Tag Archives: smile and be free blog

Do what you will, while you’re able. Find what it is that you seek. Only I’ll fly, fly, fly above the ocean. I will fly so high above the sea

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I’ll admit, I was nervous booking a hostel and a shuttle service from the airport in another country via email for my first time traveling to another country alone.

Right after I arrived in Costa Rica and went through customs, I still had butterflies as I searched for my driver among the crowd of taxi drivers holding signs for different hotels, resorts and hostels. But as soon as my driver greeted me, “April, hi, nice to meet you,” in a slow, relaxed tone, my nerves slightly sunk away. He said, “First time here and you picked Solo Bueno Hostel? You picked a good place. Only the crazy people go there.” (Sidenote: Sometimes I see him in town. He remembers my name and always greets me with a hug and kiss on the cheek.) He led me to a different driver who drove me all the way to my hostel.

Once I got in the shuttle, Marvin, the driver, handed me a map of Nosara and said, “Your first present in Costa Rica.” As we passed sugar cane fields and mango trees throughout Nosara, Marvin kept saying how beautiful everything in Costa Rica was and especially how beautiful Guanacaste was. “Guanacaste es que lindas,” Marvin would say and bring his fingers to his mouth to blow a kiss in the air.

Guanacaste is a province (similar to a state) located in the northwestern part of Costa Rica.  Nicoya is a canton (similar to a county) in Guanacaste. Nosara is a city in Nicoya. Guiones is a beach town that’s part of Nosara. So Playa Guiones is in Nosara, which is in Nicoya, which is in Guanacaste. And that’s where I started my Costa Rican journey.

About 22 miles from Playa Guiones (pronounced ge-oh-nays) we turned down an unpaved rocky road that led to the town. All the street signs were covered in dust and there were no street lines painted on the streets. There were no street lights either.

I arrived at the hostel minutes before sunset. I walked right into the common room of the hostel. There wasn’t a front desk or sign-in area. Kimberly, the the woman-in-charge of the hostel spoke to me from the kitchen,

“These are the rules: No smoking tobacco in the house. I don’t care about pot. And we’re having a feast tonight.”

I jumped on Kimberly’s golf cart, and she drove us to the beach where we watched the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. When I woke up in the morning, Kimberly handed me a cup of the best coffee I’ve ever had. It came from her friend’s farm in the mountains. Everything still felt like a dream.

***

I’ve been in Guiones for 12 days now. As I walked around town on my first full day here, excitement ran through me as I giggled like a schoolgirl with a new crush. I still feel this giddiness when I look around me and realize that I’m living in Paradise. It’s like being at a music festival or Burning Man; it’s like falling in love.

As ticos, (nickname for Costa Ricans) would say, it’s Pura Vida, which translates to pure life, and means any variety of: this is living, all is good, life is amazing. Ticos often greet each other with this saying or slip it into casual conversation.

In Guiones I wake up when I hear the birds chatting or when the sun comes up. I spend the majority of my days outside. I spend each moment doing what it is I want to do at that moment. I take yoga classes everyday. I explore. I ride my rented bicycle. I walk through the jungle. I swim in the ocean. I drink fresh coconuts from the beach stand. The only time I follow time is to make sure I make the yoga class on time. Other than that there’s no need to. I eat when I’m hungry and go to sleep when I’m tired.

I’ve had some really incredible days here. I’ve met people, been in certain situations and had certain conversations that I wouldn’t have had if I wasn’t alone. I’ve met people on the street just by smiling and waving. I’ve done things I wouldn’t have time to do at home. Each day I’m learning to quiet the voice in my head that wants to constantly be busy, that feels compelled to always be in motion. With each moment that passes I’ve been falling into a tranquilo state of doing what comes naturally and not worrying too much about anything else.

On The Beach Hurricane Relief Music Please

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On The Beach PosterLast night I went to ‘On The Beach,’ a Hurricane Sandy relief concert at Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, NJ, featuring: Preservation Hall Jazz Band, My Morning Jacket, River City Extension, Brian Fallon of Gaslight Anthem, Nicole Atkins, The Tangiers Blues Band, and more.

For more information about benefactors and producers of the concert check out this article by Asbury Park Press.

My Morning Jacket and Preservation Hall Jazz Band were phenomenal to see live, but the most pleasant surprise of the night arrived in one of the opening acts: River City Extension.

This eight-piece from Toms River, NJ, delivers power-packed progression with strong song lyrics about forgiveness, letting go, and moving forward. During any given song expect a trumpet, melophone, mandolin, organ, banjo, tambourine or any combination of them.

Sidenote: I’m a sucker for bands with five members or more who pull it off with precision, good lyrics, good foundation and groove. Just knowing bands like this exist makes me really happy.

Seeing River City Extension was refreshing in every way. It instantly transported me back to my college days of prancing around the local music scene in Tempe, AZ. Since then I haven’t been able to feel at home in a music scene. While I’ve gotten a glimpse of that feeling with NJ bands Indian Princess, Only Living Boy and Quimby Mountain Band, River City Extension wrapped me in.

They reminded me why I love local music. They reminded me what I love about discovering new music that transcends generic radio rock. They reminded me what I love about discovering in general.

Until you discover a town’s local music scene, you haven’t grasped a true feel of that place. Local bands are hidden gems of small towns. They’re best kept secrets longing to be shared. When I lived in Tempe, I flirted with the idea of moving back to New Jersey so many times. For the longest time I didn’t feel like I belonged in Tempe. Then I discovered the local music scene, and I fell in love with the place. River City Extension sparked that feeling in me again.

It’s never too late to check out the line-up at your town’s watering hole. Find out what bars have live music. Go to a show even if you’ve never heard of the band. If you’re stuck in a rut, tired of the town you live in, or think you’ve explored every angle of a place, explore the local music scene. Go beyond the radio hits and what you’re used to. Step outside your comfort zone and go to a bar you’ve never been to. Sometimes the best discoveries happen that way.

