Eye Opening Sierra Leone, Africa!

The Streets of Sierra Leone, Africa

One of the most amazing luxuries we have in this day and age is the ability to catapult ourselves into totally different worlds in a matter of days. I just arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone, the capital city fighting it’s way back after a devastating 11 year civil war. This is not my average random adventure… but rather from the heart. I’m here to help shoot a documentary for Hands for Africa, a non-profit organization who’s trying to bring attention to their home country. Our goal here is to try to give aid to the thousands of residents who were victims of gruesome rebels. Their trademark during the war was to cut people’s arms and legs off for no other reason than to terrorize. No that’s not all they did, they raped, pillaged, burned, bombed and almost brought down the entire country. Thankfully the UN stepped in and managed to bring about peace. It’s been 8 years since the end of that war and the people here still need a helping hand – I’m hoping we can be part of the desperately needed solution.

The Crew

I’m here with Alton (the founder) his brother Siaka and friend and videographer Hamjat. For us, our journey here was a long one. Damn it’s been a while since I took that long of a flight. We left LAX on a Thursday afternoon, arrived in London for a 5 hour layover, then hopped another 6 hour flight to the capital city arriving somewhere around 11pm Friday night. Oh no, not done yet. Then we had to actually get from the airport into downtown, no easy feat. There are 3 choices to get across the bay: Ferry.. which could take all night because they won’t leave unless it is full, water taxi – which is a wet ride or helicopter. Fortunately we had already set up a helicopter ride, although that means nothing. Absolute chaos met us when we landed. People everywhere, everyone trying to make deals and get to the city as soon as possible. My biggest job was to make sure to keep my eyes on my luggage to make sure they didn’t accidentally disappear. Alton and Siaka’s grandfather used to be president of the country so they are extremely well connected. Still – we found ourselves waiting  and waiting for a ride. Patience is absolutely necessary here I’m realizing. Once on the chopper it was a very quick and easy ride across the bay, almost comical for the amount of time we waited.

Midnight helicopter ride anyone?

We finally got to Alton’s friends place around 1 or 2 in the morning. Man did I want a shower and some air conditioning. Unfortunately we were told the air was on the fritz and something was wrong with the water pressure. You have to be ready for let downs when traveling in a 3rd world country, but it still doesn’t make it any easier. We ran some quick errands trying to get SIM cards to work in our phones. I say quick with sarcasm. You see the roads here are absolutely horrible – and traffic is horrific even at 2 in the morning. It is all compounded by the numerous military checkpoints. Apparently they’ve had a problem with armed robbery over the past few months. The police and military have teamed up to keep it under control. Thankfully I never felt scared because my 3 teammates all speak the national language of Creo, sort of a pigeon talk which even with focus can be extremely hard to understand. Our driver also knows what he is doing. This is the team you want to be with while in Sierra Leone.

The boys all went out to a club with our host. I chose to stay home and try to take a “jungle bath” with a tub of water – it was the relief I needed. Now it was time to make a hard decision – to suffer through the hot room and try to sleep, or open the windows and tempt fate with possibly malaria ridden mosquitos. Now I normally don’t take any type of prescription medicine and absolutely hate vaccinations of any sort.. but just couldn’t chance this one, knowing we are going to be out in villages during our stay – so yep, I’m on the drug malarone which should keep me from contracting the nasty disease. I’m not sure why I even picked up the remote control to the air conditioner… but I did, only to realize it was out of batteries. Being the good prepared adventure girl I am, I happened to have an extra set of triple A’s with me. To my surprise, the damn think worked. I thanked my guardian angel over and over for the cool air.. which led to a deep sleep.Today we slept in till who knows when. I managed to get some yoga in, downed a bunch of bottled water and unfortunately had to kill two gigantic spiders who wouldn’t allow me to sit down

HALLOWEEN in the Woods

Hiking in San Bernardino National Forest, CA

I’m not sure when it happened but at sometime in my life I became super disenchanted with holidays. I’m not saying that I despise them rather just don’t see why the money drain is necessary. So when  friend asked me to get away for Halloween weekend, I couldn’t resist. Ok, I use to love to dress up. My mom was the best at Halloween costumes. Some of my best memories are when this stranger would arrive at school each year in the best outfit. Most of the time I had no clue that it was my mom. She’d walk through all the classrooms so all the kids could try to guess! So I guess there was a time I did relish in holidays.

