[Postcards From The South]

In an effort to learn a little bit more about this world and our place within it, we have decided to embark on a year-long journey through Central and South America beginning in March of 2008. This is a personal account of our experiences and observations as we explore the depths of this continent, and ourselves. Enjoy!

Friday, March 7, 2008

Stretching...

Megan:
We seem to have a little more time than expected here in the fishing town of Guyamas as we await a ferry to the Baja that seems to run far less frequently than advertised...it has been postponed the last two nights due to rough weather. So our one day stay here has turned into three, and we thought another trip to an internet cafe might be in order.

I have been thinking a lot about how this trip is going for us so far. I am wanting to find a balance between enjoying spending time in a place, and feeling like I am really stretching myself - both for my benefit and for that of others. I think this requires connecting more with other people. We had a neat experience while mountain biking in the Copper Canyon near Creel. Jon and I took a break to enjoy some of the snacks we had brought with us and two indigenous Tarahumara girls in brightly colored dresses approached us to see if we would like to buy some of their small handwoven baskets. Instead of buying a souvenir, we offered them a few of our orange slices and a couple of cookies, and we all enjoyed the snack together. None of us could talk to each other, but this somehow felt more substantial to me than any of our other interactions. I would like to have more of these kinds of experiences...and I think continuing to work on my Spanish is a good start. We have been making an effort to do some kind of Spanish lesson every day, and so far it´s going really well. I think now that we are immersed in the language, have a lot more time on our hands and are able to see our progress daily, Jon and I are both much more motivated to learn.

I suppose we´re off now to practice our Spanish, and most likely to enjoy an afternoon Negra Modelo. Here´s hoping the ferry will be running tomorrow evening, as we´re pretty ready to have a new city to explore.

4 comments:

mdubs said...

wow, I bet life is different slowed down. your pictures have been great and I'm continually looking for you guys on our NG atlas map! Chihuahua is much larger area and metropolitan than I thought. Something like 52% are Europeans there, which explains some of the architecture. Although I actually enjoyed the Guyamas "ruins" better. Here's back at you with a Negra Modelo HH.

Anonymous said...

small unexpected encounters are often very memorable... sounds like you are off to a good start finding that balance between visiting a place and seeing a place. We look forward to all you post. stay safe and don't forget the sunscreen :)

re said...

Que bonitas fotos!

Yo estoy leyendo su blog cada día, y veo que su viaje es muy interesante.
Cuidense mucho, saludos desde Southern California!

PS. I am writing in Spanish, so you can practice, and therefore learn more, like a mini Spanish lesson :)

Disfruten México!

Anonymous said...

It figures, I take my time getting around to reading your travel blog and find that you've been somewhere I used to know pretty intimately. Zenna and I used to dive in San Carlos (outside of Guaymas) a lot back when we lived in AZ. One of my friends from college was from Guaymas, and on one of my trips down I stayed with him and his family in the middle of town. I guess if I was never really jealous of your trip, now I am. I miss it down there...and I'm glad to see you guys are having fun.

j