Pics and stuff

Just thought I'd drop in here some images of the boardwalk, market and general towns pics of General Luna that faces out onto the water and looks out onto Dako Island. I love taking a "bangka" pumpboat out to Dako to surf or snorkel.

Fresh crabs

So today, as I was using the Asian brooms to sweep the floor  (an aside here – on a trip to Thailand in the early 80’s my Mother bought 5 of these. They used to sit up off a cast iron cauldron in the entrance of our 6^th floor apartment growing up in Madrid, back when I didn’t have a clue they were actually useful for anything. Anyway, why hasn’t anyone made the sticks longer? I break my back sweeping with them and I am not particularly tall...hmmmm note to self: must engage in broomstick expansion venture when I return. That and import Spanish mops - such a great invention!). Anyway, as I was saying, I was proudly sweeping the floor when a lady stopped by with a bucket filled with fresh crabs and prawns. Ay!!! I do love this place. The crabs were tied up with a string of banana leaf, trying to wriggle themselves out of there. So shortly after, I found myself with 100pesos (2 euros) buying a kilo of fresh prawns plus 2 fresh crabs to have for dinner. I placed the crabs in the fridge, unbeknownst to me that would “put them in a slumber”.  As I took them out to dump them in the boiling seawater that I picked directly from the beach opposite, I inadvertently rinsed them off in tap water only to find them coming alive AGAIN desperately sensing their demise was-a-coming. That is when I had fleeting thoughts of becoming a vegetarian. It was painful to think of the cruel death I was about to put them through, blessed animals. In fact, I had a whole stream of thought about why it is so easy to eat just anything unconsciously… since we don’t experience the sacrifice of animals we eat anymore (instead neatly and cleanly cling film packed in the supermarket isle), or watch the caged hens laying the eggs we have for breakfast and all that stuff. It is quite depressing to think about and I truly do understand why people become vegetarians. However, faced with an appetite and love of food like mine, my guilt did not last long. I made a choice. I took a deep breath, dropped them in the water, and turned around to peel the prawns in the sink. Done deal. What I love about it is the consciousness and awareness of the entire process. I suppose that is what all this “conscious living” fuss is about.  The crabs were delicious, by the way. 

Yoga at Glenn's

I’m staying at my friend Glenn’s property. (Thi is the view from his balcony). His round house sits pretty in the middle of a 4000Sqm property dotted with palm trees and with a neighbouring plot of land that is, curiously, the home to 2 goats – the only ones I have seen on the island, and must admit, have dreamt of savouring for an oven roasted dinner, Ay gulay!!!!!

The house is not built on stilts but is the typical house built one floor above the ground, for no other reason than to have unbeatable views of the waves crashing in onto the Clou9 reef from the balcony. I must admit, whether you surf or not, waking up and looking out onto the water with a cup of anything liquid in your hands (in Glenn’s case a Red Horse beer will do nicely!) is perhaps one of the most soothing and motivating ways to start the day.

So after a bit of TLC, the ground floor underneath the house, usually reserved for drying laundry or parking motorbikes in the shade, has become the venue for my sunset yoga class. It’s perfect and offers me the excuse to do some house-work. I reckon I am one of theose weirdos who find sweeping and mopping to be somewhat sedative. Maybe it’s the physical aspect of it, but I’ve taken nicely to cleaning the area daily before the class, plus it gives me something to do during the late morning when the tide is low and I cannot swim. I much prefer this to hand washing my dirty laundry. Water is not very abundant here – it’s not uncommon to walk past people filling buckets with water at the local pump or well.  I had never stopped to think about anything other than the convenience of a washing machine’s capacity to ‘plug and play’ but apparently (comparatively speaking) they are quite water intensive which is why hand washing is the predominant if not the only way to do laundry here. Yep, large basin, washing board and bar of soap… off you go. So I decided to do it myself. It’s not expensive to get it done and the local women will gladly earn some extra cash from it. I suppose I just felt the need to try it out myself…perhaps the guilt of paying someone to clean all my dirty laundry by hand no less… and I’ve grown used to doing a lot of washing… I don’t know. I felt a certain curiosity to try out the washing board too. I had never tried one before and figured it might make the task easier on a newbie like me. As it turns out, I ended up with 4 blistered fingers and leaving the clothes to soak way too long in the water. Instead of that fresh laundered smell I was so looking forward to, I was left wth funly smelling clothes that needed to be washed again! There is a certain technique and art in hand washing, I know that now, and for only 100 or 150 pesos (3 euros) it certainly made me not take my fresh laundry for granted anymore. There is a reason why people stick to doing what they do best, and so they should. I am far better off sweeping and mopping… and paying for the experts to do the laundry, especially if it helps them earn a living. 

