My Blog

Bee Here Now

ganesha — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:19:03 GMT

Check out the Quest of the Crosspollinators Tribe

What would Obama do?

ganesha — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 20:24:00 GMT

SF

ganesha — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 07:47:04 GMT

Early March, winter has already broken, warm days are breezing in through the door. California sun Radiates and soothes my soul. Just returned from a trip to Provincetown and NYC. I arrived at jfk on jetblues the night before those folks got stranded for 12 hours. Just in under the wire. Was trippy being back in nyc for the first time since the graduate school drama ended in may o5. Its a twisted place schlanhattan. Im impressed that I was able to survive that town for 10+ years, including almost a year of couch surfing at the end. Great people, great museums, but there is this depressing gloom that prevades a lot of the city in the winter, and you especially feel it on those dark and dreary subway platforms in stations that have not had makeovers, in parts of the city where there is lots of neglect on all sorts of levels. The developers are booooming away, slicing and dicing up the city and building apts friggin everywhere that none of my peeeps can ever afford, while the dark underbelly of the city still holds on to its grim and its grime. Blessings on my escape.

gotta go to goa

ganesha — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 09:14:38 GMT

it was one year ago this week that i arrived in Arambol, Goa. It was an extraordinary place to be at christmas time, this pic is of the balcony of the little house i rented overlooking the sea. It had a soft futon, that mad for these amazing afternoon naps with the waves crashing right underneath. I was going through this big emotional journey in Goa. So it wasnt all paradise, but now I think about Arambol and wish i could click my heals and be back on that balcony watching the sun rise and thinking about where to get my next glorious indian seafood dining experience.

I had the oddest dream last night, or the night before

ganesha — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 06:07:41 GMT

This was one of my crazier dreams, and not so cheerie, it was the "Thank God that was a "only" a dream" dream instead of the "fuck that was only a dream, and now its over, damnit" dream. But Dreams are never "only" dreams .....are they. The world I was in was definately akin to Amerika, but it felt more like southern Lebanon during the recent horrific war, than current west coast US realities. Bombs gunfire, lots of running in terror, and this sense that there was truly nowhere to hide. Oddly, there was a lot of strenght being felt as people helped one another. As I have been thinking this dream over, I have thought of the Lebanese and Israelis, and what amazing acts of courage and bravery were likely to have been seen over the last few months, through people saving people. Chavez's speech today in Syria drummed it all up for me. He was speaking of how he believes that the era of American Imperialism will see its end in the current era. It has been a very long time since war was fought on American soil, full scale war anyway. Is it something we think about? Does it plague our subconscious mind? Is it the new version nuclear war anxiety?

fuerte san miguel-campeche May 05

ganesha — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 06:39:04 GMT

Escultura

ganesha — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 23:51:39 GMT

the last sunset of a long long journey

ganesha — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 00:22:23 GMT

mexico, early June 06 now that i am back in babylon, facing all sorts of stressful monsters like applying for jobs, thinking about career for the first time in so many years, and what seems like a multitude of other mind bending decisions, im starting to feel far far away from my journey. So it seems a fitting time to post this image, which was the last sunset of a 9 month trip......the next day i flew back to seattle. The beach is isla mujeres north beach..........oh what i wouldnt give to wade into those crystal clear warm caribbean waters now. uggghhhhh. There is a part of me that is saying that the trip was hell on my career, but then i look at these pics and i think, oh but for once i learned how to do a really really really great thing for myself. An enormous gift to ME. Wow, that is a major accomplishment. And who cares if people think im a slacker because of it, right?

attempting a return to .......

ganesha — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 02:25:52 GMT

My brain feels like a blender on the frappe setting. Returning to Seattle has been brain boggling. Well what did i expect after 9 months traversing the globe right? Now I am searching for teaching jobs, trying to put that phd to good use. You cant imagine how complex academia gets when it comes to hiring. Well, maybe you can. I was only in the US a few days before going to a Naraya ceremony at the Wolf Creek Radical Faerie Sanctuary in Oregon. It was an amazing experience....but wow, did it ever leave me in a place of stirred-uppeddness. There was this crazy pioneer ofa woman at that ceremony--who others call trannygranny but I call shivashakti--and she likes to refer to city life as the life of Babylon. I am really beginning to understand what she has been talking about, one year and 2 wks after hearing her babylon rapp the first time around the fire in 05. ......Babylon......hmmm..........the pic is from this amazing amazing place in eastern oregon called badgerland, day before the return to babylon.

