crazy mushroom

what would happen if you ate one of these?

Tree trunks 2!

The textures and sizes of trunks in the forest are wide in variety.
It is like looking at the range of human faces of the world.

4:50pm

It is 15 seconds lighter than it was yesterday! hooray!

The longer days are the more heat goes into our solar showers.
Not only that, life is more beautiful with the sunshine.

Hawaiian wedding

Mark and I were asked to sing a Hawaiian song for our neighbors who were getting married. We both are not particularly known for singing ( I myself could say that it is my weakest point). But, I had just come back from a very inspiring permaculture course were everyone could sing; so I thought it would be a great challenge for Mark and I to learn to sing.

It was a very long and slow process. Sometimes it was so much fun but sometimes I thought I was being dragged into a black hole.

We sang it in front of 100 people. We had a wonderful time getting to know our neighbors and getting to know our own voices. They even asked us to sing it twice, it must mean something.. :)

BE GREEN

Black Bird

Where have you come from? And what are you doing here?
Black bird, free traveler, no passports nor frontiers to cross, the world is all one to you.
You are welcome to go anywhere you want, but when it comes to humans (our own species) we have to create all these rules that give us power over others. How silly isn't it?
I wish you the best. Be careful with those fast running cars, good luck crossing the streets, good luck with your mission, good luck with your journey.

Tree trunks!

I am back my blog. Had a really awesome trip to New Zealand but now I am back to the normal slow rhythm and challenging forest life. Back in the forest with new eyes, here are shots of my new eyes.

Taking the canoe for a ride

There is a community canoe for locals that you can take out for a ride! (After a year of living here we know about this). So the first time we heard of it we decided to go to town for our shopping, crossing the bay instead of taking the car. It was awesome! It took us 45min each way but carrying the canoe up the beach took us 15 min each way. (OH BOY IT IS HEAVY FOR TWO)

Next time we took it for a fishing-beach hunting day. We found this secluded beach and had lunch. We fished on the way but guess what! we forgot the bate... :(
We relaxed for a bit and took some delicious sun while enjoying the view.

It was all great but to tell you the truth, once we got out of the bay the currents were really strong, we paddled and paddled and wouldn't go anywhere. Tired, but definitely worth it!

Little Chickens

They were born around 3 months ago and for some reason we have semi-adopted them. Whenever we have some delicious leftovers we feed it to them, but it has been hard to teach them the boundaries. They are definitely not like dogs or cats, they don't like me coming closer and they peck my toes when they are really hungry. When we take off our house doors they even decide to barge in and see if with their charm I can get them some food from the fridge. It has been really interesting observing what kind of food they like and dislike. They hate oranges but love oats and rice! (must have guessed that)

New Moon

Today we went to see the sunset, the mosquitoes were trying to devour us, so we moved on. On the way home we saw the new moon and all the colors of the sunset. I say that watching the sunset is all about watching the sun going down the horizon but my beloved says that it is all about the magical after colors and today it was just like he said.

The nights are getting chilly now and soon the winter will come. But for now, let us enjoy the nice cool nights and warm days.

SORAIROTAKE & MUNIN AOGAMPI

Finding the small colorful things in the middle of the forest is like finding treasures and pleasures for the eye and mind. These are my most recent finds.

WORLD HERITAGE - OGASAWARA

A quick note on news that happened months ago but that are still bringing tourists to the Island. Since Ogasawara was enlisted in UNESCO's World heritage list, TV programs and rich tourists have not stopped visiting the island to get a taste of the hottest news in Japan. It seems to be a big deal in Japan but I don't remember it being that big in Central America. Anyhow any who, the news are making the island people richer and busier. The slowness is not the same but hopefully it will cool down and bring the Island's pace back to down to earth. :)

Japan's Ogasawara Islands on UNESCO's World Heritage List

Friday, June 24, 2011

The World Heritage Committee has inscribed Ogasawara Islands, the Japanese islands situated some 1,000 km south of the country's main archipelago, on UNESCO's World Heritage List for the wealth of their ecosystems which reflect a wide range of evolutionary processes.

The property numbers more than 30 islands clustered in three groups and covers surface area of 7,393 hectares. The islands offer a variety of landscapes and are home to a wealth of fauna, including the Bonin Flying Fox, a critically endangered bat, and 195 endangered bird species. Four-hundred and forty-one native plant taxa have been documented on the islands whose waters support numerous species of fish, cetaceans and corals. Ogasawara Islands' ecosystems reflect a range of evolutionary processes illustrated through its assemblage of plant species from both southeast and northwest Asia, alongside many endemic species.

