The Dusty Foot Philosopher

Feel free to ignore the cheeseball title. But if you aren't in the mood for cheese, maybe don't read on.

For the past week, we've been doing exactly what Dr. Wise requested we not do ("whatever you do, don't play with the dogs and monkeys in India") and volunteering at Animal Aid Udaipur. I wish I had the words to describe it but in those of one of the founders, it literally is "handicap heaven" 

All I can say is I never thought I'd get so close to a donkey or cow, let alone help hold them down and console them while they have their wounds dressed or are given IV drips. I have been shit, pissed and bled on, you name it, by animals both large and small while having the opportunity to work at one of the most loving places I've ever been. While all of this may sound flighty and preachy, I promise there is nothing more rewarding than a morning greeting from your favourite paralyzed dog or blind cow (see below for Vishnu). So rewarding, we're concerned that in the end we may have received more than the animals. I mean who doesn't want to sit and brush 100s of dogs for hours a day? Or work in an environment where staff actually say every cow is their hero. Well if you don't, you probably shouldn't tell me because that's just crazy (despite what you may be thinking of me..).

Anyhoo, blah blah blah, plug plug plug, but yah maybe just check out their website-http://www.animalaidunlimited.com/
Or don't, but at least now you know that yes we are still alive, and no, we have not completely lost our minds (emphasis on completely).

I realize it has been weeks since I've written, but with Tessy's visit (yeah shoutout Tess, come visit and YOU'LL get one too.. You know who you are) and our constant movement in the last month, it has been impossible to get time to write let alone think.

So here it is, the all-encompassing Moroccan blog. As a precautionary warning, if you are one to take offense to vast sweeping generalizations of entire countries I recommend you stop here.

Instead of weighing you down with the multiple ridiculous events that we encountered (or endured, for a better term) I thought it better to just sum up our idea of morocco. I promise they aren't all negative, I just think morocco is a country worth seeing with some serious foreknowledge. You'll think me later if you're planning a trip there, really.

1. If you go to Morocco, You will be lied to (and not your typical travel lies, but rather those that are the psychologically disturbing type, you know the ones.. Where you'd rather have had someone just pick pocket you instead of try to play you for a fool, yeah, those ones.
2. If you go to morocco, you will get cheated (this includes having money swindled, alcohol watered down, exorbitant bribes requested, etc. etc.)
3. you will get lost (ancient cities are not to be messed with, and don't you dare look lost or pull out that map because there is someone lurking at every turn to grab your hand and direct you for a price that will only be rattily disclosed at the end of your "tour").
4. Children dressed as nicely as those in Canada will request money from you and throw rocks when you decline.
5. When you get something done on the street, such as henna, and you dont have the exact dollar amount, no change will be offered to you (as if you are somehow an idiot who has forgotten how much you gave seconds before). Moreover, days later when the lady sees you on the street, she will stand next to you for much time rambling about feeding her children and needing more money while you ignore her.
 Just like the last time you got a haircut in Toronto, paid for it,and then happened to run into your hairdresser days later who began by saying "you know man, times are really tough and I've been thinking about what I charged you.."
6. It will take 6 people to complete a business transaction of any sort, 5 middle men waiting for their 50 cent cut, and then 1 actually necessary proprietary individual. 
And finally,
7. The Sahara Desert is worth putting up with all of this for.

Take my notes in stride as I am most obviously bitter but only because I struggle to understand why being a "tourist" - a word I despise- demeans you from being treated like a human.  Side note that Marrakesh also provided a more positive experience, tea will always be provided when being swindled and everyone should still visit once (and with a return rate of 1% it is likely that's all you will).

In much happier times we are in India loving life, as expected. There are interesting people and multiple types of Aladdin pants with every step you take. Looking for input as we plan the next month or so in the north (west to east, and north north). And finally, if you furthermore have any input on our current dilemma of swapping Tibet for Myanmar (it always be Burma to me), please also get in touch. 
 

Today I went whale and dolphin watching, followed by a long awaited return to Africa. Living life like a wide-eyed child is AMAZING (if only with the exception that I really need to lower my eyebrows lest I plan to start the Botox process in the next few years).

As an aside (that has become so ingrained in my writing), I have noticed through email responses and re-reading of past blog entries that I may seem like an extremely happy fool who loves absolutely anything. In considering this, I have come to two reasons why this is happening. One is that in truth, many of the places we have seen (especially Brazil...but especially Rio) have both attracted and interested me more than any other place. The second being that I suppose on previous trips having spent so much time in my own head, I may have missed out on a few things around me. Therefore, I am not just some over zealous travel nut.

Weelllll... Only slightly, only slightly.

Oh man oh man oh man oh man. Holy shit brazil, you just keep blowing my mind.

