Take my Breath Away... falta respiracion
Trip Start
Feb 15, 2005
1
14
Trip End
Apr 02, 2006
Iguazu Falls,
Argentina
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Iguazu Falls, namely the "most amazing waterfalls on earth" and from what I hear, Niagra is a toilet compared to this creation of nature... Thundering cascades that stretch over two kilometers, enveloped by dense jungle greenery. A vortex of energy swirling swirling swirling ... like my thoughts... but then washing every last drop into a stream of tranquil serenity that separates two fantastic countries, Brazil and Argentina
Beauty Queen
. A turmoil of RUIDO (noise) accompanied by a profound bottomless silence of mystery and curiosity and splendor. Hmmm, have I been somewhere like that before???La Garganta del Diablo (AKA The Devils Throat) literally spoke to me as I stood with arms outstretched, hands in full absorbance of the energy of this majestic creature. I woke up at sunrise in order to be the first one to say "Buenos Dias" to the falls. The first to enter La Parque Nacional Iguazu, I ran past the tram full of tourists to be able to savor a few unforgettable, irreplaceable moments of just me and the Her Majesty. Whoah. I could feel the energy flowing through me, washing me anew... purifying every last cell in my body as well as the spaces in between. The tourists neared and I walked away peacefully in Namaste, face soaked not only from her powerful mist that sprayed from 500 meters below but also from the tears that had accumulated over what seemed like infinity, waiting oh so patiently to spill from my soul. I bowed in humble grace and tip-toed away on the clouds, thanking the Universe for my life.
It turned out to be the best decision I could have ever made to have skipped over Machu Picchu and head directly for Buenos Aires. Everything that I had wanted in that "epoca de mi vida", was waiting for me in Argentina. It was like I was being completely guided by the Great Hand of the Universe... gracefully and subtly, yet intensely and directly.
This is it. I walked into my top story apartment situated in the heart of the big city. This is the energy I have been searching for. Everything I thought of, dreamed of, wanted in the recent moments of my life was waiting for me here
Bring on the Energy!!!!
. Full of yellow, healing, natural light and a spaciousness of purity and detoxification. I felt nothing but a peaceful bliss come rushing over my entire body, mind and spirit. One breath and I was sobbing in tears of happiness. Is this real? Is this real, God?Now I know yall have heard me say this about nearly all the places I have been to in South America thus far, but this time it is for real... Confirmado. Punto. No hay duda ...Buenos Aires is the COOLEST South American city. I swear, it has this energy that gets into your blood with every footprint you leave behind. Cafes on every corner like Tortoni Cafe -(one of the first charming cafes of its time in Buenos Aires which now offers nightly tango shows and tasty "lagrimas") or La Paz Cafe (where, back in the day only those with a book in hand were allowed to enter only to participate in the intellectual conversation). There are parrillas (grills) in every nook and cranny (where the infamous Argentinian succulent carne (meat) is found)... rabbit, lamb, wild boar, steaks... tu eliges!)... I think I may be the first person on earth who actually turned Vegetarian right BEFORE arriving in Argentina! (hey, too much monkey and tapir in the jungle will do that to ya)...
Running along the streets in the early a.m. and the bakers with their white aprons are sweeping the front of their stores with the big push brooms, Italian car mechanics with curly mustaches, in their cute little blue one-suits, swingin their rags outside the shop, monuments and magnificent architecture on every corner from antique apartment buildings to the Congressional monuments... La Casa Rosada, La Catedral, El Obelisco - centered in the middle of the "widest road in the world"... 24 Lanes
Caminito... La Boca
! Yep, you gotta be Marion Jones to be able to get across before the electronic Red Hand stops you! Theater... wow. Impresionante! On Corrientes, you could literally find at least thirty theaters all offering events from comedy shows to cinema to opera to Broadway productions... Don Quijote, Tango por Dos, En Sus Zapatos, and some random off off off Broadway production with a transvestite director and lead... were among the favorites!
