We are finally off!

The amazing city of Quito

Well. To be honest I can hardly believe it. We are finally in Ecuador. It´s been quite the trip. We have spent a few amazing days in the bustling city of Quito Ecuador which is pretty unique pricipally that it´s in Ecuador, but it´s also almost 4000 metres higher than Vancouver or sea level so the airs thin and the clouds roll over it´s verdent green hillsides as if they´re in time lapse. No, I haven´t licked any mind altering toads nor drank too many chelas, es verdad me amis! We spent New Years Eve at our hostel and the cozy, cobbled avenue outside, burning old man effigies and jumping through the flames, not to mention a little inpromptu dance lesson in Quiteno style cumbia dancing from the people who owned the hostel accross the road. We bought some soap from them as we had nothing the first night in town because American Airlines had ¨misplaced¨ our bags somewhere between Miami and L.A. I hear a lot of things get misplaced between there. Quito is sort of rolled out like a taco between volcanoe´s steep hillsides and this makes it dramatic. In the old-town which is really the only part of town that bears mention, the streets are narrow and, well, old. Very old. Old enough for UNESCO to give it the big thumbs-up for the world heritage site! I can hear vancouver super-mayor McGregor Robinson Crusoe clacking-out an official request to UNESCO for the DTES in Vancouver as I write this, but his post-olympic hopes would be dashed if he came to Quito and scoped the competish. Old customs, old people, heritage colonial buildings and narrow streets and stairways climb the mountainsides like some detailed escher drawing.

residences near the sea with shrimp ponds behind

We have now left Quito and are on the road and down by the sea! The temps are a groggy 30 plus degrees and we are unabashadly sporting sport shorts and white cod-fillet stomaches around this long flat stretch of beach. I really want to post some pics but untils I figure out how to plug-in the digi-cam into the cyber-cafe computadoras, it´s going to be ASCII only homies!

When the Fit Hits the Shan this is where I'm running...

I had never actually been to an intentional community before but this summer I went to one down near Portland, Oregon with my Gal and we had an awesome time! We weren't exactly staying in an intentional community, but we were staying at a kind of retreat which was run by members of an intentional community that was also attached to it called Breitenbush Hot Springs. Now this was a real hippie retreat kind of place where you pay to play in the relaxing and rejuvenating thermal waters of the deep woods. Clothing was optional and most people seemed to be choosing the "non-optional" option but with a certain amount of modesty. Meals were all veggie with vegan options and the atmosphere was very down to earth and not rife with any ingratiating behavior nor were there types of people who expected that kind of experience; no towelboys, no pillow mints. However the place was totally clean and well-run and generally, the opposite of what you'd expect from hippies in today's world. I was beginning to think maybe these people aren't hippies at all, but some kind of neo-hippie hybrid. They didn't allow alcohol or drugs on site which I suppose is pretty understandable because, well, it's a retreat where a lot of people go to clean-up or detox or whatever. I guess that's what retreats are for - getting away from all the nuts stuff that we don't like about where we live and work. I guess I can't find fault with that - yet. What was startling about the place actually, was how well-organized it seemed. Basically, the heart of the place is a three story lodge with several communal rooms and a large dining hall and another building which houses a kitchen. There was a giant industrial composter. There was a run-of-river power plant. There was a geo-thermal heating system! These people had really done their homework not to mention tapping into some deep pockets. This complex is surrounded by numerous "natural style" concrete and rock pools and some nice stone tiled tubs full of naturally hot clean mineral water that bubbles up through crevices deep in the earth. I don't have a lot of photographs of the pools obviously because usually there were a few people around and usually they were naked. If you wanted the fully pampered experience you could rent a small cabin with beds and a bathroom, but there are communal bathrooms which are very clean and sufficient. If you camp, like we did, you can get away with paying only 56 bucks a night and that included 3 big veggie meals and full 24hr access to the hot springs and sauna. It's pretty relaxing and luxurious.

This was the amazing steam sauna which was ingeniously positioned right over a super-hot geyser that continuously gushed hot steam up through crevices in the floor.

I don't think I've ever been anywhere as relaxing as this place, and I've been to some pretty relaxing places. Now I know why so many people like to bag-out at one of these spa-retreat kind of places. Not only are the grounds of the retreat nice, but there are numerous places around to go on little day hikes or short walks. The area is beautiful as it is nestled deep in the Willamete National Forest and on the banks of the Breitenbush river. We did walk through the area across the creek where many of the people who work in the hot springs live and it seemed like a nice place with a close knit and communal structure. People had seperate dwellings and they even got to share their own hot springs pools. All in all it seemed fairly idyllic or at least leaning that way. Living so close to people and so inter-meshed with everyone's goals can be challenging. Most of the people I know who've lived in co-ops usually do because they can't afford to do things on their own or at least don't want to pay for the luxury. I imagine more and more people will be turning to these kinds of solutions as times get tougher. Maybe this seems ominous, but I don't hear anyone talking about how times are going to get easier in the next 50 years, so it's best to look at positive things that may come of it I guess... Co-op or communally-minded life isn't for everyone though and possibly not for me, but it's nice to see that someone's doing it somewhat successfully. Maybe if the sh*t does hit the fan we'll all find ourselves rolling our luggage up some logging road looking for people like this.

