The coolest place in the world

...is without a doubt El Panchan, Palenque. So for the past 6 days I have been living in the jungle in Palenque, Chiapas. It is absolutely insanely COOL. Here I went to see the Agua Azul waterfalls. Agua Azul is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Imgaine incredibly high, cascading waterfalls with turquoise see-through water and caramel, smooth rocks which the water is at once gliding and hurtling over. I had to keep pinching myself to believe it was real. It is like something only witnessed in an animated disney film. Butterflies in the jungle and birds swooping in and out of the water. It doesn´t look real. It was another Avatar moment. I visited twice to swim in the purifying, fresh waters. It`s awesome power terrified me as I was reminded of my frenemy the Pacific Ocean, however at the same time it was intimately calming and meditative.

Misol-Ha waterfall

I also went to see the Ancient Maya pyramids and temples, ruins also set rather surreally in the middle of the dense Palenque jungle. Large, impressive and exhausting to climb it was mind-blowing to wonder how an ancient civilisation lived there, let alone built it with no modern construction technologies of our own. Having seen several Maya ruin sites now, the most exciting thing about these ones in particular was the setting. Wild, lush, colourful, overpowering jungle. At once scary and beautiful.

Down the road from the Palenque ruins is an area called El Panchan, described by Lonely Planet as a "Legendary travellers` hangout" but it is so much more than this. Swarmed with hippie travellers and residents, the place is magical. I was staying in a wooden cabana deep in the jungle and awoke each morning faced with exotic, wild and gigantic jungle plants with huge, cartoon-like leaves that made me miniature. And at night, we would all be kept up by the extraordinary huffing and puffing of the jungle´s attention-seeking howler monkeys who would sit very close to our cabanas and ensure us a very disturbed sleep. In fact, the entire jungle pulsates with a raw spiritual energy and I couldn`t help but look at everything in close detail. Caterpillars, hibiscus flowers, tightly twisted tree trunks, an immaculately formed cocoon, marching ants carrying leaves to build their nest, shiny berries, dangerous thorns, large but unthreatening tarantulas. Each day, my eclectic group of friends that I met there and I trekked around the jungle on slow, attentative adventures and discovered and frolicked in waterfalls. I was always hesitant to climb them, panicked by the strength of water but with patience and very deliberate movements I was able to conquer and climb near the top where fresh, clean water would pour over the top of the edge and purify and cleanse me. And wherever you walk in El Panchan, people would be jamming, playing their live music together with friends and strangers and just chilling and enjoying the good life amidst their beautiful surroundings every day.

Each night in El Panchan, we would sit in one of the open-air restaurants there - usually Don Mucho´s - and listen to awesome live music. The bands played an eclectic mix, sometimes from Argentina, sometimes son Cuba and sometimes jungle music which involved the lead musician carefully selecting from one of about fifteen different small wind instruments and making various animal sounds. Here my friends and I would sit and listen to the original music and drink red wine as locals and travellers danced salsa together seamlessly. And everyone I met in El Panchan was so interesting! I met a beautiful, delicate flower from Finland by the name of Karolina. She is a gorgeous, petite, dreaded and very talented artesan who has spent the last seven years travelling, 3 and a half of those in Central America, getting by on limited money but selling her handicrafts. Karolina is intensely charming and sweet and has a certain vibe that drawns in the people she meets and makes us want to protect her. She is also four months pregnant, which at first suprised and probably disconcerted me somewhat but when I saw the incredibly conditions she was bringing her unborn child in to I had no question in my mind that travelling was the right thing for her and her `Elfa`. Everyday her fairy was surrounded by original live music, organic nature and animal sounds and fresh, clean water as she ensured she swam in a waterfall each day. I wish them the best.