And the Parks! Dont even get me started! The Fabulous Parks in Buenos Aires! HUMONGOUS! GINORMOUS! Grassy areas that go for miles covered in beautiful shady trees... I could run for days and not cover the same route twice! A Yoga Playground! On the weekends, hundreds of people walking, talking, laughing, sunbathing with their mate cups and termos llenos de agua caliente!
BA is adorned with character... each corner has its own personality... From La Boca, where the infamous Boca Juniors tear up the futbol field (went to a game and saw Maradonna!), San Telmo still with a classic tango flavor... couples dancing on the sidewalk while a man on the corner plays his acordian, Palermo Hollywood and Palermo SoHo decorated with old fashioned light posts and sidewalk cafes by day... turns restaurant row and the heart of nightlife after 1am! Recoleta, home of the famous cemetary where Evita was buried.
Two months in this fantastic city and I still didnt see everything! Home to 13 million proud "portenos", one cannot cover the immensity in so little time
El Carnaval en Gualeguachu, Argentina!
. Besides, I had found a nitch in my own neighborhood... La Escuela Internacional de Yoga - just 10 blocks from my apartment... taking all kinds of unique classes daily... Yoga integral, Ashtanga Vinyasa, Artistic Yoga, Yogatherapy, Zen Yoga... along with meditations... Bompu Zen and Hindu...all classes taught by gentle and delicate, yet demanding female instructors.
My dance classes, also within walking distance... Tango, Salsa, Hip Hop... lo que sea! I tried it all. And inevitably fell HARD for Salsa. "A la derecha, a la izquierda, y los ojos - arriba, y el pecho - adelante... que dices? AAAAAAhhhh... Azucar!!!!!!!!!"
I found myself completely submersed (nearly drowning) in this city FULL OF WONDER and MAGIC and intense energy, completely surrounded by everything that I LOVED (apart from my family and friends) and everything that made me BEAM and SHINE! It was like every time I stepped outside, I encountered something new, something fresh, something that gave me a new perspective and a new vigor.
I was a diligent student of ULV..."La Universidad de la Vida"... the University of Life! Where you dont have to take any tests to get in. You dont have to do any interviews. You will be accepted regardless of your IQ or any stupid test scores, sex, race, age
El puente de La Mujer... the Bridge of the Woman!
. There are no prerequisites. Hell, you needn't have worked a day in your life nor gone to any prior school. Extracurriculars, clubs, honors... no one cares. You don't even have to know how to speak! Everyone gets accepted and you can take as many classes as you want... and it doesn't HAVE to include Organic Chemistry or Statistics! You can skip whatever classes you want and still get an A! There are no grades and everything you do is perfect! There are NO mistakes but there is always room for improvement. You can do whatever you want as long as you absolutely LOVE what you are doing. Anyone wanna sign up?My life continued to unfold with the passing weeks. I began to encounter a side of Tiffany that I hadn't met before. A side that had been hiding for years, that was just screaming to come out and play. She revealed herself to me bit by bit, more and more, day by day, and for the first time in my life, I began to love her and accept her. It was like the child inside peering from the window while the rain falls pours down, just waiting, ever so patiently, to be allowed to play in the puddles. For years I could feel her presence... she sang softly in my ear, she laughed gently in the other... and upon my introduction into the many avenues of artistic expression in BA, she shot out of me like a cannon. All she needed was a little affection, and a lot of love.
Have you ever seen anything so magnificent?
Dancing. Tango and Salsa... Her graceful femeninity began to spill out. There wasn't any way around it! Elegant posture and hand position, sexy skirts and high heels, delicate steps and sensual eye contact. My dance partner, Steffen (from Norway)... what a trooper! I have no idea how he managed to put up with me for 6 weeks of Tango! What!?!?!? Let the guy lead? Let go of all control? What does that mean?!? Follow?!? That word isnt in my vocabulary!!! Too funny. Thank you, Steffen for your patience!