Life on the island is traditional. I am not sure whether the challenges of not having everything at your fingertips (except for the internet!!) and returning to a more traditional lifestyle - that interestingly makes me value those mod coms even more - is what draws me so much to this place. Or perhaps it is nostalgia for times past. I suppose while I am here I am reminded of my childhood, from which I have very happy memories. It’s seeing children playing in the dusty road unsupervised, using a coconut tree trunk as a trampoline on the beachside, riding a carabau water buffalo into town or dancing over an elastic (two kids stand apart opposite each other, holding a round elastic band with their knees, while a 3^rd kid sings a rhythmic song and dances on the elastics). I feel reminded of simpler times, of when I was growing up and entertainment meant using your imagination with what little you might have. It was carefree, un-adultered fun. Maybe it’s not nostalgia, but escapism.  I am not negating the value of my life until now and everything I have lived and learned. Had it not been for that I would not be here now, which is why it is funny. After everything I’ve experienced, I seem to be walking a path to a far simpler life that I was not able to see made me so happy until now. Taking the long route has been the fun part, because whilst all roads eventually lead to Rome, some are surely more scenic and exciting than others.   

Life these days

I couldn't have planned a better way to overhaul the frantic and very off work-life balance of the past 18 months than to come here. We often speak of slowing down the pace but frankly, some places simply lend themselves far better than others.

Over here the sun sets at 5:15 more or less, which is why my afternoon yoga classes begin at 4:30. It's just a nice, cruisy and rather mystical way of putting a final dot on the day (and often-times to also mark the beginning of the evening's shennanigans :-))

So  this year instead of indulging in the Halloween candy spiral, I started the day at 7AM (no alarm clock required) with a composite 20Km bike ride: to and from town (in search of ingredients for my upcoming Spanish food night) and to and from Pansukian Resort, my friend Gai's place (www.pansukian.com). The excuse? A dip in her large ocean-front swimming pool followed by lunch. I thought we were getting the leftover Thai chicken panaeng curryshe kindly offered, but instead she had prepared a small feast, offering me the leftover chicken in a tupper wear to ride home with (hmmm no need to think up dinner now!) So I got back home in time for my daily 4:30 PM yoga class: made up of the usual suspects, Although I might add I do also love the beginner classes, particularly when they're made up of 5 sexy French surfers (he he). After all that cycling and swimming and eating and stretching, I was so exhausted I was in bed by 20:45, not even hungry, so left the curry for the next day, which was today.

An early night like that leads to an early start like today's: 6:30 AM bangka pump boat ride over crystal-clear turqouise waters  to Dako island for an early morning surf :-) Can't beat the warm salt water substituting for the early morning shower...just immersing yourself and feeling that "je ne sais quoi" in the waves crashing down on me. I caught some waves, actually, but mostly paddled, which is fine by me. The exercise was in for the morning.  Riding back as the sun started to burn on my back, I felt exhilirated. If only every day could start this way. A little light breakfast before sweeping the floor and lighting the mosquito coils, turning on the fans and getting the zen music for Sunday's morning yoga class at 10:30. Hmmmmm it was great. Had 2 new students today who will be joining tomorrow's full moon yoga over on the platform rlooking out onto Cloud9....it's the raised wooden walkway that leads out to the surf. So sunset takes on a whole new dimension when that big, fat, beautiful full moon shines down upon your deep, even and relaxed breathing. Can't wait!

(Above: a bit of the road I cycle into town daily)