Gourmet Eating in Nature

Anyhow, back to Halloween. My friend Todd knows I like to get outdoors so he suggested we go camping and hiking near his house – east of LA, near the Bernardino Nat’l Forest. He takes his kids there all the time, so he knew it was only a couple hours away time wise, but a world away from the craziness of this holiday in Los Angeles. I took charge with the food (since I eat raw and veg and healthy) and he grabbed everything else he could. We decided to car camp which is crazy for me, something I only do now and then, but we wanted to build a campfire at night. Because it is so dry here in our beloved state, there’s only a couple places you can have them, so we cruised up hwy 38 till we hit Barton Flats campground. I’m not usually a fan of ready made campgrounds where you are right next to other strangers – like 15 feet.. but this place was laid out nicely and there was no one there, pretty much had the place to ourselves. Since we are both procrastinators, we didn’t really get up into the mountains until right at sunset, just in time to catch it. With the sun went the warm temperatures. Seriously got cold quickly, so we set up camp and got to cooking. Ah the pleasures of car camping. Todd has a stove so dinner was super easy. I made a fresh garden salad with all sorts of veggies, then I made quinoa – the wonder grain chalked full of protein – I hardly eat any other grain anymore. and We saute’d up some mushrooms and other vegetables, then made a super yummy coconut curry. We ate and drank like kind and queen that night. Todd brought his guitar and we put the night to bed

Mindo, Ecuador Bound!! – Cloudforest Fun!

My trip here in Ecuador is winding down. Just a few days left to check out some sites in the northern part of the country. Quito is an amazing city and I spent 48 hours with my friend Jan exploring most small corners in the city. By far my favorite thing I did in Quito was just wandering and walk and soak in the sites and sounds of the  country’s capital. I dig all the old historical churches, they are such grounding sights, building blocks for this entire culture. We just simply don’t have these types of sacred buildings to remind us where we came from, humble beginnings and what is important. As lovely as this city can be, I needed to get out in the lush green one more time before hopping on a flight. My friend Jan was content to do some more shopping, so I decided to take an excursion on my own – big surprise right? I’m an easy solo traveler – of course it helps that I can muddle through the language alright!

I decided to make the 2 hour trip to a tiny town northwest of Quito on the way to the coast. Up at 6am, I needed to grab a bus (25 cents) to the main bus terminal so i could get out of town. Can I just say, I love riding the bus – anywhere. I do it all the time in Los Angeles and Santa Monica. I feel I really get to interact with people. This bus was packed full of people I think trying to escape for a Sunday of fun. I’ve realized that angels on earth come in all different shapes and sizes. The one this morning that I encountered was this tiny Ecuadorian lady, must have been 60 or older. I simply asked her which bus to take, she grabbed my hand (literally) and helped me cross the street, talk to the gentlemen, pay and got me in the right line, all the while, smiling like she knew a secret I didn’t. Her kindness radiated through her entire aura. An angel from above. I was lucky enough to grab a seat for the 45-minute ride out to the bus terminal. Many people were dressed up and heading for church. Little kids in the cutest dresses, dads with one kid hanging off their neck, the other on their lap and all so happy. Latin American countries are so good to their kids, I just love it. You know what also impresses me? The chilvary. Every Latin country I’ve visited, it’s always the same. You really see it on the bus. An older woman or woman with child hops on and about 10 guys get up and offer their seat. It’s how it should be, respect for the other sex. Warms my heart. Another 2 hour bus ride down winding narrow roads got me to this tiny mountain town, about half way from Quito to the coast and right around 5-thousand feet. I had heard about all sorts of waterfalls which I wanted to see. I also had heard that this was the best spot to take in Mariposas – butterflies!!! I had about 6 hours to see all i could before hopping the bus back to Quito to get my flight home. I went directly to the Tourist Information center and bargained with them to rent a bike for the day ($5) so I could make it out to the trailhead and back in time. This thing was in the worst shape, no front brakes and one pedal was about to fall off – but damn the little kid who dropped it off was cute, about 5 riding this big bike down the hill to deliver it to me. It made me smile from the inside out and I gladly handed this young biz man my money. Quite a few of the locals thought I was crazy to try to ride the dirt road up to the waterfall trailhead (Cascada – in Spanish.) I have to agree, it was a lot steeper and harder than I thought, especially on my “caballo enfermo” – sick horse is what