Definitely do yourself a favor and check out River City Extension. Here’s the link to their website where you can listen to their album “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Your Anger.”

Fun fact: “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Your Anger” was produced by Brian Deck, who produced one of my favorite albums, “The Moon & Antarctica” by Modest Mouse.

Here’s River City Extension performing live at Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2011. Watch how the song progresses.

2012 Year in Review: Concerts

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As I think back on the concerts I went to this year, a few moments stick out to me more than others. I think of the moments when my friends and I were completely captured by bands, carelessly dancing and singing along, moments when the musicians cast a spell on the whole audience and left everyone in awe, moments when no one in the audience said a word but attentively watched, moments when I was moved to tears. I think of the moments when the music united everyone, and everything else in life melted away.

Here are a few samples of those moments. In no particular order, I present my favorite performances of 2012.

(Note: These are all videos I found on youtube. I didn’t create any of them. I couldn’t include everything I wanted because I couldn’t find some performances online.)

1. Stevie Wonder at Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco

I hate to sound cliche, but seeing Stevie Wonder perform live was literally a dream come true. I didn’t get to see his whole performance because I was working, but I was able to catch his last song. Because we couldn’t manage our way through the crowd to clean-up, all my friends and I were able to take a quick break to share the joy of the show. I’ll remember this moment for a long time.

2. The last song at the Love for Levon concert

Speaking of dreams coming true, this one tops all others. The Love for Levon concert was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. It was a tribute concert for the late, great drummer Levon Helm who died earlier this year. I’ve never seen so many living legends at the same place before. Gregg Allman, Roger Waters, Bruce Hornsby, Mavis Staples, John Prine, Joan Osborne, John Hiatt, Jorma Kaukonen, Garth Hudson and on and on and on. For the last song, the entire cast gathered on stage to sing, “The Weight.”

3. Mumford & Sons and friends at the Gentlemen of the Road Portland Stopover Tour

This whole concert was absolutely incredible. Mumford & Sons always leave me in awe when I see them live. Here’s another encore that paid tribute to Levon Helm. There’s just something so pure and magnetic about the energy that’s created when tons of musicians perform on stage at once.

4.Roger Waters and My Morning Jacket at the Love for Levon show

So on point.

5. Grace Potter covering Bob Dylan at the Love for Levon show

Too much talent there that night. I love Grace Potter and this is one of my all-time favorite songs.

6. He’s My Brother She’s My Sister at the 9:30 Club in D.C.

I wasn’t at this performance (the one in the video), but I couldn’t find any live videos from the performance I was at. HMBSMS performed at one of the first shows I saw in 2012, and I’ve been addicted to them since. This video gives you a glimpse of their foot-stomping, hand-clapping energy.

7. Radiohead at Bonnaroo Music Festival

My favorite performance of Bonnaroo. They had such a cool stage setup.

8. Mergence at Apache Lake Music Festival

I wasn’t at the concert in the video, but I couldn’t find any videos of Mergence from Apache Lake Music Festival and I had to include them. They closed the main stage of the festival, and their whole performance was one of my favorites of this year. When I mentioned performances that completely captured the crowd, I was thinking of Mergence’s performance at Apache Lake. The whole crowd cheered them back on stage for an encore. It’s fair to say that almost everyone was singing along and going crazy when they played “Dynamite & Kerosene.”

9. Delta Spirit at Webster Hall

This whole performance was very solid. Lots of high energy and the crowd was into it the whole time.

10. Ludacris at Bonnaroo Music Festival

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a huge Luda fan. When rap was my genre of choice in middle school, Luda was one of the kings. At Bonnaroo all my friends and I watched Luda from the grass, outside of the tent. This performance is partly included because of the fun we had. It was the first show of Bonnaroo where we were all together, just being silly and singing along. I left the show to watch Dawes, but I heard Luda singing this, I started cracking up, and I had to run back.

11. Taking Back Sunday at Terminal 5

One of my favorite concerts of the year. You can find out why by reading my blog post about it here.

Favorite performances that I couldn’t find videos of:

-All of GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance in Trumansburg (Highlights: Thomas Mapfumo & the Blacks Unlimited, Preston Frank & his Zydeco Family Band, Donna the Buffalo, Sim Redmond Band, The Campbell Brothers, The Makepeace Brothers, Driftwood.)

-Soul Train Revival at the Boom Boom Room in San Francisco

-Son Boom at Evolve Music Festival in NJ

-Phish in Atlantic City

-And I can’t forget the way I rang in 2012: Dark Star Orchestra at Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ.

LASIK Eye Surgery Review

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It’s been one week and a couple days since I got LASIK eye surgery. So far it’s been one of the best decisions of my life. Here’s a video review of the procedure and the recovery process:

In the video I forget to mention a few things. After the eye is forced open by those hooks, the doctor puts a suction ring over the cornea to help stabilize the eye. That pressure is what caused all my broken blood vessels. While the laser was operating there’s this clicking noise that also freaked me out.

Update 12/17/12: I spent all day yesterday watching movies and my eyes were extremely dry. They still are today. I still don’t think my eyes are ready for too much screen time yet.  As far as medicines go, I’m taking the Pred Forte, Refresh and Restasis. No more Ofloxacin.

If you’re brave and up for it, check out the video of my LASIK procedure:


Here are the eye drops I mentioned in the video:

-Pred Forte, the anti-inflammatory

-Ofloxacin, the antibiotic

–Restasis, to combat dry eye

–Refresh Optive Advanced, for lubrication

After I use the drops I get a metallicy taste in the back of my throat.

Pre-surgery:

I went to the doctor for a free consultation to see if I was even a candidate for LASIK. I stopped wearing my contacts 3 weeks before the surgery. During that time I had to use Restasis every morning and night.

Post-surgery:

No exercising for the first week or so; no hot tubs or swimming and no make-up. I had an eye appointment with my regular eye doctor one day after and one week after. I just scheduled my one month post surgery appointment.

