Nature 3.0

I need some space… I need lots of space in which to allow the person within my psyche to come out.  For me a crowded city is not a good place to get some thinking done.  For that matter neither is traffic, planes, crowded cafes, or any place that has more than 1 person within earshot of where you are.  I am old to the young and young to the old but yet I still feel like a child finally stepping out of the social confinements in which we are all subjected to.  I am an escapee.  I have broken through the gates and I am running further and faster from the past than ever before.  Yet with all of this anxiety there is this undeniable element of tranquility.  There is something that can easily bring me down to a pace that is in step with the rhythms of life.

Nature has dominated the speed in which my life is lived.  I am still in rehab from modern society and the progression into a union with something greater than me persists.  All it took was a nice long walk through the banks of rivers in the southern Andes and a visit to a places where the good ole days are still present and the bulldozers of progress are slow to come.  I do not know where I shall reside once I am done walking but for now I am happy calling these remote locations home.  Home has never felt so inviting as it does now.

“Trout do not live in ugly places,” and neither will I.

It is wider than a small compact car.

There is no place too far…

The road less traveled is one that is admired and sought after for many obvious reasons.  Countless stories of bravery and struggle are formulated with the very notion of experiencing things that most wouldn’t.  I do not feel, nor am I ever going to assume, that what I am doing is something new and undiscovered.  The road I walk on now is neither an untouched frontier nor unfamiliar within the traveling community.  Plus I am constantly being humbled by the methods of travel that other people decide to take.  With this in mind I am posting only pictures of my “road less traveled”.  I am constantly rejuvenated with the comments and praise that I receive along the way.

I want to thank everyone who has supported me so far with all of their gracious words of encouragement.  No day passes that I do not wish that one of you are with me by my side.  I also understand, more than ever, that a journey like this is something best explored alone.  I was afraid to undertake this path long before I boarded a plane to my final destination.  I have been privileged to meet the people I have met along the way.  As one of my best friends so kindly said, “You are the type of person who will always be comfortable where ever you go.”

Below are my final pictures of my time in Futaleufu.  Once again I would like to extend my gratitude to the people I have been able to call friends during my time there.  American, Chilean, Peruvian, Israeli, and German.  You have all proven to be a perfect catalyst for the discovery of myself in an unknown land.

Enjoy!

The Thing That Was

Can you remember the type of person you were a year ago?  Ten years ago? Twenty?  Looking back on long periods of time and thinking about the changes that occur within yourself is easy the more years you add to it.  One thing that we all share as humans is wisdom through experience.  The older one gets the wiser (not necessarily smarter) we become.  That is an obvious observation, but now think about the times in your life when events that you controlled help shape you as a person very quickly.  Have you experienced something so positive that it took you a while to digest the full meaning of but only seconds to alter your perception of reality?

I have been absent from my commitment to this journal for just that reason.  Speaking with my best friends and family before my departure, I would often mention that I wished to visit a place where the people live by a different standard.  I wanted to know that places in this world aren’t easily corrupted as they are in “civilized” nations.  I found what I was looking for and much more.  Now that I am away from my Zion I am finally able to analyze the profound changes that I have allowed occur in my own personal Psyche.  And this all happened in what feels like a blink of an eye.  Rain, wind, cold temperatures, high water, mud, isolation, and even death have all played into my epic journey so far.  I can say with all honesty that this world does hold places where a gringo/Mexican can feel at home from the minute of arrival yet none of the comforts of home exist.  What I hoped to find away from a river I can now luckily say I have found.  I cannot delve any deeper into this subject because I am so green from my departure that I wake up in the middle of the night due to the sound of a car passing by (The town I am in now holds a population of 30,000 and it feels like New York).

To be an Atheist is to say you have never seen Futaleufu.

simple*things~

Almost a month now and I feel like I have very little to share.  Time, as I am sure for all of you, has gone by faster than ever.  My patience is constantly tested by nature and its erratic weather.  Summer has been slow to come while winter fights to remain around.  Rivers are still high and mountain peaks white.  The winds of Patagonia are rarely gentle and seem to strip you down to your core.  I have lost count with how many times locals have said this is “an odd summer”.  Perfect timing for me I guess.

The endless road for the past month has become more familiar due to my settling down in an unfamiliar place.  Living out of a tent to renting a small one room cabin with no heat sums up my living situation.  In a town of 1,700, faces are familiar now while their lives and way of being is still a new world to me. Riding my bike through town is generally met with lots of hand waves, “Todo Bien?”, and the necessary conversation with one of the rafting guides.

