desert roses and social change

so after the blanched desert ghost town of real de catorce walking through the surrounding stunning mountains, laced with cacti of all shapes and sizes (including peyote!) and the silvermine ruins of ancient stone tucked in there majestically, the winding and charming cobblestone streets and callejons (alleys) of guanajuato, a city perched on the side of mountains with a surprise, a plaza, a fountain, another tiny alley at every corner, and the colourful colonial beauty of san miguel de allende.... i found myself in acapulco of all places!!!!

the ocean called! the water! humidity! my hair and skin were as dry as the desert sands and although the beaches there were not at like the private calm beauty of hatwanakorn in thailand and d'lagoon and the adam and eve beach in malaysia, i was happy to be near the ocean once again.

one day i managed to sneak my way into a hotel overlooking the ridiculously crowded Caleta beach, and spend the day swimming in their salt water pool, uninterrupted, with the squeals of glee from the throngs of families on the beach. the beach was in fact a pretty polluted cove, with a dangerous riptide, so entire families sit in the water close to the breaking waves looking somewhat like clothed beached sea creatures.

(i am SERIOUS! Spot the Slim Mexican is a new and challenging raod game because the predominant body type that we saw was round and plump; according to my cousin, bronwyn, who is working for a health foundation in mexico city, mexico has the highest rate of diabetes in the world! probably due to all the corn, 12 tortillas per mexican per day, the fried foods, sweets and breads, and unbelievably sweet fruits read: mangoes!)

so juicy fruits and radical social movements have converged in this latest leg of the freedom 35 trip....

my first two weeks in mexico were all about intense learning and exploring, living in an adobe dorm, experiencing a temascal (traditional saunas) & being covered in an Oaxacan chocolate body scrub, visiting Nuestra Papel and Mondo Mujeres, two interconnected communities re-imagining both family and their world and committed to sustainable living and livelihoods, my own emotional jet lag upon arrival in the americas from my highs and heat in asia and now a head and heart full up to bursting after soooo much conversation, contemplation, dishwashing (!) and "open space technology" with people from around the world on Now Activism, the Art of Learning Center-ing and social change....

and these last two weeks with jimmy have been more of an "on the road" travelling kind. this is an awesomely beautiful and diverse country, both ecogolically and culturally. i never knew. and now i do. i really hope to come back sometime..... but first i come back to canada for summer and letting all this digest and gel and form ...