Surgery Details:

I got my surgery at Clarity Refractive Services in West Orange, NJ. Dr. Fox was my surgeon. I would recommend him to anyone. The surgery was $4,850, which covers all the pre- and post-doctor’s visits and insures you for life. Some insurance plans offer a special plan, which reduces the total cost.

If you have any questions about the surgery feel free to ask me!

How To Heal A Second-Degree Burn

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The first part of the blog is the story of how my skin got burned. The second part, “The Healing Process” is where you can find information about healing burns.

Warning: This blog post contains graphic photos of burnt skin.

Update from October 26, 2013: This blog now includes the most recent photo of the burn. It’s a picture from one year and three months later. 

This past summer I got a second-degree burn on my thigh while I was at my favorite music festival. It was horrifying and upsetting as it happened, but I was more concerned with making sure I saw my favorite acts play and being able to dance all night. I was also pretty upset about my maté.

The burn all started with my desire for an early evening pick-me-up. Eager to make some maté (a South American tea known for its energizing properties), I approached boys at a neighboring campsite to boil water. Once I got back to my camp, between juggling my maté gourd, my thermos with an unscrewed on cap and other items that have no significance now, the water in my thermos spilled down my leg. Luckily I was wearing pants. I just changed into silk pants from a sarong. I sprung up, pulled my pants off and saw my skin start to sizzle. At first I was in shock. Then I broke down, crying, “All I wanted was maté.”

At first the burn did not hurt. It stung, but it was not overwhelming painful or unbearable. This continued to be the case throughout the duration of the burn’s life.

My superhero friends leapt into action. One grabbed my hand for support (even though I ended up being the one telling him it would be okay), one poured cool water on the burn and another ran for first aid. Well two ended up running in different directions for first aid. Luckily a woman who happened to be a nurse was camping close by, and she came to my rescue.

Once I found out what time it was (7:45 and my main squeeze, Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited were scheduled for 8) I really started to cry. For months I’d been looking forward to dancing to their show. The camping nurse wrapped gauze around my leg and told me I couldn’t dance for the rest of the festival. Now this only made me cry harder. The burn was the least of my worries.  As soon as she walked away I said, “I’m dancing no matter what.” Hopping on one leg while clutching my thigh, I made it all the way to the main stage.

Once again, I was in luck. The band was running late. As they sound-checked I wobbled to the official first aid tent of the festival. The first-aiders wrapped a new bandage around the burn, and I danced like a wild animal throughout Thomas Mapfumo’s set. I didn’t stop there. I ended up dancing throughout the night, all the way until the sun came up the next day.

I was extremely mindful of my burn throughout the night (and early morning). I can’t even count how many times I went to the first aid tent: between every other song, if not after every song, after every set, etc., etc.

Back at first aid after Thomas’ set, the burn looked much worse than it had originally. The first-aiders determined it was at least a second-degree burn, if not third. They kept calling people over to look at the burn like they had never seen anything like it. More raw skin appeared, more burnt spots surfaced. What started as one spot that looked burnt, now turned into two spots the size of silver dollars with a huge blister underneath. The blister liquid moved up and down. The area of burnt skin just kept growing, revealing itself with each unraveling.

The first-aiders reassured me that even though the burn looked worse as the night went on, it was getting better. It was going to look worse as it got better. Each time we unwrapped the burn I could have sworn it made faces at me. You’ll see in the pictures. The only time the burn didn’t bother me or I forgot it existed was when I danced. So I didn’t stop dancing.

The next day before I left I got the burn re-wrapped again. The first-aiders said they were shocked at how good it looked and that it was already healing very well. It must have been all that dancing and the magic of GrassRoots. I can’t express enough gratitude for the first-aiders, my friends and everyone who helped. Who knows what would have happened if they weren’t there.

The Healing Process

Here's the view of my burn two days after.

Here’s the view of my burn two days after.

Close-up 2 days later

Close-up (Doesn’t it resemble an alien head?)

Once home I researched everything I could about burns. I wanted answers about what to do; I wanted burn advice, remedies. I was disappointed with what I found. I couldn’t find enough detailed or in-depth advice. That’s when I decided I’d track my progress and blog about it. Even though I’ve only gotten one second-degree burn in my life and I’m no expert by any means, I thought this post may be useful to people and could offer some more advice about healing burns. Remember: everyone heals differently. What worked for me may not work for you.

For starters: I found it was best to let my body do what it was doing naturally without me interfering too much. So I didn’t pop the blisters no matter how much the liquid moved. I didn’t pull off the charred skin. I took cold showers for the first week or so because I didn’t want to risk the burn getting any more heat. I kept the burn covered at all times. When I changed the covering (morning and night and random times throughout the day) I let the burn air out for 20 minutes or so. But I did this in the safety of my bedroom without too much movement.

After getting a burn, the most important thing is to make sure it does not get infected. So I applied Bacitraycin Plus with Aloe to the affected area. Bacitracin (one of the key ingredients of Neosporin) is an antibiotic that stops the growth of certain bacteria. Aloe is soothing and known to have healing properties.

Bacitraycin

I asked everyone I knew if they knew the best way to heal burns. Vitamin E came up in most conversations as the number one remedy. So I bought Vitamin E pills and took them orally everyday starting two weeks after the burn. I also opened the capsules and poured the Vitamin E oil on my wound. As an antioxidant, Vitamin E neutralizes the effect of free radicals. When skin is damaged your body can produce free radicals, which damage skin. Free radicals are thieves in the night, stealing electrons from healthy skin cells. Vitamin E is the detective that cleans everything up.

Every time I showed someone the burn they told me to go to the doctor immediately. I wanted to see how long I could experiment with healing myself using natural remedies before the doctor got involved. I knew I was taking care of the burn well enough that it was not infected. I figured the doctor wouldn’t tell me anything I didn’t know.

But going to the doctor ended up being a good thing for three reasons:

-They gave me a tetanus shot just to be safe.

