toastea

Usually when someone quits, he/she is either heading back to school or found another job. Yet when Alice told us two years ago that she was leaving to follow a dream, she was moving to her hometown of Los Angeles to hopefully finally follow through with what she thought was an underserved market of a bubble tea shop in the downtown area.

Her concept was simple yet unique from the numerous franchises popping all over the world of bubble tea, which included toast with your tea. Other than honey and some minor items, everything else is made fresh in the store - no powder mixes. The boba comes from Taiwan, where it originated. With her two business partners and friends, they have experimented with different combination of flavors, both for the drinks and the toasts, including spicy churro toast which is chocolate flavor with a cayenne chili kick and Luna's Elixir which includes strawberries and marshmallows with jasmine tea.

It took her over a year to open though. It turns out that looking for the right space as well as having the looks of a young Asian woman were challenging combinations. Landlords did not give her the time of day although they commented that whoever she hired to do her business plan did a great job. Somehow, their preconceived notions of a young Asian woman did not include the skills to put together her own business plan. So not to be dissuaded, Alice decided to play their game rather than getting upset and bitter. She portrayed herself as a representative of a business owner who was looking for space.

In the end, they finally opened in March 2017 and by this month, they are projected to break even. We made sure we took a pit stop on our last night in Los Angeles tonight to visit her "baby". Despite the natural stresses that come with owning one's own business, I've never seen her happier. The excitement in her voice and body, showing us around and relaying her journey, was a great testament to the benefits of listening to one's inner voice and following one's dream(s).

palatable palette

A part of the planning (pig in mud (part 3)) included reservations at a couple of fine dining establishments (that book months in advance) on our last days in Lima. Coincidentally, due to various activities and late night travel, we did not get a chance to eat a full meal for 24 hours or so, which was about the time that I found out that our first reservation included 17 courses.

Central is established by Virgilio Martinez who creates masterpieces through "vertical ecological monitoring" with ingredients by inhabitants of the Andes region during the pre-Hispanic era, the Amazon, the desert and the coasts. His team travels the countryside looking for and researching items from Patchamama that would be edible with 50% of his approximate 180 ingredients not previously identified. Our dishes today included items like clay, piranhas, various flowers and sea urchins. The escalation mater menu contained ingredients and celebrated the biodiversity of the various elevations of Peru and the Andes. 

While I was game to try everything on the menu, it was with consternation when course 5 had an ingredient that had turned me off from consumption of raw protein, specifically seafood. In the late 90s during a trip to Nha Trang, I got to experience the oceanside experience of picking out the fresh catch that gets prepared for the meal. One of those items was sea urchin where it was opened and prepared right at our table. However, it was so fishy and pungent that it left a "bad taste in my mouth" figuratively and physically. Since then, I had avoided not only sea urchin but any other exotic raw seafood other than basic tuna and salmon.

Despite my trepidation, I faced my fear and the course turned out to be one of my favorites from the pre-fixed menu. Martinez and his team were phenomenal in the art of gastronomy. The only other time I experienced such fantastic blends of flavors and textures were from Yonaka in Las Vegas, which highlights the various flavors of Japan and raw seafood. In addition, the presentation of the courses, the pops of color and wine pairings created an overall elevation of the senses during a 4-hour sitting. It was easy to see why it is ranked number 5 in the world and featured in season 3 of Chef's Table.

crystal clear

luna y azul

I had known that we were spending a few days at a lake and to prepare to dress warmly. However, it wasn't until I got here that I realized that it was Lago Titicaca (grey puma, despite some thinking that it was named after tits and shit). Being geographically challenged, for some reason I had thought that this wonder of the world was in Africa, so it was a glorious morning surprise to realize that our boat ride on the lake covered another bucket list item.

Andes montañas en Bolivia

The Isle of Taquile has about 2,500 inhabitants known as Taquileños. They operate on community collectivism, based on the Inca moral code of ama sua (do not steal), ama llulla (do not lie), and ama quilla (do not be lazy). Punishment is relinquished in the form of public lashings. While technically, Taquileños are Catholics, nobody goes to church on the island as they follow the traditional Andean religion based on Patchamama and ancient local herbal medicines and medical diagnosis based on transference of medical conditions via guinea pig. The women weave and cook, and the men knit. Children do their own laundry by the age of 5, and learn the trades of their parents. While the number of tourists are limited on the island, the funds have helped the community to make upgrades to paths and to the community, such as solar panels for electricity. Life is simple, and life span averages 75 years old while the average life span on the mainland is 65 years old.

