Cual es la mejor manera de acabar un viaje? The best way to finish a trip is...

La mejor manera de acabar un viaje es:

-riendo,

-queriendo repetirlo,

-reencontrando a los que quieres,

-agradeciendo a los que te han acompañado en el camino,

y que se yo cuantas cosas mas...

Gracias por visitar este blog. 

El viaje continua. El viaje es vida. ¡Viaja!  

The best way to finish a trip is to finish it laughing, dreaming about going on an on, meeting again the beloved ones, being grateful to the ones met during the journey. Thank you for reading, looking and feeling this blog. The journey goes on. The journey is life. Live it!  

 

-

Cape Town, Stellenbosch

I shared a wonderful time with Coky, Neils father, during our day trip to Stellenbosch, the Southafrican Rioja. Visited various wineyards, such as Delheim, Simonsig, Rust en Vrede, Franschhoek, Ernie Els and some others. Lovely. I drunk all what Coki didn't drink, since he was driving; I was the red nosed co-pilot. Good day in lovely Cape town. Thanks for your generosity. 

South Africa, jailed beauty, problema espinoso

   

Astonishing beauty of a country with serious security problems, form the ones inherited from Apartheid times, to the current ones generated by xenophobia. It seems that problems will be solved only in the long term, when education will have had its effects.  

Umkomaas, all you can eat.

If you do things with passion, you enjoy things passionately

Diving with Neil has not been what I most liked in our day trip to Umkomaas, a world renowned scuba site. Diving with Neil made me realize that applying passion to what  you do, makes things a whole lot more enjoyable than if you just do them. Neil knows everything about marine life in that area, about its fauna and flora, about each corner of the diving sites, ...and makes you feel part of his experience. 

If you do things with passion, you enjoy things passionately. This was the learning of the day.

By the way, we saw grey nurse shark, turtles, manta ray, moraines, ...even the very rear pineapple fish...and a snapper trying to swallow a parrot fish!!!

Durban and KwaZulu Natal

When one is hosted as I have been by Ryan and his family, one wants to visit them again. It has been a pleasure to be for a long weekend with the Ponquetts in Underberg, country side close to Durban, and realize that family life is as enjoyable as being on holidays with your closest friends. Hiking, talking, rowing, canopying, drinking...sharing...what a blessing! You are part of my journey, part of my life.

Ryan has been and is one of those persons that is there for you when you need it, even in the distance. His empathic capacity makes you feel close to him. This is especially important if you want to feel what friendship is all about...being there for others and enjoying it.

Thanks Ryan, Julie, Donae, Mathew, Patrick, for a lovely family weekend.

Miguel y Joburg

Miguel is one of those friends that you see every now and then yet it seems like you meet every day. My brief visit to him felt like heaven: a relaxing sportive morning, a safary in the afternoon, seeing cheettha, rynos even flying grasshopper, and a fabulous dinner at Moyo's in Joburg, wine tasting included. Miguel, my house is yours, you know it.   

An Irish man in India

Marc has taught me a couple of interesting things while traveling together. Space has not always to be filled. Silence also talks, and enhances other senses. A sincere sight and a truthful smile while saying good by says much more than a million words. Keep well my friend.  

''Are we all alike or all different?''

To Mini's question ''are we all alike or all different?'' I would say that we are differently alike rather than similarly different.

The unexpected beauty of a slow journey in the Backwaters

I though that my day trip to Kochis Backwaters (an endless beautiful labyrinth of rivers and lakes in the middle of a dense tropical forest) was going to be a good occasion to lean back, silence myself, meditate, fall asleep surrounded by a beautiful scenery... but nope! The beauty of the sailing trip was comparable to the unexpected joy of meeting two travelers with which I had important things in common. With Marc, from Ireland, I had a comparable family situation, same spiritual worries, need of silence to enforce communication... and with Mini, a greek beauty, I had a similar academic and work background, equal worries for future plans, shared love for my city, need to be intellectually challenged... with both of them a desire to look inside ourselves through experiencing, by traveling. 

Mini, Marc, I would really like to see you soon again. 