A wonderful adventurer named Mercedes from Texas was the first girl I met in El Panchan actually and not only did she go out of her way to make me feel comfortable, she encouraged and supported me during my waterfall climbing ordeal to ensure I got over my trauma. Unbelievably sweet for someone I don`t even know. I also spent time with a delightful Finish/Portugese newly married couple, Vera and Rico, who were very sweet, funny and down-to-earth and had met in London. Being in their company was extremely pleasant and you could feel their love. Strangely I bumped in to a French friend too, Romain who I had met in Puerto Escondido and who had been there in Mazunte when I had my accident. That was amazing and he strongly expressed his relief to see me well and healthy and walking again. Funnily enough I met many other people who had heard about or eye-witnessed themselves my accident and they would swarm me with marvel and a million questions to try understand my experience. I met a fascinating and beautiful girl/jungle creature, originally from Switzerland but who had been living in Mexico for 2 years names Jess. To talk to, I thought she was nearly thirty. An old soul, she talked to me about my accident in a spiritually mature way and I was fixated. She also crawled and ran and smoothed her way through the jungle like it was second nature. A real-life Mowgli. I couldn´t believe it when she revealed to me she was only twenty-one but she admitted she feels like she has always felt she has lived on this planet for centuries. My closest friend in El Panchan was Julio, a Mexican-Venezuelan from Texas who has been doing various voluntary work in Guatemala but is now on a roots-discovering trip in Mexico, he has an acute appreciation for live latin music and would beam ear to ear all night every night (save for when his head was on the table as a result of too much tequila consumption) and we left El Panchan together to discover the Carribean coast.

I could not have had a more enjoyable time in El Panchan and I already think about going back one day. There was a newly started intentional community there called Maya Buda and one day, Karolina, Julio and myself dropped by to see what it was all about and we all got on so well with the residents that we visited a nearby waterfall together. I could easily see myself living there for a little while. It was very hard for us to leave but now here Julio and myself are, making a quick city break in sweaty, hustling Merida on our way to the Caribbean coast. It feels very inner city typical Mexico here but today we are visiting nearby natural cenotes, sink holes that are formed under caves.

Leaving you in love and peace,
Anetta xxx

Imbalanced vibes

Laundry at the Bosque

SO forgive me for talking like a hippy but my harmonies have been strangely imbalanced the last couple of days... I have had a great time, but some things have just seemed a bit off. Today is a good example! The weather has been insanely weird and temperamental. Usually the days here are gorgeous, with hot sun and a cooling breeze and the nights absolutely freezing. However, last night was surprisingly warm! So I should have known that today would be super cold! I was working outside too so I couldn't feel my feet and ended up putting on 3 pairs of socks haha. This made me feel very pissed off and grumpy as I don't take to the cold that well but then as soon as lunch was served I felt SO HAPPY as there was sun AND humous!! Haha a bit schiz?! Although again, right now I am feeling horribly weird again as I'm too bloody FULL! Haha I just ate the most delicious lunch of freshly-made humous, vegetables and tortilla wraps. I went a little crazy and ate too much but only to make up for the horribly cold morning I had... Everything is imbalanced!

SO on Thursday I got the best news ever! It was my second day of work and Brian and I discussed me making a weekly vlog for the Bosque as my work service here. I am absolutely THRILLED!!!! Whilst I enjoy the outdoorsy work as it is so new to me and not stuff that I'd EVER normally do or will probably do again, I am so glad that I get to keep up my filmmaking and hone my skills here. Plus, I get to film on Brian's HD camera and edit on Adobe Premiere so it should be good for me to learn and feel comfortable with both. So for the past three days I have been filming everything I can - the different work tasks we do and all the fun we have! This has included so far cob-building, wood chopping, meditation, a chainsaw workshop, interviews with volunteers... I think I've enjoyed filming the various vistas here the most as it really is quite stunning in the forest when the sun is out... Today I began editing my footage which hasn't been as difficult as I thought it'd be, turns out editing software is all very similar. It feels quite good to be 'on it' again in the same way I am in London. To feel productive and in control of my own projects. I'm a laidback person but I need to feel that I am actively contributing to my own development at all times haha. The physical labour does help but the filming is easily more satisfying for me.

Rose painting

I have helped with a bit of cob-building alongside the film work though which has been really cool. The new cabanas here are being made from eco-friendly 'cob', a mix of water, sawdust, pine needles and earth. So yesterday and today, we've been smoothing the floor of one of the new cabanas with finely ground cob mix. Yesterday, Judith and I laid it all down and today all of us volunteers went barefoot and smoothed the mix out across the floor of the cabana. At first I was filming but it looked so much fun that I decided to join in... and MASSIVELY regretted it!!! It was so effing cold!!! My toes were freezing!

