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Showing posts with label Story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Story. Show all posts

"You can't miss Antarctica!" said Fred, while discussing my "Around the World" plans, just less than a year ago. "That way you will hit all of the seven continents."

Fred you are a genius! I will do just that, I went home researched the trip, and it didn't take much to sell the idea to Iza. We booked the lower class price tag of $4,300, on the bottom level "D" deck, without windows and with a shared bathroom. All of our travels in North-Central and South America depended on the November 13th date, from north to south all the way down south.

The day came quicker than we expected, excited with adrenaline rushing we got ready to board the ship. We talked about it, we dreamed about it and now we are finally doing it!

When we arrive to the boarding area, we got escorted by a lovely lady who took us to our cabin. Confusion set in when we started to walk up the stairs, instead of down towards the level "D" deck.

"Agnieszka Czerska and Izabela Kobylarz, welcome aboard, this is your cabin for the next 10 days" she said smiling and closed the door.

"DUDE!!!! What?! I am pretty sure we've paid for the bottom "D" deck, without windows, bunk beds and shared bathroom."

Instead we were sitting confused in a cabin with two twin beds, huge window, and a private bathroom with a blow-dryer. A blow-dryer, yes you read it right, a freaking blow dryer we have not used one in 9 months. Alleluia! So we sat there on our fancy beds, for a good 30 minutes waiting for them to realize that we were in the wrong cabin.

Since no one came we unpacked, and happily laughed about the situation. "This is the happiest day of my life, now all we need is Brian and Ryan and we are set" Iza said with a smile.

Aha yes, let me introduce you to our imaginary Brian and Ryan from New Jersey, who we are going to meet preferably on this voyage. Ryan is a fit handsome guy with curly hair, who will arrive on a brown horse, and sweep Iza away. Brian, with his flowing wavy hair and white linen shirt will appear on his unicorn and take Aga away.

Why from New Jersey? Because it´s funny!

Shortly after we unpacked, we heard an announcement on the speaker to join everybody for a welcome toast by the main bar. Great, lets go have a drink! We sat down next to a younger crowd, immediately got approached by a guy who introduced himself and the rest. Paul was his name, and he was from Australia.

"Thank god there are some backpackers, we are not alone"

We toast and mingled, eventually I started talking to a guy who was sitting next to me, after a short conversation he introduced himself "So, my name is Brian, what is yours?" Hi Bria... Brian? Your name is what?? Brian? I laughed and said "Nice to meet you." I looked at Iza and I just burst out laughing, we couldn't compose ourselves. Didn't we just finished talking about this.

Hilarious!

"Half done, all we need is Ryan now" she said.

Next day. "This is the worst day of my life!" I said while feeling dizzy from sea sickness. We are passing through the Drake Passage, one of the most dangerous waters in the world. During the winter, storms can happen every other day while in the summer less frequent once a week. Some can get really crazy, where the waves might reach 25 meters height. Ushuaia the ship has experience them on their very first voyage to Antarctica. Average waves are about 5 meters height, I would say that on our Drake Passage to Antarctica we had about 5 meter waves, quite normal but even then everything was swaying.

So we have 2.5 days crossing the Drake Passage to Antarctica, 4 days exploring Antarctica and 3 days coming back to Ushuaia.

If we were not puking, and had some energy the crew was really good at keeping us busy with educational workshops, where we learned about the different type of penguins, birds, ice and our motherly ozone layer. For example as you might already know there is a huge hole in the ozone layer, mainly over Antarctica, which adds to the melting ice and wild life changes. The Adelie penguins are moving to cooler places as they are the true Antarctic water lovers, and they love the cold.

In the evening, while the boat continued to sway, some of the more brave ones chilled in the lounge area and sipped on Seman Extra, minty vodka that Travis brought at the duty free, the cheapest one with the name that kept the conversation going. ”You want some more Seman? How much? Which cup? ” and it kept on going “Do you like the way it tastes? A bit minty, no?” ha ha ha… these guys were funny. Iza decided to stay in the room and slowly kill herself with motion sickness.

That night was definitely a night Brian, Ashley and I won’t forget as Ashley, the Canadian, came back from the bathroom with blood gushing out of her thumb. She was white, pale white. The fireproof bathroom door swung hard and smashed her thumb; it was the killer Drake Passage that made it even more powerful. Brian the ballsy one was exposed to our naked Russian Doc who he had to wake up. My motherly instinct hit in and I went with Ashley, and kept her mind of the gushing blood while he stitched the baby up. I killed the pain, I like to think, but she was buzzed so, so note to self no buzzing while the boat is swinging side to side. I need my fingers.

During the day we chilled on the outside decks observing flying things like the Wandering Albatross, the world's biggest albatross. It's also the bird with the biggest wingspan of any living bird. Measured from tip to tip, its wings can reach up to 3.5 meters across (11.5 feet)! They can glide for several hours without moving their wings. And my favorite, they can spend weeks at a time over the open seas without ever reaching land.1 “Some biologists believe that they have the capability of sleeping with one side of the brain while the other still functions” said Susan, the on board biologist. And I say, only if humans would have that power, I can only imagine how much more shit China would produce. MORE crocks, anybody?

After finally arriving into the Aitcho Island, we got a kick of energy when the ship stopped waving and we entered into calmer waters. Shortly after we heard the speaker announcement informing us that the weather is perfect and we will make our first landing on Aitcho Island, an island occupied by colonies of Gentoo penguins.

"YES!! Finally we are going to step our foot on land. We have been waiting for this impatiently!"

The afternoon’s dimmed sunlight gave an amazing view of the Gentoo penguins and their habitats. We saw, hundredths of penguin colonies living life, looking for love, mating and creating nests. They did not care or even noticed that 65 or so humans just landed on their territory. Since they don't have any land predators they are not afraid. If anything they are more concerned that another penguin might steal their rock from the nest. In water is where they are more alert, since they are more likely to be attacked. But with their camouflage design, bellies white so no predator will see them from underneath and black backs so no predators will notice from above they are smart, cute, and funny looking.

"I can´t believe that we are actually here."

Antarctica was not always at the South-est tip of the earth, scientist believe that it was once part of Gondwanaland, adjacent to what is now known as Asia, Africa and Australia, it broke off and it took around 180 million years to migrate to its current position. The climate was not always cold as scientist have discovered dinosaur remains and believe that in fact the climate was tropical.

It’s a bit of a different story now days, as Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, driest continent on earth, during winter the temperatures can reach up to -80C (-112F). That my friends, is freaking cold, perfect condition to store your beers before the game, or kill off all the blood sucking bed bugs.





From Antarctica

Day 1 out of 4, exploring Antarctica.
"Good morning "Antarcticans", the weather is sweet 2.6C, zero wind, perfect day for our first zodiac cruise around the Foyn Harbour. Breakfast will be served at 7:30 and we will begin boarding at 9:00" we woke up to Agustin, our guide singing with happiness.

He wasn't kidding when he said beautiful morning. It was magical. Crisp reflection of the Antarctic waters with mountains and icebergs on the horizon. Early morning’s light made it perfect for surreal shots, probably some of my favorites. We hopped on to the zodiacs and cruised around a world of icebergs covered with snow and icicles. The sun´s rays helped the crystal deep navy water to shine and allowed us to see the massive iceberg´s root. What we see on the outside is usually only quarter of it, most of it is under water. Does Titanic ring a bell?? They crashed into the lonely floating iceberg, which made a great movie out of it!

We were really luckily with the weather; apparently the crew has not seen weather like this in few years. It is rare that you will have, sun, zero wind and comfortable temperatures in Antarctica. It was amazing, 8 people on the zodiac with Agustin, a head guide who was super patient if we wanted to take a picture.

Additional to the amazing cruise through the icebergs, we also passed by a wreck, which was once used as a ship and factory for whales. In the early 1900´s Antarctica was very popular for whales, Elephant and Arctic Fur seals. They caught thousands of whales and Fur seals, to make oil and other things out of them. China learned how to plug the Fur seal´s hair as it was high valued. Thousands of innocent animals were slathered, today only 5% of the whale population remains in the Antarctic waters. As a result of the busy times in the 1900´s lots of wrecks and sunken ships can be found, the one we saw houses many Arctic Terns. When protecting their nest they will get wild and can bomb-dive you.

Second expedition of the day we landed on Brown Station, a burned down Argentinian station which is partially renovated and occupied by the Gentoo penguins. Just few hours later and the weather was totally different, rain, snow and cold wind. I couldn’t feel my toes, Iza looked like her face partially froze, but it was an amazing sight, to see penguins again, occupying human houses. It is mating season, so we also saw lots of penguin action, left and right they were getting it on. “How can you tell if it’s a female penguin? asked Agustin. “Female penguins have little foot prints on their back” ha ha ha ha hilarious!

The day ended with a nice dinner, where everybody continued to get to know each other. Our table seemed to start forming with the regular crowd. Romina, the girl from Switzerland, Ashley the Canadian, Brian, Mat and Mark from UK, Travis, Chris, Paul and Mr. B (Beauden) from Australia. We call Beauden Mr. B as we had a really hard time remembering his name. Mainly backpackers, that booked their voyage at last minute price. Hence, why we are on the upper class cabins, apparently not all were sold, so first come first served. We were staying in a cabin that probably in a high season costs twice as much.

A bit of advice to my friends who are planning to go to Antarctica, get to Ushuaia at the beginning or end of the summer season and you will find last minute deals to Antarctica for much cheaper. When we arrived to Ushuaia we saw several last minute options displaying everywhere, 10 day voyages for $3,500.

At dinner, we cracked about almost everything; laughs kept overtaking the entire dining area. My favorite is when we joked about an Argentinian guy, who was on the ship and kept trying to hook up with every girl. He tried with Iza, Ashley, Romina and me, plus all other chicks on the ship. We called him Mr. Bumbastic!


From Antarctica



Day 2 out of 4, exploring Antarctica.
Before we got ready to board the zodiac heading to Vernadsky station, a Ukrainian station that researches mainly the ozone layer, we jumped into our daily routine of getting ready. First we got dressed like an onion, two pair of pants, under shirt, shirt, fleece, five pair of socks, jacket, plus a waterproof jacket, hat, gloves, rubber boots, life jackets, and backpack. Right before we left the ship we soaked our rubber boots in solution, it is very important not to bring any foreign soil into Antarctica and vs. only then we were ready to head to the station.