-The doctor told me to put lavender oil on the burn.

-They wrote me a prescription for Silvadene Cream, which contains the antimicrobial agent silver sulfadiazine. This is the cream nurses use on burn patients in hospitals. The only way to get it is through a prescription. Silvadene started instantly helping the burn. My prescription didn’t have any refills so I was only able to use the Silvadene cream until it ran out. But I highly recommend this cream if you have a second- or third-degree burn.

My routine for over a month:

Witch Hazel

1. Clean the burn with cool water and sometimes Witch Hazel, which is an astringent, a natural skin tightener. Witch Hazel also contains soothing, anti-inflammatory properties. It didn’t sting, but it was a little tingly.

2. With a towel pat dry as carefully as possible.

3. Use a Q-tip to apply Bacitraycin with Aloe or Silvadene to the affected area. Once the blister was completely drained and the skin wasn’t as raw, I started using the Vitamin E oil on the burn instead of Bacitracin. I also I added a few drops of lavender oil and rubbed the mixture together. Lavender oil can also act as an astringent. Not to mention that the scent alone is very soothing and relaxing. Pads, tape, gauze

4. Cover the burn with one large or two small sterile pads. Wrap the pads with gauze and tape to skin. I tried latex free gauze and gauze that stuck to itself. I liked the gauze that stuck to itself but if I moved a lot, I had to also tape it.

I repeated this process around lunchtime and before bed. During this time I never wore tight-fitting pants or jeans. I wore dresses and long flowing skirts. Tight fabric would irritate the burn. I did not go swimming or exercise (yoga, hiking included) for the rest of the summer.

An Overview of Burn Remedies:

-Silvadene Cream

-Vitamin E: either pills taken orally or oil applied directly to the skin.

-Lavender Oil

-Grapeseed Oil (usually mixed with lavender oil and sometimes coconut oil)

-Bacitraycin with aloe

-The gel from an actual Aloe plant

-Witch Hazel

Materials needed:

-Adhesive Tape: I tried a variety of tapes. ShopRite Brand (ShopRite’s a supermarket) Adhesive Latex-Free Waterproof white tape stung the areas that were taped. It stayed really tight if I was still, but once I moved the tape came undone. Wouldn’t recommend it. Cloth tape stuck to the gauze and ripped the gauze. It didn’t stick that well to my skin either. NexTape moved with my skin and was very stretchy.

-Sterile Pads

-Gauze or a cloth covering

-Q-tips

Something to think about: It got pretty pricey keeping up with all the sterile pads and gauze I needed.

Post-burn, 4 and a half months later:

Four and a half months later

Four and a half months later

The burn has shrunk in size and blends into my skin like sun spots would. You can barely notice it. Most of the burn is a light pink, while the bottom part is slightly redder.

I’m not as diligent as I was in the beginning, but I still apply cream on my burn. I apply whatever is in reach in my bathroom: grapeseed oil, lavender oil, lotion packed with vitamins, scar gel. My leg hasn’t been exposed to the sun yet, but for the rest of my life I’ll make sure the burn has sunscreen on it and is covered.

Post-burn one year and three months later:

Burn year later

Here’s the burn one year and three months later.

For the most part the burn has blended into my skin. The outline of the burn is a slightly different color tone than my skin. Some of the insides are a paler white; some of the insides have merged with my skin tone.

When I get out of the shower I apply Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula with Vitamin E and mix in Lavender Oil. I try to do this whenever possible, but sometimes I miss days. I’m very happy with the way my burn has healed. To me it looks like a birthmark.

Here’s an overview of the burn’s progress.

Please feel free to share your burn stories and burn remedies in the comments section. Have you ever tried any of the remedies I’ve mentioned? What were the results?

Life Lessons I Learned At Burning Man

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It’s almost been a year since I wandered to the playa for the first time. With Burning Man right around the corner, I’ve been thinking more and more about my experience there, and I wanted to share some things I learned. While there are plenty of Burning Man guidelines online, this isn’t about the basic necessities to bring, this is about the something more that the playa provides. To everyone venturing to the Burn this year, let yourself let go, be free, set your heart on fire and open yourself up to the wildness of life. To those who can’t make it, remember how beautiful life can be when you let it. Here’s a piece of Burning Man that I hope everyone can carry with them wherever they are.

Burning Man Arrival: Wiping sleep from my eyes, I gazed out the windows of our rented U-haul just past sunrise. After the usual instant confusion of waking up in an unfamiliar place, I kept blinking to try to absorb my surroundings. In the distance, mountains protected every angle. Before us, a barren desert-like space stretched out as far as I could see. Hazy, white dust danced throughout the air making everything still seem like a dream. That’s how the rest of the week would feel. I had arrived at Black Rock City aka Burning Man.

I entered Black Rock City straight off a summer of music festival hopping. I was full from all the new friends and experiences I gathered. Yet I was still slightly heartbroken from graduating college, moving across the country, and leaving a special someone behind in the process. The whole summer had been one big lesson in letting go. Prepared or not, I had no choice but to let the day and journey of Burning Man begin.

Aside from the basic Burning Man lessons like “Leave No Trace” and pack lots of water, Burning Man taught me something more. Something more about myself. About people. About this great big/small world we live in.

And here are the lessons:

-Very early in the week I learned that every place has a balance of good and bad. Not everyone everywhere (not even at Burning Man) will always be welcoming or nice. The light needs the darkness just as much as the darkness needs the light. The world needs the balance to keep going.

-Spending time at Burning Man means learning how to pick and choose anything within sight or arms reach and make it work. In life certain situations, objects, people, breeze, dance, storm right on in. Sometimes you have no other choice but to take what’s around you and create the best situation possible. Don’t go searching for something more. Make the most out of what you have.

-Whether good or bad, people touch your life and give you certain things at certain points in your life. No matter what happens, appreciate it for what it was. I’ve been in so many whirlwind romances that are over as quickly as they began. Mystifying, dizzying, filled with fire but then abrupt endings. So many people will exit and enter your life. People leave. Sometimes they never come back. Appreciate it for what it was and move on.

