here there but mostly everywhere

slow.it.down.now

gosh i love maps. gosh i love guide books, and i'm partial to the climbing ones. they all help you to understand where you are going, what you are getting into and how in the world you get there. the location for this trip was el potrero chico, mexico. and what? mexico has 31 states. we were in nuevo leon and most near the town of hidalgo, population 22,500. hidalgo is honestly known for its proximity to an endless plethora of limestone towers. offering thousands of feet of bolted lines to climbers of any skill. part of the beauty is that you could come with the most talented of climber and find something to challenge them, while alongside a novice climber and still have routes to choose from.

the camping setup was beyond luxurious and made the 8 days of outdoor sleeping incredibly enjoyable. i've never done camping where you get to take showers every night and a full on kitchen to cook up a storm at your convenience. there was a pool, restaurant, casitas, people from all points of the world laughing, sharing stories, learning languages and all the while with the amazing backdrop of the sierra madres. truly unbeatable, spoiled camping no doubt.

even though we were two or so miles outside of hildalgo we still got to share these week of life in their culture, if you choose to do so. even the people who owned and ran the campgrounds were native to hidalgo and great people to chat with and be around. so i attempted my best spanglish, we went to the local tuesday market for deliciousness of all kinds, we trekked into town in search of a restaurant where a woman in her kitchen make us a burrito to share, even though we ordered two, we drove and got lost, we jammed out to some great Mexican music on many a climbs and just really slowed down to what the pace of life is like there. and time is not of the essence. unless of course you are starting an 11 pitch climb behind a slow moving duo that happen to get there 7 seconds before you and happen to be kicking off their multi pitch experience on the exact same climb you are destined by the stars to climb on your last day, theoretically speaking. other than this scenario that may or may not have happened, there is no rush of any kind really. now i could get used to this. hopefully some of this approach to life will carry with me in my life here in colorado. maybe i'll start with the slow food italian notion which “establishes that people should eat and drink slowly, with enough time to taste their food, spend time with the family, friends, without rushing. slow food is against its counterpart: the spirit of Fast Food and what it stands for as a lifestyle.” we forcefully did it when we lived in rome, which yielded fantastic results and great times.

don't you believe this amazing diverse world has so much to teach and enlighten us about how to live life? i loved that being immersed in other cultures when traveling to an unfamiliar country makes you question your current lifestyle. hopefully enough to attract yourself to get up and change a thing or two.

-to the left-

-to the right-

finally got a camera and can now take pictures of my own again :)