Chicken coup

We finish work at 2pm everyday here and then all sit down to a huge lunch together. After this we are free to do whatever we want and this is my favourite time of the day, between 2-7.30pm (when dinner is served) as I always feel so happy, chilled and peaceful. Particularly when the sun is out! Sometimes I'll hang out with the other volunteers (sometimes getting drunk early if someone has alcohol haha), but mostly I prefer to spend this time alone just lying in my favourite hammock reading (currently Sophie's World - am I a cliche?!) or writing whatever inspires me or wandering around the acres of forest here. After dinner, all of us hang out together either by the fire in the Casita or outside by a fire. Last night was one of my favourite nights here, we all hung out by a fire at The View (the best part of the forest) drinking local wine and playing guitar.

Genevieve working hard

I cannot believe I've been here a week already! Time goes by so strangely here... The week has gone so quick but at the same time, I feel very settled here like I've been here longer. I know that the vibe will change after this weekend though as many volunteers are leaving... Alejandra (the super lovely 20yr-old from Mexico City), Little Brian (a 33yr-old English lit graduate/ fisherman/ girls' favourite haha from US), Aaron (a 24yr-old absolutely mental biking-around-latin-america seasonal firefighter from Canada) and sweet sweet Shaya (22 from Israel.) I am most upset about Shaya as we get on very well and have SO MUCH FUN together and she was going to stay longer but then decided she wanted to see more of Mexico but only has a month left so she's going earlier than expected. She's my favourite here as there's just no bullshit with her and she doesn't pretend to be someone she's not and she never follows the crowd but is always her own person and she's really freakin cool! I plan to see her again in my travels and we have talked about potentially travelling Belize together. Hope to meet Aaron again sometime later as he is travelling some more and is really funny and bizarre company! We are having a couple more volunteers arrive next week but I am still sad as the dynamic will definitely change. That doesn't mean to say it won't still be fun, just different!

Anyways gotta go, am visiting Eronga with Shaya... Wanna buy some booze for tonight as it is her last! Hopefully next time I write I will feel more in sync with my own rhythms or whatever... Think some sun will help enormously!

xxx

nature calls

Hola!

On Monday I attended a bread-making class in a tiny nearby village romantically named La Zazarmora together with another volunteer, Genevieve. She is a 23yr old from Portland, Oregon who despite studying Landscape Architecture at uni, works on her own eco ranch in California with her boyfriend. She is here at the Bosque to learn other sustainability methodologies to then implement back in her own ranch. The bread-making class was at the home of a Mexican family who run several businesses; a shop, a distillery and a bakery from their home! Senora Alicia, the family's grandmother led the class together with her daughter Soco and her two young daughters were also helping! So we had three generations baking bread together. They were such a beautiful, loving and happy family and despite Gen's and my crappy Spanish we were all able to laugh and joke together throughout the long day. We left completely breaded out and bought several bottles of the family's liquor, Vino de Zaza to share with everyone back at the Bosque. Everyone really appreciated it as it is so tasty and more importantly, quite potent! So we all spent the evening playing cards, getting drunk and hanging out by the fire of the Casita, our own lounge hut.

Yesterday, I had the most perfect day! In the morning, Genevieve, Rose (from Minnesota) and I walked in to another nearby town named Erongaricuaro which is so so charming! Rose and Genevieve are super eco-conscious in their lives back home so I was enlightened with talk on permaculture and suchlike... And also some spirituality they both follow involving rebirths and dedication ceremonies. I couldn't add much to that particular conversation and for a city-girl like myself, it's not something I am particularly excited about however it was interesting listening to the different ways in which they both live their lives. We walked around the market of Erongaricuaro and I bought a cowboy sombrero to blend in with the locals! Haha, they all looked at me like I'm a crazy gringo... Although, saying that, the locals here often mistake both myself and Genevieve for Mexicans, but from Mexico city. Genevieve is half Native American and so I guess with our brown skin we both fit in with some of the demographic here...