-Before I got to Burning Man I visioned it to be something like a trading/bartering zone of sorts. I didn’t quite yet understand the meaning of “gift giving.” I made a bunch of Burning Man passports: small notebooks with scattered inspirational quotes, a pen and plenty of free space to let thoughts free flow to handout and give to people I connected with, but I still didn’t quite understand the whole concept of gift giving. Everyday someone (usually a stranger) would put a necklace around my neck or a hat on my head or hand me some sort of knickknack. But as the days went on and the connections between people grew deeper, people were giving me items that were “theirs.” When I’d try to return the items, the owners would tell me to keep them. It was then that I questioned, “What is a material possession anyway, possession of any kind?” If you truly love something, shouldn’t you give it away? If you’ve worn something or used something a gazillion times shouldn’t you want other people to experience that same love and joy?

So then I put flowers in my friends hair, dressed them up in my jewelry, accessorized everyone. I met a man on the dance floor and when I departed I wrapped my favorite headband around his head. “Until I return.” When I returned I realized that I wasn’t getting that headband back and even though it was my favorite headband, it was okay. When I look back on my life, I won’t remember all my accessories and knickknacks. I’ll remember the moments I shared with people, the way people made me feel, the goosebumps a certain moment, place, song gave me. I grasped the concept of gift giving and I let it take me to new levels. I started giving away pieces of myself, building deeper connections with people in my camp, opening up to strangers in ways I normally wouldn’t. Burning Man taught me the true act of giving and what it means to be open and generous. If you open yourself up to others, the universe will open up to you in ways you didn’t think possible.

-One of my favorite sayings written on the temple: I love still. No matter what keep growing, giving, believing, loving.

-Another favorite writing on the temple: As we journey we must remember to remember who we are. And that life is more than who we are.

-As the temple burned, small pieces of wood, paper, memories, swirled above our heads. When someone loves you/when you love someone, they spark a flame in your heart that burns forever. They stay a glow fire-red dancing above us. People we love never truly leave us.

-Burning Man is not a festival but a way of life. An example of what happens when you let people be whoever it is they are or want to be.

-As we waited in the line of cars to leave Black Rock City, I jotted down lingering thoughts in my journal, one last lesson the playa left me with:

I greeted Black Rock City as the sun was rising. Days, hours, lifetimes later we leave, changed people, as the sun rises again. We ride in the opposite direction of the sunshine, leaving behind all of its sweetness. Now we must remember to carry on the joy Burning Man has given us. The ability to be free and childlike, the gift of truly giving, of letting go and forgiving.

From our position in the packed car, we can’t look back. All the colors, beauty and brightness that come with the new day are behind us. We ride forward. To create our own beauty, our own reality. We continue onward.

Begin

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Before I got back into the swing of blogging, I’d become discouraged when I thought about where to begin. Should I begin at Burning Man? At Bonnaroo? At my college graduation? Those questions tainted my thoughts before I even started writing.

I was discouraged because I thought it was too late to tell those stories. I was discouraged because I didn’t have a theme picked out or fonts or what type of style I wanted my blog to be. It took me awhile to quell the perfectionist in me and just begin. Just begin with a story. Begin with a word. Begin with any post. I’ll begin here.

I felt I had so many stories to share, but the memories already passed. The time wasn’t relevant. I would be blogging about things that happened months, years ago. But what does it matter? The lessons and meanings from the story still hold true regardless of when the story is told. Begin anywhere. Begin.

Vincent Van Gogh didn’t start painting until he was 27. Bill Withers started his singing career in his late twenties.

Never let anyone tell you you’re too old or too young to do something. You can begin anywhere.

There are no rules to this thing. Sure there are other people’s experiences, but those are only guidelines. No one lives the same life. You can start anywhere you want.

Life is beginning every single second. Even when it’s ending, it’s still beginning. Begin on a Saturday. Begin on a Monday. Begin on a Wednesday afternoon. Begin on a day, on a second, on a whim. Life is always beginning and you can always begin.

June as a festival whirlwind

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That started in Tennessee and ended in Vermont. Now, weeks later, everything rushes back to me as it simultaneously fades away.

Where did I go? What did I do? Who did I meet? What happened?

The basic answers flash in my mind, but the other ones take more digging. Looking back on traveling is like that. Certain moments shine so vividly, when you think about them, it’s like you’re reliving them all around you. But others inevitably dissolve. At the end, it feels like everything happened so fast; it’s like it never happened at all. At the same time everything was so incredibly real, raw, present. I guess it’s a mixture of both. When I look back, I just can’t believe that it’s already over (over in one sense of the word, anyway).

Isn’t life like that most of the time? Sometimes you have these in-your-face real moments where you’ve never felt more alive, where you’re just yourself. You’re reaching out for all those colors around you, and you’re actually catching them. And you go with it. Other days I just seem to fall into the spaces between the second hand tick. The in-your-face alive moments are the ones I remember. The ones I strive for.

We left for Tennessee the first weekend of June. Four of us stuffed into an old Subaru. We drove roads that paralleled the highways. We made frequent stops to let the car cool. We spent hours in Virginia lounging roadside and riverside.

When we arrived at Clean Vibes’ headquarters to work the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, emotions of all types flooded me. I was so grateful to be out of the car; I was overjoyed to be reunited with friends. Mainly, it was happiness. Clean Vibes employees live all over the country. The only time we’re all in the same place is Bonnaroo. I hadn’t seen many Clean Vibers since last summer. Tears broke in my eyes as I hugged old friends.

Clean Vibers are a special breed of people. How many people you know would pickup trash as a job? Would pickup schwilly, nasty bags of poop, god only knows whats and thousands of cigarette butts? No matter the weather conditions: streaming sunshine, pouring rain.