Shonaalii

My base camp in India was Bombay, chez Shonaalii, a university classmate. From there I flew to GOA, where I stayed with her brother Vishar and family for one week. Then I went to the Sivananda ashram in TRIVANDRUM, for yoga, meditation and ayurvedic therapies. Finally, a bit of sightseeing in PERIYARD (wildlife), MUNAR (tea gardens) and KOCHI (Backwaters). I will just say one thing about these sites: they were sublime.

''Sister'' Shonaalii knows that my trip wouldn't have been the same without her. 

Chatting about macrobiotics, relationships, future working plans; blogging, buying Kurtas, knowing her family and friends, even attending a wedding, made my Bombay stay memorable.

Shon treated me more as a prince than as a traveler. When you take care of someone to that level of detail, it means exactly that, that you care. 

Whatever Shon does in life, she does it with care. She recently changed the course of her life, her lifestyle, her job, her relationship...major changes in life, and she is doing fine because she cares about what she does...and because she believes in herself. Nothing can beat that, no matter how big challenges are. This I learned from her, and lots of other things that she teaches others without noticing.

So long my friend!

Kochis beauty

The french connection

Charmant de voir Gaël et Julie, frère et soeur, sur une tournée indienne comme s'ils étaient de meilleurs amis. Beaucoup a apprendre de vous, mes amis. Avec ce couple français j'ai partagé beaucoup de bons moments, des classes de yoga, à pujas (les rites religieux), la mer, les rire. ..the french connection

Food for thought

Cuanto menos como, mejor sabe.

The less I eat, the better it tastes.
Slow eating tastes better.
Silent eating nourishes more.
Your stomach is your second brain.
I love cocido y vino tinto.

Dedicado a un amigo que se lo han llevado.

Cuando una persona desea tanto algo que ni con todo su corazon lo consigue, pide otro.
Cuando una persona se pregunta ciertas cosas sobre las que no encuentra respuestas, se las inventa.
Cuando una persona se levanta tras cada tropiezo que le impone el destino, se acostumbra resignado.
Cuando una persona sufre algo que los demas ignoramos, es que silencia su dolor.
Cuando esa persona nos alecciona con su corazon, con su sabiduria, con su discrecion y
con su silencio, esa persona no nos deja porque quiere, se va porque se lo
llevan.

Ese era mi amigo, un luchador silencioso.

Le echare de menos.

Abrazo enorme

Fui al Ashram de la ''hugging mother'' Amma a ver si me fundia con su abrazo pero acabe abrazando al primer elefante que pille por el camino. Buen feeling.
Como muchos lideres religiosos, Amma tambien tiene detractores, pero lo que ha hecho esta mujer es remarcable. Entre otras cosas dono 50 mill. de dolares a las victimas del Tsunami, ha construido 6000 viviendas para gente sin recursos y da de comer a mas de 1000 personas cada dia.

पिएद्रस Piedras

ऐ वोय अ डर उन मसजे कुए तेंगो पिओएद्रस् एन एल ज्पतो

Suerte que ni estas piedras del camino me impiden caminar

Suenyo o Realidad. (Dedicado a todos los que se tragan my blog.)

Cuando la realidad se confunde con un suenyo, uno no sabe si no irse a dormir o no despertar.

Cuando se confunde con una pesadilla, mejor despertar fuera del suenyo o dormir otra realidad.

En cualquier caso, no hay que permitir que este suenyo se convierta en pesadilla, sino convertirlo en realidad.

(Caramba como se pone uno con tanto Ommm!!!.

Varkala beach & chaeb alalkraV)

When reality is confused with a dream, one doesn’t really know "the moment" one should break out of the sleep or one should not sleep at all.

When reality is confused with a nightmare, its better to wake up or to sleep another reality.

The "hope" is that the dream should not turn into a nightmare, but become a reality.

AL3 y Arena

Aguas de Varkala

Pensamientommmmmm

How difficult it is to leave you even before getting to know you!

Kerala May 14th 2008.

Indias...

