Time in Cuba and Roatan

Time is a funny thing.  It speeds up and then slows down.  A moment can last a lifetime.  A look in someone's eyes as you close the door on them or the gaze into another’s eyes as you see recognition and connection.  While diving a 45 minute dive can seem forever or be over way too quickly.  A moment snorkeling with dolphins in the open water can last a lifetime. These last two months on Roatan have been infinitely long and terribly short.  I kept meaning to write, but time slipped into the future.

I got older this last month.  I had a wonderful birthday.  I went with my birthday buddy Max on his first dive.  I was surrounded with amazing people and got to hear from friends and family.

Also, I moved into my 3rd place in Roatan, back to West End.  And as my 3rd month here came to an end, I needed to leave the country to renew my visa.  My plan was to go to Guatemala.  See Copan along the way to Antigua, San Marcos and finally to Tikal.  But anyone who knows me knows plans can change in a moment’s notice.  As I was sitting at my friend's tattoo shop a yogini came in (they do yoga at the tattoo shop naturally).  The yogini was talking about her upcoming trip to Cuba since there was a time limited direct flight from Roatan to Cuba.  Cuba, I've always wanted to go to Cuba.

So I went to Cuba 3 days later.  Cuba, where time stands still yet is moving forward at a rate unknown.  Stepping into Cuba was like stepping into the past.  Streets were filled with beautifully colored vintage cars.  Colonial buildings crumbling in majestic watercolors, street corridors went on forever until they hit the sea and people filled the streets.

Cuba is her people.  My waking hours were filled with meandering through the 2 cities (Habana and Trinidad), going to galleries, reading "Islands in the Stream", eating, listening to music, a little dancing and conversing with Cubans.  In Habana, I sat with a bike-taxi business owner for a couple hours.  In Trinidad, I celebrated a 54 yr old's birthday with a coffee, a climb to the church of San Francisco de Asis and a visit to a revolutionary museum.  I ate dinner with a girl my age at her "basic" (her words not mine) house with her family.  I stood in streets, cafes, restaurants and stoops talking to people about life- from the mundane, political, cultural and philosophical. I received relationship advice and a few offers of marriage.

If Habana was a 50's watercolor picture, Trinidad was stepping further into the past- a pastel version of it.  Trinidad was life through rose colored glasses. The first night walking through the streets I heard Edith Piaf's "La Vie en Rose" filtering through an open door.  I lingered outside until the song was over.  And then I saw the sign "Por el futuro del Pasado- Trinidad 500 anos."  For the future of the past. The second day in Trinidad I rented a bike and rode the 4 km through the countryside to a beach called Las Bocas.  There's so much more to explore of Cuba.  Someday, in the future, I will go back to Cuba and hope that the past will still linger romantically in the air.

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I recently spent 7 hours floating in the Caribbean waiting for a boat that had failed to come and pick us up after our dive.  4 of us went to the sea mounts, 25 miles off the coast of Roatan.  A seamount is a mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach the surface.  They are formed by extinct volcanoes.  This seamount was an unexplored on and it was a beautiful dive.  We did the dive according to plan and came up after 50 minutes to our surface marker.  No boat.  About 45 minutes later we saw a boat far away, our hopes soared but then we watched him circle around us and apparently didn't see us.  We attached 2 other lines to the sea mount after that as a safety precaution.  We floated on our dive gear in the open sea near the 3 markers.  Time stood still, there were frigates and boobies flying overhead, turtles swam and surfaced around us and small jellies floating all around us.  My roommate Mel and I said many times that it was a dream and that we would like to wake up now.  We consistently checked our watches about every hour to half hour; time ticked by and sped up.  An hour would fly by.  We discussed all possible options- whether to swim to shore (10+ hours away), what to do with switching currents and the possibility of spending the night in the open ocean.

The sun was setting.  I said "I think it's going to be a beautiful sunset" to which I received a few "shut ups".  The sunset was epically beautiful.  As the sunset, someone said "I don't think they are going to find us" to which I (in my most authoritative nanny voice) said "That is NOT going to happen.  Then moments later Mel said "There's a boat, I'm not joking there's a boat!"  As the sun set we saw a boat, the boat was perfectly circled by the sun as it was sinking into the ocean.  The boat was coming directly towards our GPS coordinates that had been left with the owner of the boat.  We were exactly where we were supposed to be, sunburnt and dehydrated.  I never thought for one moment that we wouldn't be found and that nothing aside from a few jelly fish stings.  I was fully present in those 7 hours and they passed by quickly.  It seemed that it wasn't long at all and eternity as well.

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Time depends on how we are connected to it.  The key is in the connection- with ourselves, with others, and with the world around us.  The type of connection is how we react, act and perceive what is happening around us.  

Brushfire Fairytales: Roatan

I wander.  I check things out.  I wait patiently and sometimes impatiently for things to work out, for the big picture to appear.  I daydream, I look at the world and make connections to tell my story; a beautiful fairytale full of ups and downs, twists and turns, full of mystery and discovery.  If I feel uncomfortable or feel the need to control a situation I try and give it space, give it breath and life works its self out.  My intuition tells me where to go, I listen and watch and learn.  The story unfolds. Not all who wander are lost.

This last month in Roatan has had its ups and downs.  She, the island, is sometimes called Temptation Island (the show was filmed here) and she can eat people up and spit them out.  She has a lot of dark energy and a lot of bright energy.  Gossip spreads like wildfire, smiles can make your day, beauty is all around, it’s anything goes, facades crumble and temptation is abound.  Life unfolds at a speed I’ve not seen anywhere else.  This beautiful island has always been a healing place for me through the ups and downs she shows me who I am.