The Uros live on one of the 86 Islas Flotantes, floating islands made of totora reeds, which are also part of their diet. Each week or two, the indigenous inhabitants add a layer of reeds. Each island lasts for approximately 25 years before a new one needs to be built from scratch. Each island consists of approximately 25 people from 5 families. As children become teenagers, they move to the mainland. The families who choose to continue to live on these floating islands do so out of tradition and maintaining the ancient ways. They are said to have "black blood," which is why they do not feel the cold. A teacher travels by boat to one of the islands where the children gather each day via reed boats for their education.

totora reeds

solar panels en isla flotante

té de muña

The Uros used to catch 10 kilos a day of prehistoric fish, which they use to barter and trade on the mainland. However, due to overfishing, pollution and global warming, their catch has reduced significantly to perhaps 1 kilo a day. Tourism supplements their ability to obtain goods on the mainland, such as vegetables to supplement their diet. The lake also houses prehistoric frogs (Titicaca water frog or telmatobius culeus). It is also known as the Titicaca scrotum water frog for its excessive skin which helps it to respire in the cold water, as it is an entirely aquatic species.

Being on the lake with the crisp air and clear water left me absolutely breathless. The pictures did not do it justice with a beautiful sunny day with the cloudless skies, reflecting the moon on one side and the Andes on the Bolivian side. In the spirit of living in the moment (11:11 (part 4)), I did not hesitate to play in the "mucho frio agua" (7 degrees Celsius), despite being the only person from our boat to do so. Not quite as organic as the Pachamanca in rock 'n roll, the locals welcomed us and shared Pachamanca with their local flavor, including ending the day with pisco. As was a taste of heaven, connecting with Patchamama truly is blissful.

refreshing dip in lago titicaca

rock 'n roll

rocks along the tracks

On our way from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo Tuesday, our train was stopped due to rocks on the tracks. In broken Spanish, we soon learned that there was a protest that was delaying our arrival. Some coordinated with their tour agencies to arrange for alternate transportation, debarking the train, only to return later when they discovered that their driver could not get to our location because their were also rocks on the roads. Initially, we had assume it was some union protest related to the train service.

rocks on the road

As Americans where protests are organized as work stoppages or pussy riots, it was difficult to understand how a bunch of rocks accomplishes anything. However, as the state of Cusco and the related government rely so heavily on tourism, creating chaos to tourists and businesses supporting such tourism, one would hope there would be some collective front to push the government to work through their issues. The protests related to far ranging matters, including teachers' wages, development of an international airport in Cusco and corruption.

ayni in action

Despite the wrench in our travel plans, we were not only blessed to have completed Machu Picchu (a taste of heaven) but also had the opportunity to meet wonderful people from all walks of life, as everyone was trying to help others and/or send wishful thoughts for safe travels. The Incas had a centrally planned economy based on collective labor: ayni (to help a community member in need), minka (to work as a team to help the community as a whole) and mita (to provide temporary service for whatever was needed), thereby mitigating the need for currency. Stealing and laziness were punishable by law. This still seems to be instilled in the culture today. People stormed off our bus to assist a truck driver who was stuck on a curve to roll a large concrete pole from the road. Others assisted policia in moving rocks, etc. from the blockades even though they all knew that those obstacles would be moved back the next day.

policia in Ollantaytambo

policia in Cusco

One English family that we had met had spent 20 hours via bus to get to Ollantaytambo, hoping to take the 5am train to Aguas Calientes to get to Machu Picchu. However, all trains were canceled so they did not make it, although they are hoping to make it once they get back from the Amazon forest. An Indian family could only get a train part way, and had to negotiate with local truck drivers to get them closer to Aguas Calientes. It took them three different trucks to finally make it. We got word today that they made it to Lima to catch their flight home Friday. I also met a "spiritual" mate on the train as she had also had a tough year last year but was learning about Law of Attraction and manifesting positive outcomes, including her fun-filled and surreal experience getting to Machu Picchu. It was fun sharing our stories and experiences from this year.