When I explain my job to other people they give me a strange look at first. “I’m pretty much a garbage lady at music festivals,” isn’t something you hear everyday. Clean Vibers are some of the most open-minded people I’ve ever met. Adventurers. Risk takers. Road Less Traveleders. Beautiful in every sense of the word. People with different backgrounds and hometowns coming together to make the world a better place, one cigarette butt off the ground at a time. Part of the reason I pickup trash is because of the amazing people I work with.

Where we camp

The Main Stage

Radiate Positivity: one of Bonnaroo’s themes

The whole gang-she-bang

We camp at Bonnaroo until all of the garbage is picked up and the 700-acre farm is more spotless than it was before the festival started. The cleanup can take a couple weeks. We live together, work together, eat in catering together, shower in stalls beside each other, party together, play together. Forget alone time and personal space. Needless to say you become a family fairly quickly.

This year at Bonnaroo I worked at the Clean Vibes Trading Post.

Here I am working the Trading Post for Clean Vibes

The Trading Post is a recycling based initiative program that promotes sustainability by encouraging festival-goers to recycle. We set-up a booth in Planetroo that’s pretty much a recycling arcade. Festival-goers bring us their recycling and in return they win prizes such as synergy clothing, platypus water bottles, concert tickets and many more. I loved spreading the word about Clean Vibes and encouraging people to help keep the scene clean. For more information about the Trading Post check out their website here.

Because I was tired most days after work, I didn’t see that much music at Bonnaroo. I saw bits and pieces of Soja, Rubblebucket, Feist, Ludacris, Dawes, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Phish. I loved walking around by myself, but I also loved being with a crew of Clean Vibers and dancing our butts off. My favorite part of Bonnaroo was the day after Bonnaroo at the staff party. There’s a DJ, karaoke, free booze, free food, the most crawfish you’ve ever seen and lots and lots of dancing.

Crawfish forever

After working three days of post-show cleanup we said goodbye to Tennesee and drove 13 straight hours overnight to Atlantic City, NJ, to work the next show, Phish. Phish played a three night run at Bader Field. Most of our crew worked the 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. shift.

Phish fans are some of the most respectful fans I’ve ever encountered. So many people came up to us to ask what we were doing, to thank us, and to throw away their garbage. So many fans were extremely grateful and appreciative of our efforts. Who doesn’t like feeling appreciated? Thank you Phish fans. I appreciate you and your appreciation.

Last summer when I worked my first Phish festival, Superbowl, I learned that Phish is much more than a band. I started to understand what they were all about and why thousands of people devote their lives to following Phish around. Phish is the community of people it brings together. Phish is the feeling and energy the fans create. Phish is being kind to strangers and accepting everyone. Phish is unifying. Phish is letting your freak flag fly.

Saturday morning after finishing work at 5 a.m. a bunch of us, the now dubbed ‘Breakfast Club,’ decided to explore AC. We visited one of our friends at a penthouse suite at the Chelsea Hotel; we frolicked on the roof of the Chelsea Hotel; we may or may not have gotten kicked out of some casinos and a bar, but we had an absolute blast.

Things can get a little blurry around 7 a.m.

The Breakfast Club

A few hours later we woke up, started work at 4 p.m. and worked until there was no more trash on the ground. Going into the shift we were presented with the ambiguous time of ‘no more trash on the ground.’ Well, that ended up being until noon on Monday. We worked a 2o hour shift from 4 p.m. on Sunday until noon on Monday. By the time the sun comes up, you don’t know what’s real and what’s not. By that point I was delusional off of lack of sleep and all night work. But we all stuck it out and made it through together. Luckily we had each other for encouragement, silliness and love.

One morning before work my lovely lady friend and fellow Clean Viber, Angel happened to be outside talking on the phone at the same time I was. When she hung up she ran over to me and exclaimed, “I have a dream come true offer for you.” She offered me her Artist Hospitality position at the yoga and music festival Wanderlust in Vermont the following weekend. How could I refuse? Seize opportunities. After Phish I went home for a few days and then ventured to Vermont to be swept away in a land of yogis and more good vibes.

Part of the program

At Wanderlust I worked as an assistant to the head of artist hospitality. Our job was to cater to all of the artists’ needs. We food shopped for them, set up the green room, shuttled them to and from stages, filled coolers and did pretty much whatever they needed. By artists I mean Ziggy Marley, Ani DiFranco and Beats Antique. They were the headliners of the festival.

I was so grateful to be a part of such a wonderful festival in such a beautiful part of the world. The festival took place in the Green Mountains at Stratton Mountain Resort.

My ‘office’

I love everything about Vermont and I loved everything about Wanderlust.

A whole program filled with active activities!

Everyday (from Thursday to Sunday) there were guided hikes, multiple yoga classes, live music, lectures and more.

A description of the fest from their website, “Wanderlust is a one-of-a-kind festival bringing together the world’s leading yoga teachers, top musical acts and DJs, renowned speakers, top chefs and winemakers, and much, much more — all in a setting of breathtaking natural beauty. We’re talking about fun in the sun and dancing under the stars. Hiking on peaceful trails and gettin’ your down dog on at the top of the mountain. Sipping poolside cocktails with your friends, and then enjoying a tasty farm-to-table dinner with views of the surrounding mountain peaks. Early morning meditations and all-night chakra spinning musical performances – it’s an all-out ecstatic celebration in the most awe-inspiring locations in the world.”

I was pretty much in Heaven. It’s not too late to experience Wanderlust either! The fest is traveling to different parts of America and Canada. Wander to their website for more information.

I took a class called, “Unleash Your Inner Goddess” with Jennilee Toner. It was the best class I ever took out of any type of anything I’ve ever taken. After the class I felt invigorated, spiritually charged, empowered, connected, strong, loved, happy, refreshed, closer to the Universe, and ecstatic about life, love and the endless possibilities of this beautiful world we live in. It was just what I needed. I highly recommend this class to each and every person. Definitely check out Jennilee’s website and biography. She is such an inspiring person. If you’re ever in the Ballston Spa area in NY check out her studio.

