Diving. In the sky

Oh, how long i was dreaming to try it? Three? Four? Five?How many years? Dreaming about flying, blue sky, this free fall sensation in the body...  And at some point dreams should come true.

"Ready? Up, Down, Outside!!" - and... at that moment you do forget about everything. Nothing really matters, it's just you, horizon, and your parachute. And instructor of course :)

And well, always climbing roofs and going on ziplines was a piece of cake,so I thought I was not afraid of heights, but it looks like somewhere on the subconscious level everyone is. Otherwise - why would I have that look on my face and this crooked position at the exit from the plane? It was not even fear, the fear kind of diminished after the 4th jump.  That was something different that makes you freeze once you are up there even though you've rehearsed your jump step by step around 20 times. Something that  keeps you very concentrated, too concentrated that you even forget to breeze from time to time and only seeing the video you realize that you almost went with head down instead of doing a beautiful arch position. From  what the experienced say those are survival instincts and the more you  practice the more you can manage them. So far that is the best example I've ever seen on how little control sometimes we have on the thing we use every day  - our own body.

But forget all this technical stuff. Yes, it is worth it.

It is worth it not only because of the way horizon looks from 4,5 km, not only because of the feeling that you can actually fly(which is a pretty damn good feeling), but also because it does feel good to do those little tests for yourself on "how far can I go outside of my comfort zone?" and confirm that you can; that you can overcome your fears, this irrational and unconscious anxiety, and just look outside, feel the wind and actually make this step.

big city life...

Big city, like a big machine, absorbing you, draining your energy, making you dependent of things you don't really need. No air to breathe, too many people on the square meter, just the parks and some quiet barrios are like little islands of hope in the middle of the mess.

The good thing is that it's Mexico. It's something about people here that makes you fall in love with the country - like when you go to the public bathroom in the park and they find out you are Russian, you spend at least five minutes talking about Soviet Union before actually going to the bathroom; or when the old man explains you 5 times how to get to the metro by bus thinking you don't understand and in the end gets on the bus with you and pays for your ticket; or when you ask for the ride till metro station and  get a ride to your destination, and on Harley Davidson :) There is somethings about how artistic they are, how on almost every traffic light you see jugglers and fire show, how it's normal to say hi to unknown people on the street and "bless you" if anyone sneezes in the metro. 

Art is everywhere, but also now it becomes more clear why.  It is simply an escape from synthetic reality of the big city, the way to express yourself and let out the energy that gets accumulated, the replacement of nature that is impossible to avoid, otherwise you would go crazy.

in the desert

It's kind of dangerous to settle down. After 6th months spent in Cancun i've started getting too comfortable and planning a 3 months trip was making me feel a bit insecure of uncertainty of all that was going to happen. But as usual the desire to travel and explore is way bigger than any fears, all the "goodbyes" are said and we are on the way to see the real picture of the country.

The deserted scenery near San Luis Potosi reminds Hollywood movies about Mexico - cactuses and  big pick up trucks everywhere and men in sombrero are smoking cigarettes leaning to the walls of old buildings near the road. 

First day is quite relaxing and in the morning of the next day we head to the north to the magic village of Real de Catorce. It's amazing how the things synchronize when you really need certain experience, how you meet people you need to meet, how you get to know yourself through knowing the others, how you are able to feel that you are one with everything around and there are no limits to the things you can do. Desert in twilight, magic silence of those lands, animals appearing when the night descends, dark sky full of sparkling stars - all those moments are now deep in the heart. Mocho made this trip very special - not so often you find people who offer you their house knowing you for just half an hour and share the night with strangers talking till 4 a.m. about things you wouldn't have known otherwise.

Those moments when you feel that you are on the way to something magic, to some understanding that will change everything are very special and the desert certainly has some more lessons to teach. Soon we'll meet again..

Holy?days

In all this postXmas and preNew year race, far from the familiar winter surroundings but still surrounded with "winterly" decorated palm trees and crazy russian tourists I don't know what holidays to celebrate anymore. Xmas is not really in our tradition, and the New year kind of loses its magic after being celebrated at the beach couple of years in a row.
So I guess the decicion to celebrate each and every day came automatically without even asking me for permission. And it kind of makes sense when you start seing the bigger picture with tons of turkeys being sold on 24th and Santa Clauses comming down on helicopter in the Hotel Zone in at least 5 hotels at the same time. And then will be the Three kings, and Valentines day with fluffy bears and hearts and roses, and 8th of march with men going crazy searching for flowers...and like this till the next "New Year". Very good commercial cycle, profits ensured.  Why only certain dates? why following those frames? Why not making every single day of your life worth celebration?

I've already started doing it today at the beach, right after work curing myself from flu not with paracetamol, but with an hour or two of my unprofessional but insanely happy surfing and buddy boarding attempts. Well, it's simply great to know that you can do those kind of things after work.

And now I close my eyes and see those perfectly breaking crystal clear waves and I know that some day I will ride them perfectly well...

excitement

Got the tickets, we are going. That's for sure. 

I don't like planning trips, it just doesnt come out for me. There will be a plan, very approximate, with "must see" points, but the rest should flow. The experience shows that in travelling as in life as well,  it is good to have certain milestones of what you want to see and do, but if you stick too much to the plan, you can miss a good deal of superinteresting things on the way. The best adventures i've had were always starting with "what if we turn here?" so now again we'll take our chances. 

 It's time. Same places, same roles, same masks, same talks, just different faces that already seem the same as well.  It's insane, but my heart starts beating faster  if among all that artificial picture i see the bright eyes full of life and hear different types of questions. It doesnt happen that often, but when it does the conversation goes into different direction from "how much do people earn here? where can i buy tequila? they promised us VIP service!" topics. 

In the end travelling and tourism are two totally different things and I guess I prefer the first one.

The time is now.

inspiration..

Maybe it's autumn turning to winter, maybe just general need to move on and change something again, but those last weeks were quite low on inspiration.

Recently it started comming back - like everything in life, ebbs and flows.It comes when least expected in form of colorful visions in a van on the way to the jungle; as a local nomad circus, whos participants are willing to teach you every(or almost every) little trick they know; as a lifeguard on the beach, who sees your desperation when the surf rental is closed and offers his buggy board; as a group of fisherman who decide  to give you a ride putting  you at the front and squizing alltogether at the backseat of the truck. Even waiting for the flight from DF at 2 a.m. with 8 russian tourists on board can be exciting when you have a good book and a contact ball :)

Those little moments - good to have you back. Or you were always here and it's me who stopped noticing it for a while?

Some travel sketches

Oh, all those posts about places to visit before you die...

Figured if I am in Mexico now, the most logical route would be heading to South America after exploring this country a bit further out of the boundaries of massive tourism destinations.

Chiapas, Oaxaca, rainbow trees, Acapulco, whale sharks... still way to go till the Latin America quest.

Maybe it is too early to plan, but it  good to rememeber sometimes that there are some really amazing places out there and it is only the metter of time..

The Great Blue Hole in Belize

Mount Roraima in Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana

Salar De Uyuni in the Potosí and Oruro departments of southwest Bolivia

The Inca Trail in Peru

The swing at the “End of the World” in Baños, Ecuador

Marble Caves at General Carrera Lake in Patagonia (Argentina and Chile) and Mount Fitz Roy

to be continued...