The weather conditions were terrible, snowing, raining, windy dark, and cold, just like I imagined Antarctica to be, but perfect time to visit the Ukrainian station. They gave us a tour of the station and then brought us to their bar. We all had a shot of the Ukrainian vodka, talked a bit, and returned to the ship.

Ahhh, vodka it was good to drink you again. It’s been a while as we mainly drink what is local on our travels, rum, rum and more rum. "This is the South-est point on earth that I have a drink." said Iza with a boozed smile.

The second trip of the day we hit up Peterman Island, where we saw different type of penguins like Chinstrap and Adelie. Chinstrap is the second most abundant penguins in the world. Its total breeding population is estimated to be 7.5 million pairs, the majority of which are in the South Sandwich Islands. Penguins have the densest feather arrangement of any bird family, a penguin´s biggest problem isn´t the cold, it is overheating. Heat can escape only from bare areas on their feet, the base of their bill, and from the underside of their flippers. There are 17 species of penguins in the world. We’ve seen only 4 so far.5

We trekked a bit on the white fluffy snow with the gray clouds covering mountains giving off snow, rain and then brightness came out. No sun just lots of UV rays which were harsh on the eyes. It was a remarkable sight of true Antarctic world and beauty, super natural and yet so unreal, a different planet.

Our day ended with a bit extra as we had a bonus zodiac cruise, through dark gray, deep blue hues of icebergs, where we have seen seals chilling on icebergs and heard water dripping from icicles giving off a rare melody.

The highlight of the cruise was when our zodiac driver turned off the engine; we were alone in the middle of icebergs looking at an adult Fur seal. I closed my eyes and just absorbed the melody which changed its beat to breaking ice, moving water and arctic birds, unexplainable feeling.




Day 3 out of 4, exploring Antarctica
This day could not have been described better, than our on board biologist, Susan Adie, who was also in charge of writing the everyday blog.

Here are her words of this remarkable day.

“There is too much ice to get the ship and Zodiacs close to shore to make a landing today. So we are Zodiac cruising in the ice. On a day like today – I wish I was a landscape painter. I would choose Paine’s Gray to paint Antarctica. Not a dreary gray but a magical gray! The gray I am seeing has light and movement in it. It has so many values and hues that it can be silver gray, mercurial gray, blue gray, gray going towards black and pale light thin soft gray. Does that color exist or I am hallucinating? The dense cloud covering is in wisps of countless shades of gray in a translucent veil that covers the sun. You only get the impression that the sun is there! You cannot really see it – you only see its veiled image. The sea, when there is no wind, is mercurial gray – like quick silver. When an all white Snow Petrel flies in lazy circles over that gray sea, its reflection is gray-white. The sea looks like a thick liquid as it moves like a slow motion bubble escaping a boil from underneath, which is actually the black bodies of penguins quietly coming to the surface. Gentoos with their black, white and orange of the beak are reflected in gray tones.

But of course you could not paint Antarctica without black gray. Mountain peaks or sheer cliffs are the darkest hue of gray surrounded by massive areas of white. But the white is gray too! Variations of gray tones are infinite and like a watercolorist fine strokes change across the paper, so do the colors across the icescape on land. Obviously, today in Andvord Bay, one of my favorite bays by the way – it is overcast. Overcast not in a gloomy way but in an enchanting gray way.

I do not know how to describe the softness of this landscape. We sit in silence, engines off contemplating this supernatural world, when out of all the tones of gray a glistening black spear 5 or 6 foot tall breaks the surface. BULL ORCA! AGAIN???!!!! Then we see other dorsal fins scattered among the ice floes. WOW – in one trip, two unique Orca sightings. There is a group of 5 or 6. They are hunting in the pack ice that we are Zodiac cruising in… they are bringing their massive heads above water slowly looking for seals on the ice. These are clearly the black and white orca – hunters of sea mammals. We do not see much of them except when they break the surface to check for feeding opportunities. Then they are gone. We sit for many minutes looking – hoping to get another chance to see them. But they have disappeared in the dense pack ice.” 2

Additional to the wildlife and the beauty, we also had fun!

Our zodiac driver was Mr. Seba, funny, good looking Argentinian, who was easily convinced to attack other zodiacs with a snow ball fight. It was 8 of us including Carolina, the crazy girl who came up with the idea to having a snowball fight, through icebergs, in Antarctica. Why!? Hmmm maybe cus she was already board looking at icebergs, or maybe because she is crazy. So, who else to bombard first, if not Agustin's zodiac. We started the fight and then end up being attacked by all other zodiacs later on. Now, who can say that they had a snowball fight on Antarctic waters using snow from icebergs? You go Hot Toddies! Now if we could only have a Hot Toddy after words.

Ok maybe not a Hot Toddy but what about an outside BBQ on the deck?? Ohh man... when we got back on the ship, the afternoon´s sun was out, the smell of BBQ filled the air. Hungry, exhausted people were fed Chorizos on a bun. The rest of the Parilla (BBQ) was served for dinner. Amazing!!! First, the natural beauty, then the snowball fight, and then the BBQ surrounded by icebergs, beautiful mountains and jumping penguins.

Are you convinced yet that you must absolutely go and experience Antarctica? No? ohh wait it gets better.



Day 4 out of 4, exploring Antarctica
Whalers Bay (Deception Island), in 1906, a Norwegian-Chilean whaling company started using Whalers Bay as a base for a factory ship, the Gobernador Bories. Other whaling operations followed suit, and by 1914 there were 13 factory ships based there. The station did not actually process whale blubber, which was done on the ships, but instead took the carcasses and boiled them down to extract additional whale oil, using large iron boilers, and storing the results in iron tanks.3 Now only the remains are left standing, and it is used as a tour for the tourists, but I will remember this place for the active volcano, where the shore´s sand is nice and warm.

AND

This is also where most expeditions come so the crew can have a laugh and observe the crazy tourists. Apparently it is cool to go swimming in the Arctic waters. Do people wake up one day and say before I die I must swim in Antarctica???

"The weather is perfect, no winds, nice and warm so if you would like to dip into these warm volcanic waters go ahead." said Agustin. Most of the people started to undress, the smarter ones stood there with their video cameras, and the crew just lined up and observed. The crew is mainly made up of guys, so they totally were waiting for all the chics to undress and get into the cold water where "nipple-flytest" was awaiting them.

"Aga, get undressed, we are going in. Come on… let’s go, we can´t be here and not go into the water" Iza was convincing me, while I stood there and contemplated whether I was crazy or not.

So I do just as Iza says, I undressed. I am already freezing before I even take my shirt off. She screams at me to hurry up, it’s already cold. So I try to hurry up. Then eventually we run, we run for the water, boobs flying, ass shacking, we run faster then I ran the triathlon. My feet touched the water, ok kind of warm, so I continue to push my body, and then a fucking thermal shocker. COLD COLD COLD, Nipple-flytesss at its maximum, video cameras are rolling and I don´t know what, when and why they fuck did I just did that. So we run out even faster as we ran in and jetted back to my clothes, pushed the old man on the way, and screamed at Iza “You Crazy Bitch!” Dirt everywhere, we get dressed and head back to the ship. WTF?? was I thinking.

We can officially say that we swam in the Antarctic waters!

After returning on the ship, we got showered and had a warm soup, where some people came up to us and said that they have a video of us running into the water. GREAT! Including Mr. Bumbastic “If he takes one more freaking picture of me, I am going to kill him”

"You know, we still have not got really bad weather, I mean it has been cold but not like a storm or a blizzard yet." Iza said, prior to our next and last landing in Antarctica. Jinxed!!! We barely made it onto the zodiacs, as the weather was crazy, raining, snowing, strong wind, waves were getting rougher and we landed on the Half Moon Island. At this point I was exhausted, cold and I just did the robot move and followed everybody while looking last time at penguins realizing that they are my favorite birds!



Drake Passage back to Ushuaia.
"This is the scariest day of my life" I whisper, as I go upstairs and pack all my necessary things for an emergency evacuation.

"10! A perfect 10! OK – there is never perfection – but it is still a 10. On the Beaufort scale that means a storm. The wind is steady to 50 knots from the NW with gusts to 70k. With very little effort the winds could build into a Beaufort 11, which is a step down from hurricane force winds. The sea state is 10 meter seas from NW also. We have altered course away from Cape Horn and are now steering a more easterly course. This ship was built as a research vessel to withstand the most horrific seas – so I feel completely at east as we roll from 25 to 45 degrees. Even on the 3rd floor above sea level our windows darken as we drop into the troughs of the steep waves. White streamers run off the wave crests."2 Susan's view of the storm.

Susan was calm, but I was shitting in my pants. I guess the only thing that was keeping me sedated where the sea sickness pills, from the Russian doc. They were so strong that at one point in the midst of all the commotion, the entire lounge area was filled with sleeping humans, including Iza and I.

I am sure we rolled to a 45 degree angle, when the Brazilian guy who was sleeping opposite, flew right at me including his couch and coffee table. That’s when I saw my life flash before my eyes, I prayed to god, and I thought of all the people that I knew.

The storm was way above average, and I know it, everything was flying and breaking. All the bars glasses were breaking, chairs where upside down and people where walking at a 40 degree angle.

When the captain announced on the speaker that we entered calmer waters, and we will be protected from the waves by land, I was so relieved.


Movie by Mark Blackburn


"We Survived!!!! I will see you again"

The night ended with captain’s dinner, a certificate ceremony and lots of wine, followed by underground crew’s party.

"ohh no Aga, look it´s a full moon, we should not go down to the party, crazy things happen when we go out when there is a full moon" Iza said with a concern look.

“Ohh come on, it is our last night, we need to celebrate with all the amazing people we became friends with, with who we had great dinners together and who became part of this expedition.”

So we joined the rest of the backpackers and celebrated our survival and the amazing experience we just had in the past 10 days. We mingled with the entire crew from the ship including: cooks, waiters, zodiac drivers, guides and everybody who is in charge of this giant ship.

Dancing, drinking, flirting and all happiness were escaping the ship´s lower deck. One thing for sure, everybody was drunk. So drunk, that most people didn’t get back to their cabins till late, or even maybe very late.

This was a perfect opportunity to get to know some people on higher levels. Since it was mating season, everybody was successful at finding their partners. Except Mr. Bumbastic as he kept roaming the ship freely and peeping in. Let’s just hope no nest building will be required. Brian found Romina, Ashley found Mat, Iza found Mr. B and I? Well let’s just say apparently I am into freckles.

Brian didn’t appear on his unicorn and Ryan still remains unfound.