Om en Varkala, Cherokee y tochos en Goa, Pies en Bahianas, lampara en Anjuna, Convento enjaulado de San Francisco de Asis (Goa), Basilica de Bom Jesus (Goa), y bufalos en Vagator.

Sobre ruedas

SEXY LEGS

MI CULO?

Mi culo se lo dedico a Josep, que siempre dijo que tenia unas piernas muy sexys. (Ver foto de arriba).

Al cero

Mi amigo Prince me corta el pelo en Vagator. Preparativos desde Goa para afrontar el Ashram de Verkala, donde Om va ha ser la palabra mas pensada, mas buscada, mas sufrida...parte del viaje, de la vida misma.

INDIA, donde...

...donde la luz surge de la oscuridad o convive con ella,
donde ni la pobreza duele, ni entiende de ruiqueza,
donde las vacas esperan pacientes, o paciendo, su prometida santidad,
donde el olor no es dolor, y ni el hedor huele,
donde los que menos proclaman, y los que mas ignoran, donde...


...donde los muertos se reencarnan, donde las cosas cuestan lo que valen, donde la medicina es mas antigua que Hipocrates, donde la religion no solo tiene una cara, donde la comida sabe mejor con las manos, donde el mejor calzado son los propios pies, donde los perros no tienen duenyo, donde la tradicion no ha sido colonizada, donde se comparte hasta lo mas propio, donde dormir es abrir los ojos al suenyo de la imaginacion...que lejos estamos de India, querido Occidente.

PROCTUSU BALAN. Cuento dedicado a la persona que quiero. (Dedicated to the shell of my life)

Proctusu Balan, así se llama el anciano que merodeaba por la playa de Belicasag en Filipinas esta mañana, me ha dado más de lo que nunca pudiese haber imaginado.
Sin darme cuenta, Proctusu Balan observaba cómo buscaba yo, con pasión de niño, esas conchas de caracola con forma de espiral tan difíciles de encontrar. Tras percatarme , intercambiamos un breve saludo gestual y una sonrisa entre formal y comprometida. Proctusu siguió su camino y yo continué buscando mis pequeños tesoros, recuerdos de vieja infancia, ignorando por completo el encuentro previo. Al minuto de separarnos, y dando yo por finalizada mi búsqueda, Proctusu se me acercó con dos puñados de esas queridas conchas en sus manos y me las ofreció junto con una de esas sonrisas que llegan hondo.
Proctusu Balan es una de tantas buenas personas que uno se cruza en su vida sin saber por qué, sin uno darse casi ni cuenta de que existen, y que esconden detrás de su simple y tímida apariencia, un mundo de bondad, de pura vida.
Proctusu Balan es cualquier buena persona que nos podamos encontrar por el camino y que con una humildad que abruma, nos da la lección del día.
Todos tenemos un mucho de Proctusu Balan en nosotros, sólo hay que saber abrirse un poco para descubrirlo en el otro.


Proctusu Balan is the man who was roaming the beaches today in Belicasag, Philippines. Without knowing it, he has given to me more than I could have ever expected. Proctusu Balan was staring at me while I was searching, with the passion of a child, those spiral shaped shells that are so hard to find. After realizing that he was looking at me, we exchanged a brief and a cold smile. Proctusu went on his way and I kept looking for those little treasures, old memories of my childhood, completely ignoring the prior meeting. Shortly after our encounter, once I had finished my search, Proctusu approached me with two handfuls of those beloved shells and offered them to me together with one of those touching smiles that you never forget. Proctusu Balan is one of the many good people that one meets in life without knowing why, without even noticing them, people that hide behind their simple and timid appearance, a world of kindness and pure life. Proctusu Balan represents all the people that we find along our way, and that are able to give us the lesson of the day with overwhelming humility. We all have a lot of Proctusu Balan in ourselves. We only need to open our hearts a little bit to notice it in others.

SNIF!

Basile, mi hijo (my son)

El viaje es interior. Uno camina hacia adentro.

El viaje es sentir y ver, y uno ve y siente lo que quiere.

El viaje tambien es recuerdo, y esta presente en cada paso.