Ecuador Adventure to waterfall

It’s always so nice when you can rally a few friends for an all day excursion into the forest. Though I must say this time it took a lot of jabbing from me to get Mike and Carey to get off their duffs and get moving. It’s the dry season in Ecuador so I wanted to find a sliver of lush green in all this brown. I had heard about a lovely waterfall up one of the canyons on the other side of town. Carey owns a small motorcycle with hardly any juice but with two good wheels. That was our transportation to Mike’s house just outside town. From there we walked 5 km up a dirt road  toward Yamburara. I had been told that Cabanas Rio Yambala (known as Charlie’s cabins) was the start of the hike up to the cloudforest and waterfalls. It was hot as hell out – and the air was thick with humidity. Mike (one twin from Washington State) started complaining, although he wouldn’t call it that, right off the bat. In the middle of the first of many “observations” a lovely little Ecuadorian lady came around the corner in the highest of heels, carrying her two year old toddler, complete with a smile on her face. You know the saying a picture is worth a thousand words. The vision of this petite woman, dressed to impress climbing a steep road with a child in tow.. well, I just looked at Mike and said… really? You were saying? Our journey took us past a less known entrance to Parque Nacional Podocarpus – definitely high on my list for places to visit. Today we wanted to hike on the edge of the park – I think I may have described the hike as…. laidback? The road was getting smaller and we weren’t entirely sure where we were going, so we stopped to ask a local for a little help. This guys smile couldn’t have been any bigger as he welcomed us in with open arms. First we had to get by his prized “Cocks” – roosters who were tethered outside. Unfortunately this is a sport which brings big cash in this country, sorry to say. I will never EVER watch two roosters go at it till death, but I’m told the guy with the winning bird can collect more than $500 a night – which is HUGE money here! I tried to ignore the bondage I felt for these poor roosters. To our surprise, this business man also made musical instruments. Gorgeous drums made out of old Agave plants. While I made plans to buy one on my next visit (too big to carry hiking) I got sucked in to buying a wooden recorder after he whipped out the most beautiful melody for us. I will always respect anyone with musical talents. The gentlemen tried for like a half an hour to teach me how to play. While entertaining for the boys, it was mega frustrating for me, though I will practice for the next few months and WILL learn how to play a song on it.

Back on the road, we were told Charlie’s cabanas was just across the bridge and up the hill. Luck on our side, we caught Charlie and his son on their way to town to pick up supplies. They showed us a interactive type map and tried to explain where we needed to go. They also just happened to have a tall big beer for us three to share – beer always taste wonderful outdoors and it hit the spot! Charlie is an American who’s lived in Ecuador for 31 years. His son – who speaks perfect English – has never been to the states! He has done a tremendous job with the place. A great entrance and eating area, surrounded by a handful of cabanas – more like tree houses- dotting the hillside. A warning here, you are going to sweat and experience heavy breathing getting

Trouble in Quito!

Walking to hotel in Quito, Ecuador

Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much you plan an excursion, there’s always room for, the unexpected. My friend Jan and I flew to Quito this morning for a couple days in the big city. We had been there only for a day when we first arrived in Ecuador, so still needed to do some exploring. I convinced her that staying in old town would be a good idea – already did new town on the way through last time. Plus, I really wanted to be in the middle of all the historical sites, easily accessible by my two feet. I mean it’s tough to go to a foreign city and only see their hip, present Starbucks ladened streets right? So I found a kick butt hotel in the old part of the city. I say kick butt because it’s old, got charm, free internet and cheap! We only paid $42 per night for a double room – each of us got our own queen size bed. The rooms are simply but perfect for a couple days of exploring. Really,

Hotel San Francisco de Quito

that’s all you need right, a good bed to sleep in, a hot shower, internet and a place to throw your stuff. The place is called Hotel San Francisco. Yea, not really an Ecuadorian name because you immediately think of the fair windy and foggy city in northern California. It was built in 1534 when the Spanish invaded Ecuador and has such beautiful decor with a great courtyard in the middle.( http://www.sanfranciscodequito.com.) Anyhow, it happens to be like 2 blocks from the Plaza Grande which is the center of activity.