This was one of the best adventures we had!


click on the slide show to view all of Antarctica photos

References: 1. wikipidia description 2. Blog by Susan Adie http://www.antarpply.com/eng/blog_archive6.php 3. wikipidia description

10 Day Expedition to Antarctica


"You can't miss Antarctica!" said Fred, while discussing my "Around the World" plans, just less than a year ago. "That way you will hit all of the seven continents."

Fred you are a genius! I will do just that, I went home researched the trip, and it didn't take much to sell the idea to Iza. We booked the lower class price tag of $4,300, on the bottom level "D" deck, without windows and with a shared bathroom. All of our travels in North-Central and South America depended on the November 13th date, from north to south all the way down south.

The day came quicker than we expected, excited with adrenaline rushing we got ready to board the ship. We talked about it, we dreamed about it and now we are finally doing it!

When we arrive to the boarding area, we got escorted by a lovely lady who took us to our cabin. Confusion set in when we started to walk up the stairs, instead of down towards the level "D" deck.

"Agnieszka Czerska and Izabela Kobylarz, welcome aboard, this is your cabin for the next 10 days" she said smiling and closed the door.

"DUDE!!!! What?! I am pretty sure we've paid for the bottom "D" deck, without windows, bunk beds and shared bathroom."

Instead we were sitting confused in a cabin with two twin beds, huge window, and a private bathroom with a blow-dryer. A blow-dryer, yes you read it right, a freaking blow dryer we have not used one in 9 months. Alleluia! So we sat there on our fancy beds, for a good 30 minutes waiting for them to realize that we were in the wrong cabin.

Since no one came we unpacked, and happily laughed about the situation. "This is the happiest day of my life, now all we need is Brian and Ryan and we are set" Iza said with a smile.

Aha yes, let me introduce you to our imaginary Brian and Ryan from New Jersey, who we are going to meet preferably on this voyage. Ryan is a fit handsome guy with curly hair, who will arrive on a brown horse, and sweep Iza away. Brian, with his flowing wavy hair and white linen shirt will appear on his unicorn and take Aga away.

Why from New Jersey? Because it´s funny!

Shortly after we unpacked, we heard an announcement on the speaker to join everybody for a welcome toast by the main bar. Great, lets go have a drink! We sat down next to a younger crowd, immediately got approached by a guy who introduced himself and the rest. Paul was his name, and he was from Australia.

"Thank god there are some backpackers, we are not alone"

We toast and mingled, eventually I started talking to a guy who was sitting next to me, after a short conversation he introduced himself "So, my name is Brian, what is yours?" Hi Bria... Brian? Your name is what?? Brian? I laughed and said "Nice to meet you." I looked at Iza and I just burst out laughing, we couldn't compose ourselves. Didn't we just finished talking about this.

Hilarious!

"Half done, all we need is Ryan now" she said.

Next day. "This is the worst day of my life!" I said while feeling dizzy from sea sickness. We are passing through the Drake Passage, one of the most dangerous waters in the world. During the winter, storms can happen every other day while in the summer less frequent once a week. Some can get really crazy, where the waves might reach 25 meters height. Ushuaia the ship has experience them on their very first voyage to Antarctica. Average waves are about 5 meters height, I would say that on our Drake Passage to Antarctica we had about 5 meter waves, quite normal but even then everything was swaying.

So we have 2.5 days crossing the Drake Passage to Antarctica, 4 days exploring Antarctica and 3 days coming back to Ushuaia.

If we were not puking, and had some energy the crew was really good at keeping us busy with educational workshops, where we learned about the different type of penguins, birds, ice and our motherly ozone layer. For example as you might already know there is a huge hole in the ozone layer, mainly over Antarctica, which adds to the melting ice and wild life changes. The Adelie penguins are moving to cooler places as they are the true Antarctic water lovers, and they love the cold.

In the evening, while the boat continued to sway, some of the more brave ones chilled in the lounge area and sipped on Seman Extra, minty vodka that Travis brought at the duty free, the cheapest one with the name that kept the conversation going. ”You want some more Seman? How much? Which cup? ” and it kept on going “Do you like the way it tastes? A bit minty, no?” ha ha ha… these guys were funny. Iza decided to stay in the room and slowly kill herself with motion sickness.

That night was definitely a night Brian, Ashley and I won’t forget as Ashley, the Canadian, came back from the bathroom with blood gushing out of her thumb. She was white, pale white. The fireproof bathroom door swung hard and smashed her thumb; it was the killer Drake Passage that made it even more powerful. Brian the ballsy one was exposed to our naked Russian Doc who he had to wake up. My motherly instinct hit in and I went with Ashley, and kept her mind of the gushing blood while he stitched the baby up. I killed the pain, I like to think, but she was buzzed so, so note to self no buzzing while the boat is swinging side to side. I need my fingers.

During the day we chilled on the outside decks observing flying things like the Wandering Albatross, the world's biggest albatross. It's also the bird with the biggest wingspan of any living bird. Measured from tip to tip, its wings can reach up to 3.5 meters across (11.5 feet)! They can glide for several hours without moving their wings. And my favorite, they can spend weeks at a time over the open seas without ever reaching land.1 “Some biologists believe that they have the capability of sleeping with one side of the brain while the other still functions” said Susan, the on board biologist. And I say, only if humans would have that power, I can only imagine how much more shit China would produce. MORE crocks, anybody?

After finally arriving into the Aitcho Island, we got a kick of energy when the ship stopped waving and we entered into calmer waters. Shortly after we heard the speaker announcement informing us that the weather is perfect and we will make our first landing on Aitcho Island, an island occupied by colonies of Gentoo penguins.

"YES!! Finally we are going to step our foot on land. We have been waiting for this impatiently!"

The afternoon’s dimmed sunlight gave an amazing view of the Gentoo penguins and their habitats. We saw, hundredths of penguin colonies living life, looking for love, mating and creating nests. They did not care or even noticed that 65 or so humans just landed on their territory. Since they don't have any land predators they are not afraid. If anything they are more concerned that another penguin might steal their rock from the nest. In water is where they are more alert, since they are more likely to be attacked. But with their camouflage design, bellies white so no predator will see them from underneath and black backs so no predators will notice from above they are smart, cute, and funny looking.

"I can´t believe that we are actually here."

Antarctica was not always at the South-est tip of the earth, scientist believe that it was once part of Gondwanaland, adjacent to what is now known as Asia, Africa and Australia, it broke off and it took around 180 million years to migrate to its current position. The climate was not always cold as scientist have discovered dinosaur remains and believe that in fact the climate was tropical.

It’s a bit of a different story now days, as Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, driest continent on earth, during winter the temperatures can reach up to -80C (-112F). That my friends, is freaking cold, perfect condition to store your beers before the game, or kill off all the blood sucking bed bugs.





From Antarctica

Day 1 out of 4, exploring Antarctica.
"Good morning "Antarcticans", the weather is sweet 2.6C, zero wind, perfect day for our first zodiac cruise around the Foyn Harbour. Breakfast will be served at 7:30 and we will begin boarding at 9:00" we woke up to Agustin, our guide singing with happiness.

He wasn't kidding when he said beautiful morning. It was magical. Crisp reflection of the Antarctic waters with mountains and icebergs on the horizon. Early morning’s light made it perfect for surreal shots, probably some of my favorites. We hopped on to the zodiacs and cruised around a world of icebergs covered with snow and icicles. The sun´s rays helped the crystal deep navy water to shine and allowed us to see the massive iceberg´s root. What we see on the outside is usually only quarter of it, most of it is under water. Does Titanic ring a bell?? They crashed into the lonely floating iceberg, which made a great movie out of it!

We were really luckily with the weather; apparently the crew has not seen weather like this in few years. It is rare that you will have, sun, zero wind and comfortable temperatures in Antarctica. It was amazing, 8 people on the zodiac with Agustin, a head guide who was super patient if we wanted to take a picture.

Additional to the amazing cruise through the icebergs, we also passed by a wreck, which was once used as a ship and factory for whales. In the early 1900´s Antarctica was very popular for whales, Elephant and Arctic Fur seals. They caught thousands of whales and Fur seals, to make oil and other things out of them. China learned how to plug the Fur seal´s hair as it was high valued. Thousands of innocent animals were slathered, today only 5% of the whale population remains in the Antarctic waters. As a result of the busy times in the 1900´s lots of wrecks and sunken ships can be found, the one we saw houses many Arctic Terns. When protecting their nest they will get wild and can bomb-dive you.

Second expedition of the day we landed on Brown Station, a burned down Argentinian station which is partially renovated and occupied by the Gentoo penguins. Just few hours later and the weather was totally different, rain, snow and cold wind. I couldn’t feel my toes, Iza looked like her face partially froze, but it was an amazing sight, to see penguins again, occupying human houses. It is mating season, so we also saw lots of penguin action, left and right they were getting it on. “How can you tell if it’s a female penguin? asked Agustin. “Female penguins have little foot prints on their back” ha ha ha ha hilarious!

The day ended with a nice dinner, where everybody continued to get to know each other. Our table seemed to start forming with the regular crowd. Romina, the girl from Switzerland, Ashley the Canadian, Brian, Mat and Mark from UK, Travis, Chris, Paul and Mr. B (Beauden) from Australia. We call Beauden Mr. B as we had a really hard time remembering his name. Mainly backpackers, that booked their voyage at last minute price. Hence, why we are on the upper class cabins, apparently not all were sold, so first come first served. We were staying in a cabin that probably in a high season costs twice as much.

A bit of advice to my friends who are planning to go to Antarctica, get to Ushuaia at the beginning or end of the summer season and you will find last minute deals to Antarctica for much cheaper. When we arrived to Ushuaia we saw several last minute options displaying everywhere, 10 day voyages for $3,500.

At dinner, we cracked about almost everything; laughs kept overtaking the entire dining area. My favorite is when we joked about an Argentinian guy, who was on the ship and kept trying to hook up with every girl. He tried with Iza, Ashley, Romina and me, plus all other chicks on the ship. We called him Mr. Bumbastic!


From Antarctica



Day 2 out of 4, exploring Antarctica.
Before we got ready to board the zodiac heading to Vernadsky station, a Ukrainian station that researches mainly the ozone layer, we jumped into our daily routine of getting ready. First we got dressed like an onion, two pair of pants, under shirt, shirt, fleece, five pair of socks, jacket, plus a waterproof jacket, hat, gloves, rubber boots, life jackets, and backpack. Right before we left the ship we soaked our rubber boots in solution, it is very important not to bring any foreign soil into Antarctica and vs. only then we were ready to head to the station.

