Daytripping

As it was the weekend we decided we should head out of town for a little adventure. As we are trying to budget a little, we decided to stay somewhat close. In fact, we just went back to Tzintzuntzan; the first time we were there it was pouring and the main market was closed, so we thought we'd try again. It turned out to be a good decision and we were able to stock up on some nice gifts. On the way there we stopped in Capula, a.k.a. pottery central. And on the way out we stopped by this woman's house, a well known embroiderer who no longer has a shop, but does sell out of her home for people in the know. There, too, we scored some really lovely gifts. I can't say enough about the handicrafts here. There are so many different kinds - pottery, textiles, glass, metalwork, jewelry (and we haven't even made it to Taxco yet, which has 4000 silver jewelry shops). It's impressive.

Here's a little pictorial of some of the sights from the day.

You can't start a road trip without a good breakfast. I went out in the morning and got a gaspacho with mango, pineapple, and watermelon, hold the chile and cheese. They also add fresh orange juice and salt to it. Perfection.

This was part of my lunch, grilled corn on the cob slathered with lime juice, mayo and cheese. Normally I'm a mayo foe, but here I make an exception. This has to be one of the best uses of corn ever invented.

There were quite a few street dogs in Capula. This one was in pretty good shape. Sometimes you can interact with them, but often they shy away from attention and you get the sense that they are probably mistreated. There was one dog in particular, a hound of some kind, that was sleeping in the street and got up, I assume, to scavenge for food. I tried to feed her the rest of my corn, but she didn't want it, even though you could see her ribs. She let me pet her and I could see that she had fleas. I'm glad I got to give her a little love, but it left me feeling sad about her fate. I so wanted to take her with me.

Here is the outside of one market in Tzintzuntzan. Those are all decorative hangings made out of corn husks or some other kind of fiber. You can also see some of the baskets they make with the same material.

The view on the way back. It's incredibly green and lush in the countryside, no doubt thanks to the copious amount of rain we've been getting.

Altitude adjustment

Wow, just when you think things couldn't get worse... they get better! I am happy to report that I think I have found a place in India that I could totally fall in love with. It is the McLeod Ganj/Bhagsu/Dharamsala area, way way way up north in the Himalayas. It's nowhere near Mt. Everest or the top of the world, but in some ways it feels like it. I rolled into the train station at Chakki Bank around 3 a.m. and wasn't exactly sure what would transpire after that, as in how or when I would reach my destination, or what that destination was to be exact, but somehow everything just seemed to fall into place. I soon met up with a young German couple who are traveling with their 3-year old daughter (brave!) and we split the cost of a taxi up to Bhagsu, just north of McLeod Ganj. The taxi driver happened to have a friend who has a guest house and so we ended up getting rooms there. My room is huge, there are actually two double beds in it, and the best part of it is that there is a hot shower. This is key because there is no heat in the room and it is really really cold here. I am thankful for the down jacket that I just got in the mail before leaving Varanasi (thanks Mom!). I may also be investing in a hat and some mittens and more wool socks while I'm here. I'm tempted to buy myself a lovely pashmina scarf... hmm... these are not cheap, especially by Indian standards, but they are soooo fantastic.

I think I slept for 4 or 5 hours on the train, so when I got into my room around 6 a.m. I slept for another hour or so. Upon waking I reveled in the hot water until it ran out and dried off as quickly as possible before layering up and heading out to check out my surroundings. Breathtaking would be a good way to describe it. Here is the view from the guest house:


The mist is almost magical here.

I hiked up into the village for a bit, admiring the scenery, when I was joined by this little fella and other members of his family:


Talk about a welcome committee! They followed me around the whole time and even accompanied me back into town. One of the reasons I love this place is because even though there are street dogs here, they are not abused and actually seem to be very well taken care of. This is likely due to the influence of the Tibetan Buddhist community here (yay for Buddhism!).

So I've spent the day wandering around, eating, drinking chai... you know, all the things you're supposed to do on vacation. I love having only a vague sense of what time it is, being able to read for hours on end, and just seeing where the wind takes me.


Heading into McLeod Ganj, a 2 km walk from Bhagsu.

Animals

It was another heavy-on-the-animals day today here. On our way into town we saw our first elephant, being ridden by two men, presumably on their way to a job site. We saw several monkeys, including this baby one:

Upon closer inspection we could see that the animal was seriously injured. It had bandages on its legs and arms and a major gash on its neck. So sad. I believe these people were caring for him, however, but I'm not sure how he got that way.

