As I take my plane towards Los Angeles where I stop over in, I turn over one of the most beautiful leaf of my round-the-world trip which will have lasted almost 2 months from Fiji to Vanuatu and Hawaii. An entirely blue leaf smudged with a cluster of intoxicating ink stains like all these islands, archipelagos and atolls of the Pacific Ocean. But, unlike the blackish medallions which splashed over my leaf, these bits of lands have their history, their people, their traditions often blending exhilaration and laid-back atmosphere. Before leaving for my long trip, all these islands seemed unreachable and hard to pinpoint on a map, my view evolved and I filled up my pouch of memories for a whole life. From now on, I change scenery as I land in the tumultuous city of Cancun where I meet again Armelle after eleven weeks of separation.
During the 70's, property developers and government were seeking a place on the Caribbean coast to create the counterpart of Acapulco (seaside town on the Pacific). They set their heart on a long strip of white sand, they built roads and infrastructures, buried pipes to bring drinkable water and established Cancun. Today, despite the regular cyclones causing terrible damages, the touristic success is considerable and widely goes beyond the of-that-time property developers' forecasts. The disfigured coastline by the hideous concrete-made parallelepipeds doesn't take away the main thing in any way : a plaster-like sand watered by a turquoise-blue water.
Since we arrived, the Mexicans are really nice and very far from the caricature of the nasty Latino who haunts the Hollywood movies. However, despite the hospitality of the people, a seaside resort remains a seaside resort. That's fortunately possible to escape these horrible palaces by taking a shuttle which drops us off on the soothing isla mujeres, half an hour from mainland. On the spot, the ambiance is relaxed and to be in fashion, we must drive a golf cart. No risk to exceed the speed limit but we drive at a pleasing pace to discover all the corners of the island. At the south point, dinosaur-like iguanas warm themselves up on the sun-kissed stones. Down below, this turquoise, which printed into our retinas, invites to swim. Not the last bath for sure into an about 28°C water.
Keyword - departure -
Tuesday 11 November 2008
Into the turquoise blue waters of the Caribbean Sea
By dorian on Tuesday 11 November 2008, 13:39 - RTW2-Mexico
Tuesday 2 September 2008
the pyramid of Borobudur
By dorian on Tuesday 2 September 2008, 09:28 - RTW2-Indonesia
118m a side for the greatest Buddhist monument in the world. 4 staircases crack its walls and lead the hesitant visitors towards the way of wisdom and spirituality. At each floor, a pathway snakes around the building. More we climb, more these paths shorten. The way to the bliss gets closer when I arrive at the first top level. Stone bells drilled with hexagonal spyholes let us see the sitting-and-praying Buddha statues inside. The body is shut in, but the thought and spiritual strength seem to carry out through the openings of the wrapping.
This monument shows the high Buddhist activity which livens up the island of Java, a few centuries ago. Then, Islam spread out attracting most of the inhabitants and the influence of the Borobudur temple crumbled away little by little, passing from the status of praying and devotion place to the one of huge architectural remains registered on the World Heritage list.
It nevertheless remains this large, impressive and massive pyramid for which the use of a puffy, black volcanic stone turns out to be uncommon. The dark stones let only carry out the essential thing. The illuminations become embedded in the foot of the pathways and the often-beheaded Buddhas statues have pride of place on the low wall. They point at the outside, acting like magnets for the faithful. And for a couple of hours I change into one of these faithful people.
before heading back to Yogyakarta, « the soul » of the Java island, our van makes a detour to the Merapi volcano, subject of a devastating eruption a few years ago, then we stop at the Hindu-deities-dedicated Prambanan temples for a short time. Last Indonesian meeting before I fly off to Malaysia.
Wednesday 6 August 2008
We dip again into the 2 oceans
By dorian on Wednesday 6 August 2008, 18:00 - RTW2-South Africa
An adventure ends, our great loop in southern Africa stops at Cape town, a city we left almost 2 months before. We get to the « 2 oceans » aquarium, in order to dip again into the memory of this sumptuous underwater creatures we already met for the most part. Between Indian and Atlantic Ocean. We want to enjoy our peregrinations to the very last drop.
Then, the time to part comes, Christophe goes back to Paris and I carry on my trip. A radical change of culture and continent. After a short stop at Kuala Lumpur, I will head for the heavenly island of Bali to meet again my family for a fortnight before keeping on alone towards the island of Java and prolonging thrilling adventures in Indonesia.
As for Africa, continent of contrasts, smiles, generosity, endemic colours and hope, I know that's only a temporary goodbye. Its land, its forests, its villages are packed with so many things seemingly trivial and yet so fascinating. As soon as we put down a foot, we never completely leave again.
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