A total of 35 nominations, including natural, cultural and mixed properties will have been reviewed by the Committee, which is holding its 35^th session at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, by the end of the session on 29 June.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/766

BURBOT

"When the burbot (ling cod) was human, he decided to leave the land and become a water animal. So he started down the bank, taking a piece of bear fat with him. But the other animal people wanted him to stay and tried to hold him back, stretching him all out of shape in the process. This is why the burbot has such a long, stretched-out body, and why its liver is rich and oily like the bear fat its ancestor carried to the water long ago."
Richard Nelson - Make prayers to the raven.

September

The summer just passed like a quick breeze and now the autumn winds blow at night bringing the temperatures down. By down I mean 25 degrees Celsius, hehe. Back to the mellow days were you can either swim through literature and bathe with dreams or watch TV shows. I have been working 2 days a week and then all I know is that I have been swinging in the new hammock spot, watching TV shows, reading The spell of the sensuous, dreaming, sleeping, trying to surf, napping... etc. Rain has been a big topic these days, under our house there is a little valley and that turned into a river. One day we hope not to slide with all the mountain into the river of mud and die. We do hope that if we do slide down the mountain we park into one of those really beautiful beaches and claim it ours. 

I have been making new friends with our landlords chickens and fishes from the ocean. I find it that even though I seem to be reconnecting to nature and animals there is a strong fear to being attacked! The fact is that I don't know what is going through the mind of it and the mystery of it all is what creates the fear. That fear is the biggest wall to overcome not only from my side but from the other side. ( these days the topics at home are about eco-psychology and transpersonal psychology, so forgive the wacko ness)

Phaedrus

I am reading a book called the Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram. To me, the fact that somehow we are linked to nature and the energy of the world makes complete sense but to define it so beautifully as this book does just brings so much joy to my every day. It describes how in the ancient time human knowledge of nature (animals, plants, elements) were of great importance to live a holistic life, but since we started defining things and creating languages creating barriers and laziness to the soul and mind, we are now left with nothing but a huge wall between us and nature. Now we struggle to reconnect to the original language of the earth and have lost the mystic powers that really led us to being higher human beings. Anyways, in this book he quotes Plato from Phaedrus...

"If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls, they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is written, calling things to remembrance no longer from within themselves but by means of external marks" Phaedrus 274a

JAMMIN

OGASAWARA LIVE CONCERT! 

local tofu creator and neighbor

It only takes place once a year at the central park, we all dress up like we are going out to Roppongi but we are all hillbillies with dirty feet. Many local bands play their favorite music, from rock to J-pop and all the way down to jazz. Under the stars, next to the ocean, we all dance and sway with the breeze. Unfortunately the event has to finish at 9:00pm sharp! That is just when the adrenaline started to kick in. Great vibes though!

Forest marshmallow

Some sort of mushroom, looking good!
Magical, only seen when it rains, for a couple of days and then gone. Fluffy like a marshmallow but doubt it is as good. Ogasawara, most of it's beauty lies on the simple things like this. It is all about how you look at things, just gotta change your eyes and see things from another perspective.

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Recently I have had the time to read some of the books that the universe sent me. This book called The God of small things is a very beautifully written book. The words transport me to Ayemenem which is now part of India. I have never been there but I can smell and see what the characters experience. It is like traveling with my thoughts. I sometimes forget I am sunbathing in a white sand beach in the middle of the pacific ocean.

"May in Ayemenem is a hot, brooding month. The days are long and humid. The river shrinks and black crows gorge on the bright mangoes in still, dustgreen trees. Red bananas ripen. Jackfruits burst. Dissolute bluebottles hum vacuously in the fruity air. Then they stun themselves against clear windowpanes and die, fatly baffled in the sun." page 1.

Outrigger Canoe Race

Once a year the Kaname association hosts an Outrigger Canoe race. An ancient way of transportation that was used in Ogasawara and many other pacific islands. Locals and tourists gather to race in Oghiura beach for a very exciting day. Music, beach, beer, families, competition, heat, it is the grand opening of the summer events of the Island. It starts with a Hula dance, music and gathering picture; as soon at is over the race starts. 3 of my friends and I have been practicing and preparing our costumes for this day. Tiger prints and wild hair to aim for the costume price but we end up aiming first place. Of course, the 44 magnum team (women who are all 44) win the race! I must say, they have the experience but come one... we are younger and should have beat them, instead we end up on 4th place :(

No regrets, it was an amazing experience and for sure the 44 magnum team has had to go through this to be on the first place. We are definitely trying again next year. With zebra prints!