Outdoor composting toilet - The Boogaloo

When we got back to the Bosque, I spent a few hours reading in my favourite hammock overlooking the hills of Patzcuaro. It makes me feel so unbelievably happy and so fresh and so lucky and so alive! Then, Judith, a German volunteer here from Circus school, brought out the jump rope and many of us had such a hysterical and exhilarating time skipping together. Turns out, I'm not as agile as I was back in primary school... After this, myself, Rose, Laura (a retreater) and Alejandra (from Mexico City) had a 'Spanish Corner' whereby the three ignorants attempt to speak Spanish and Alejandra corrects us! I really don't think my Spanish is improving... Especially here at the Bosque where all the volunteers speak English!

Shaya & Genevieve

Today was my first day of WORKING! We began at 8.30am and worked through to 2pm when we took lunch... Today I shovelled fertile earth to a less fertile spot where we are going to begin planting a vegetable garden. Despite my usual aversion to physical labour, I REALLY enjoyed this! So tiring, but it felt so good to be working amongst nature and outdoors and to work my arms! It was tiring but fun as myself and Shya, an Israeli volunteer, were put together and she's really cool, interesting and fun so I love talking to her. Her life has been so varied and she's only 22, having lived in eco villages in Israel, California and having been travelling alone for the past 5months around Mexico.

I'm about to go for a thorough tour of the entire Bosque with Brian, the owner and creator of the project and film it at the same time... Look forward to doing more shooting and getting good footage here!

Adios!
A x

a piece of peace

Luisa and her horse

Today I am writing from the remotest forest hills in the state of Michoacan, the nearest village a tiny one called Patzcuaro which reminds me of a 'kampong' in the Malaysian countryside. I am staying at an eco village here called the Bosque Village, a magical place from first impressions, for the next month or so. I am currently in one of the cabanas here which is where the internet computer and electricity to power phone, camera batteries etc is located. This particular cabana is called The View. This is because it is at the top of one of the forest's hills and it over looks the Patzcuaro lake. Absolutely stunning! More on this later...

A Mexican family of lovely, strong women 

So Friday I was still in Mexico city. In the morning I visited Luisa's horse with her at the stables and then after we all went around to her Grandmother's apartment in the south of the city for lunch. It was so delicious! Zucchini soup, Tinga con pollo (which is a kind of enchilada but more tasty!) and a tasty pastel for dessert, a Mexican recipe but I cannot remember the name. What I enjoyed most about this lunch was seeing a Mexican family together. Mariana and Luisa's auntie was also there, together with two of their cousins. And from the minute we walked in there was an extreme warmth about the place. Everyone was so happy to see each other and did not stop laughing right up until we left. There was no reluctance or sense of obligation as there is, ashamedly, with my family and I think with many other Western families.

Girls night out in Mexico City

That night, I hit Mexico City's nightlife with the girls and a bunch of Luisa's girlfriends. She is leaving (today I think) to study a semester in Madrid so it was her leaving party. We pre-drank at one of Luisa's friends' places. Her girlfriends are all gorgeously stunning! This was extremely handy for getting in to the club as I later found out. So we pulled up to the club, Classico in a taxi and I noticed about 100people crowded around outside. Wow, I thought, that looks like the most disorganised queue I've ever seen, really couldn't be bothered to queue in the cold! However, as the girls explained to me, in clubs here there is no queue. Instead everyone gathers around the ropes outside the club and the bouncers take their time to hand-pick only the prettiest people or the sons-and-daughters-of kids. It was hysterical! So we pushed the prettier girls amongst us to the front so the bouncers saw them and let us all in within minutes. I couldn't believe it and felt so bad just walking past some of the people who had been waiting there for ages (many of whom were significantly more attractive than myself) simply because I was with hotter people! I can imagine this process can be quite humiliating, demeaning and painful for one's ego...

Mariana & cousin Diana

So once we were inside I was confronted by the largest collective of beautiful people I have ever witnessed under one roof. Mexicans are very aesthetically pleasing! It was a really fun night, nineties Mexican pop music was the theme. However I really enjoyed myself dancing to this somewhat niche genre of music. And they threw in a couple of Fat Man Scoop and Bon Jovi type tracks here and there (the best of English-language music of course) so I didn't feel completely lost! We all got very drunk on tequila and reached home around 6am...