It was all set. An early morning flight in, a quick grab of a cheap taxi (if you cross the street from the airport you can get a taxi for 3 dollars cheaper) and we were on our way. Traffic was bad but I just chalked it up to a Saturday tourist day in the lovely capital. Wrong. The taxi

The blessed soil of Ecuador

Checking out my friend Marcia's handy garden work, Vilcabamba, Ecuador

I had heard from many people that Ecuador was the ideal place to grow any vegetable you want. See here in most states we have 4 distinct seasons – although I only really see 2 maybe 3 in California – Ecuador pretty much has two – the dry season and the wet season – both which are gorgeous and fruitful to say the least. I was so excited to go and visit with neighbors down here in Vilcabamba and check out what they had in their garden. First off, the equator runs right through this magical country so you must keep that in mind. It means you get mild temperatures all year long as long as you are not extremely high in the Andes like Quito. I loved this concept, till I realized that my favorite vegetable on the planet – kale – likes the cold snappy weather. It was basically my first question for every farmer I encountered, “hay un col rizada?”  For the life of me, no matter how much scouring I did in the handful of towns I visited, could I find col rizada – kale. How on earth am I going to make those lovely kale chips I live on at home? Ah not so fast Kirsten. As I started touring the dozens of neighbors gardens and looking closely at what was working in

Selling greens, Loja, Ecuador Farmer's Market

their gardens and what was missing, I did indeed find some kale. One friend’s purple kale needed some help – but it was there, it was trying to grow. He’s too funny, he had no idea what it was or how to eat it. Don’t worry, I will help him see the light of kale when I visited again. I also saw on another person’s blog 5 ft. kale, which is incredible. I can’t say that’s good eating, but I do want to know about his soil and how much up keep it requires.

My friend Jan – who has a house down here – wants to grow a huge garden that we will then use to feed our tour groups, but we’ve got some work to do. While you may be able to grow massive amounts of frutis and vegetables, the soil does need some help. She lives close to a river and has a good irrigation ditch running through her land, so that’s a plus. But when we started turning the ground, it was loaded with rocks – check one.. must remove all rocks. We then are going to need to

One of my favorite fruits - but what is it?

feed the soil for a couple months before it’s prepped to seed. The best choice in these parts is horse manure and cow manure and chicken shit. The rainy season is just around the corner which makes me excited. It means if we get the rocks out, then add horse manure and let it soak in the rain and truly kick start the soil, our next trip down will be perfect timing to plant.

It’s so crazy to me. In the past two years, I’ve really developed a different relationship to my food. I’m really getting to know my fruits and vegetables and what each one does for me. Understand that even after two years I’m still learning about new vegetables available in the states and their purpose and the dozens of edible creations I can assemble with them. Hear me when I tell you I’ve discovered some fruits down here in Ecuador that are completely amazing and delicious – and I’ve never in my life seen them before. I feel like such a child – or a kid in a candy shop may be a better description. There are granadillas.. which look like an orange & pear smacked together. They are smooth and round on the outside with a longer stem. When they are ripe they feel hollow.When you open them up they have a gelatineous white inside with black seeds. Just cut them open and scoop out the insides – seeds and all, super yummy. There is also another fruit which I feel I could never get a straight answer on what it was called – mostly to my poor Spanish – it looks like a dragon fruit. Golden

Selling Tree Tomatoes at Market in Quito, Ecuador

yellow on the soutside, about the size of an avocado but has big bumps or grooves on the outside. Inside is white pulp with many small black seeds. It’s said to be great for digestion. It was wonderfully sweet. The tree tomato is a big seller in Ecuador and can be found everywhere. Then there’s another fruit I was told called “guaba”. No, not the tropical fruit we are familiar with, but rather it looked like a big long green bean. When you opened it up, it has a white cotton like pulp which you could eat with your hands, right out of the pod. I saw a couple people eating it while I was on the bus, but couldn’t find it at any of the markets. It could be the wrong time of the year, perhaps it is one of those rainy season crops. I will have to wait and see and do some more investigations.