The weather conditions were terrible, snowing, raining, windy dark, and cold, just like I imagined Antarctica to be, but perfect time to visit the Ukrainian station. They gave us a tour of the station and then brought us to their bar. We all had a shot of the Ukrainian vodka, talked a bit, and returned to the ship.

Ahhh, vodka it was good to drink you again. It’s been a while as we mainly drink what is local on our travels, rum, rum and more rum. "This is the South-est point on earth that I have a drink." said Iza with a boozed smile.

The second trip of the day we hit up Peterman Island, where we saw different type of penguins like Chinstrap and Adelie. Chinstrap is the second most abundant penguins in the world. Its total breeding population is estimated to be 7.5 million pairs, the majority of which are in the South Sandwich Islands. Penguins have the densest feather arrangement of any bird family, a penguin´s biggest problem isn´t the cold, it is overheating. Heat can escape only from bare areas on their feet, the base of their bill, and from the underside of their flippers. There are 17 species of penguins in the world. We’ve seen only 4 so far.5

We trekked a bit on the white fluffy snow with the gray clouds covering mountains giving off snow, rain and then brightness came out. No sun just lots of UV rays which were harsh on the eyes. It was a remarkable sight of true Antarctic world and beauty, super natural and yet so unreal, a different planet.

Our day ended with a bit extra as we had a bonus zodiac cruise, through dark gray, deep blue hues of icebergs, where we have seen seals chilling on icebergs and heard water dripping from icicles giving off a rare melody.

The highlight of the cruise was when our zodiac driver turned off the engine; we were alone in the middle of icebergs looking at an adult Fur seal. I closed my eyes and just absorbed the melody which changed its beat to breaking ice, moving water and arctic birds, unexplainable feeling.




Day 3 out of 4, exploring Antarctica
This day could not have been described better, than our on board biologist, Susan Adie, who was also in charge of writing the everyday blog.

Here are her words of this remarkable day.

“There is too much ice to get the ship and Zodiacs close to shore to make a landing today. So we are Zodiac cruising in the ice. On a day like today – I wish I was a landscape painter. I would choose Paine’s Gray to paint Antarctica. Not a dreary gray but a magical gray! The gray I am seeing has light and movement in it. It has so many values and hues that it can be silver gray, mercurial gray, blue gray, gray going towards black and pale light thin soft gray. Does that color exist or I am hallucinating? The dense cloud covering is in wisps of countless shades of gray in a translucent veil that covers the sun. You only get the impression that the sun is there! You cannot really see it – you only see its veiled image. The sea, when there is no wind, is mercurial gray – like quick silver. When an all white Snow Petrel flies in lazy circles over that gray sea, its reflection is gray-white. The sea looks like a thick liquid as it moves like a slow motion bubble escaping a boil from underneath, which is actually the black bodies of penguins quietly coming to the surface. Gentoos with their black, white and orange of the beak are reflected in gray tones.

But of course you could not paint Antarctica without black gray. Mountain peaks or sheer cliffs are the darkest hue of gray surrounded by massive areas of white. But the white is gray too! Variations of gray tones are infinite and like a watercolorist fine strokes change across the paper, so do the colors across the icescape on land. Obviously, today in Andvord Bay, one of my favorite bays by the way – it is overcast. Overcast not in a gloomy way but in an enchanting gray way.

I do not know how to describe the softness of this landscape. We sit in silence, engines off contemplating this supernatural world, when out of all the tones of gray a glistening black spear 5 or 6 foot tall breaks the surface. BULL ORCA! AGAIN???!!!! Then we see other dorsal fins scattered among the ice floes. WOW – in one trip, two unique Orca sightings. There is a group of 5 or 6. They are hunting in the pack ice that we are Zodiac cruising in… they are bringing their massive heads above water slowly looking for seals on the ice. These are clearly the black and white orca – hunters of sea mammals. We do not see much of them except when they break the surface to check for feeding opportunities. Then they are gone. We sit for many minutes looking – hoping to get another chance to see them. But they have disappeared in the dense pack ice.” 2

Additional to the wildlife and the beauty, we also had fun!

Our zodiac driver was Mr. Seba, funny, good looking Argentinian, who was easily convinced to attack other zodiacs with a snow ball fight. It was 8 of us including Carolina, the crazy girl who came up with the idea to having a snowball fight, through icebergs, in Antarctica. Why!? Hmmm maybe cus she was already board looking at icebergs, or maybe because she is crazy. So, who else to bombard first, if not Agustin's zodiac. We started the fight and then end up being attacked by all other zodiacs later on. Now, who can say that they had a snowball fight on Antarctic waters using snow from icebergs? You go Hot Toddies! Now if we could only have a Hot Toddy after words.

Ok maybe not a Hot Toddy but what about an outside BBQ on the deck?? Ohh man... when we got back on the ship, the afternoon´s sun was out, the smell of BBQ filled the air. Hungry, exhausted people were fed Chorizos on a bun. The rest of the Parilla (BBQ) was served for dinner. Amazing!!! First, the natural beauty, then the snowball fight, and then the BBQ surrounded by icebergs, beautiful mountains and jumping penguins.

Are you convinced yet that you must absolutely go and experience Antarctica? No? ohh wait it gets better.



Day 4 out of 4, exploring Antarctica
Whalers Bay (Deception Island), in 1906, a Norwegian-Chilean whaling company started using Whalers Bay as a base for a factory ship, the Gobernador Bories. Other whaling operations followed suit, and by 1914 there were 13 factory ships based there. The station did not actually process whale blubber, which was done on the ships, but instead took the carcasses and boiled them down to extract additional whale oil, using large iron boilers, and storing the results in iron tanks.3 Now only the remains are left standing, and it is used as a tour for the tourists, but I will remember this place for the active volcano, where the shore´s sand is nice and warm.

AND

This is also where most expeditions come so the crew can have a laugh and observe the crazy tourists. Apparently it is cool to go swimming in the Arctic waters. Do people wake up one day and say before I die I must swim in Antarctica???

"The weather is perfect, no winds, nice and warm so if you would like to dip into these warm volcanic waters go ahead." said Agustin. Most of the people started to undress, the smarter ones stood there with their video cameras, and the crew just lined up and observed. The crew is mainly made up of guys, so they totally were waiting for all the chics to undress and get into the cold water where "nipple-flytest" was awaiting them.

"Aga, get undressed, we are going in. Come on… let’s go, we can´t be here and not go into the water" Iza was convincing me, while I stood there and contemplated whether I was crazy or not.

So I do just as Iza says, I undressed. I am already freezing before I even take my shirt off. She screams at me to hurry up, it’s already cold. So I try to hurry up. Then eventually we run, we run for the water, boobs flying, ass shacking, we run faster then I ran the triathlon. My feet touched the water, ok kind of warm, so I continue to push my body, and then a fucking thermal shocker. COLD COLD COLD, Nipple-flytesss at its maximum, video cameras are rolling and I don´t know what, when and why they fuck did I just did that. So we run out even faster as we ran in and jetted back to my clothes, pushed the old man on the way, and screamed at Iza “You Crazy Bitch!” Dirt everywhere, we get dressed and head back to the ship. WTF?? was I thinking.

We can officially say that we swam in the Antarctic waters!

After returning on the ship, we got showered and had a warm soup, where some people came up to us and said that they have a video of us running into the water. GREAT! Including Mr. Bumbastic “If he takes one more freaking picture of me, I am going to kill him”

"You know, we still have not got really bad weather, I mean it has been cold but not like a storm or a blizzard yet." Iza said, prior to our next and last landing in Antarctica. Jinxed!!! We barely made it onto the zodiacs, as the weather was crazy, raining, snowing, strong wind, waves were getting rougher and we landed on the Half Moon Island. At this point I was exhausted, cold and I just did the robot move and followed everybody while looking last time at penguins realizing that they are my favorite birds!



Drake Passage back to Ushuaia.
"This is the scariest day of my life" I whisper, as I go upstairs and pack all my necessary things for an emergency evacuation.

"10! A perfect 10! OK – there is never perfection – but it is still a 10. On the Beaufort scale that means a storm. The wind is steady to 50 knots from the NW with gusts to 70k. With very little effort the winds could build into a Beaufort 11, which is a step down from hurricane force winds. The sea state is 10 meter seas from NW also. We have altered course away from Cape Horn and are now steering a more easterly course. This ship was built as a research vessel to withstand the most horrific seas – so I feel completely at east as we roll from 25 to 45 degrees. Even on the 3rd floor above sea level our windows darken as we drop into the troughs of the steep waves. White streamers run off the wave crests."2 Susan's view of the storm.

Susan was calm, but I was shitting in my pants. I guess the only thing that was keeping me sedated where the sea sickness pills, from the Russian doc. They were so strong that at one point in the midst of all the commotion, the entire lounge area was filled with sleeping humans, including Iza and I.

I am sure we rolled to a 45 degree angle, when the Brazilian guy who was sleeping opposite, flew right at me including his couch and coffee table. That’s when I saw my life flash before my eyes, I prayed to god, and I thought of all the people that I knew.

The storm was way above average, and I know it, everything was flying and breaking. All the bars glasses were breaking, chairs where upside down and people where walking at a 40 degree angle.

When the captain announced on the speaker that we entered calmer waters, and we will be protected from the waves by land, I was so relieved.


Movie by Mark Blackburn


"We Survived!!!! I will see you again"

The night ended with captain’s dinner, a certificate ceremony and lots of wine, followed by underground crew’s party.

"ohh no Aga, look it´s a full moon, we should not go down to the party, crazy things happen when we go out when there is a full moon" Iza said with a concern look.

“Ohh come on, it is our last night, we need to celebrate with all the amazing people we became friends with, with who we had great dinners together and who became part of this expedition.”

So we joined the rest of the backpackers and celebrated our survival and the amazing experience we just had in the past 10 days. We mingled with the entire crew from the ship including: cooks, waiters, zodiac drivers, guides and everybody who is in charge of this giant ship.

Dancing, drinking, flirting and all happiness were escaping the ship´s lower deck. One thing for sure, everybody was drunk. So drunk, that most people didn’t get back to their cabins till late, or even maybe very late.