Hot BOX

My apartment is so hot that I think my plants are dying of heat exhaustion. It's that time of year where in Vancouver the summer starts in earnest. Which is good, especially since I've got a week off of work to play around. The main event is two days out of town on Some island called, Thetis Island where we've got a cabin we can stay at. This is a nice little island out in the Georgia Straight or Salish Sea (whichever you are currently using) You need to take two ferries to get there from the mainland so it's a biggish journey. Summer time yay!

Exposure to the Elements

It has been a long and cold winter in these northern climes! It seems as if the weather is just beginning to turn, but in Vancouver you can never be too sure. Here's a taste of what kind of snow we had this year up in the kootenays. This is my father's house in New Denver, BC which is just north of Nelson. My girlfriend and I were up there for New Years which was really nice. It's good to get out of the city and get into the elements from time to time, especially when you're lucky enough to call that place your childhood home. We snowshoed up into the hills for a great afternoon in this small geodesic dome which was made by a family friend in the 1970's deep in the hills of former silver rush territory and now deep in the hills of snowdrift and wildlife territory. My girlfriend has been reading a book entitled, "Plan B" which talks mostly about the impending doom of global warming and the great fall of the global human empire. Basically it says that things are going to get bad, but some things can be done to make the bad not so bad, but if those things aren't done... Ever watch any of the Mad Max movies? Don't be surprised if your grandchildren are taking orders from a midget riding on the back of a giant S&M clad hooded enforcer type who "runs bardertown". We're going to need all the geodesic energy we can get!

Free time! yup... free time... uh huh. total freedom.

Free time. You, uh, you finally made some time for yourself- in the busy schedule, that is. Yep. Too many people vying for your attention. Too many creative and innovative ideas in that head of your just waiting to burst out onto the page, screen or whatever; possibly into the streets! You needed space and time - and now you have it; all the time in the world, well, what seems like it anyway. To, uh, look at things and, well, think things about them and the importance of them in relation to other things. So many things. whew! Well, maybe too many. This is a picture of the north Oregon coast and I find it somehow indicative of how things are going at the moment; open, many possibilities, but flat. I need a swift kick in the arse but again, as always I guess, I'm going to have to be the one to do it. No small feat as we all know. Wish me luck though and we'll see how things go. Hopefully, I'll be able to put something up a bit more colorful soon blogreaders.

Living in the Heart of the City Scene

Vancouver's newest "hood"! Yaletown is in many ways a typical "shake and bake" neighborhood to use a term from one of my favorite movies, Aliens. In the movie the term is used to describe an outer-world colony that is introduced to a hostile toxic planet in order to slowly change it's climate. Everything is supplied and ready-to-go right out of the box right down to the local tavern, that is - until the Aliens crawl out of their hiding places and pod everyone. Like the colony in the movie, Yaletown with it's uniform concrete towers, and high-gloss but not long established businesses has a similar feel at times; a wasteland colonized by new hopefuls slotting into the available deal. A tremendous amount of money has been spent on concrete, wallboard and plumbing fixtures, schools have been built, liquor stores have been put in, there's even going to be a Light Rail Station. Living on the 5th floor I don't have a Spectacular City/Mountain View as some in these towers do, but the view out my window is pretty nice. I get a little space in the centre and lots of light.

One of the most surprising aspects of the neighborhood is it's lack of people mulling about between the hours of 9 and 5. I think a large proportion of the populace are not "out on the street" types, but are generally working in other towers downtown or maybe even commuting to the suburbs. At times, the absurdity of a place so densely populated and abandoned has an eerie vibe. Freshly watered flower gardens shine at no-one and cheap fountains bubble-away meaninglessly in empty courtyards.

At first I imagined that most of the people living down here were young, hip students and go-getters who were not inclined to, or just too cool to, raise kids in the obvious confined space of 700 square feet or less. While this is kind of true I now realize there there are a fair amount of youngsters down here too. I guess a small condo is the new "starter home" for a family. I sometimes see kids running around in the common area of some gated complex and being from the countryside I wonder how it must be growing up with thousands of people all stacked up around you and looming towers everywhere. I guess it could be kind of fun in some ways, but it seems so much of the Vancouver downtown nightlife is not geared for kids.

Perhaps the real test for this place will come from these youngsters. What will they think of their home-neighborhood when they reach the age of 14? Will they snort at it's mention the same way hipsters do on Commercial Drive and Main St? Will Yaletown be recognized for being the new Port Coquitlam or South Delta; a place you escape from? It does seem strange to even ponder such deep questions in relation to a place like Yaletown. It's like wondering if the Mall is a great social experiment. In the end, it's still just the Mall, making thoughtful observations doesn't change it's nature. I don't think anyway.

The towering glass forest of Yaletown is comprised almost exclusively of similar and modern high-rise apartment towers mostly built within the last 10 years. - and the building continues. Despite the gloomy prospects of real estate market collapse in the US and predictions of an Olympic fueled hype "bubble" in Vancouver, developments are still going up in Yaletown.

Crazy. It's been ages since I've written anything here. I've been busy and distracted from the internet and all it's trappings, but I'm back in a somewhat reduced way. I'm actually doing things that are a little less "internet" oriented these days. I hope someone still checks here occasionally. Well, I'm due back for a few posts. Gotta update sooner or later...