As I finish typing this blog, I’m sitting on the floor of my childhood room gazing out the window at the tops of trees and bottoms of clouds. I’m thinking about those four questions I started the blog off with:

Where did I go? What did I do? Who did I meet? What happened?

Music festivals open up my eyes. After them I realize that I didn’t just go to festivals, but I escaped to a glimpse of what life can be when people strip away their insecurities, fears and doubts. When people join together in dancing, in stretching, in love. When people spend time outside, when people embrace their surroundings. I danced. I played. I loved. I woke up from the doldrums of everyday life. Life happened and it’s just going to keep happening. I’m going to strive to bring pieces of festival happiness into my everyday life and strive to constantly be alert and aware.

Namaste with love and light,

Patagonia: Hiking to Heaven in El Chaltén

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Getting outside brings out the best of what’s inside you. When I’m surrounded by nothing but mountains, trees, and sky, I can’t help but feel like I’m more a part of the Earth. When I hike, I hike to be outside, to be captivated by nature, to experience the natural rhythm of life, to learn how to be more in rhythm with this rhythm, and to learn how to listen to the silence and sounds that are already there without me.

This wonderful mass of the universe that we live on is already moving, breathing, living, and functioning on its own, without us. To be able to experience that buzz of life without interruption and to really feel like a part of it all. That is why I go hiking. I experienced that and more the day we hiked the Laguna de los Tres route in Chaltén.

Our first viewpoint: Laguna Piedras Blancas

With our Backroads group we started the hike around 9 a.m. Four of us finished the hike around 9 p.m., completing a 12-hour hiking day, encompassing 13.4 miles while summiting a 4,000 foot peak. The day, exhilarating, overwhelming, and exhausting, was one of the best hiking days I’ve ever had.

Like almost all of the days on our trip, every element of the weather came together to be the perfect formula for a hike. The sky was clear; there was no wind; and the air wasn’t too warm or too cold (temperature in mid-50s to mid-60s). But don’t be fooled by this too-good-to-be-true weather report.

Travel Tip: With Patagonia weather, you never know what you’re going to get. Be prepared (both mentally and gear-wise) for high winds, frequent and unpredictable showers (rain or snow), and intense sunshine at any time of the year.

We hiked through forests, fields, mountains, and stopped along rivers and lakes. One minute we were enclosed by tree branches with only glimpses of sky and peaks. The next we were walking into a wide open field, sky stretching all around us, with low, scrubby bushes at our feet. The next we stood on top of a mountain with snow-capped peaks staring back at us. With each step, we experienced such vivid contrasts.

Laguna de los Tres, the lagoon of the three, is known as the best viewing spot for the Fitz Roy mountain range. De Los Tres refers to the three highest peaks you can see from the lake’s shore: Fitz Roy (11,073 ft), Poincenot (9,849 ft), and Saint-Exupéry (8,392 ft).

                  The peak above the man in the gray is Saint-Exupéry and then to the right there’s Rafael, Poincenot and Fitz Roy.

Fitz Roy is the highest spire in Argentine Patagonia. Even though it’s less than half the size of the world’s greatest peaks, it’s one of the hardest peaks to climb. The difficulty is part challenge and part unpredictable weather conditions. The area has also been pretty inaccesible until the more recent developments of Chaltén. Hundreds of people may reach the summit of Mount Everest in a day, but Monte Fitz Roy may only be successfully ascended once a year.

Saint-Exupéry is named in memory of Antoine de Saint Exupéry, a French aviator who delivered mail to Patagonia by plane in the early 1930s. He’s also the writer of the best-seller, “Le Petit Prince” (The Little Prince). He disappeared while flying over the northern part of Corsica. His death remains a mystery.

Poincenot is named after Jacques Poincenot, a member of the French expedition set to conquer Fitz Roy in 1952. While attempting to cross the Fitz Roy river, Jacques fell in and died. His team carried on and named the peak in his memory.

After about 5 miles of hiking through the forest and fields, we decided to power on for the climb to Laugna de los Tres. Up until this point the views had already been incredible. But it was about to get even better.

While mapping out the trail in the dirt with his hiking pole before our final steep climb, David, our local guide, said, “You’re going to arrive at a place where the mountains make you say, ‘Wow.’ If you don’t say that then you haven’t arrived.”

Laguna de los Tres: Our ‘wow’ viewpoint from the top. I think we arrived.

Once we reached the top we stopped to eat lunch. I wanted to stay there forever. Not only were the highest peaks in front of us, but behind us more mountains rolled on, fields spread, and the river snaked into the horizon. We were on top of the world. There’s nothing more rewarding than a view like that after a long hike and a steep climb.

Avalanche ring

As soon as we finished eating lunch, an avalanche erupted into the water. It was such a powerful booming noise. We just happened to be at the right place at the right time to hear it.

When we started to walk down one of the peaks, a cloud shaped like a halo formed over the peak in front of us. Once again we were in the right place at the right time. If you take the time and effort, the Earth will reveal its magnificence to you. You will be rewarded in ways you can’t even imagine.

Cloud halo

To know that this will always be here- this all knowingness that the forest already holds, that the mountains already whisper, shakes me to the core in the best possible way. I’ve always felt another kind of spiritual presence in the woods and I could never really relate to that feeling with mountains, but on this day I did. Even just staring at them in the distance. Being surrounded by nothing else.

The rest of the Backroads group hiked ahead and David stayed with my Aunt, Susan and I.  For the hike back, David was our personal tour guide. He stopped us every five minutes to teach us about our surroundings—why the clouds were shaped like they were, how the rocks formed, what happened to the trees, etc, etc. It was such an incredible way to experience hiking in Patagonia. David was so generous with his time, so extremely knowledgeable and helpful. He’s also an excellent photographer. You can view his pictures here.