This last month a good family friend died unexpectedly.  Joe Davis was a mentor, he got me my first job in a bank, I helped raise his two beautiful children, and he always supported my adventurous spirit.  He and I had a special connection and his death hit me hard.  His death reminded me how short life can be and how quickly it goes by.  People make their entrances and exits, frame by frame.

Jenny and Captain Nemo also made an exit this month.  It is bittersweet and I have learned a lot from them and about myself.  I wish them a beautiful adventure.  My adventure is still here in Roatan for the moment.  I have been diving for fun and sometimes for work; the feeling of neutral buoyancy, the colors of the reef and interactions with fish bring me great joy and clarity.  I’ve been hanging out with good friends; couch surfing and now staying in a peaceful valley with my friends Ruth and Dave and their two cats and two dogs.  I know that if there are dogs and cats and in my life things are going good.  Buster the cat, Smarty Jones the big pup, Big Brown the OG dog and Peter Parson the growing kitten fill my days with happiness and entertainment.  I am so thankful and fortunate to have them in my life.  Dave runs a non-profit here called the Sol Foundation, “SOL (School of Life) International Foundation is working to initiate and support community-based programs designed to promote education and increase the quality of life in developing areas.”  To learn more check out http://www.solsite.org   I will be volunteering this month with the SOL; hanging with the kids and spearheading the kid’s corner of a festival that will be here in late March.  The inspiration given to me is like the Kokua Festival in Hawaii started by Jack Johnson.  Children, like the dogs, cats and ocean make me happy and fulfilled.  They keep it simple, remind us of the beautiful mysteries of life and the importance of how to connect with one another.

Peter Parson

My mama also had full knee replacement surgery this month.  I am so thankful for technology.  The technology that she can get a new knee and will be out of pain and more active.  And the technology that allowed me to see her in the hospital after surgery, to talk with her and see her daily chats as she heals and to connect with my dad too.  I have amazing parents and a beautiful connection with them, they support me with their unconditional love and freedom to be who I am.  And the mystery of love goes both ways.

Oh and there is a lot of magic, mystery and fairytales in Roatan.  

Shhhhh, don’t tell anyone but there’s pirate treasure here.  Oh and I may have discovered the fountain of youth, keep that one to yourself, definitely.  There are Peter Pans who can fly and Lost Boys getting into mischief.  There are mermaids and sirens singing Calypso’s song.  There are tiger lilies natives going back to their roots and tinkerbells spreading light as they go.  There are pirates searching for gold with mutiny on their minds.  I’ve found oracles and sorcerers and warriors, explorers, navigators and adventurers.

Jungle hike

I went for a jungle hike to discover the fountain of youth with a native, a warrior and an oracle.  The legendary fountain of youth is said to be in the Caribbean island of Beimeni which people believe to be in the Bahamas but I think that Juan de Solis, a 16^th Century navigator and explorer might be right that it’s on an island in the Gulf Coast of Honduras- Roatan.  Legends say that the struggle for eternal youth is the battle between the skeleton (fear/death) and the angel (hope/life).  Water from the fountain of the angel mixed with a mermaid’s tear in a chalice will grant eternal youth (or as I like to think great healing).   The four of us women hiked through the enchanted forest with large sticks along a not so beaten path with silver spiders weaving their webs, lizards underfoot and birds cawing above. We hiked along a mountain stream leading to this fountain of youth.  As we approached the fountain 6 boys were collecting water.  There was trash strewn about and our leader; the native protector spoke to the boys about littering and plastic waste.  They huddled around with open ears and hearts.  The warrior and native drank the water, I did not.  We journeyed on to a mountain top above the jungle where we could see the east and west views of the waters surrounding this island.  A magical mystery tour to the itsy bitsy diamond well.  

Roatan is like neverland.  Like neverland, some people do age and some refuse to grow up.  It’s the second island to the right (of the Bay Islands) and people party on until morning.  Time does slow down and no one moves to fast- one can lose track of time, days, weeks or even years.  There are crocodiles in the mangroves and golf courses and mermaids diving underwater.  I am staying in a tree top house with a Peter P. (Peter Parson the kitty who I hope never grows old) in magical Pixie Hollow valley where fairies may roam free.  I’ve seen butterflies, lizards- Monkey Lalas and iguanas and geckos, parrots, vultures, hawks and two white owls.  And there are mermaids and mans diving with fish of every color, eels, dolphins, whale sharks, and turtles.  There are submarines that want to go 20,000 Leagues under the sea too.

There are lost boys still here including my friend Pete, who is definitely a Peter Pan.  I have made friends with other boys too, who aren’t so lost and love exploring and seeking treasure. A few of them played pirates in search for treasure in the town of Port Royal.  The pirate Henry Morgan’s treasure is believed to be on this island, back in the day Captain Morgan among other pirates used Old Port Royal as a pirate fortress.  My friends went hunting and found a coin, a sword and a belt buckle above and below the water in an afternoon.  What a beautiful world.

I’m learning to see the world for what it is, through my interpretation and perception, and observing the people around me.  It’s true Plato's cave is full of freaks, and sometimes they demand refunds for the thing's they've seen.  No demands and no refunds in my life.  Do I move through life too fast?  Shortcuts don't really make me get there any faster, but sometimes they are pretty fun rides.  I’m slowing down here remembering the moments, looking at things I may have overseen.  Trying not “to rebound off of we"- fighting shadows, mirrors and getting angry with each other, instead appreciating my voyage, myself, everyone, and every second. Frame by frame of all the fairytales burning like brushfire around me, my own brushfire fairytale.  

following Smarty Jones