This was a perfect opportunity to get to know some people on higher levels. Since it was mating season, everybody was successful at finding their partners. Except Mr. Bumbastic as he kept roaming the ship freely and peeping in. Let’s just hope no nest building will be required. Brian found Romina, Ashley found Mat, Iza found Mr. B and I? Well let’s just say apparently I am into freckles.

Brian didn’t appear on his unicorn and Ryan still remains unfound.

This was one of the best adventures we had!


click on the slide show to view all of Antarctica photos

References: 1. wikipidia description 2. Blog by Susan Adie http://www.antarpply.com/eng/blog_archive6.php 3. wikipidia description

I woke up “Hangover in Beijing” I feel like some one just knocked me the F@*k out. My jaw hurts. —What the… why my two front teeth are chipped?— I ask myself looking at the mirror and feeling high. —Keith, did you knocked me out last night? What happened? — I don’t feel hangover, I think I am still drunk. I got ready; I have to meet Iza and Cédric at 2pm next to the Hammer statues in Tian’an Men Square. Quickly I get dress and I get caught looking for my shoes. —Where the F@*k are my shoes??? Frustrated I grab the Havaianas instead and run to the “office” (back yard with internet) I inform the two that I am running 1hr late. Belly feeling empty I grabbed the green-been ice cream from the fridge and started licking.
Sharp pain pierst through my right side. —What happened last night? — I try to dig deeper into the black-out memory due to drinking 5 shots of absinthe and countless gulps of the best Guyanese rum found in Beijing. We were celebrating our big night with Keith and Cédric, one and a half year of travel.

I was relieved when I learned that the two lovebirds (Iza and Cédric ) are also feeling same and postponing the meeting to later hours.

—Keith, hi, how are you? Sorry about last night, I don’t remember what happened but can you please ask your boss for the nearest dentist. I really need to get these teeth fixed — I write him an email, while looking at my two chipped front teeth in the bathroom mirror.

—Ha ha ha ha and 是这个直 — is the only thing I heard while looking at the Chinese dentist from below, who didn’t’ speak a word of English and asked all the working assistance to look at my teeth while he was applying the fill in. Scary shit.

Now, my teeth are fixed, but my jaw sure still hurts!

— Lets grab dumplings. Keith showed me the best and tastiest spot to have dumplings. — I sold the idea to Cédric and Iza after we finally reunited. We order a variety of dumplings and discuss the prior night’s events. I took a bite, and once again I felt this instance sharp pain.

— These dumplings taste goooo….— I felt hot flashes, I put my head on the table, I was feeling weird. I felt wet, my head felt heavy, my arms were wobbling, my feet started to shake and I tried to keep my eyes open. —AGA!!— Iza scream. My eyes opened a bit and I wanted to tell her to tell my mother that I love her, I wanted to tell her to take everything we did in the past year and a half and share it with the world, I wanted her to let all the people we know what we have experience and to tell them that life is amazing and not to take it for granted in any form. But I couldn’t, I was speechless, I saw flashes of my childhood, I saw myself playing in the forest and making potatoes in the fire. — OMG she is turning green— Iza continue to scream. — I felt my body sinking deep into the red zone a physical action of emotions I’ve never experiences before, not even on ayahouaska. If this is what dying is, then I felt it. I consciously, went to another world of decay and lost my soul. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move, I was dead/ fresh meat for the cannibals. All I though of was mom.

An ambulance was being called and the entire restaurant was curious and looking at the white girl turning green.

Five minutes in and strong vibes kicked in and helped me grant a second chance. I bounced back; covered in sweat feeling weak I became once again mobile and conscious.

—OMG, guys what the f@*k happened? I though I was dying. I felt my soul leaving my body, I saw you and I heard you but I couldn’t talk to you.— I was talking in shock and confusion — I feel better, no really I am good. Can you please bring me something wet and cold to put on my head.— I was in fear of loosing it again. — Did I almost die?

Sitting in one of Beijing’s dumpling house flashing through my life I had a wake up call. I was granted a second chance, a chance of realization that no matter how strong I feel I am still just a fragile human being with a quick snap I can be gone.


Few hours and days prior.
This place looks like Gothem City.— Said Cédric after coming to Keith’s place on his last day. Well said, I agree an apartment complex for the upper class with a twist where the retirement lives on along with Keith. Marble floors, fancy trimmings, internal AC rooms and creative lighting are just few of his habitat’s powers. Keith, the American Batman who flew from Austin, Texas to make some moves in his life. He left everything behind for a new life and opportunity to become a war journalist, just like his grandfather that captured the real black and white during the Vietnam War.

What are we doing here? Or, what am I doing here? For the first time the two Hot Toddies are separated. Iza is spending a week with Cédric, a backpacker who she met in Vietnam, fooled around on the train and changed our travel plans to come and meet him in Beijing for a week. — I think she likes him. — Leaving me, to fetch around and find my own way. So I found a new friend, Keith, a younger body with a grown up mentality, who hosts on Couch Surfing. He is the Batman on crack, which can’t say no to anything and surely has the energy to create a serious story.

I walk through 798 an art district in Beijing, where endless art galleries overflow my image of reality. It’s a place of concept and design just like my journey. I walk, think, imagine and observe. The chic, the modern UCCA (Ullens Center for Contemporary Art) and other facny galleries, plus the crowd surrounded is looking modish. 798 has style and a different vibe from the rest of Beijing, located north-east from city center. Old factories converted to modern galleries, a surreal life for the Beijinger they are creative and curious, tha browse through the streets in exploration and inspiration. I focused on street art and the abstract architecture. Countless galleries made me dizzy with creative overflow, I couldn’t distinguish what was creative. I need one hit at a time and then I can originate. Alone I cruised, though of my changing perspective, and smiled at the expansion of life’s moving images.

I can't believe that I made it to China. Just yesterday I was trekking the Great Wall of China, a men’s creation that can be seen from space. F@*king crazy shit!  I was in total disbelieve. — WOW. Iza we are walking on the Great Wall of China! — I always thought of it as being so far away and unreachable it always felt so distant, abstract and beyond my reach. Now, I am living this reach, and to tell you the truth, for the past week I can only feel that I belong here. I feel like I live here. Perhaps it has something to do with cursing through this advance world of digital and seamless movement alone.

The people? They spit, push but occasionally smile and are happy to help. Kids run around dipper less and man roll-up their shirts to cool of their bellies and show the manliness “if you don’t have a belly, you are not a man” type of phenomenon. The youngsters? Oh, they have style; I love the funky shoes they rock. It’s a different fashion not the western kind.

"Excuse me? It's my daughters first time visiting Beijing can we take a picture with you?" A random woman asked when Iza, Cédric and I were visiting the Bird’s Nest stadium, a stadium where the 2008 Olympics were held.

"Of course." We replied and I gave her the warmest hug while they snapped away, she was so happy and so was I. "Can you send this to my facebook?" I wanted to ask, but China prohibits Facebook like all the other social networking sites coming from outside the country. They have their own network of sites including a Chinese version of Facebook. The people in China are blocked; they are not allowed to spill their freedom beans. It’s a controlled export of words that are censored through higher technologies. Nothing works, no Google, no Blogger, no Facebook. They have their own feed of spinning word that shoot out supervised messages. Of course there is a way around it, buying a VPN, at https://surfrescue.me/.

Leading to the Forbidden City which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. The name as the residence of the terrestrial emperor, was its earthly counterpart. Jin, or "Forbidden", referred to the fact that no-one could enter or leave the palace without the emperor's permission. The controlled personality continues into their culture. Now the Forbidden City serves as a Palace Museum where hundredths of people cramp and tramp through this magnificent wonderland of Chinese architecture and culture, definitely the heart of Beijing. Honestly, a bit too much for me, the tourists are like flies that found the best shit in town. Pushing, buzzing, flying and annoying.


Back to the future.
So Keith? Please tell me that you know where my shoes are. My Birks that I bought in Singapore, overpaid, but it’s ok as they seen South East Asia with me and supported me through the rough roads. — Sorry, I don’t remember you having your shoes when I was dragging you out of the cab. Your, shoes along with my umbrella fell into a mystery.— he replied. I wanted to cry, — No not my Birks.


Keith’s side of the story.
With heavy eyes and a splitting headache I stumbled into work. My boss had big news for me and wanted to take me out for lunch.  I moved to Beijing 3 month’s ago looking to gain some experience within the production field, unaware of the opportunities that would present themselves. The big day had finally come and all I could think about was the night before.


Prior to this day I had met two girls through a website called couch surfing and agreed to host them at my place in Beijing. It is a wonderful service that allows you to reach out to travelers and provide a place to stay and share experiences. Little did I know, these two would provide a night I will never forget.


Sunday evening came around and my boss had made it pretty clear that Monday morning he would be offering me a position with his production company. It was a big night for Aga, Iza, and Cedric. Cedric was going home after a year of travels and Aga and Iza were looking to celebrate a year and a half of travels. I was easily convinced it would be a mellow night with great food and amazing company. The evening seemed perfect and the booze began to flow. Dinner was coming to an end and my appetite for alcohol was beginning to grow. Somehow Absinthe became the topic of conversation and Cedric was determined to show us the Swiss make it right. Lucky for us a little bar down the street carried all the winning potions. The Swiss Absinthe was out of our price range and we quickly settled for one that was much cheaper. Three shots deep and no one was feeling anything. Some obnoxious asshole stumbled up in awe that we just powered through three shots. Two more quickly followed and the drunken guy began to brag about special Rum he had from back home. The night was still young and Aga and I were dead set on making it into a party. 


We jumped into a cab and zipped off to retrieve the rum and keep the night alive. Cedric and Iza were supposed to wait for us back at the bar. When we got back they were nowhere to be found. Motherfuckers left us with this obnoxious asshole that claimed he was the next big photographer. The bar was closing down and all signs were telling us to go home.  After a few swigs I realized Aga was gone. She had made her way into the store across the street and was now sitting behind the desk using the stores computer. She came back a little distraught that we had been left and took full force of the bottle. A Chinese guy decided to join our little party and seemed nice enough.  I went to take a piss and returned to Aga passed out in the lap of a guy we just met minutes before.  He began to touch her inappropriately and I quickly told him to get lost. 