Pond in the Mayan city of Caracol

ganesha — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 02:15:23 GMT

campeche

ganesha — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 02:13:12 GMT

this part of Sta. Elena Guatemala reminded me so much of India

ganesha — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 02:10:12 GMT

ahhhh Tulum

ganesha — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 02:08:07 GMT

mayan relief

ganesha — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 02:06:41 GMT

Caye Calker Sunset

ganesha — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 02:04:17 GMT

merida colonialism

ganesha — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 01:40:36 GMT

Sun Setting on My Marvelous 8 Month Journey

ganesha — Wed, 31 May 2006 01:46:09 GMT

floundered around in the crystal clear waters of the carribean sea all afternoon, deepened my tan a bit, and then watched a stunning sunset on the north beach of isla mujeres this evening...........and wow, it really felt like the sun going down on my amazing adventure. 8 months ago i boarded a china air flight for Mother India, and tomorrow i board a united flight in cancun bound for seattle. strange bookends, but bookends nonetheless. My head is spinning with the profundity of such an ending. im so grateful to the goddess for sunningly beautiful weather for the final 3 days after a week of rain and clouds in belize and tulum. i keep thinking of elton john singing "dont let the sun go down on me" but alas......there are many more adventures ahead of me. not the least of which is the Wolf Creek Naraya just a week after i am back in the states.....and that, as many of you know, it something akin to interplanetary travel......esp. on particular orb in a far far galaxy, my much beloved URBULON! perhaps my friends from there will be paying me a visit soon. well, faithful boggerians, blessings to you for reading. i have heaps of pic from this trip....stunning beaches, mystical mayan ruins, and gorgeous sun sets. i plan to post pics, on this blog and then tell some stories if the pics so inspire....so please check back here from time to time. abrazos amigos, buena suerte, ganesh

iglesia campeche

ganesha — Fri, 12 May 2006 23:38:38 GMT

Breakfast companion in Chiapas

ganesha — Fri, 12 May 2006 02:02:43 GMT

"Guate"

ganesha — Wed, 10 May 2006 01:33:08 GMT

My final two days in mexico before crossing the border to guatemala were oh so challenging. grrrrrr. i skipped taking an organized tour of yaxchilan and bonampak in order to 'save bucks' and do it on my own. it turned out to be an endless cycle of haggling and feeling ripped off. the pay off was that i arrived at bonampak this morning around 9am and there were only 2 ppl there. they only spent a few minutes in temple of frescos, so i had the temple to myself. they frescos have been referred to as the sistene chapel of the maya world, and although they have deteriorated quite signifcantly since they were discover in the mid 20th cen., they were still awesome to behold. i have studied them for many years so the opportunity to view them face to face.....as it were....was wonderful. after bonampak i headed straight to guatemala.......as soon as i crossed a border i felt the difference between the two countries. Guatemalans are super friendly and helpful, such a pleasure to be around. y los hombres son muy muy guapo. The collectivo driver was incredibly kind and took me to an atm and then directly to my hotel. a collectivo driver in mexico wouldnt dream of such a thing. Im in Flores now and it has wonderful things such as delicious italian food, a beautiful lake, Tikal 30 minutes away, and huge grey clouds blocking that utterly relentless sun. Nights are cool, could I ask for more?

Campeche

ganesha — Mon, 08 May 2006 02:56:20 GMT

One of the real surprises of my trip was the city of Campeche. I had not even heard of it until i heard other travelers talking about it in Merida. It is a beautiful colonial city that has quite a history of battling pirates, one of the worst being the Englishman Captian Morgan. Pirates ransacked the city so many times that they built a massive stone wall to fortify the city, several stretches of the wall and all 6 of the surrounding forts still exist. The result is that the city has extraordinary architectural harmony (see a few pics in my photo gallery). One night a friend and i were heading to a museum and happened upon a fantastic free performance of ballet folklorico and traditional mexican dance, pictured above. If you travel to the Yucatan peninsula, check out Campeche.