And Salsa! Oh Boy... thank the G - O - D for Irina, my personal dance instructor... who quite possibly, is the most strikingly gorgeous, elegant, femenine, delicate, petite young 21 year old lady I have ever met. Eyes of silver, a body of porcelein, and hands of an angel. But damn, demanding as all hell! "Brazos! Tiffany! Brazos!" "Postura! Queda feo asi! Postura Arriba!" "Susi Q! Giro!" God, I love that girl. She is a muneca of femeninity- graceful, poetic, lovely and inviting- and a statue of strength and dignity... all wrapped up in a beauty queen.
I made more friends in BA than I did in my entire trip. Up until that point, I hadn't been able to really sink into the scene..
Iguazu - The Argentinian Side
. to actually "live" like I would as if I were in the states. Its amazing how that can change one's entire experience, just by releasing and surrendering to the lifestyle of the culture. It opened up friendships that will I'm sure last a lifetime, relationships that somehow hold a different valor que en los estados unidos... Yes, there is something to be said about a connection between two people of completely different cultures, completely different backgrounds, finding a common energy around which to dance. It is a beautiful thing.And so now, the time has passed... and the time has come. I head back to Merida, Venezuela... completing a grand circle that I began over a year ago... to revisit old friends (and old, yet still fresh, emotions), to answer lingering questions, to fill in the little gaps that were created in the beginning. And by summertime, I will be on a plane headed back in San Diego (mind you, the last plane that will serve me a gourmet meal and my own personal bottle of wine as a refreshment without making me pay on top of the ticket!)... Arriving wide-eyed and bushy tailed - ready to reaquaint myself with the former chapter of my life, but with grand anticipation to begin yet another new epoca... nevertheless, returning to the place I physically call "home", surrounded once again by all the familiarities and comforts, surrounded once again by those who love me
Iguazu - The Brazilian Side
.But so goes it, this viaje of mine. I am constantly surrounded by people who love me, as well as people who I love in return. A magical world of wonder, unfolding beautiful surprise after beautiful surprise... and they just kept getting better and better as time went on. I was clearly being led by the Universe through every experience, wonderful and not-so-wonderful... discoveries, realizations, revelations, recollections, dreams revealed, passions ignited, weaknesses strengthened, egotisms humbled, expectations rejected, emotions liberated, vulnerabilities exposed, fears faced, loneliness comforted, struggles... well, I wouldn't say conquered, but maybe a little less intimidating.
Perhaps Buenos Aires has captured a piece of my heart for more reasons than one. Possibly because it was the end of my trip and everything that I had come across over the previous 11 months was sitting in my hands, waiting to be artistically expressed. Perhaps the reduction of the language barrier allowed me to concentrate less... and to create and liberate more. Perhaps the freedom of being in a place where I DIDN'T feel like the minority gave me a little more confidence, less worry, and more space to BE myself instead of protect myself. Perhaps encountering all of the things that I felt I missed out on previously in life (due to my OWN decisions to play basketball and study medicine) gave me the opportunity to discover the little girl behind all of those tough walls of agression, anger, pain and fear
La Garganta Del Diablo...
. After months and months of uniquely genuine experiences, I realized that who I thought I was, wasn't who I am... and what I think is happening or is going to happen is just an illusion of my mind... and that no matter how much I think I realize, or that I think I find out,
my life will always be...
simply...
a constant discovery of Tiffany.
Que le vaya bien...
Que Dios le entregue todo lo que merezca...
Thanks for coming along for the ride.
Until the next trip,
Mil besos y abrazos...
Keep rockin to the rhythm of La Pacha Mama...
Con mucho amor, sol y paz.
Tiffany
Comments
one year to learn the first principle.... :)
Tiff------what a wonderful journey. i am so grateful to you for sharing this with me. what an amazing teaching you provide within your writing to so many others. how special we all are to have been blessed with you in our lives.....Peter