A storm moved in and the two of us were completely stranded. Everyone was gone and no cabs were to be found. I was now growing a bit frustrated with the situation. Aga was swaying madly back and fourth across the road and cabs refused to pick a couple of drunks up regardless of the rain. I finally secured us a cab and placed Aga in the front seat.  The entire way home was spent with the cab driver yelling in Chinese that he was going to drop us off if I couldn’t get Aga under control. The alcohol had hit her and everything seemed to be a joke. When we finally arrived back at my place Aga was coming in and out of consciousness. She was dead weight as I scrambled to retrieve her from the cab. The sky had fallen and the streets were flooded. The rain brought her back as we made our way pass the guards. I was exhausted and happy to see she could walk on her own. Two doors and an elevator were the last obstacles standing in our way. As we made our way through the first door I was scared to have her take the stairs up one floor. I placed her up against a wall and turned to hit the button for the elevator. When I turned around my stomach sank.


 Her body was out of my reach and her face was headed straight for the marble floor. A loud crack and Aga was now completely unconscious. I had no fucking idea what to do. I couldn’t get her to wake up and tried to lift her lifeless body from the floor. Fear surged throughout my body as blood now poured from her head. I had no idea where the blood was coming from and was too scared to find out if she was even still alive. I ran to the front door and hit the panic button. Two guards with black rain suits appeared through the rain.  They looked like grime reapers coming to collect the lifeless body. They turned the corner and started to panic. She was lying in a pool of blood and the guards were too scared to help me lift her. I talked one of them into helping me get her up to my place as she slowly began to come back. The cut was from her chin and she seemed to be getting better. I placed her on the couch and cleaned the blood from her face. I watched her for the next few hours before deciding she would be ok. 


I closed my eyes for about an hour before she awoke. She came in still drunk and unaware of what had happened. From the bathroom I heard her yelling she had chipped her teeth. I couldn’t make out if she was joking and was too tired to care. I was happy she had made it through the night. Everything I had worked towards for the past two months was finally paying off as I sat through this meeting with my boss. My soul was tired and all I could think about was the night before.


How do I feel?
I feel good, to know that my teeth were fixed and this journey is only making me feel that I can belong anywhere in the world. I don’t feel good spending $700 on ER (Emergency Room), the dentist and the Ear specialist. I don’t feel good when I eat and my jaw hurts. However, I feel good to know that I am safe and just need time to recover. One thing we have in common being human; we breathe, we eat, we shit, we fuck and do stupid shit but most important we also know how to bounce back. It’s my turn to balance and bounce back to safe reality.

Hangover in Beijing


I woke up “Hangover in Beijing” I feel like some one just knocked me the F@*k out. My jaw hurts. —What the… why my two front teeth are chipped?— I ask myself looking at the mirror and feeling high. —Keith, did you knocked me out last night? What happened? — I don’t feel hangover, I think I am still drunk. I got ready; I have to meet Iza and Cédric at 2pm next to the Hammer statues in Tian’an Men Square. Quickly I get dress and I get caught looking for my shoes. —Where the F@*k are my shoes??? Frustrated I grab the Havaianas instead and run to the “office” (back yard with internet) I inform the two that I am running 1hr late. Belly feeling empty I grabbed the green-been ice cream from the fridge and started licking.
Sharp pain pierst through my right side. —What happened last night? — I try to dig deeper into the black-out memory due to drinking 5 shots of absinthe and countless gulps of the best Guyanese rum found in Beijing. We were celebrating our big night with Keith and Cédric, one and a half year of travel.

I was relieved when I learned that the two lovebirds (Iza and Cédric ) are also feeling same and postponing the meeting to later hours.

—Keith, hi, how are you? Sorry about last night, I don’t remember what happened but can you please ask your boss for the nearest dentist. I really need to get these teeth fixed — I write him an email, while looking at my two chipped front teeth in the bathroom mirror.

—Ha ha ha ha and 是这个直 — is the only thing I heard while looking at the Chinese dentist from below, who didn’t’ speak a word of English and asked all the working assistance to look at my teeth while he was applying the fill in. Scary shit.

Now, my teeth are fixed, but my jaw sure still hurts!

— Lets grab dumplings. Keith showed me the best and tastiest spot to have dumplings. — I sold the idea to Cédric and Iza after we finally reunited. We order a variety of dumplings and discuss the prior night’s events. I took a bite, and once again I felt this instance sharp pain.

— These dumplings taste goooo….— I felt hot flashes, I put my head on the table, I was feeling weird. I felt wet, my head felt heavy, my arms were wobbling, my feet started to shake and I tried to keep my eyes open. —AGA!!— Iza scream. My eyes opened a bit and I wanted to tell her to tell my mother that I love her, I wanted to tell her to take everything we did in the past year and a half and share it with the world, I wanted her to let all the people we know what we have experience and to tell them that life is amazing and not to take it for granted in any form. But I couldn’t, I was speechless, I saw flashes of my childhood, I saw myself playing in the forest and making potatoes in the fire. — OMG she is turning green— Iza continue to scream. — I felt my body sinking deep into the red zone a physical action of emotions I’ve never experiences before, not even on ayahouaska. If this is what dying is, then I felt it. I consciously, went to another world of decay and lost my soul. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move, I was dead/ fresh meat for the cannibals. All I though of was mom.

An ambulance was being called and the entire restaurant was curious and looking at the white girl turning green.

Five minutes in and strong vibes kicked in and helped me grant a second chance. I bounced back; covered in sweat feeling weak I became once again mobile and conscious.

—OMG, guys what the f@*k happened? I though I was dying. I felt my soul leaving my body, I saw you and I heard you but I couldn’t talk to you.— I was talking in shock and confusion — I feel better, no really I am good. Can you please bring me something wet and cold to put on my head.— I was in fear of loosing it again. — Did I almost die?

Sitting in one of Beijing’s dumpling house flashing through my life I had a wake up call. I was granted a second chance, a chance of realization that no matter how strong I feel I am still just a fragile human being with a quick snap I can be gone.


Few hours and days prior.
This place looks like Gothem City.— Said Cédric after coming to Keith’s place on his last day. Well said, I agree an apartment complex for the upper class with a twist where the retirement lives on along with Keith. Marble floors, fancy trimmings, internal AC rooms and creative lighting are just few of his habitat’s powers. Keith, the American Batman who flew from Austin, Texas to make some moves in his life. He left everything behind for a new life and opportunity to become a war journalist, just like his grandfather that captured the real black and white during the Vietnam War.

What are we doing here? Or, what am I doing here? For the first time the two Hot Toddies are separated. Iza is spending a week with Cédric, a backpacker who she met in Vietnam, fooled around on the train and changed our travel plans to come and meet him in Beijing for a week. — I think she likes him. — Leaving me, to fetch around and find my own way. So I found a new friend, Keith, a younger body with a grown up mentality, who hosts on Couch Surfing. He is the Batman on crack, which can’t say no to anything and surely has the energy to create a serious story.

I walk through 798 an art district in Beijing, where endless art galleries overflow my image of reality. It’s a place of concept and design just like my journey. I walk, think, imagine and observe. The chic, the modern UCCA (Ullens Center for Contemporary Art) and other facny galleries, plus the crowd surrounded is looking modish. 798 has style and a different vibe from the rest of Beijing, located north-east from city center. Old factories converted to modern galleries, a surreal life for the Beijinger they are creative and curious, tha browse through the streets in exploration and inspiration. I focused on street art and the abstract architecture. Countless galleries made me dizzy with creative overflow, I couldn’t distinguish what was creative. I need one hit at a time and then I can originate. Alone I cruised, though of my changing perspective, and smiled at the expansion of life’s moving images.

I can't believe that I made it to China. Just yesterday I was trekking the Great Wall of China, a men’s creation that can be seen from space. F@*king crazy shit!  I was in total disbelieve. — WOW. Iza we are walking on the Great Wall of China! — I always thought of it as being so far away and unreachable it always felt so distant, abstract and beyond my reach. Now, I am living this reach, and to tell you the truth, for the past week I can only feel that I belong here. I feel like I live here. Perhaps it has something to do with cursing through this advance world of digital and seamless movement alone.

The people? They spit, push but occasionally smile and are happy to help. Kids run around dipper less and man roll-up their shirts to cool of their bellies and show the manliness “if you don’t have a belly, you are not a man” type of phenomenon. The youngsters? Oh, they have style; I love the funky shoes they rock. It’s a different fashion not the western kind.

"Excuse me? It's my daughters first time visiting Beijing can we take a picture with you?" A random woman asked when Iza, Cédric and I were visiting the Bird’s Nest stadium, a stadium where the 2008 Olympics were held.

"Of course." We replied and I gave her the warmest hug while they snapped away, she was so happy and so was I. "Can you send this to my facebook?" I wanted to ask, but China prohibits Facebook like all the other social networking sites coming from outside the country. They have their own network of sites including a Chinese version of Facebook. The people in China are blocked; they are not allowed to spill their freedom beans. It’s a controlled export of words that are censored through higher technologies. Nothing works, no Google, no Blogger, no Facebook. They have their own feed of spinning word that shoot out supervised messages. Of course there is a way around it, buying a VPN, at https://surfrescue.me/.

Leading to the Forbidden City which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. The name as the residence of the terrestrial emperor, was its earthly counterpart. Jin, or "Forbidden", referred to the fact that no-one could enter or leave the palace without the emperor's permission. The controlled personality continues into their culture. Now the Forbidden City serves as a Palace Museum where hundredths of people cramp and tramp through this magnificent wonderland of Chinese architecture and culture, definitely the heart of Beijing. Honestly, a bit too much for me, the tourists are like flies that found the best shit in town. Pushing, buzzing, flying and annoying.


Back to the future.
So Keith? Please tell me that you know where my shoes are. My Birks that I bought in Singapore, overpaid, but it’s ok as they seen South East Asia with me and supported me through the rough roads. — Sorry, I don’t remember you having your shoes when I was dragging you out of the cab. Your, shoes along with my umbrella fell into a mystery.— he replied. I wanted to cry, — No not my Birks.


Keith’s side of the story.
With heavy eyes and a splitting headache I stumbled into work. My boss had big news for me and wanted to take me out for lunch.  I moved to Beijing 3 month’s ago looking to gain some experience within the production field, unaware of the opportunities that would present themselves. The big day had finally come and all I could think about was the night before.


Prior to this day I had met two girls through a website called couch surfing and agreed to host them at my place in Beijing. It is a wonderful service that allows you to reach out to travelers and provide a place to stay and share experiences. Little did I know, these two would provide a night I will never forget.


