Old San Juan and A Mess of Memories

Here's the thing about travel.  It ends so quickly.  You get back to where you came from and you try to recollect all those once-in-a-lifetime scenarios and it's hard...next to impossible.  The attempt at memory breaks ya down to a mere moment in time - thinking/searching/remembering WHAT REALLY HAPPENED?

At least that's what happens to me.  I'm trying to look back on my first pit stop from my latest jaunt - Puerto Rico - and what do I have.  A few late-night drinks with a couple of nutcases; witnessing a great restaurant in the making; some crazy Chinese food while it poured warm rain; beer for breakfast; fearless attempts at Spanish; a moon so big it took my breath away; those gorgeous, free-thinking Dominican's; a chirpy Moroccan chef wanting to cook a feast for me; a thousand beautiful smiles; a will to move and move quickly.

In these moments there is intense beauty.  In the aftermath, they're even richer because I will never get them back.  Once - that's how often they happen.  Just like life.  My thought of the day?  Don't fret the madness of life - you'll be gone soon enough.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally Home From Indonesia...and This is What I Feel Like...

Yeah, I finally made it home from Indo...after 2 hellish days of travel via Singapore and Beijing.  Brutal stuff, but now I've ordered some Lebanese food and am on the verge of being all good again.  Regular Tooth postings shall resume tomorrow, my friends.

Can you imagine seeing this little buggie on your front terrace here in the US?  Full freak out.  Oh, but, on my beachside terrace in Indo, dozens of photos snapped, baby flips maneuvered, and tiny proddings attempted.

I have a trillion and one stories--all good--and can't wait to share them. 

Hasta manana, mst

Livin` Like a Local in Lombok, Indonesia

So sorry that  I have been so off grid for the past month.   I really had no idea that the tiny, very 4th-world village where I was headed in Indonesia (it was on the Muslim island of Lombok just East of Bali) had no phones, no net, no nothing.  Talk about wonderful.  I have no idea what is happening in the world and never have I felt more at peace and content and clean.  The next few weeks are going to be a flurry of updates about my entire volunteer experience in the village of Sembalun Lawang (nestled at the base of majestic Mt. Rinjani) and my explorations of the always magical Bali (I cannot believe that I drank BEER---but I guess I now love Bintang).  This particular trip was epic in a million ways (taught an entire 2nd grade class how to brush their teeth and use soap) and one of those  life/mind altering journeys that very seldom happen unless you are lucky enough to really let down some barriers and crack open a few walls that you didn`t even know you`d built up (sure, I guess I don`t mind taking a river bath and coming out covered in baby leeches).  My mind is twirling with new ideas and directions to take, so be on the lookout...more is on the way...mst

Baja and Back in 3 Days...

Though I've been more than a handful of times, this past weekend, what with it being long and all, I could not resist heading back to Baja and the Sea of Cortez.  Talk about stunning....literally, my mind has no frame of reference for some of the vista's in this little hidden patch of heaven.  So, I flew to San Diego, rented a car and hauled 700 miles down the peninsula...stayed a day...then turned around and did the drive again.  3 days, you ask?  Was that 1400+ miles of dusty desert worth it?  Hmmm, swimming under stars so close you could reach up and snatch them; chowing on coconut shrimp and drinking margaritas in a sea as warm as bath water; delicious homemade tamales from a hut on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere; a precious puppy named como tu that made me happier than I've been in months; small, baby kisses for the crazy-cute border guards wielding weapons who couldn't believe I was traveling solo; and last but not least hauling back thru Tijuana only to be pulled over by a couple of cops alerting me to the fact that I was doing 60 miles over the speed limit and telling me that they'd have to impound my rental (which I'd purchased no Mexican car insurance for) and me happily bribing them with $200 from a nearby ATM.  Hell yeah, it was worth it!