Life is Beautiful Around the World

As I said, yesterday I was invited to do something called the ¨via de cruz¨ or also known as ¨la oracion de cruz¨. It was some sort of religious celebration for the dia de Santa Cruz.

I put on a nice skirt and shirt. I had on my fancy sandals. I fixed up my hair the best I could in this humidity and wore some dangley earrings. No one had warned me for what was to come.

The walk started off nice, me and a few kids, one man leading the way. It was a hot day in La Montana (this is the name of my canton and foreshadows whats to come). The dirt road was rocky, as always, but a relatively flat plain. Then it got steeper. Gradually at first, and then abruptly. We made a left turn down a smaller dirt road and then a right into a path that was only marked by the man ahead cutting through the brush with his machete. By the way, machetes here, on guys, are like handbags for girls. You dont go anywhere without them. Church and the letrine included. And there is even a ¨machete¨ coat check at some supermarkets. Anyway, in a matter of minutes I found myself lost in a maze of green.

My legs were cut and my skirt dirty. I stretched my limbs more than I do in my morning yoga sessions. I was drenched in sweat. I lost an earring. My hands clawed for something to grab above to hoist myself up on large boulders. My legs were more sore than the day before when I played soccer for an hour. But when we got to the top, 40 minutes later, it was all worth it.

There was about 25 people gathered in a small clearing in the middle of the tall grass, corn fields and green trees that surrounded. I caught my breath, only to lose it again when I looked out over the cliff side. You could see mountain range after mountain range until they disappeared over the horizon. There were birds circling silently overhead, and you could only tell the clouds were moving by the shadows that changed the colors of the fields below. There were no houses, no cows. It was so quiet, that only barely could you make out the sounds of the chickens in the distance. But it wouldn´t be El Salvador without that.

Next time, I will wear hiking boots, bring carabeeners, rope and a camel pack. Long pants. Bug Spray. Maybe a helmet and knee pads. Energy drinks and sunscreen. Trail mix and a first aid kit. Well maybe I´m exaggerating...

I will bring my camera. My sketchbad. A book to read. I will come alone. And just be inspired by la naturaleza.

Or maybe I will bring nothing. Maybe I will just do the entire hike without stopping. Exert all my energy to the point of exhaustion and then collapse in the clearing. Surely the sweat with torture me as it trickles down my forehead and dissipates on the earth below, but I will just let it happen. I will take every moment for what it is. I will not interfere with the nature of how things work. I will revel in the simplicity of the experience. Lying there, all appendages open and responsive to the world. Completely relaxed and still, except for the rise and fall of my chest as I breath in the fresh air. After absorbing it all, how the wind interacts with the trees and the mountains with the clouds I will close my eyes and reflect...

Just as I did during the Via de Cruz yesterday on mountain side. I tried to listen at first to the words of the Bible. I did enjoy the songs. But soon my mind drifted away from the disciples, as I stared past the preachers and into the faces of the mountains in the distance. I pictured myself on the back of a motorcycle, clinging onto my sister´s shirt and laughing as we bumped around the mountains of northern Vietnam. I closed my eyes and felt the same breeze as I did that day. I floated over to Honduras, to the island of Utila. I was sitting on the dock of the bar, Tranquila, that protruded out into the sea, where you could see the mountains of the Honduran mainland in the distance on a clear day. I got a little lightheaded when I thought of the terrain of Bolivia, and how at some points, if you avoided the altitude sickness, you almost felt like you were in a state of euphoria. I drifted back 5-6 years, to a cliff in Portugal with my best friend. Salty sea water splashing in our faces as we admired our tans and giggled about the cute Portuguese boys we had met the night before. And I smiled. I opened my eyes back up to the beautiful view, and I smiled at the beautiful people around me. Many smiled back, with their eyes, as they sung along thanking God for the bread, the rain, the sun... I was thankful too.

Because, as the Red Hot Chili Peppers often remind me....

¨I know. I know for sure. That life is beautiful around the world.¨