Sunday evening came around and my boss had made it pretty clear that Monday morning he would be offering me a position with his production company. It was a big night for Aga, Iza, and Cedric. Cedric was going home after a year of travels and Aga and Iza were looking to celebrate a year and a half of travels. I was easily convinced it would be a mellow night with great food and amazing company. The evening seemed perfect and the booze began to flow. Dinner was coming to an end and my appetite for alcohol was beginning to grow. Somehow Absinthe became the topic of conversation and Cedric was determined to show us the Swiss make it right. Lucky for us a little bar down the street carried all the winning potions. The Swiss Absinthe was out of our price range and we quickly settled for one that was much cheaper. Three shots deep and no one was feeling anything. Some obnoxious asshole stumbled up in awe that we just powered through three shots. Two more quickly followed and the drunken guy began to brag about special Rum he had from back home. The night was still young and Aga and I were dead set on making it into a party. 


We jumped into a cab and zipped off to retrieve the rum and keep the night alive. Cedric and Iza were supposed to wait for us back at the bar. When we got back they were nowhere to be found. Motherfuckers left us with this obnoxious asshole that claimed he was the next big photographer. The bar was closing down and all signs were telling us to go home.  After a few swigs I realized Aga was gone. She had made her way into the store across the street and was now sitting behind the desk using the stores computer. She came back a little distraught that we had been left and took full force of the bottle. A Chinese guy decided to join our little party and seemed nice enough.  I went to take a piss and returned to Aga passed out in the lap of a guy we just met minutes before.  He began to touch her inappropriately and I quickly told him to get lost. 


A storm moved in and the two of us were completely stranded. Everyone was gone and no cabs were to be found. I was now growing a bit frustrated with the situation. Aga was swaying madly back and fourth across the road and cabs refused to pick a couple of drunks up regardless of the rain. I finally secured us a cab and placed Aga in the front seat.  The entire way home was spent with the cab driver yelling in Chinese that he was going to drop us off if I couldn’t get Aga under control. The alcohol had hit her and everything seemed to be a joke. When we finally arrived back at my place Aga was coming in and out of consciousness. She was dead weight as I scrambled to retrieve her from the cab. The sky had fallen and the streets were flooded. The rain brought her back as we made our way pass the guards. I was exhausted and happy to see she could walk on her own. Two doors and an elevator were the last obstacles standing in our way. As we made our way through the first door I was scared to have her take the stairs up one floor. I placed her up against a wall and turned to hit the button for the elevator. When I turned around my stomach sank.


 Her body was out of my reach and her face was headed straight for the marble floor. A loud crack and Aga was now completely unconscious. I had no fucking idea what to do. I couldn’t get her to wake up and tried to lift her lifeless body from the floor. Fear surged throughout my body as blood now poured from her head. I had no idea where the blood was coming from and was too scared to find out if she was even still alive. I ran to the front door and hit the panic button. Two guards with black rain suits appeared through the rain.  They looked like grime reapers coming to collect the lifeless body. They turned the corner and started to panic. She was lying in a pool of blood and the guards were too scared to help me lift her. I talked one of them into helping me get her up to my place as she slowly began to come back. The cut was from her chin and she seemed to be getting better. I placed her on the couch and cleaned the blood from her face. I watched her for the next few hours before deciding she would be ok. 


I closed my eyes for about an hour before she awoke. She came in still drunk and unaware of what had happened. From the bathroom I heard her yelling she had chipped her teeth. I couldn’t make out if she was joking and was too tired to care. I was happy she had made it through the night. Everything I had worked towards for the past two months was finally paying off as I sat through this meeting with my boss. My soul was tired and all I could think about was the night before.


How do I feel?
I feel good, to know that my teeth were fixed and this journey is only making me feel that I can belong anywhere in the world. I don’t feel good spending $700 on ER (Emergency Room), the dentist and the Ear specialist. I don’t feel good when I eat and my jaw hurts. However, I feel good to know that I am safe and just need time to recover. One thing we have in common being human; we breathe, we eat, we shit, we fuck and do stupid shit but most important we also know how to bounce back. It’s my turn to balance and bounce back to safe reality.

Before we go ahead with the rest of the posts and our travel stories, we want to reflect and share coolness that’s part of our journey. It’s about a place, a place in Varkala, a place where we felt home, a place where we lived for a month, ate curries with hands and made love.

Welcome to the house of Jewels Sky, a jewelry design business run by few guys from Jaipur. A house where five guys live on the grounds of a giant home and walk a short distance to workshop. We requested to CouchSurf for four days and end up staying for one month.

Their names are Wahid, Ilu, Shanu, Krishna and Dean the Australian character who was temporarily using the workshop to design his limited stone. A stone formed from a meteor that fell on the Czech grounds years ago and he digs deep for it.

Varkala is in Kerala, South of India, it has one of the best beaches in my opinion, is the quiet side to Goa. The 10-meter cliff marks the iconic beach and makes a perfect picture. The westerners are gathered in one area while the Indian beach is just few meters insight. What is an Indian beach? It’s a beach where all the Indians should be. Segregation, I know, what why? But it’s for a reason, lifeguards whistle for all the Indians off the beach as they walk and snap photos of the western chics. Get the F%@k off the beach... Sounds mean, but it really makes sense. I am sleeping off a hangover and a snap of my white body was taken and probably placed on Facebook for good luck.

Varkala, is just one of those places, where miracle happen. A romance with amazing endings, feeling high we shined.

—We are rock and rolling— he said, buzzed on the finally. Whaaaa!!! Amazing. Our bodies are perfect for each other.

—You are sexy.

Am I? I feel sexy and you make me sexy. It takes two to tangle and release.

Early morning 12pm, 10 minute walk on the road, 5 minute walk on the path, 2 minute walk on the sand and 20 minute swimming in the Arabic Sea. The current was strong, swimming south was a piece of cake, and swimming north was a bitch. Goggles from Thailand are still a hit and triathlon days came in handy. I love swimming.

In Varkala all the locals though we were Russians and said „Priviet“ to us on all occasions. — We are not f@%ing Russians and no I am not buying whatever you are selling. No, I am not hungry, and I am not going to eat in your restaurant. But wait do you have WiFi?

—Iza, maybe we should try this Blue Marlin a giant fish taking most of the space on the fish display tables, usually with a tomato pierced though the nose. With pain we order a piece, and I must say it was the best piece of fish I have ever tried. Tandori, grilled style.

We miss this place beyond your imagination, actually far from your imagination, as you can’t even imagine where we were. hehehe. But imagine, you are walking down a beach, south by the Arabian Sea, the cliff on the left, the waves on the right and you. Palm trees growing high above on the cliff, and you hear —Youooo Whoooo, pineapple, banana watermelon, Yoooo Whoooo— singing lady who sold fruits on the beach, she was a hit she had the best pineapple in town. The Nepalese guy from Tume, gave me a genuine smile every time. He liked my Cuban hat with his flag. We really do miss Varkala.

Wahid, was his name —Woman should stay home and care for the children— He said after looking at me. Is common in his culture.

Woman should stay home? I mean can they go out and play? No, not the kids, the woman?

He set the boundary straight. — Ladies you can stay here, just don’t temp the guys, cover up— he said. He was so not interested, yet always glancing. I looked and he looked away. — Is there an attraction?— he asked after few mojitos down the road. — Is there? I replied.

Perhaps, you look interesting and mysterious. I am awkwardly attracted to you. Is it the mole on your face? I love it. It looks suspicious, I am curious. Lets dance.

So we did, we dance to the music of warmth, desire and affection. I was living the Indian style, ejecting emotions, and pleasure. He had a piece of me, piece that I hid deep within. He touched me, he felt me and he complement me.

Amazing, fabulous, magnificent, genuine, priceless, fantastic, boombastic, wonderful, marvelously that was. A quickie that lasted for 10 days and ended without a trace. A physical connection, warmth of happiness and release of joy. — I miss his touch.— But he has not spoken, hiding away and probably looking to be arranged.

With time the thoughts fade, and I can only remember.

Krishna, a special character who once went to party with a group of 7 guys, and freaked out after smoking a joint and realized that there were only 6 guys left. — What happened to the 7th guy?— He had a paranoia and only the next day realized that he forgot to count himself.

— Ahh, these Russian woman they bend over the counter and all I see is boobs— Krishna said. Every day he had a story of a foreign woman wanting to hook up with him, yet never got some. He is a good guy a 35 year old, the oldest and the darkest of them all. Hare Hare.

Mr. Dean, the Brit who lives in Australian, and who had three girls for one nighters. He picked his cherry right, the final cherry was from UK and she moaned loud all right. F@%king was the sound of the house. Dinner time  moaning time. We laughed quietly as the two had roundabout of pleasure. Fuck me hard, with a delicate touch. Simply human they were.

I like Dean, he knew how to set the mood right, by far he has the best music selection, he always filled the house with good vibes, he is the party starter. A handsome, tall and massive human who likes to talk slow and occasionally looses himself in words.

Our average daily schedule? 20 minute run on the beach, oatmeal for breakfast, chapatti for lunch and 4 pm hatha yoga at Green Hotel with Hari. 6 pm after yoga a walk on the beach and back home for a late night curry dinner that followed with a smoke cipher. Krishna brought home the magic, a high beyond us. Which is what escalated the moaning and funky vibe at night. We fell into the daily groove, eating, smoking, drinking and no sleeping.

Anna, the other couchsurfer who surfed for 8 days is from France, silent chic with dreadlocks and lots of power. She shinned after rolling, and her preferred color was white. Similar to us, she‘s been on a road for a while and back in France she lives in her truck. It’s currently cold in France, so she is enjoying her sun shinning days in India, just like us. She is a warm-hearted girl.

Varkala, is know for many Ayurvedic treatment centers. Lots of fakers among real ones who want to feel the western bodies. Unless you have a recommendation chances are slim to find a real Ayurvedic center. We bumped into a random guy who claimed to be a doctor, Iza’s year 81 baby, who within half an hour told us exactly what is wrong with us during his free consultation. We liked his vibe, and felt he was on point so we agreed to try   body oil massage, of course we requested a woman masseuse. I have never been touched by a woman the way she touched me. Main focus was my boobs if I had any lumps on my boobs, I am sure they are gone. We shinned with greasy oils and we smelled like friend chicken. The oils that were used on us were specifically meant for our health.

Ilu, Wahid‘s cousin tough me Hindi—Tum Kese Ho? How are you? I am fine. Thank you. He was the warmest of them all, who loved to talk. —Same shit everyday— he said. He worked with Wahid, in the shop designing jewelry and running errands. Without a doubt the most smiling persona in the house. First time he cooked chicken curry in his life, was the spiciest one we have ever tried, even too spicy for him. He is the only one we stay in contact with, as he has Facebook. Cool.