El viaje no se hace, te hace, te alimenta, te inspira.

El viaje rie y llora...y vuelve a reir.

En un viaje la maleta se carga, pero no pesa.

En un viaje siempre hay algo que no desvanece...

...y ese algo es Basile, mi hijo.

Basile, my son. The trip is introspective, one walks towards oneself. The trip is feeling and seeing, and one sees whatever one feels like seeing. The trip brings back a lot of memories, at every step one makes. You don't make a trip, it's the trip that makes you, that nourishes and inspires you. The trip laughs and cries...and laughs again. During a trip the luggage becomes bigger, but not heavier. During a trip there is a presence in ones thoughts that never vanishes...and that, for me, is Basile, my son.

Espermatozoides negros (Black sperm)

Os acordais de aquella pelicula de Woody Allen sobre -todo lo que hay que saber sobre el sexo y bla bla bla...-? Aqui un trozo de la version Hongkongita. Cuando uno se va a mojar, hay que tomar precauciones. En Hong Kong no solo hay rascacielos y fiebre comercial. La verdad es que sorprende la naturaleza que la rodea. Hay mil excursiones que hacer, senderismo, golf, playa, vela, parapente, gastronomia, gente interesante...y todo con una exquisita calidad y cuidado britanico. Muy recomendable su visita.

Do you recall Woody Allen's film -Everything you always wanted to know about Sex and...-well...here you can see a small piece of Hong Kong's version. When one is going to get wet (understand lade), better be cautious. Hong Kong is not only skyscrapers and trading feever. Its nature and people can shock anyone. Thousand things to do: Trekkings, beaches, golf,people, food, ...everythig with an exquisite british touch.

Mama, soy gay!!! (Mom, I'm a homo)

No sabia como decirtelo pero ya esta hecho.

Te presento a Massimo PeneTrantti. Nos conocimos en Honk Kong. Nos queremos.

(Lo que hay que hacer para animar el blog de uno. A ver si haceis comentarios, que este blog esta oxidandose!!!)

Ciao Massimo, caro bellisimo.

La noche en Hong Kong empalma con el dia. Salir de copas es deporte nacional, y ya sabeis, alla donde fueres...

La verdad es que estaba mas bueno este pavo, que no se ni como se llama, que las filipinas que invaden los bares de down town en busca de diversion y de algun hombre. No hay sufucientes hombres en Hong Kong. La comunidad de filipinas, que trabajan como empleadas del hogar para enviar dinero a su pais, es enorme, y los cuatro filipinos que hay por aqui estan agotados.

I didn't know how to tell you, but here it goes: this is Massimo PeneTrantti (understand maximum dick penetration). We met in HK, and we love eachother. (See what I have to write to get your attention? damn it! No one makes comments in my blog, it's getting rotten).

Nightlife in HK is endless. Philippinas invade the bars, looking for men...which are exausted since the ratio male/female is 2 to 8. Reason why, women come to HK for house keeping, not men.

Ja Ja Ha Hag Hog Hong Kong

Tambien en Hong Kong he tenido una estancia familiar muy emotiva. Da gusto compartir risas con los pequenyajos de mis amigos que me encuentro por el camino. Aqui con Jan y Aran en accion. Bruna dormia. Gracias Marc y Anna por una bonita estancia en familia. HK no seria lo mismo sin los Garreta.

Emotive stay chez los Garreta. These rascals are pure joy. Thanks Marc and Anna for hosting me. HK would't be the same without you.

Manila...

El paso por Filipinas fue tan autentico como inesperado. Sergi y Rafa fueron los artifices de mi estancia alli. Gracias a ellos me pase mas rato debajo del agua que viendo Manila, que sorprende por su caos organizado, o su desorden controlado. Todo es posible alli. Una de las mayores fuentes de riqueza Filipina es la exportacion de empleadas del hogar.

Filipinas tiene unas sietemilseiscientas islas. 7600. Yo solo bucee en una, pero me supo a gloria. Imaginaros lo que puede dar de si este pais donde el turismo todavia no ha explotado todos sus rincones. Bien por Filipinas y los Rostoll.