I gotta say, I just love Ecuador for all that Mother Nature allows to grow here in the southern hemisphere. It’s truly a wonderful place to explore, especially if you are a foodie like me, who loves trying new items and constantly looking to add more variety into my healthy eating lifestyle!

Mandango Mtn. Magic

Mt. Mandango, Vilcabamba, Ecuador

At first sight, Mt. Mandango looks like nothing spectacular, kind of a confused top that displays a ring around the neck during the dry season.. a “hump”, like a bump on a log in the foothills of the Andes. But don’t discount this massive hunk of burning love. For locals, this mountain is the watchful, protective eye on the tiny puebla of Vilcabamba. Locals tell me it resembles both a man and a woman lying down opposite ways and sharing the same head. I’ve seen pictures where yes, you can see a man one way and a woman’s figure the next, connected together as one where their heads meet. A sleeping giant if you will – which many believe will one day wake up – let’s hope not any time soon. It sits at the southeast side of the town. My friends house – which is on the other side of the mountain – sits in the San Joaquin Valley. From her porch, the view is spectacular. This picture was actually taken from exactly where I’m sitting writing this blog right now. I love the view. The adventurous goddess in me could not sit and stare from afar, I needed to feel what it was like on top. So I convinced my dear friend Jan that we needed to experience Mandango.

Overlooking the town of Vilcabamba!

What I have not told you is that this mountain is a magnet for UFO’s. According to many locals, both drunk and sober, many nights you can see strange white objects fluttering about above the mountain. I’m not kidding. I’ve talked to 3rd generation Ecuadorians, to retired astronauts, to newbies– and they all describe the same thing – like bright fire flies whizzing about doing right angles up and down, not your usual flight patterns. It usually lasts for a minute or two, then they just simply disappear.. into the mountain. This made me want to venture to the top even more. There is a very unique energy about this mountain – and it is strong.

Hike to first cross, Mandango, Ecuador

There are a couple trails up Mandango, but the most traveled starts just outside of town. It’s the dry season now and we followed basically cow paths over one hump after another, constantly stopping to take in the views of the town below and the gigantic Andes to the south! We made it to the first of two crosses which symbolize overcoming natural challenges – and celebrated the clean fresh air and the vibrations sizzling through the air. From there, it’s a quick steep down and then directly toward the bow of Mt. Mandango. The trail then leads round the north side of the mountain. There were two specific areas which stopped me in my tracks. First was a great sense of warmth.  I reached down and the ground felt hot too, must be a whole to deep down inside. The next was an extremely cold shiver which ran

Ecuadorian Love

Chilling in Ecuador

So my friend and biz partner Jan told me I was going to fall in love – and it’s happening every day. Ecuador exudes love – through it’s wonderful natural landscape, through its kind & generous people, it’s fresh produce, it’s clean air, it’s serene atmosphere. A country no larger than the state of Texas, but huge in what it has to offer. My friend Jan is building a house here and we’ve been talking for about a year now about doing a little “Thelma & Louise” girls road trip. By god, we did it and here we sit on her front porch gazing out on some tremendous views. We are in southern Ecuador very close to the Peru border, seriously like less than 45km. Her house is just outside the tiny village of Vilcabamba – named after an Incan sanctuary in Peru. This area in fact was used by the Incans as a resort for their royalty back in the 1500’s. Before I came, I wondered why they would come here specifically – doesn’t Peru have tons of lush green tranquil places? I still don’t really have the answer to this question, but I do know my soul is happy, my body relaxed and my mind a flutter with compassionate thoughts. There’s magic in the air here!