stranded with no place to go

We were blessed that we were one of the earlier trains so buses and security were arranged to get us to Ollantaytambo and eventually found a driver that was brave enough to drive us to Cusco a couple of days later. Many drivers had feared that rocks would be thrown at them, and had canceled planned trips and/or took very circuitous routes to avoid the main thoroughfare. It was not until we got on the road that we were able to see the outcome of the protests, which included not only rocks but also large boulders, concrete poles, trash, enormous tree stumps, and fire from burning of those materials. 

family style

As I noted in pig in mud (part 3), it is not difficult to find the blessings in life and enjoy local life in travels. Both my companions had noted that they would have normally "freaked out"; however, they were chill and quickly appreciated how things worked out well for us. We took the opportunity to have a mouth-watering earthen oven cooked meal (Pachamanca) from an organic farm. We also got upgraded to a suite upon our arrival in Cusco, of which it was lovely to see their excitement as neither had been in a suite before.

bubble of bliss

It has been two years since I got a taste of heaven. Regardless of the experiment with edibles, I have never felt as connected with another soul or human body even under the influence of MDMA. We both knew it was a momentary escape - he from his current turmoils at the time and me for a fantasy that seem to not be grounded in reality. Yet, for a few days, we got to live in the moment of what is in 5D and could have been in 3D.

The stroll along the beach was moonless and felt surreal as a wish from a prayer. He spent the night teaching me about the stars/constellations and an app that I recently used to learn the constellations in the Southern Hemisphere. I mentioned that it was always on my bucket list to go to the Yi Peng (sky lanterns)/Loy Krathong (floating candles) festival in Chiang Mai while I lived in Asia but I never could make the timing work although it is still on my list. 

He insisted on having me experience the sky lantern, which is to pay respects to Buddha and said to release bad luck or misfortune, especially if the lantern disappears from view before the fire goes out. Coincidentally, our lantern had two hearts on the two sides that we were holding it. He reminded me to make a wish before we released it. 

Reflection to the shore (tiny dots on the bottom)

As we watched our lantern float, we were in awe that on a moonless night, we were able to see the reflection of our lantern, not only just above where it was floating even in the distance but also towards us at the shore, regardless of whether the wind took it left or right. We observed others who released theirs; however, short of some reflections right above as they were immediately released, the reflections soon disappeared. In an attempt to make some logical sense out of it, he commented that perhaps only the persons who made the wish/released the lantern could see the ongoing reflections. I did not believe that either. 😉

On our last morning together, in a moment that we were probably the most connected, there was a knocking noise outside almost as an echo of each other on two sides of the villa. In my subconscious state, I probably thought they were landscapers outside. At some point, he looked up towards the sliding glass door with a surprised expression. A big black raven had one of my flip flops in its beak and was repeatedly flying to the left and right of the glass door, knocking on the glass a few times each time. As he walked towards the door, the raven flew up on the back of the lounge chair, with my flip flop still in its beak. Only when he stepped out did the raven drop the flip flop and fly away.

In different cultures, the raven can signify fortuitous or evil omen in the spiritual world. For Native Americans, the raven represents metamorphosis/transformation or that danger has passed and good fortune would follow. In the Haida tribe, the raven is seen as a combination of the trickster and creator, as it was responsible for the pairing of humans and protector of such pairings as well as responsible for bringing the sun, moon, and stars to the world. Scientists are also discovering that birds in the corvid family are the smartest birds, equivalent to a 7-year-old human. 

Initially, as it was within a week of receiving the message from my friend's aunt in 22, I had processed it as potentially a bad omen, contributing to my fear in full circle (part 1). In hindsight, the male spirit (aka the raven) was my protector in life. I recently told him this story, and one night in Las Vegas as I was listening to his sleep, I thanked the male spirit for watching over me all these years. It was also my attempt to release the spirit of such duties if somehow it thought that I no longer needed to be protected from the person laying next to me. The following month, my friend's aunt no longer saw the spirit in my life.

