FRANCESCA- Who is she really?

I saw Francesca in the Antigua market in Guatemala. She looked so confused sitting amongst others in a basket securely displayed in a glass cabinet. As soon as I saw her, I knew I had to have her. So I bought her for 10 cents and since then we have been inseparable. She has beautiful brown skin with long black hair parted in the middle. She wears a colorful dress with bare feet. One look at her and I knew her name was Francesca. Just look at her, how can you not fall in love with her? She has an innocent look to her eyes and deserved rescuing. Francesca is mine forever and ever. Sorry you can't borrow her, you already have one.

Francesca is tiny, only 3cm tall. According to a very old legend passed down for generations among the indigenous people living in the Highlands of Guatemala, she is a worry doll. Each night before bed, I am suppose to tell her my worries and then place her underneath my pillow. The legend says that when I wake up in the morning my worries will be all gone. My Francesca is a worry pendant meant to be worn. I have modernized Francesca's role.

Since Guatemala, Francesca always accompanies me on my travels. She is my American express card, "I don't leave home without her". She is usually securely pinned to my bra close to my heart. At night if I am not on some crazy bus or train journey, she is usually under my pillow. But I am afraid of leaving her behind, so I just leave her pinned to my bra. When I am frolicking on some tropical beach, she is pinned to my bikini. I am not a strong swimmer, so I need Francesca's protection from the motions of the ocean.

When I think of Francesca, I smile. When I am not travelling, she is securely tucked in my jewelry box. Only when I travel does she take on a tangible form. She is very brave and tells me exactly what she feels- moment by moment. She is my savour, my angel, my guardian, my protector. She is my negotiator because she is reasonable, sensible and calm.... well most of the time. Who else saved me from the the machetes and machine guns at the Honduras border, the jaguars and alligators in the Tikal Jungle and the violent street dogs in India?

Francesca is smart, feisty, interesting and very devilish. She loves a good adventure probably because she knows the outcome of the adventure-that I will be safe. She is always making me repeat "no matter what, everything works out". If you repeat something often enough, you will believe in it. I am definitely a trouble maker and the instigator but Francesca just naturally seems to appear when I need rescuing. When I am in doubt, I call upon her to give me guidance or make decisions. I listen to her because she is a quick thinker, fast on her feet and designed to be trusting. She stops me from being reckless and puts me in my place when I am out of line. She wears her heart on her sleeve and loves to love. She cares about the world I live in and values good communication. She talks to me sincerely and genuinely. She tells me things and gives me feelings. Francesca is my inner voice, my gut instinct. No, no, no I am not nuts, don't go there! But I can be a drama queen and just alittle melodramatic.

Francesca is ME, but be careful don't give her too many sour green apple martinis. Cheers Francesca!

Everyone has a "Francesca" or "Frank" (for you men). Good communication is paramount in today's relationships, whether they are with friends, family or lovers. Life is too short and fragile. Life doesn't always go the way you want it, and hey who said life is fair. A new year approaches while the previous year disappears quickly. Be sincere and genuine to others and listen to your inner voice.

MY "LALA" LANDS

My "Lala" land is a state of being out-of-touch with reality, this is why I travel. All the places I have visited are my "lala" lands. The opposite of "lala" land is living in hell. The word "lala" sounds so great, repeat it couple of times and you will agree.

As soon as I arrive at the airport, my emotions automatically enter a state of hysteria and all I want to do is jump up and down and run down the corridors yelling and screaming. Yes I am gonzo! My ideal date would be lying on top of a parked car along an airport runway watching planes take off and land during a sunset. I can feel the butterflies in my stomach, can you?

Traveling is an expansion of my space, it is my firmament. It is also my Arcadia. My life isn't complicated but I prefer to live in a continuous conscious state of peace, simplicity and contentment. We can all agree this is impossible to acquire unless you are in "lala" land. Some say " Saida, how can you achieve this if you are always out the door?"

SO WHERE HAVE I TRAVELED TO? Let me tell you a little about each of them. Maybe I will dedicate a post to each destination.

Summer 2006- SOUTHERN MEXICO including meeting all 25 million inhabitants of Mexico City; the worst bus ride of my life through the Sierra Madre Mountains- I almost killed the driver; the Oaxaca demonstrations and killings; and swimming in the Pacific Ocean near Puerto Escondido. I ventured into Chiapas searching for the Zapatista soldiers but instead I found Pablo and Santiago, Waterfalls and Mayan Ruins.