Anyone planning a trip in the near future? Think you should be going somewhere other than brazil? Well, you're wrong. I'm not even sure how to write how I've felt for the last 3 weeks; with each new place came so much ridiculous beauty, people and culture (note: the ridiculous part is also attached to both people and culture as well). 

I suppose for brevity sake I'll choose to focus on Rio, my new second home. A place where I did not shut up about how much I loved it to anyone who would listen. Of course, I understand such love is also a product of timing, experiences, and people but even if all three of those failed it would be hard to ignore the beauty that is Rio de Janeiro.  I mean, do you live in a massive city that has miles of beautiful beaches and is surrounded by jungley mountains? In fact when was the last time you experienced a city of 10 million, not including the surrounding areas, that had any nature at all? 

Yes, being there during Carnaval had an impact, I agree (nothing better than a good excuse to wear ears of some sort on my head). But honestly, we tired of street parties and samba music so quickly it's hard to imagine that was the only reason. What we did manage to do was spend multiple evenings at the Rio Music Conference (for musical details please inquire within, but know that you should be listening to live shows by Felix da housecat and life is a loop), making real friends who we felt at home with (and getting some much needed girl time...finnnnaally) and having some of the best nights of my life. And no, DAD, that statement isn't wrought with hyperbole, it's the honest truth. Oh, and checking your shirt at the door- apparently a policy in any good electronic scene. 

See you again very soon Rio, very soon.

As a quick side note I should add that there was also extensive love and happiness in iguazu, florianopolis, paraty and pretty much everywhere we went with the exception of you, seedy Sao Paulo (rio's more serious brother). And despite a plan to head to Salvador post carnaval, extreme exhaustion and crime post-police strike halted those plans (as our friends coming from there so lovely suggested - just don't bring out anything you want to come home with at the end of the night). So instead we're sleeping it up in Buzios before hitting Brazil's motherland - Portugal- which, in all honestly, will no doubt be outshone by her daughter.

So obviously I've been slacking on blogging, but anyone who's ever shared quarters with me knows I'm the queen of procrastination. The blog has become a kin to unpacking, and since my boxes from undergrad are still in my basement, you can only imagine how difficult it is for me to keep up with this. Although I have quite missed having the opportunity to talk about the thing I love most, well, namely, myself. Ugh.. I mean..traveling.

But seriously, it's been hard to keep up given some of the amazing places we've been. Just when I thought Mendoza had blown me away, along came Buenos Aires. As I referred to in my last post, I fell in love with this city like no other (well, not exactly no other- only to be rivaled by tel aviv and moshi, where I left my African heart). Between our biking of the city, shopping, celebrating Stally Wags 30th (happy birthday Stally wag) and dabbling a bit in some of their cheeseball electronic scene (think rihanna and Calvin Harris to the power of ten) I think we both just generally felt both happy and at home in BA.  Not much else to put in words really.

Beyond that, we adventured in Uruguay, Argentina's less known, much less frequented neighbor. This was a treat for us coming from the Milhouse hostel where we hadn't heard a word of Spanish spoken in days. As much as I'd love to bore you with every detail, I think it's best to pick the most ridiculous place, of course, though I'm not sure words will do it justice.

The place is called Punta Del Diablo and if you want to fall out of touch with reality, this is the place to go. Or, perhaps if you've ever felt like you couldn't maintain face in society, this might be the town for you. Between the surfer hippy inhabitants, the unorganized lay of the land (I'm talking houses wherever you feel, no street names, etc), and the sand roads, you could feel like you're at a permanent music festival. It's cultish vibe will suck you in so quickly you'll be drinking matte (an earth like tea requiring both the carrying of a special cup, straw and thermos) on the beach before you know it (and believe me, this drink has no place on a beach by any other countries standards). An example of a semi typical inhabitant is pictured below when Stal and I had the pleasure of jamming with the town drunk. Not only did he weigh 80 lbs (take note ladies- alcohol may have lots of calories but if it's the only thing you consume you can be as skinny and old looking as this dude), but he proceeded to throw up next to his chair multiple times during our "chill". I should probably note that he was hanging out with a somewhat younger surfer crowd selling fish, which is how we ended up with our precious invitation into this experience. 

There are about a million other hilarious experiences I'd love to mention but this is probably getting long for most, so here's a few highlights: hanging with a group of 20 Indian travellers who were dropped in Montevideo with no spanish to do software engineering consulting (yes, even Uruguay is outsourcing to India) and hearing the hilarity of such a large group of quite obvious outsiders attempting to fit in and diving in florianopolis brazil where I quickly learned whatI had in Thailand was a dream (with its 15 m visibility, warm waters and most importantly not massively huge fins that require extreme vigilance to keep on your feet).

Tomorrow we head off to Iguazu, where I will hopefully be better at maintaining my promise to blog and won't have to write endless posts which by now most of you have stopped reading.