left uncouthly without leaving a tip.
But fortunately it was close to the hotel.
I wondered, what is the tipping custom here?
I checked our baja guidebook, and indeed, you should tip!
It was getting at my conscience as I thought about it,
the waiter had been quite nice.
So I finally went back and said in my best spanish
sorry, it slipped my mind, here´s for the service,
and the woman and man looked at me puzzled at first,
but instantly they both broke into a smile and understanding.
I left very happy and we came back the next day, it was good again.

The other thing is, you think you know mexican food, but you don´t really,
at least I didn´t.
They have far more than Quesedillas, nachos, tacos, and burritos.
There are all kinds of names I can´t even tell you about.

I guess the first thing you realize when travelling is you are overwhelmed with stimuli.
There is no way you can record everything.
You can´t capture all the beauty in the world nor all the adventures.
And of course, you can´t see everything. Can´t tell everything.
Something always remains unsaid.
There is always the mystery.
I suppose it is in going about our daily lives and rituals this awe is forgotten,
for we get into ruts and strut the same path day after day.
Anyway....
Tess is having trouble writing, so we´re almost done. I was too, but poetry does better,
because it doesn´t really matter what you say or how you say it,
because who cares really?

My spanish is coming along a little bit. I´m still working on it. I´m starting to understand a few things people say to me. And I can speak a bit.
Actually we just arrived in Tiuhana yesterday. We walked across the border into mexico.
Nobody stopped us, nobody seemed to mind. We´re just lost in the world somewhere.
But it sure is nice to have Tess here with me. We keep eachother good compnay.
I feel I´m getting very sweaty and need a shower.
It´s hot, but not as hot as I feared. I thought I would be sweating balls, pardon the expression!

So I guess i can kinda start to get an idea of what this blog is about. It´s not about telling you everything that happened, not a strict catalogue. But perhaps a place for memorable stories and anecdotes. That´s probably all anyone has the attention span for anyway. Also for lenthy ponderations which nobody really has the patience for except me, I hope. Ha ha.

I think I´ll try to focus on what really seems to have meaning, the poignant and important, as I¨ve always done.

And now, for fun characters on the spanish keyboard...
Ѩ_:ñp´'*^^¿?=)(/&%!$(MISSING)·""!1234876--.,añodsfjv´pojasdlznxcb,mn zxcv-.m-.,masd´lfjewoiq130948=)(/)&%!!(MISSING)"·$
€#@··#€¬[€€¬€~€€

I hope that was as gratifying for you as me.

So, if you made it through all that, you have more attention span than I do, I guess...or maybe not. ha ha.

La vida no es malo en Mexico, es la mejor. Todos los dias fiestas y siestas. No es la verdad.
I jest.

What else?

That reminds me, I was working on a poem earlier in my head, but I forget what it was about...
maybe it was this one.

Tess and I went up to the top of ensenada, and saw the whole city and whole beach all around. It was great. We looked down on it all for a while, the ocean spreading off, the cars, the sprawl, and the mountains. Then we decided to go back. It was fun, arrived to that spot several times after leaving, taking off on various adventures, that is to say, we pretended we were flying...if you didn´t follow that, it´s OK.

Some highlights of the trip: we went to LA, and saw Paris Hilton. It was a confirmed sighting folks!
I parked the car in an alley and let Tess and Shelby chase after her. They had to make sure.
It was indeed, Paris and Nikki! They went into Dior. The girls pretended to look at things while they followed behind. Finally Paris said, ¨Well Nikki, lets go get Scooter and see if he likes these pants.¨ Good times!

Then we went sailing on the bay with Tess´s friend Ted and family. Everyone was very agreeable, and we both had a blast and are thankful.
One of the best feelings is to be grateful. It is too bad when you can´t appreciate anything and you are given so much. I hate that...but it´s not always your fault.
They say colors blind the eye and sounds deafen the ear.
Lau Tsu said, close the senses, and be ever full.
I find that ever true, because when you live simply, you are more greatful for all.
When you have nothing, you appreciate the smallest thing.
Then what am I doing on a trip like this, you ask, bombarding the senses!^? I don´t know...but maybe somehow this makes me more greatful, in some way, at some time, eventually. Like right now. I don´t know how, I´ll get back to you on that.