We hiked at our own pace, taking our time to really absorb everything. Aside from taking pictures of every single thing I saw, I wanted to fully absorb my surroundings. I wanted to really look at things: pebble-sized rocks, skinny trees, huge mountains. I wanted to understand my surroundings as best as I could. I like to take my time, especially when I hike.

To observe is to truly be in the moment.

Some of our views on the hike back:

Another view of Fitz Roy

Even the rocks in Patagonia are happy.

Laguna Capri

It’s hard not to look back when things are this beautiful.

On our final descent, the sun started to set over Chalten. This picture does no justice.

There’s a lot of useful information online about this hike if you’d like to take the same route.

How we did it:

From Chaltén shuttle 20 minutes to Hosteria El Pilar, a hotel 17 kilometers (10 miles) from town. Take the trail to the right of the Hosteria, keeping the river on the right. Continue straight; follow sign for Rio Blanco. After about 5 km you’ll reach a T-intersection. Turn right to pass through Campamento Poincenet. Turn left to go back to Chaltén. If continuing on, follow signs for Laguna de los Tres and Campamento Rio Blanco.

The hike back:

After climbing down the mountain, pass through a flat section of wetlands and wooden boardwalks. Turn LEFT at T-intersection toward El Chaltén and Laguna Capri. At next intersection veer RIGHT uphill and turn RIGHT toward Laguna Capri. Continue straight through Campamento Capri and follow signs for Chaltén.

And of course after the hike, don’t forget to stop in at La Cerveceria, a local microbrewery. A very rewarding stop after a full day of hiking.

Happy Trails!

Patagonia: El Chaltén: The Heart of Patagonia

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You know how certain places give off a certain feeling and in return evoke a certain feeling within you? El Chaltén is one of those places. It’s a town that completely captures you. It’s a certain kind of paradise.

El Chaltén is a small village set within a valley at the base of the Cerro Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre mountain ranges, the two most iconic mountain ranges in Argentina. Known as the unofficial national trekking capital of Argentina, the town is a part of the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares.

El Chaltén formally became a town in 1985 when a territorial dispute between Argentina and Chile intensified. To fully claim the land the clever Argentines built houses and started living there. When it was time to make a decision, Argentina got the land because they already occupied it.

Before Chaltén was an official town, early pioneers inhabited the area. Andreas Madsen, one of the most well known pioneers in Chaltén, came to Argentina from Denmark in the early 1900s. When we hiked in Chaltén we saw his house in the distance and our guide told us the story.

Andreas Madsen worked as a cook on an expedition with the famous Argentine explorer, Perito Moreno. So enamored by the natural landscape he built a farm, Estancia Fitz Roy, and settled there with his house facing the mountain. He returned to Denmark to find the love of his life, found her, married her and brought her back to Patagonia. They raised their four children (one named Fitz Roy) on the farm. They were truly out in the middle of nowhere, living off the land and surviving through Patagonia’s harshest conditions.

                                “Patagonia!” he cried. “She is a hard mistress. She casts her spell.

                               An enchantress! She folds you in her arms and never lets go.” 

I found this picture of the Madsen house online.

Andreas wrote two books: “Patagonia Vieja (Old Patagonia)” and “Cazando Pumas (Hunting Pumas)” which I’d love to read, but I can’t seem to find much information about online.

I absolutely loved everything about El Chaltén. Similar to saying just Calafate, you can refer to it as Chaltén. The name is prononuced exactly as it looks. Chal and then ten.

Chalten From Above

Chaltén felt much more real to me than Calafate. There was no center of town or shops overdone with souvenirs. There were no supermercados, just a few grocery markets. Most of the people there were there to climb, hike or explore the outdoors. Chaltén felt the way Patagonia should feel.

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You know when you meet someone that listens so intently and truly cares about what you have to say, someone that isn’t afraid to express their feelings, someone that touches your life just by being present, someone that is so refreshing to meet, someone that is completely real. Chaltén is that person. Chaltén is genuine, down to earth, simple and peaceful. When it’s located in such a beautiful part of the world and inside a national park, it’s hard for a place not to posses those characteristics.

There’s something about mountains that bring serenity to a place, to people who live there. Chaltén rests comfortably at the mountains’ feet, like a child being watched over by a grandfather. The mountains exude their wisdom and patience down to Chaltén. Can you imagine being invigorated with this every single day?

Pondering the possibilities of the day by gazing out our hotel room’s window.

Chaltén is one of those places that still belongs completely to the Earth. Some streets are paved; some streets are just mud and gravel. I can’t find a reliable source online, but it seems that the town’s permanent population is generally around 1,000 people, maybe less. With a lot of the houses it was hard to tell what stage the construction was in. I couldn’t tell whether they were abandon or being fixed up. There isn’t an efficient home telephone network or cell phone service; internet connection is slow and expensive. There are no banks or money exchange places. I think there’s one ATM. No mayor, churches, newspapers. Because these general distractions from life are eliminated in Chaltén, you feel even more plugged in with the natural environment. You feel incredibly connected to nature.

Tips: There is no fee to go hiking or climbing in the park. If you plan on climbing you just need to register with the park service before you go.

The name Chaltén derives from the native Tehuelche’s word which means “smoking mountain.” The Tehuelches called the Fitz Roy mountain, “Chaltén” because there was always a cloud of smoke around its peak. They thought it could even be a volcano.

Perito Moreno renamed the mountain Fitz Roy in honor of Robert Fitz Roy, the captain of the Beagle, Darwin’s ship. But the name for the town stuck.

Chaltén is about a three hour bus ride from Calafate. Before the airport was built in Calafate in 2000 the only way to Chaltén was a ten hour bus ride from Rio Gallegos.

We spent three nights in Chaltén at the hotel Los Cerros. We spent two and a half days hiking in the national park. Those days were some of the most incredible days of my whole life. Stay tuned for another post that includes jaw-dropping pictures of the days spent hiking in Chaltén.

I left piece of my heart in Chaltén and will definitely make my way back someday.

Our hotel in Chaltén

View from our room