Celestino

ganesha — Mon, 01 May 2006 03:25:55 GMT

Last few days Matteo and I have been in Celestino, a sleepy beach town on the gulf of mexico. Prices just cant be beat, a hotel room one block from the sea with a-c for $13, and a awesome huge grilled fish meal with cervezas for about $6 each. This morning we went on the classic river tour to see the largest breeding ground in mexico of pink flamingos. Sounds kitch, and it was, but also fabulous. They are so awkward and beautiful, it was inspiring somehow, hundreds of them. I wonder if Divine ever saw a flock of flamingos......or just loved the plastic ones in front yards in trailer parks in florida. Oh Taffy!

Uxmal

ganesha — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 21:21:15 GMT

its about 102 degrees right now, brain melting heat. yesterday i made a second visit to the Mayan site of Uxmal, the photo is of the ball court in the foreground and the palace of the governor in the background. My previous visit was too short and too hot and so I went with a few friends again yesterday. Of course the heat was the same but i saw many things that i missed the first time around, including various manifestations of the phallic cult in uxmal. I have been travelling with a young swiss art student ---Matteo--he is a joy to travel with....although he's not so crazy about visiting archeological sites, he did seem to enjoy uxmal. we are fleeing the blazing heat of merida tomorrow ...it supposed to hit 105.....for the coastal town of Celestino. The visit to merida has been productive, there is an amazing anthropology museum here, an interesting modern art museum, and lots and lots of outdoor public performances. last night there was an amazing event of classical guitar and ballet folklorico. que lindo.

serene and utterly gorgeous sea

ganesha — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 03:13:56 GMT

the beaches of Tulum, esp. those a bit to the south are not to be missed. such beauty and power. hard to describe actually. visited the mayan ruins on the beach....shortly after arriving there was a brief rain.....i was standing near one of the structures and it was as though a torrent of spirits emerged to great the rains. this is the time of year that offerings to the rain god chaac are made, and the rains begin in earnest in about 3-4 wks. as this spiritual flow was happening i was just transfixed, couldnt move....there was a young mexican guy sitting near me, who was in a similarly glazed place. wow it was amazing. The site is not remarkable really, but the location is, pearched on a cliff above extraordinarly gorgeous turquoise blue carribean sea. you have to see it to appreciate it. its the clubmed of mayan cities. i wonder if the mayans could beam themselves over from far distant mayan areas for a little r&r. the trip is going well, im in the groove now. its not as mind boggling as India, but it is profound and full of good vibes. will upload some pix soon. abrazos, g.

Tulum

ganesha — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 00:05:24 GMT

yesterday i did a whirlwind tour of four mayan sites south of Merida. The last two were kabal and uxmal. I was planning to see them over 2 days but it was 102 degrees (but its a dry heat, grrr) and i just needed to get it over with and move on. the heat hits hard about 10 am. Now i am in Tulum on the coast. This town has the rare combination of important Mayan ruins set on the beach. It is also a pretty chill town. Although somewhat touristy, nothing like playa or isla mujeres, and after the blazing heat of chichen itza and merida, im just greatful for the sea breezes, its getting into the mid 80s here and cool at night. I am finding the mayan sites very powerful, but it seems that the smaller sites have more spirits present than the larger ones. i took my first mayan art history class about 20 years ago (yikes!) with a famous mayanist named Linda Schele. she died about 8 yrs ago of cancer, if felt her presence strongly, especially at the first two sites i visited in that day. i met a british guy last night, andrew, that travelled in india and thailand last year, it was good to talk about india. i also met a wonderful woman on the bus to tulum from merida who was on her way to playa for her wedding this saturday. when i told her about the book im researching she was fascinated, and wants me to let her know when it comes out. Will it be sold everywhere in america she asked? i could only hope i thought. her interest was inspiring. she insisted that i not work too hard during my trip. my head is a bit scattered, from that oppressive heat for four days, and from the fact that i have only spend two nights in each of the four places ive stopped so far in the trip. its a grueling pace. if i can find a sweet reasonably cheap spot here in tulum ill stay a few days doing nothing. it hard though, all of the yucatan peninsula has just become so developed and so expensive....american prices usually and sometimes more.....hard to adjust to after asia...