charlene

11 May

Invoking The Magic Of The Open Road

Watching the world below me, Arches National Park, Utah. Picture by Flemming Bo Jensen

Magic comes from what is inside you. It is a part of you. You can’t weave together a spell that you don’t believe in.
― Jim Butcher

April 2013

3 weeks. 4500 miles. A car that started out black and came back grey-brown from a solid caking of road dust. A 901st birthday, and the sort of landscapes that didn’t exist in my reality until then. Being able to drive endlessly again, winging down open New Mexican highways with a Jedi time lord and the soundtrack to life. Read the rest of this entry »

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4 May

Three months of travel: a reflection on old Mexico

Karlos, Mexico City

I’ve been on the road for three and a half months at the writing of this post. There have been surprises around every turn. I never thought I would gather up enough guts to do this solo travelling thing, and truth be told, I’ve been scared everytime I’ve had to pack up and get myself somewhere: Seattle, La Paz, Mexico City, Albuquerque. My fears were realised during the last border crossing from Mexico into the US at the start of April, which had me convinced, at certain points, that I wasn’t getting into the country. Read the rest of this entry »

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23 April

Printing

cw-mexico-blog-1

I learnt about printing in Mexico City. Film, darkroom stuff. Until then I’d never seen the inside of a darkroom, never mind one as well appointed as Pablo‘s. Read the rest of this entry »

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28 March

Home: who your heart’s with (part 2 of 2)

Nicole. Swan Valley, Western Australia

“I think if I’ve learned anything about friendship, it’s to hang in, stay connected, fight for them, and let them fight for you. Don’t walk away, don’t be distracted, don’t be too busy or tired, don’t take them for granted. Friends are part of the glue that holds life and faith together. Powerful stuff.”

― Jon Katz

Amigo/Amiga de corazón. Friend of the heart.

This phrase was one of the first I learnt in Spanish. It’s a beautiful way to refer to one’s true friends. Read the rest of this entry »

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16 March

Home: Where your soul feeds (Part 1 of 2)

cw-wa-blog-1

Jacaranda and eucalyptus: trees I didn’t expect to encounter across the Pacific, so being greeted by both everyday is pleasantly disconcerting.

Over lunch with my host here in Mexico City one afternoon, I described the delight of living where gum trees are a source of natural aromatherapy with their scent, the way jacaranda adds a bright splash to otherwise monotonous suburbs, and how lots of people grew nopales, but no one ate it.

José remarked over his spectacle rims, “You are homesick.” Read the rest of this entry »

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