My next thought of importance is,
why is it I feel most at home when most out of place?
I find myself by getting most lost in strange cultures and places?
I can´t figure that out, but there is some comfort in it, in being here, who knows where,
or what´s going on, and lord knows it´s like nothing I´ve ever experienced.
Maybe it´s that all is new and it´s just that staring blindly, in awe,
walking down the street with your mouth open and eyes bugging,
and small flies flying into both...
but seriously foks.

Also...oh yeah.
I went to the zoo, the san diego zoo. I thought to myself, man
it really is like I´m on an endless, never ending vacation.
I realized then what a tourist I am.
Saw my friend Blair, he said some hard work would do me good.
Thanks Blair, that´s a good idea.
Soon I´ll be putting long days in at the beach and working hard on my tan.
Our plan is to go next to a nice beach town
we gotta get down the baja.
We have long way to go.

Anyway, so I´ve heard, I have the rest of my life to be a busy bee,
I believe it.
so why not enjoy these days?

It wasn´t suppossed to be like this.
I took a vacation from my vacation from my vacation from my vacation,
and at that point it´s really hard to keep track of where you are.
I think a lot of people can´t appreciate my position, it being so alien to the common experience.
I never expected to be here myself, I must admit it´s a huge surprise.
But maybe it´s destiny
and it all tends towards some goal.
Nobody knows, but sometimes you can feel fate.

This is more like it, that´s more what I´m trying to say.
And who cares about the specifics of it anyway?
Well lots of people, there is much in a good story,
but I´m just rambling on.
I don´t know how to rationalize it or justify it to you, dear reader,
except to say it´s somewhat like my life.
So it´s performative language and literature.

I haven´t had too many insights into la vida Mexicano yet, but I´ll keep you updated.

I´m not sure what else to say...

you know when you wonder where you´ll be in ten years and you´re just stumped?
Ten years ago from today I wondered where I would be.
Who knew?
In Mexico, doing who knows what!
And ten years from now?
That´s even more of a wild card,
but I suppose it will be fun,
life should be exciting.

I never took much stock in travel...I don´t know why.
I thought it was a lot of trouble and time wasted driving here to there
when isn´t here just as good as anywhere
plus I´ve been quite a homebody.
I like spending time at home, being all cozy.
So how did I get on a trip like this?
Yet I love travel, and I suppose I didn´t realize how powerful it can be until Europe...
I guess I take less stock in travel in the states as a transformative and informative experience.
But going to other countries can and will change you.
I don´t think I´ve changed much yet.
I just got here yesterday.
I don´t know if I will change,
and I don´t expect it
that´s more than I will expect from this trip.
Oh well I see time is running out so I will sign off.

Tess just complimented my typing skills. Hey, that´s keyboarding. Go Tigers, Chapel Hill High! ha ha ha.
Yeah I wrote all this in an hour.
Don´t worry, I can do better.

Hasta luego Amigos y Amigas,
Colin

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Photos

Tess and Colin
Pre Departure, with our small packs...see how small mine is? It´s grown.

Our first night
we slept on top of these hills above the fog. Rough ground though!

Hearst Castle
After sleeping on a lumpy hill, it was torture to see the hearst castle!

Manning the ship
We sailed on San Diego bay, and I brought us almost all the way back.

San Diego Zoo
Saw a few animals I forgot existed.
Mom, what do you get when you cross a moose and a zebra?

Mexican Mountains
Here we go, Tetakawi, goat teats.

hippos
chillin

mexican colors
I love all the colors. Here´s Ensenada

Elephant Seals
California, Goodbye.

Que Tranquillo
Hola Mexico!