Only to awake again at 8am to catch my bus! Mariana was wonderful and despite feeling horrifically hungover herself, she helped me wake up, made me a packed lunch for my journey AND drove me to the bus station! The biggest sweetheart I've met in a long time! I got on my luxury bus and slept for the next 7 hours until I reached Patzcuaro. Here I enlisted the help of an elderly gentleman who could speak some English to help me get a taxi to drive me to the Bosque village. The driver was the sweetest man, he looked about ninety-five and he insisted that his rickety little taxi would be able to handle the bumpy dirt road and the forest hills of the journey, despite me protesting that I'd need a Servicio Mixto (a van) on the advice of the village. So I ended up believing him and then proceeded to spend the next two hours driving around and around dirt tracks and through trees for a 5km journey! And despite his lack of English and my lack of Spanish, the driver and myself were able to form quite the bond in this time! I actually quite enjoyed the journey and even the occasional stroke of fear that would grasp me when I'd realise that we had passed the same bunch of cows for the fifth time in the last half hour and were circling upon ourselves.

With a bit of faith and a lot of giggling later amongst my new friend and I, we finally made it to the Bosque! The relief I felt was incalculable! Here I was greeted by some of the other volunteers, Jenny and Crystal, two friends from Minnesota who are travelling across Latin America together and separately. They showed me to my cabana which I am sharing with two other girls, Genevieve from the state of Oregon and Alejandra from Mexico City. I then got a brief tour and met some of the other volunteers and then at 7.30pm we sat down for a communal dinner on the main lodge terrace. We ate a deliciously healthy dinner of black bean soup, homemade humuous and fresh bread! Here I met Marie and Brian, the owners/organisers of the Bosque. They are so lovely and friendly and also surprisingly young to be running such an efficient and wonderful project.

Casita

After dinner we all hung out in the Casita, a small cabana lodge with a large fireplace where everyone chills and I got to know everybody a little better. They are all very lovely, quite worldly people. Most are travelling around Mexico, Central America or through the whole of Central and South America. Some have been here for a month or so, some for only a few days. Most stay for about a month before moving on and so some are leaving in the next week. Apparently volunteers come and go fairly often. Whilst during the daytime it is warm and sunny, at night it is MIND-NUMBINGLY FREEZING!!!!!!!!!! This is because of the altitude at which the village is based in the hills. I have also found myself to be a bit short of breath because of the altitude but everyone has told me that this will subside within three days. The cabanas are not insulated but as it is so cold I had to sleep wearing most of the clothes I brought with me all at once and with five blankets over me!! I slept early as I was tired from my trip, a little overwhelmed by my new environment and embarrassingly enough... I could feel myself growing very crabby and irritable from my first day of no smoking. The village is completely smoke-free. I am happy about this as it will be exceedingly healthy for me, but I can't say that it has been easy!

Cactus

Today I woke up early but found it difficult to clamber out of bed as I felt so cold! It warmed up rapidly though and so I made my way to the Casita where people were having breakfast and ate a warm bowl of oatmeal. And then Alejandra cooked some delicious eggs with mexican beans for everyone. The craving to smoke after breakfast was intense! However I didn't bring ANY cigarettes with me and also I think I'd be kicked out if I did ever smoke here so it just wasn't going to happen. A place like this is probably the best place for addiction. I say we ship out all the heroin addicts to the remote hills of Mexico for rehab. I found out my working hours, 8.30am-2pm from Wed-Sun. Monday is a day off for everyone and Tuesday is my own day off. Everyone I've spoken to has said that the work is so varied so I'm surprisingly looking forward to Wednesday! So this means from today to Tuesday I am free to adjust to my surroundings, familiarise myself with nature and just chill out...

It is so peaceful here that I know I am going to enjoy the next couple of days immensely! I have spent the last hour doing some writing amongst the trees. Such an inspirational place, I know it's only my first day but I feel I could stay here forever! Also, they have such an extensive library that I'm looking forward to spending my days reading in one of the numerous hammocks they have here. Estoy contenta!

Anetta x