In mirroring each other, we happened to have taken these photos of each other, unbeknownst to the other, around the same time at the rocky beach of Bang Kao. Even with his phone having the better camera, I find the cloudy vs. clear sky interesting and representative or foreboding of where each was at that point in life, as he was about to discover information the following month that would take him through his dark night of the soul. In the spirit of numerology, my photo of him was on 7/11 at 5:22 pm (local time - 3:22 am PST my time). His and my life path numbers and this personal year numbers are 7 and 2 (1+1) (and/or 11, depending on the method ascribed to), respectively, and 5 and 3, respectively. 11 and 22 represent the master numbers for the illuminator/old soul and master builder, respectively, as they stem from 1 (divine masculine) and 2 (divine feminine). His photo of me is IMG_1313.JPG when it was saved to my phone.

I don't know what his wish was, but it is fairly obvious what mine was. It was a dark period for both of us over the last couple of years but I have all the faith, as do my male spirit, that our souls are much stronger for it, and regardless of outcome, we both individually and/or together, will be  more enlightened and happy in our search for bliss.

 * * * * *

Yesterday as we were queueing for the bus to Machu Picchu, I noticed that the small bridge over the bus ticket office that leads to the artesenal market contained numerous locks of love. I have seen these spring up in various locations all over the world but never really researched it other than understanding that they represented declarations of love or wishes.

In the spirit of listening to my inner child (lost 'n found), an idea formulated to perhaps leave a token partly as a declaration, partly as letting go, and partly as a sentimental passing conversation that we last had, separately commenting our desires to travel South America. Perhaps it is the latter that has resulted him constantly being in my thoughts this trip (or perhaps it is because I am reading Grey on this trip and in many ways, he's been my Christian).

The love locks seem to stem as far back as World War I when a Serbian school teacher fell in love with and got engaged to a soldier, who ended up with a woman in Greece. To protect their own loves, young women from Vrnjačka Banja would write their initials with their loved ones' initials on padlocks and affixing them on Most Ljubavi (Bridge of Love), where the two Serbian lovers used to meet. Some believe that it originated in ancient China where lovers would even throw the key away, symbolizing locking their love forever. In Fengyuan, Taiwan, wish locks are affixed in pairs on a train overpass. It is believed that the magnetic field from the passing trains would cause energy to accumulate in the locks, thereby fulfilling the wishes. In Montevideo, Uruguay, a plaque in front of a fountain notes that "[t]he legend of this young fountain tells us that if a lock with the initials of two people in love is placed in it, they will return together to the fountain and their love will be forever locked."

I was not really planning on going out of my way to find a lock, yet everything seemed to manifest itself (Law of Attraction) when one of my travel companions had a lock for his travels at Mexican hostels and the restaurant that we went to dinner last night had a permanent marker. Early this morning on the way to the train station in Aguas Calientes, I stopped by the bridge to leave my small token (and anonymously mailed him the key)...tlc.

a taste of heaven

Machu Picchu has been on my bucket list for a while. Once I heard that they were limiting the number of visitors to the site out of concern for preservation purposes, it quickly rose higher to the top although the reality was that with my lack of planning in advance, the likelihood of getting tickets was slim to none. Luckily, my travel companions are planners.

I did not have much expectations, but knew that it was a strenuous hike. It was not easy getting there and with flight cancelation, hectic trains and black outs the day before; they appeared to be some bad omens. We were prepared for winter weather, bringing multiple layers, scarves, hats and gloves. Once we got up the mountain though, we were blessed with a beautiful day (and ended up disrobing rather than layering on throughout the hike). The sunshine, the air, the atmosphere, the picturesque mountains, the sounds of the wind and water falling/flowing and nature in all its glory was a sight to behold.

Although I have traveled quite a bit and have seen and experience many wonderful things, it was easy to understand why this historical site was voted as one of the new seven wonders of the world. The hike to Huanya Picchu to get an aerial view of Machu Picchu is limited to 400 visitors daily. While we toyed with skipping it, luckily my companions and I were all game to complete the mission, encouraging each other along the way.

It was a good thing we did not do too much research about the hike so as not to deter us because it was much steeper and higher than we thought. Ignorance is bliss and we were rewarded with such a spectacular site as well as accomplishment and peace sitting on the top of the world, an inch closer to heaven.

pig in mud (part 3)

Many people "freak out" about my travel style. While they make lists, dining reservations, and research in advance, I generally "go with the flow" when I travel. I enjoy meeting locals, hitting hot spots recommended by them, and not stuck to a schedule. Over time, I have learned to travel solo as my style usually "annoys" those who do not have such a laissez faire attitude. Since my first trip to Portugal/Spain, I had generally avoided traveling with mega-planners since one of my friends "blew up" on me towards the end of the trip. While I was fine going my separate route/itinerary, her need to "control" things was not.