Then there were the young boys, Shanu, who cooked the best curry in the house. — I miss you already, Aga.— He didn’t leave our sight the last day we were there. Sanjay, also known as Polish, who was in charge of polishing jewelry and who also made 30 or more chapattis a day to feed all 10 of us. And there were the other youngsters who never talked while Wahid was around.

It came the last day before we headed to Sri Lanka. Last dinner, last drinks, last smoke. We had a photo session, and one by one said goodbye as the younger guys went off to the shop as night watchers. Iza, Wahid, Krishna, Dean and I, all had a nice last cipher and exchanged good vibes of energy. — We are going to miss this place, for sure is one of our favorite spent times on this journey— Iza and I both agreed.

The door closed and the blue light was on, we hugged tight and I didn’t want to let go. — I got used to this— I said. Now, that our bodies are used to one another, and I am comfortable, I have to leave. It really does feel good to have someone by my side.

We started to kiss and tangled into one of the best nights of my life. Rollercoaster of rock and rolling, full arrange of expressions and pure ecstasy. I hope he felt what I felt I was naturally high. 4am and we were still up, stupid smiling and sitting on the floor eating sweets. — You are the good girl— he said. —And I am the bad guy.

—Whaaaat?— I looked puzzled. —Is there something I should know?

I knew then that this was probably the last time I will see him. I build no expectations, no questions I simply rode the wave and now it was crashing.   

One hour later the alarm rang and we were up. Semi conscious I put my backpack on and stepped out without looking. Inside I cried and my magnetic energy was not letting go. 

my masseuse


Shane'sChapattis


the younger crew


Dean.and Wahid


Last day last vibes


Krishna and Aga


Varkala beach from the cliff


on the cliff


Shanu making chapattis


YOOOUUU HOOO, Pinapple


Morning run


Indian beach


Hot Toddies living space

Varkala vibes

Before we go ahead with the rest of the posts and our travel stories, we want to reflect and share coolness that’s part of our journey. It’s about a place, a place in Varkala, a place where we felt home, a place where we lived for a month, ate curries with hands and made love.

Welcome to the house of Jewels Sky, a jewelry design business run by few guys from Jaipur. A house where five guys live on the grounds of a giant home and walk a short distance to workshop. We requested to CouchSurf for four days and end up staying for one month.

Their names are Wahid, Ilu, Shanu, Krishna and Dean the Australian character who was temporarily using the workshop to design his limited stone. A stone formed from a meteor that fell on the Czech grounds years ago and he digs deep for it.

Varkala is in Kerala, South of India, it has one of the best beaches in my opinion, is the quiet side to Goa. The 10-meter cliff marks the iconic beach and makes a perfect picture. The westerners are gathered in one area while the Indian beach is just few meters insight. What is an Indian beach? It’s a beach where all the Indians should be. Segregation, I know, what why? But it’s for a reason, lifeguards whistle for all the Indians off the beach as they walk and snap photos of the western chics. Get the F%@k off the beach... Sounds mean, but it really makes sense. I am sleeping off a hangover and a snap of my white body was taken and probably placed on Facebook for good luck.

Varkala, is just one of those places, where miracle happen. A romance with amazing endings, feeling high we shined.

—We are rock and rolling— he said, buzzed on the finally. Whaaaa!!! Amazing. Our bodies are perfect for each other.

—You are sexy.

Am I? I feel sexy and you make me sexy. It takes two to tangle and release.

Early morning 12pm, 10 minute walk on the road, 5 minute walk on the path, 2 minute walk on the sand and 20 minute swimming in the Arabic Sea. The current was strong, swimming south was a piece of cake, and swimming north was a bitch. Goggles from Thailand are still a hit and triathlon days came in handy. I love swimming.

In Varkala all the locals though we were Russians and said „Priviet“ to us on all occasions. — We are not f@%ing Russians and no I am not buying whatever you are selling. No, I am not hungry, and I am not going to eat in your restaurant. But wait do you have WiFi?

—Iza, maybe we should try this Blue Marlin a giant fish taking most of the space on the fish display tables, usually with a tomato pierced though the nose. With pain we order a piece, and I must say it was the best piece of fish I have ever tried. Tandori, grilled style.

We miss this place beyond your imagination, actually far from your imagination, as you can’t even imagine where we were. hehehe. But imagine, you are walking down a beach, south by the Arabian Sea, the cliff on the left, the waves on the right and you. Palm trees growing high above on the cliff, and you hear —Youooo Whoooo, pineapple, banana watermelon, Yoooo Whoooo— singing lady who sold fruits on the beach, she was a hit she had the best pineapple in town. The Nepalese guy from Tume, gave me a genuine smile every time. He liked my Cuban hat with his flag. We really do miss Varkala.

Wahid, was his name —Woman should stay home and care for the children— He said after looking at me. Is common in his culture.

Woman should stay home? I mean can they go out and play? No, not the kids, the woman?

He set the boundary straight. — Ladies you can stay here, just don’t temp the guys, cover up— he said. He was so not interested, yet always glancing. I looked and he looked away. — Is there an attraction?— he asked after few mojitos down the road. — Is there? I replied.

Perhaps, you look interesting and mysterious. I am awkwardly attracted to you. Is it the mole on your face? I love it. It looks suspicious, I am curious. Lets dance.

So we did, we dance to the music of warmth, desire and affection. I was living the Indian style, ejecting emotions, and pleasure. He had a piece of me, piece that I hid deep within. He touched me, he felt me and he complement me.

Amazing, fabulous, magnificent, genuine, priceless, fantastic, boombastic, wonderful, marvelously that was. A quickie that lasted for 10 days and ended without a trace. A physical connection, warmth of happiness and release of joy. — I miss his touch.— But he has not spoken, hiding away and probably looking to be arranged.

With time the thoughts fade, and I can only remember.

Krishna, a special character who once went to party with a group of 7 guys, and freaked out after smoking a joint and realized that there were only 6 guys left. — What happened to the 7th guy?— He had a paranoia and only the next day realized that he forgot to count himself.

— Ahh, these Russian woman they bend over the counter and all I see is boobs— Krishna said. Every day he had a story of a foreign woman wanting to hook up with him, yet never got some. He is a good guy a 35 year old, the oldest and the darkest of them all. Hare Hare.

Mr. Dean, the Brit who lives in Australian, and who had three girls for one nighters. He picked his cherry right, the final cherry was from UK and she moaned loud all right. F@%king was the sound of the house. Dinner time  moaning time. We laughed quietly as the two had roundabout of pleasure. Fuck me hard, with a delicate touch. Simply human they were.

I like Dean, he knew how to set the mood right, by far he has the best music selection, he always filled the house with good vibes, he is the party starter. A handsome, tall and massive human who likes to talk slow and occasionally looses himself in words.

Our average daily schedule? 20 minute run on the beach, oatmeal for breakfast, chapatti for lunch and 4 pm hatha yoga at Green Hotel with Hari. 6 pm after yoga a walk on the beach and back home for a late night curry dinner that followed with a smoke cipher. Krishna brought home the magic, a high beyond us. Which is what escalated the moaning and funky vibe at night. We fell into the daily groove, eating, smoking, drinking and no sleeping.

Anna, the other couchsurfer who surfed for 8 days is from France, silent chic with dreadlocks and lots of power. She shinned after rolling, and her preferred color was white. Similar to us, she‘s been on a road for a while and back in France she lives in her truck. It’s currently cold in France, so she is enjoying her sun shinning days in India, just like us. She is a warm-hearted girl.

Varkala, is know for many Ayurvedic treatment centers. Lots of fakers among real ones who want to feel the western bodies. Unless you have a recommendation chances are slim to find a real Ayurvedic center. We bumped into a random guy who claimed to be a doctor, Iza’s year 81 baby, who within half an hour told us exactly what is wrong with us during his free consultation. We liked his vibe, and felt he was on point so we agreed to try   body oil massage, of course we requested a woman masseuse. I have never been touched by a woman the way she touched me. Main focus was my boobs if I had any lumps on my boobs, I am sure they are gone. We shinned with greasy oils and we smelled like friend chicken. The oils that were used on us were specifically meant for our health.

Ilu, Wahid‘s cousin tough me Hindi—Tum Kese Ho? How are you? I am fine. Thank you. He was the warmest of them all, who loved to talk. —Same shit everyday— he said. He worked with Wahid, in the shop designing jewelry and running errands. Without a doubt the most smiling persona in the house. First time he cooked chicken curry in his life, was the spiciest one we have ever tried, even too spicy for him. He is the only one we stay in contact with, as he has Facebook. Cool.

Then there were the young boys, Shanu, who cooked the best curry in the house. — I miss you already, Aga.— He didn’t leave our sight the last day we were there. Sanjay, also known as Polish, who was in charge of polishing jewelry and who also made 30 or more chapattis a day to feed all 10 of us. And there were the other youngsters who never talked while Wahid was around.

It came the last day before we headed to Sri Lanka. Last dinner, last drinks, last smoke. We had a photo session, and one by one said goodbye as the younger guys went off to the shop as night watchers. Iza, Wahid, Krishna, Dean and I, all had a nice last cipher and exchanged good vibes of energy. — We are going to miss this place, for sure is one of our favorite spent times on this journey— Iza and I both agreed.

The door closed and the blue light was on, we hugged tight and I didn’t want to let go. — I got used to this— I said. Now, that our bodies are used to one another, and I am comfortable, I have to leave. It really does feel good to have someone by my side.

We started to kiss and tangled into one of the best nights of my life. Rollercoaster of rock and rolling, full arrange of expressions and pure ecstasy. I hope he felt what I felt I was naturally high. 4am and we were still up, stupid smiling and sitting on the floor eating sweets. — You are the good girl— he said. —And I am the bad guy.

—Whaaaat?— I looked puzzled. —Is there something I should know?

I knew then that this was probably the last time I will see him. I build no expectations, no questions I simply rode the wave and now it was crashing.   

One hour later the alarm rang and we were up. Semi conscious I put my backpack on and stepped out without looking. Inside I cried and my magnetic energy was not letting go. 

my masseuse


Shane'sChapattis


the younger crew


Dean.and Wahid


Last day last vibes


Krishna and Aga


Varkala beach from the cliff


on the cliff


Shanu making chapattis


YOOOUUU HOOO, Pinapple


Morning run


Indian beach


Hot Toddies living space