As we continued our walk we saw, as always, several street dogs, and then one in particular that was in such bad shape. She had, among other things, a huge gash on her cheek and seemed to be losing her hair and had something growing on or attached to her skin. The worst part was her eyes, which were full of fear. She seemed to be looking to anyone to help her. I can't even write about this without crying because it was just so awful. This is how India gets to you. It's like you have to detach and somehow accept that this is "just the way it is," even though there's something seriously wrong with some of the things that are the norm here. I'm sorry, but there are just some cultural differences that are unacceptable. Maybe that sounds arrogant, but there it is. It's just unacceptable to accept the suffering of other beings, in any form. And it's so frustrating because you feel helpless to do anything about it.

Best friends

It was a weekend of best friends, of both the canine and human kind. Good food, good conversation, good weather (sort of) - what more could you ask for? Actually the food was great. Staying at Kris and Jason's house is like staying at a gourmet B&B. I mean really, who makes cheese soufflé for breakfast? Yum.

In addition to spending time with two of my favorite people in the world, we also got to hang with their awesome dogs, Cassidy and Stella. Here are my two favorite pics of these girls in action.


Cassidy, the sweetest, gentlest fluffy girl around.


Stella, whose tactic of staring at the ball until someone picks it up and throws it for her is amazingly effective.

Farmers' Market

This weekend Paris and I are visiting our good friends in Orono. Two of them are human, two are canine. The weather is only slightly better here. We actually managed to get a nice walk in last night, sans rain gear. So nice. This morning we visited the local farmers' market, where it wavered between overcast and showery. The goodies were lovely, however, and we are sure to have a yummy dinner. It looks like it's clearing up again so I see another walk in our future. I'm sure our four-legged friends will be happy about that.

Travel-sized puppy

On my most recent flight to New York, this travel-sized puppy caught my eye. The owner was kind enough to let me take a picture. In fact, she informed me that many people ask to take her picture. Cuteness is universal apparently.

Summertime

Today was a gorgeous day in Maine! Quite a nice change from the recent cold and damp days we've had. Paris got to go swimming twice at my mom's pool. Gabe, my parents' dog, has yet to make the leap into the pool, but he has nearly fallen in a couple times.

The joys of spring

In addition to green grass growing and flowers sprouting, another sign of the change of seasons is when they turn the water back on at the track. This has been the case for a while now, of course, but I took a pic of Paris enjoying it this weekend. Thirsty seems to be one of the key words she actually recognizes, along with hungry, treat, beach, and ride. Ah the life of a dog!

There's a new dog in town

My parents adopted a shelter dog this past week. His name is Gabe and he's a beaut! He and Paris get along famously. In fact, I have to take away this one toy in particular sometimes or they will keep wrestling until they are silly with fatigue. Gabe is some sort of mix of American bulldog and I'm sure there's some lab in there. Who could resist this sweet face?

Oh baby!

Last week I took my first-ever newborn pictures... what a cutie this little guy is. I swear he was camera shy, though, because at 6 weeks he managed on a couple occasions to actually turn his head away from my lens! Haha. The dog, on the other hand, was a total ham.

Puppies!

Two bulldog puppies recently moved in to my building... and they are CUTE! I took some pictures of them today with my new lens, which was challenging because it only works as a manual focus with my camera. These little guys move fast! Here are a couple shots of them in a brief moment of down time... makes you want one, doesn't it?


Bruno


Houston

Big P goes for a ride

Here's what I see about 75% of the time I am in my car, in the rear view mirror. Paris looooves to go for rides, to my sister's, to my mom's, to the beach, grocery shopping, wherever! She's always ready for anything. (Not to worry - I was parked when I took this!)

19 degrees

So, despite the fact that it was 19 degrees outside this afternoon, Paris and I went for a walk in the woods. It was beautiful!! Lots of nice sun coming through the trees and Paris was able to get her freak on. She tends to get these crazy eyes out in nature and runs around like she's just been let loose for the first time ever. Although I did not capture said activity on film, I did get some nice nature shots... most of which were taken at the beginning of the walk because by the end I just wanted to get back into the warmth somewhere!!

I'm famous

... in my mind. ;) Nicole just posted a fantastic slideshow of this past weekend's wedding. She got some amazing shots, and a few of mine are in there too! (which makes me feel kinda famous) Here's a link to the slideshow: http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4e7a45344e6a4d794e413d3d0d0a&campaign=blog_playback_link&blogview=true
The bride's name is Carrie, hence the song.

A truly famous creature to all who know her is Paris, or Big P as she is sometimes called. Here are a couple pics of her... well, her nose and paws and profile anyway.