X-mas 2005- INDIA. The most rich, vivid and colorful culture on this planet.WOW! The most difficult country I physically traveled through. Memories of violent street dogs chasing me at 4AM, being sexually harassed every day and almost getting beat up in Jaislamer after I told a man in Hindi that he is a dog and sleeps with his mother. All this makes me want to return but this time with a boyfriend or husband. I truly LOVED INDIA! After India I traveled for a week through Switzerland, a sterile culture but hey they are more thinkers than feelers.

Summer 2005- GUATEMALA & HONDURAS. It was very entertaining crossing into Honduras especially after I refused to pay the $5 bribe and machetes and machine guns went up all around me. Maybe I will tell you what I did! In Guatemala sneak into the Tikal Ruins at midnight and climb the tallest temple, especially during a full moon. Enjoy the feel of the warm breeze, the bright and radiant full moon, and the midnight calmness as you are perched well above the canopy. But look out for the jaguars and alligators! Repeat it again at 5 am and watch the sunrise but this time listen to the jungle waking up.

X-mas 2004- COSTA RICA & NICARAGUA. I particularly enjoyed screaming PURA VIDA hanging off a cattle truck in the heavy post tsunami rains in Puerto Viejo. Dada remember the adrenaline pumping as the truck swayed back in forth in 6-10 feet of water? Remember the driver trying to avoid the pot holes he couldn't see, other females travelers crying (I wanted to smack them), and the policemen and paramedics in the fishing boat? It was a state of emergency but I was experiencing a PURA VIDA.
Pascal, remember chasing "something" in the restricted red zone district of Puerto Viejo at 4am? and Ken saying "Girl doun't maeke tat faece, and anyway nopoty don't ripp nopoty in Puerto Viego". Should I tell you what Pascal and I were up to? I was the trouble maker, Pascal was my body guard and Ken......well, he kept his promise.

2003-2004- Gutted and renovated a house and experience a near fatal nervous break down. Maybe I will dedicate a post to this experience but I can advice you to NEVER DO IT!

2002- Four glorious months in THAILAND(a real Shangri La), LAOS, VIETNAM & CAMBODIA

2000- Neophyte to backpacking and it all began in EUROPE. My first cluster of star or also travel sister Beth MacMillan who was not a morning person, suffered from a deadly nut allergy, a slow walker and great at procrastinating. Remember Beth "Procrastinating is like masturbation, you are only fucking yourself".

So what should be my next post? What do you want me to share?

You too should create a "lala" land, a place of dreams and imagination and of course with swinging hammocks. Don't forget your digital camera! Sorry you can't come with me (I am too much of a trouble maker), I travel solo except for my return trip to India.

FREE SPIRIT- AM I?

Some call me a FREE SPIRIT. Some call me adventurous. Others call me courageous, strong and independent. I call myself SAIDA. I have been traveling solo around the world since 2000. Not knowing exactly what I am doing or where I am going has become a very natural way of traveling. Reservations, itinerary, planning- what is all that? A Lonely Planet travel guide in one hand and a digital camera in the other is good enough for me.

The dictionary defines a FREE SPIRIT as a person with a highly individual and unique attitude, lifestyle or imagination; a non conformist. Synonyms include bohemian, beatnik, eccentric, free thinker, gonzo, maverick, original. Am I a non conformist? Am I unconstrained by convention? Yes the liberty of my spirit and soul is paramount but in order for me to feed my travel addiction, I have acquired a career with a reliable and predictable income providing social and economic safety. So in many ways I have conformed to what society expects, but I definitely am a non conformist to what my mother expects of me. So am I a free spirit?

Better yet, am I a GONZO? defined as someone who is eccentric and crazy. But then ECCENTRIC is someone who is bizarre. Synonyms include, freak, kook, creep, weirdo, whacko, screw ball, odd, original and ohhhh again non conformist. Okay I am NOT crazy but I will choose original. I am definitely NOT a beatnik. I have digressed, maybe I should stop reading the dictionary!

I conclude that I am unique and one of a kind! Just the fact I question, maybe indeed I am FREE SPIRIT.

Why do I travel so much? My mother asks me this often and so do many of my patients. Firstly, because I can. Secondly, my dad told me to and thirdly, I am curious about the world we live in. The most important reason, I have a tremendous fear of losing my independence, so I keep challenging and inspiring myself. More accurately, I keep running away from reality into "Lala" land. "Lala" land and hammocks are my safe havens and happy places. Am I sacrificing anything? Not sure! Traveling is liberating. Liberating is independence.

My ideal job- An adventure travel host, possibly for the Lonely Planet. Those who know me and have met me, I have memorized and stored an archive of travel information ready to share in a split of a second. Ask me anything and I shall deliver. Where do you want to go? Let me help you get there but with some adventure. Yeah?