Ecuador Scenery

As in most Latin America countries, nothing ever moves fast… and this puebla IS a long way away from California. It took us two days to get here. We flew into Quito but were too late to hop another hour flight to Loja (a bigger town with the only aiport in the southern region). So we found a cute little hotel – or

Casa del Soul, Quito, Ecuador

they call them Hostal – but much better than any hostel I’ve ever been in – and went and grabbed some beers. After flying all day, we felt we deserved a celebration. I have to say, I LOVE that I speak some Spanish. Sure it’s pretty rusty and most people I speak with smile constantly at my mistakes, but at least I’m trying and I’m able to get my point across. Man do I sure want to be fluent. That’s one reason I wanted to come, practice makes perfect! Quito is the capital of Ecuador and the 2nd highest capital in the world, it sits right around 10-thousand feet. We felt every step hauling our suitcases up the stairs to our room. Jan instantly had a slight headache from the altitude. Fortunately for me, my body reacts well to altitude change and I’ve never had a problem – of course I’m a water whore…

Biking with the Redwood Giants

 

 

The Avenue of the Giants, northern California

I’m not sure when my obsession with Redwoods began. I mean I had always heard of them and knew they were a sight to see. Maybe it was a couple years ago when Toby and I spent Thanksgiving hiking and camping in Sequoia National Park. I remember then I hugged so many trees. The connection between my heart and their bark was intense. It didn’t feel like bark, it was alive and breathing, just touching it I could feel the energy between us. Yea, that must have been when I fell in love with their strength and survival.

 

connecting

 

 

I’ve been to northern California many times this past year but never seemed to find time to go visit the redwoods along the coast. So this trip it was on my list. It is waaay up there from Santa Monica. I had  made stops at Santa Cruz (fell in love with this town), then San Francisco, then Ft. Bragg and then on up 101. If you’ve never made it this far north – GO. 

The avenue of the Giants is a 31 mile stretch of old highway 101 in Humboldt county and is one of the most impressive display of redwood groves. In fact Redwood State Park which surrounds it contains

Camping on the Lost Coast, northern California

 

Northern California

I’m sitting in lotus position on top of a picnic table listening to the waves crash before me. They are so loud, threatening at moments and comforting at others. The sun is warm on my face and the wind feels cool on my skin and I feel absolutely alive and one with earth. I have Usal Campground all to myself – at least on the beach. It’s the first time to camp alone and felt exactly right at this moment in my life. I can’t really explain it much more than I wanted to give my complete and utter attention to the world around me, to sink in and settle with the ground beneath me. I couldn’t imagine a better place to do this than in northern California. Just up from Fort Bragg – which is 4 hours north of San Francisco is a bumpy dirt road that my friend told me about called Usal road. When highway 101 heads inland from the coast, you can turn onto this road and follow it all the way up to Shelter Cove. I only made it a couples hours in before the sun was low, I was tired and the steep and windy road brought me down into a ravine which opened up to a gorgeous beach. I don’t always need a slap in the face to see a sign – this was where I was to stay the night. I  by passed the actual campground which had one or two tents in it and went directly to the beach and my car landed at an empty picnic table, a fire pit, a big log and wide open space. Spectacular, rough, rugged, new, exciting and fresh is how I describe the northern California coast. It makes you want to breath deep and slow and sip the nectar of all that is true and wonderful on this planet.

Usal Campground and beach

 

 

 

My first real trip to northern Cali.. and I mean north of San Francisco – was on my way to raw food school in Ft. Bragg. It’s a tiny working town nestled between the forest and the rugged coastline. Mendocino – which is a picture perfect town filled with galleries, restaurants and tourist t-shirt shops- is pretty well known as a weekend getaway for those who dwell in the bay area. If you visit, definitely check out Ravens’ Restaurant for excellent vegetarian, vegan and raw meals. It’s located at the Stanford Inn by the sea. If Mendocino is the tourist town, then Ft. Bragg is the real working town with all the damn chain restaurants and some big standard stores. Once you get passed the nasty lumber yard which is between the ocean and downtown, you are engulfed in this earthy and impressive cliff ladened coastline.. which just seems to melt all troubles away. While at school getting my gourmet chef certification (4 different trips to Ft. Bragg) I spent every hour not in the kitchen on this coast, running the grasslands, walking the beach and staring for hours at the enormous waves. I found connection. So it was only  fitting