This is my first trip again where I decided to be open to traveling with planners who use Google docs to build spreadsheets and agendas. Peru has been on my bucket list, especially since learning that Macchu Picchu would be limited to tourists for conservation purposes. My companions conceded that perhaps we would designate a day or evening to travel my way. As unplanned as my style is, it isn't too difficult to easily turn any moment into my version of fun.

I recently had a conversation with my cousin over the 4th of July that sometimes the simple life is the happiest. Money does not equate to happiness and those who usually have them struggle with making time to enjoy life and/or knowing who are true friends who are not those using them for their money. Memories of playing in the neighborhood all dirty and making due with ad hoc items from nature for toys were probably more fun than the stories I hear now about my friends' kids who go to summer camps and get bullied or excluded.

So after we ventured into a fumador to get a Cuban cigar to celebrate hiking Macchu Picchu later this week, we randomly ran into what appears to be a local meetup, the old-fashioned way. Locals gathered around a round sitting area in Parque Kennedy where someone brought a loudspeaker. As the DJ flipped through songs, she would assess the crowd as to whether to continue to flip or let the song play. Y voila, an impromptu club. As the night went on, more and more relinquished their shyness and cut a rug. Strangers would join others and/or ask "thirds" to pair up. Many generations were represented tonight with the commonality of fun and connection. We do not need to designate a day or evening to travel "my way". It is easily found in every moment if you enjoy the "now". Felicidad es ...

lost 'n found

A few weeks ago, I realized that (and confirmed with) my "work wife" from pig in mud (part 2) had intentionally steered clear of any serious discussions on her current relationship in fears of jinxing it as in her last relationship, whose demise resulted in a lot of eating binges, Korean dramas, sleepless nights and tears. As I was reminding her how it was a good thing that her last relationship did not work out compared to her current partner, I stopped mid-sentence when I realized that my penchant for keeping my relationships "private" (hide 'n seek) was subconsciously for similar reasons.

I ended up finishing up that conversation and advice that I had intended to bestow to her inside my own head. Over the last few months, I am learning to embrace my emotions, rather than the rational mind, choosing instead to sit with my gut/instincts/inner child. To feel ease or dis-ease. In so doing, while nothing tangible actually occurred, something did not sit right with the man from absolution. In the spirit of our pact (the truth shall set you free), each time I communicated and we discussed these thoughts/feelings, no matter how insignificant they may have seem individually. In aggregate though, I knew it was time to call it.

In the end, it was the unspoken truths (the truth shall set you free) straining to be released. He was not my first 16-year age gap, and I would never limit myself to say he's my last. Unlike moments that matter (part 4), he turned out not to be as progressive as Emmanuel Macron. Apparently, he had been uncomfortable if his friends or roommates found out that he was with a "hot older woman" as it would "complicate" his life. While he claims that he was upfront about it, the only thing he actually communicated was that my place would be more convenient in general because I did not have roommates.

The reality is that nobody was judging him except himself. In so doing, he projected that judgment onto me (reclaiming the cunt (part 3)) as somehow rationalizing to himself that his behavior was somehow "normal" and ethical. Macron blames "misogyny" and "traditional, homogenous" views in society for the negative attention they have received for their relationship compared to POTUS and FLOTUS, who have the same age gap.

"If I had been 20 years older than my wife, nobody would have thought for a single second that I couldn’t be [an intimate partner]. It’s because she is 20 years older than me that lots of people say, ‘This [relationship] can’t be tenable, it can’t be possible.' There is a big problem with the presentation of society and [how they see] the place of women."

~ Emmanuel Macron

Despite many speculating that their marriage would be short-lived when they first tied the knot in 2007, Macron refers to his wife, whom he met when he was 15 years-old, as his intellectual soulmate and confidante. He declared that he would govern more effectively if he is happy, which includes having his Brigitte by his side. While it is hopeful to see a man brave enough to live in his authenticity, it is just as cathartic to listen to the inner child and hear her voice again.