Life in the campo here is something that I wish I could share with everyone.  We have all said that we would love to live simply at one point or another in our lives and it is incredible meeting people that do.  No complaints from their end for the simple life they live.  They know very well that there is a fast pace world beyond the cordillera.  A world of computers, fast cars, fast money, and endless luxuries are exchanged for long winters, maintaining of livestock and the sounds of nature.  The way they explain themselves to those they meet will show you that a life lived quietly and sustainably is just as rewarding than one seeking out the riches of the world.  These are the stories of people who are extinct in our American lives.

I feel that there is no way of life better than another.  Life lived on Wall Street is just as meaningful as one spent surrounded by the cordillera.  What I have noticed however is that a life spent in the campo is harder than a life lived in luxury.  Modern conveniences bring modern problems to which we are now only beginning to realize their consequences.  Or maybe I am only now becoming aware of them.  I would have to assume that the strains from a modern life are obvious to everyone.  We each swallow them with the realization that it is unavoidable.  The same can be said for a life away from society.  It comes with its own challenges and struggles to which I am becoming ever more intoxicated with.  At least out here you have no dependence on the speed of development.  Patience is as much of a necessity as knowing how to tend to your animals.  Simply put, it is very tranquilo.

This is no longer a fishing trip.  This is no longer a vacation or a sabbatical.  The very meaning of why I came has been swept away by the power of the Futaleufu River and its people.  The search for big fish is now a side note on a time spent in thought and discovery.  Isn’t this how it works for us all?  One never seems to find what they are looking for but rather realize what they have found in its stead is far more beautiful.  It is nice to be knee deep in a patch of self discovery.  Going through the motions of “work, eat, sleep” can take away the feeling that everyday is a journey for us all.  Don’t get too comfortable because the world is truly an amazing place.  Fragile, powerful, and merciless.  We are all here for such a short time with nothing but an image of a happy life to inspire us towards tomorrow.  Live today as if you too were on an epic journey.

shadows

The Boob

bee

mini size

fishy

mi casa es tu casa

Reflections

once upon a time…

Bed, Bath, and Beyond

Gaucho Games

Over Inspired

It is possible.   It is possible to reach a point of being overly inspired.  It is the antithesis of hitting writers block.  Yet, this sensation has nothing to do with writing or photography.  I am not talking about being over inspired by the will to create as a painter or a sculptor.  This is more organic.  More intrinsic.  More personal.

I don’t know what caused this  sensation but I want it to go away.  A crowded room is no longer noisy.  The need for constant conversation or the sharing of thoughts and feelings is muted.  Hours turn to days, days into weeks.  There is no meaning in a holiday or the turning of a new year.  The faces of new friends are almost meaningless if they were not necessities in your survival.  I asked myself today what I would say to someone if they asked me what I have learned on this long journey.

I know for certain that there is no way to describe what someone else experiences.  There is no way of describing what it is like watching the ground around you inhale and exhale as if it was your own.  The river.  I could probably elaborate about what my experience in a certain town was like but it would be impossible to ever express the feeling of life abroad.  The minor victories that keep you going are always the most meaningful and the hardest to describe.  After some thought I believe the right answer to the question of what I have learned would sound close to this:

Have you observed or noticed something in me that has changed?  Do I have a different way of talking or acting?  Is there something different about me?  If you notice a change in my being than that is what I have learned.  I have learned nothing if I come back the same.

I feel overly inspired by my surroundings.  So much so that I will never be able to tell you.  There is no need to ask because you already know my answer.  The conversation with the self has started and it creates a world of bliss.  It can happen anywhere as long as you are wiling to let it happen.  It took me a year of planning, 4 months south of the equator, and no plans other than fly fishing.  That was my path to being over inspired.  Everyone’s path is different and does not require a drastic change.  Nature is the key ingredient.

The sound of silence can be deafening.  Unfortunately silence is hard to find in a world growing smaller.

The View

La Casa

Dream Like

Gaucho Country

The rodeo show

III

Typical

Long Cast

Sums It Up

New Years

Mother Nature’s Son

“Happiness only real when shared.” Christopher McCandless

Traveling by one’s self may seem like a lonely venture but I can assure you it is not.  There are some days when you wake up and wonder how you can fill the time before you start your next adventure.  It is on those “filler” days where I have found most of my happiness.  From the joking conversations with a new best friend, to the hospitality given to me by a new hostel owner; the days between my fishing trips have been even more memorable than the trips themselves.  I am surprised by the numbers of travelers I am meeting that hit the road alone.  Some of them I wouldn’t peg as a soloist but everyone has their reasons and each is a healthy endeavor to spend time with themselves.

