Seven Meter Swells

In a previous blog post I mentioned Lake Louise and not enjoying my time there.

Thats because while there were a ton of people there, none of them were actually present.

Let me say that again.

The people were there, but they weren’t present.

They were posing for photos to inevitably be posted on Instagram to portray some fake lifestyle. But once the photo was taken they never lifted their head from the screen to try and enjoy the beauty around them. It was absolutely disgusting to me.

I recently watched the movie 180 degrees south, and it was riveting for me as someone who enjoys travel.

“The word 'adventure' has just gotten overused. For me, adventure is when everything goes wrong. That's when the adventure starts.”

-Yvon Chouinard

I’ve spent the last three weeks in South America, and the concentration of my travels have been different.

These places that I’m seeing for the first time- whether I’m fantasizing over them, or mourning for the appears of poverty- it’s their everyday life.

Here are moments over the last month that stick out to me most from The People and Their Places:

1: Let’s start with my favorite. In Lima, watching the changing of the guards, a woman walks by, attempting to sell her churros. I must’ve been drooling over them, because the woman standing next to me looks, shakes her head as if to say, “silly little girl,” and reaches for her purse.

She pulls out a churro. But not just any churro.

Right down the block, sits a popular churro stand, with a line down the street of people waiting their turn to order what must be the best in downtown.

And that my friends, is the churro she pulls out of her purse.

She insists I take it, and once I do, it’s still warm. Fresh.

I smile at the short (shorter than me) gray haired woman. Her laugh lines curl up as well, smiling at my great appreciation for something that is so small in her world but so impactful to mine.

2: In Manta, Ecuador an aged man, protecting his head from the sun with a citrus patterned dish cloth, holds a platter in his hand.

With rubber duckies.

In the middle of the street.

He’s showcasing the ducks to two children squeezing their bodies outside of the red car door, trying to meticulously pick out the rubber ducky they each want as if their life depends on it… all before the red light turns green.

3: A child on the public bus, with his tongue pressed firmly against the dirt stricken window.

In Lima, people sardine themselves into the bus. Some hang their heads with eyes closed after a long day of work. Some play on their phones. Some children hold their toys and watch wide eyed out the window. One woman clutches to a black trash bag, that I imagine is stuff with her dirty laundry. Or, the individual that stands out most to me, the apparent bored child with his tongue against the window.

Public transportation is all around the world, and all have similarities. But when you’re in a city- especially when you come from a small town like myself- it’s easy to remember how small and insignificant you are in the sea of people, but in the most beautiful way. It was fun being a fly on the wall, watching these people go through the motion of their everyday live’s, making up scenarios in my mind and letting it wander to the possibilities of who they are.

Cheers,

Tay

P.S. I’m at sea today, and the swells are seven meters high. That’s the highest I’ve seen so far on my big water travels.

So significant that the water had to be drained from the pools, “otherwise they’d drain themselves,” according to the Captain.

And it’s only expected to get greater as we keep heading south.