Skip to main content

Sacred Rocks and Being Real




Rocks from the sea, balanced on each other at sometimes inconceivable angles.
We have seen them before, in remote places where travelers and seekers have left offerings to the coast or to the gods of wanderlust. 

And here we find totems, scattered along the shore. 


But there is a difference. Here the spirit is not the same. 
While others I have seen hold a sacred quality, built under sacred circumstances, as amazing as these may look, they hold sadness and a feeling of desperation for me. 

You see, they were not built by pilgrims. They were built by a man and his wife who live here. Not because of any holy endeavor, but in a desperate bid to make a living. 


I stood and watched as this old Mexican cabellero demonstrated his ability to balance one stone on another. He did it with the pomp of an entertainer and somehow it lost all its magical charm. 
He had been balancing rocks for twenty years he said. In truth, it wasn't amazing. Not at all. 
He held his cigarette in his lips as he took a stone off the top of a tower, tossed it from one hand to another and deftly showed me how he could return it to its original place. 
He faltered several times and I waited patiently, not so much because I cared about seeing the balancing, but because I saw his daily struggle to live and I desired to honor it.


His wife sputtered at me in Spanish, concerned I might just walk by after the well rehearsed show without leaving the dollar fee for the ticket. She was beautiful. Her face was pained and her body darkened from a lifetime spent in the sun. I would have given her much more than the suggested dollar if I'd had it on me. But that day, my own pockets were disturbingly light.


We as travelers look for authentic experiences. We pass by performers looking for a tip in search of something more real. But I challenge you to see this couple. Imagine where they might live, the condition of their home, what they eat for dinner at night. 

It couldn't be more real....

With a full heart, 
laura


Please check out our FULL WEBSITE at www.PovertyProjectInternational.com
Connect with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/povertyprojectinternational/
If you want to chat, you can email us at povertyprojectinternational@gmail.com
Or if you want to help us out and DONATE, you can go to PAYPAL and send your donation to  povertyprojectinternational@gmail.comAll donations are tax deductible.

Live is an adventure, Live it!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beware of Falling Mangoes

There is a book I love called An Embarrassment of Mangoes . Its about a couple sailing in the Caribbean, meeting locals, and collecting recipes. It is nearly my favorite book of all time because this is what I want to do with my life...sail the Caribbean and collect people and recipes. Little did I dream one day I would own a Tiki Bar and B&B in Costa Rica, much less one gifted with mango trees. In fact, I do think I am going to need to post a WATCH FOR FALLING MANGOES sign above my door as the still green fruit is falling off the trees. I have no idea why. A local told me the tree sheds the unwanted-unfit fruit before it ripens. I am glad no-one has shed me. So I am waiting for the fruit to ripen and dreaming of ways to use it: mango-chili chutney, mango mohitos, mango ice-cream, mango topped burgers. I am dreaming quite actively actually, as it looks like soon I will be the proud owner of an embarrassment of mangoes!
Post a Comment
Read more

Mexican Morning

The sea is calm this morning after days of raging. Its rhythm calms me a little. The sun is just rising and the palapas are turning gold. I love these mornings when the air is still and clean. Orange oriels sing and land on my yellow flowering vines looking for butterflies for breakfast. Today the plan is to go diving right out here in front of Pueblo Escondido where I live, if it be temporarily.  Nothing here is set in stone. Not the wind nor the waves nor the condition of the reef under them. Endangered sea turtles struggle for survival. Maybe I will dance with one today. Just off shore the water is clear. I can see the limestone stretching out beneath the waves and disappearing into the vast blue where the sea floor quickly drops from 40-400 feet. I love it here. The tropical breezes, the infant fish that grow in the tide pools, the tiny ones with blank and yellow stripes and the ones that are half purple and half yellow. They have found a safe place in which to grow, ...
3 comments
Read more

Magic in the Palm Groves

One of my favorite things about driving down the long road to Manuel Antonio is the palm groves. Rows and rows of palm trees, their trunks laden with ferns I would have given my right arm for when I lived in south Carolina, create a magical green world along the narrow highway. The trees bear bright red berries growing in huge bunches just where you think the coconuts might grow. The color, like cranberries at christmas time. But the best part is the old fashioned carts pulled by oxen and directed by real Costa Rican cowboys.
3 comments
Read more