In the time I spent in San Martin de los Andes I have been received with open arms and even welcomed as part of the family with a hostel owner.  I often wonder how foreigners in the US describe us.  Are we welcoming and easy to approach?  Do we go an extra mile to make a complete stranger feel at home?  How would a conversation sound between two travelers?  I hope that we are categorized generally as being an open society with the willingness to help out our fellow-man.  Sure we all give money to tsunami victims and church groups but doing something kind for the stranger in front of you, in need of help or not, is a great way to brighten someone’s day/month/year.  Pay it forward.

Patagonia is a playground and I am a child again.  Not working also helps with the fantasy.  The rivers are not as clean and clear as they say.  In fact, they are cleaner and clearer!  Drinking water from the very river you are fishing in is normal.  Think of the most refreshing water you have ever had.  It is probably cold, very clean, and may even have a distinct taste to it that makes it extra refreshing.  Now multiply that times the Andes and now fill the lakes and rivers with fish and you may start to get the general idea of what I am talking about.

Since my arrival I have fished the following bodies of water: Rio Malleo, Rio Pulmari, Rio Quilquihue, Rio Caleufu, Pichi Leufu, and Lago Nahuel Huapi.  Each one is distinctly unique yet oddly similar.  The fish are eager to take large bugs and the fight is typically a tough one.  Hemingway would describe these fish as “courageous”.  The techniques used here a slightly different than back home (they generally use thicker line and laugh at me when i tie a fly on using 5x).  It is also a lot easier to catch a 20″ fish here than in most of Colorado’s tailwaters.  I sometimes forget, in the middle of a 5 day fishing binge, that I’m even in a foreign country.  Wake up, fish, drink coffee, fish, lunch, siesta, fish, cook dinner, fish one more time, sleep, and then repeat.  Do that a few days in a row and you may even forget what year you were born in.

I am almost at my first 90 day mark which means two things to the traveler in Argentina.  First, you have been here a long time yet it still feels like yesterday when you were packing to leave.  Secondly, my 90 day visa is up and I need to get out of the country.  So, at the behest of the Argentine government, I will be leaving for Chile and spending the holidays with great friends from Colorado.  I am thankful to have so many great people in life that present themselves at just the right times in my life.  I look forward to spending time in another country, catching fish and sharing my passion.  Speaking with travelers in the hostels I am told that my true colors come out when I start talking about fishing.  They almost wish they thought of it themselves to mainly take them away from the usual tourist traps of family boat rides on a lake or boring city/park tours that give too much mundane information.

Traveling abroad alone is a growing experience…  Traveling alone with a fly rod is just plain unexplainable.  Art meets life meets passion meets adventure meets nature meets a lucid dream.

East looking West

My Friend, My Friend

The trees

Rancho Relaxo

Gateway to …

Cloud Imitates Tree

River Wild

Room with a view

Seat with a View

First of Two

Serenity Now

When I wake up early in the morning,
Lift my head, I’m still yawning.
When I’m in the middle of a dream,
Stay in bed, float up stream (float up stream),
Please don’t wake me, no, don’t shake me,
Leave me where I am, I’m only sleeping.

Everybody seems to think I’m lazy.
I don’t mind, I think they’re crazy
Running everywhere at such a speed,
Till they find there’s no need (there’s no need),
Please don’t spoil my day, I’m miles away,
And after all, I’m only sleeping.

Keeping an eye on the world going by my window,
Taking my time, lying there and staring at the ceiling,
Waiting for a sleepy feeling.
Please don’t spoil my day, I’m miles away,
And after all, I’m only sleeping.

~John Lennon~

My Kind of Town

Small Town Livin’

Plenty to Write About

Pretty

Sun Kiss

Settling In

El Oso Andaluz

San Martin de los Andes is the official host city for the start of my trip.  I have heard it described as the “Aspen” of Patagonia.  I can see how the name has stuck (and why they would want that sort of title) but having known both places I would rather live here than in the latter.  Walk 6 blocks in any direction from the town center and you are at the edge of town.  Surrounded by mountains and on the shores of Lake Lakur, this place is heaven on earth.

Stepping out the door from my hostel I am intoxicated with the fresh air, cool breeze, and friendly charm of the townsfolk.  Unlike in the city, drivers stop in the middle of the road to let a pedestrian cross.  Life is “tranquilo” here.  So much so that one can just sit back, relax and enjoy the simplicity behind life in Patagonia.  There are no stop signs and everything (and I mean everything) closes for the afternoon siesta.  I don’t want to know what this place is like with an influx of tourists.  I like it as it is.  Lots of fly shops, even more fishing guides and now one more trout bum to add to the list of many.