Big Sweet Tooth

Behind The Scenes: Sometimes, you just need a home...

How does one create a new home?  Well for me, it boils down to a few simple things. 

Get a coffee maker and some rock solid New Mexican Pinon coffee; hang a pretty sugar water filled hummingbird feeder, just like my g-dad used to have; join an organic CSA (free delivery to your doorstep) and stock the fridge with loads of fruits and veggies; buy a lime tree at the farmers market; get a cute little bag to haul things around in; make a big bowl of butter drenched spaghetti; purchase a lovely wheatgrass colored desk so I can finally, finally get some order to life; hell, I even went and bought a new truck (love, love, love the older midnight blue Land Rover).   My friend Chez said to me the other day, "Who the hell goes and changes their entire life for absolutely no reason....?"

Ah, but you see, there was reason...there is always reason to shake things up.  For me, it was and is all about making my life easy.  That is something that in all my years I have never done.  Por que?  Well, cause what fun is an easy life?  Why not live a life full of dead chaos, mail all over the world, solar trailer in Mexico, sailboat in TN, NGO in Indonesia, work in whatever country is paying the good dinero...it's hectic, it's a rush and frankly, it's just exhausting.  That's really it.  I've just grown incredibly weary of living out of a suitcase, of always being on the run, of living my days in a constant, bewildering unknown. 

I've discovered recently that I dig waking up at 5 am and going to the gym--a routine, if you will.  I'm happy to have a waxing lady who knows just how I like it done.  I like my mail (magazines, really) coming thru the big slot in my front door.  I am straight enamored by my parking space (never had one of those either--and now I have 2).  I set up a little office in my 2nd bedroom and I love just staring at my desk plotting my next trip.  I'm happy in the kitchen, whipping up some crazy creation (believe it or not, eating out can become awful).  And, when I get my boat here in April, that will complete the boat/home/work trifecta I've been wanting to set up.    Imagine a wild sailing excursion down to the Sea of Cortez (see top photo) and then just when you hit a wall...coming home and tucking your boat into your slip that is 20 paces away from your front door?  That is just crazy good livin'....

Point is, I think having a homebase that is 100% set up like I need it to be will help me.  It'll make my last-minute travels deeper, more intense, smarter.  I wont be on the road always searching longingly for a home--instead I can just enjoy the ride and know that I have a super-cute little place (with some insanely high thread count sheets) to come back to...all the better to plan my next trip and the next trip from. 

Sprinkle in a little work here and there and I'm in a good spot, you know?  Now, all that said...I can't wait, I mean CANNOT WAIT to hit the road!  I guess old habits die hard...

Behind The Scenes: Cancun, Mexico

Believe it or not, there are times in my travels that I end up in very, very touristy places.  I try to avoid it at all costs, but sometimes it can't be helped.  Like when I left Isla Mujeres in Feb.  After weeks on the island and enough beer in my belly to kill an elephant, I was trying to get an early flight out--to no avail. 

So, me and Lis ended up having to crash in one of those massive hotels on the strip in Cancun.  It wasn't so bad, I guess.  Nah, I take that back.  It was blood-curling.  The staff was lovely, as was the room with a killer view, but the American's (for the most part they were USA'ers) that were dotting the hallways, buffet lines and elevators were just a mess.  A horrific mess.  Not that all American's are a mess, but it seems the ones that end up on the strip in Cancun are. 

We woke up with the birds the next AM and tore the hell outta there, depressed beyond belief at what we'd seen.  The magic of Isla washed away just like that as we traipsed to the airport about 6 hours early.  We had to get out of there, for fear of throttling the masses.  I do, however, love the sparkly Cancun airport and that nifty little massage center on the 2nd floor.  Now, that place is something to write home about!

Tourist traps - avoid 'em, for real.  And, fyi--this view cost $175 per night.

Behind The Scenes: Little Corn Island, Nicaragua

A few years back I did a show for The Travel Channel called Craving Adventure.  I basically went to Little Corn Island, just off the coast of Nicaragua, and just had a crew follow me incessantly for 10 days.  It was kinda batty having a camera up in my grill from dusk til dawn, but it's not til I re-watch the show (now and again) do I remember that madness (and joy) it took to pull that thing off. 

All throughout the show, my big thing was this hand-drawn map.  It was blank when I started exploring and I slowly dotted it in with little finds--like where to find homemade coconut bread, where to go skinny dipping, where to plop down in a hammock and never get up, etc...And, at the end of the trip, I put it in this small wooden box that a local made for me and hid it--so at the very end of the show, I could pop in the GPS coordinates where it was located.

Now, I know lots of people watched that show and I definitely know lots of peeps went to Little Corn right after it aired, all based on my crazy adventures on that remote little island.  What I'm wondering is did anyone find the box (lots of geocachers go to destinations exactly for this reason)?  Did it get swept away in a hurricane (see cracked sidewalk photo)?  Did a wild animal eat it (what would possess me to put baby chocolate globes in a box hidden away on a tropical island)?  Did a local happen upon it and claim if for themselves?  I guess I'll never really know.  Maybe I will make it back down there someday (in my sailboat, thank you very much)....and see if my treasure is still there. 

What I do know for sure is that I came back from that trip with a crazy tan, a deep respect for proper mojitos, a fantastic obsession with ropa viejo, freckles that never left my cheekbones and a great appreciation for not living on camera all the time.  That's not to say I don't have another show in the works--one involving maps--of lack thereof.  A girl can only live the big life without sharing it for so long...because one thing I've learned is that everyone is trying to find a spit of freedom and if I can help them get one step closer...well, why not?

  

Behind the Scenes---AFRICA

Here is the funny thing.  You never, ever really know the back story.  No matter how much you think you are looped into someones situation, you never really are.

A few years ago, I was working in Africa for months on end.  It was an amazing project.  OW was opening a girls school just outside of Johannesburg, South Africa and we were shooting a documentary on it.  And, as it is with ALL productions, chaos was king. 

But, me and the ENTIRE crew somehow managed to make it to this little bar called The Jolly Roger close to every single night.  No matter if we'd worked an 8 or 16 hour day, we'd roll in and create mayhem.  I would have these massively stout cuba libres with x-tra long straws placed before me by every dude in the joint while trying to keep the peace on overtime, 2nd meal, payday, budgets, etc...

All the while crushing on the South African's beautiful souls. 

So, here I am almost 2 years later and what do I remember about South Africa? 

Africa to me:

Cuba libres--2 shots of Captain Morgan with coke--3 limes

Friends from strangers in less than a minute

Conducting big business from the back of a golf cart, laughing all the way
Happy days in torrential downpours with a bottle of champ, cracking a tooth on it, wild animals watching
The most magical sunset I have ever had the honor to witness
A lone apple core in an elevator and laughing til I cried that my friend tried to pick it up and eat it
My hotel becoming a gear room with everyone traipsing in and out from dusk til dawn
Matis, massages, and glorious facials---then, befriending the masseuse and all her drama/stories
The best body guards ever--who understood the importance of a cooler full of Red Bull every day
Mutton, what do you mean mutton?
Many talked about trips to Madagascar--driving til the sand dead ends in the ocean
Africa by Toto
My Assistant Camera Op telling me that Africa Loves You, MST

That about says it all.... 

And, here begins a new series of posts from R-T-W things u just knew you know/saw/thought.  Or didn't.

:)