Set (para) sail for the world

I try to escape it, but it is a recurring theme - TRAVEL.

I need to take risks, and go have a little adventure. It's half the reason I am obsessed with the Peace Corps - I want to travel and I want to do good. I want to write about it and I want to capture the moments.

We all have something we are a little passionate about, and mine just happens to be 'EXPERIENCING' life. For someone who suffers from Panic Disorder, and can have a panic attack by just walking into a room, it might blow your mind to know that I LONG to be free and just really LIVE life. Which is why it feels like hell, for your mind to sometimes try to control you. I think that's why I am able to experience life without meds, or anything of that sort- because I will NOT let that control me.

I think back to the time I flew to the middle east by myself. Crazy idea. But I did it, and ended up living/staying with people from a completely different culture, speaking a completely different language - and I lived, not to mention, I loved.

I often wonder what all I would see and do if I honestly had the resources. I can assure you - I take advantage of any opportunity I can in order to travel and experience the world. Often times money or time would get in the way. But if there is a will there is a way - and I did everything I could to make it happen.

I've done fun things like swim with the manatee in Florida. I'm not talking about some little swimming pool in a controlled environment - I mean, put on a wet suit, grab a snorkel and head through the springs. I have gone tubing, I have been on high ropes courses and used a zip line, I used to go hiking, camping - sleeping atop mountains with no tent, only a fire to keep me warm. I back packed the entire Pine Mountain (26 miles in 2 three days, 2 nights) carrying only one change of clothes, food and a pup tent. I LOVE adventure.

I am starting to get that spirit back. Something about being out here in the woods, so to speak, and researching "day trips," has got me in the mood to do something wild!

I recently discovered something I HAVE to try. I bet I could talk the egyptian to doing this one day - It's called parahawking. That's right - para-HAWKING, and you can do this in Nepal! What an amazing experience.

If you did not already know, I am obsessed with birds - or anything that flies. When you really think about it, how freaking cool is that? If I was ever to come back as a different being, I would choose a bird - possibly a sea gull, since I love the beach.

Anyway -

There is great opportunity to go parahawking in different parts of the world. I choose Nepal, because it happens to be a country I have always wanted to travel to. I found this amazing website, called Parahawking - yes, that simple. According to the website, Parahawking is a fusion between Falconry and Paragliding. Falconry is a huntung sport where birds of prey are trained to hunt prey. Parahawking is different, their birds of prey are trained to fly with Paragliders and to guide them to the thermals. Parahawking also gives you a unique opportunity to interact with birds of prey in their own environment.



Birds of prey have a natural instinct to conserve energy wherever and whenever possible. During a flight, a bird will burn more energy than it would if it was just sitting in a tree, this means it has to eat to replace the used energy. Sometimes birds will travel long distances to find food. To conserve energy while flying, birds of prey use thermals. Thermals are rising currents of warm air that are created by the sun heating the ground. Birds can gain height and travel long distances without flapping their wings by using thermals. Paragliders also use thermals when they are flying and will often use wild birds to guide them to where the thermals are. Their trained birds are no different, they will find the thermals in order to stay aloft and conserve energy while flying. Paragliders harness their ability to conserve energy by following them as they fly.
*source Parahawking.com

This companie's birds need to be rewarded for guiding people into the thermals. During the flight the passenger will place small morsels of meat onto his gloved hand, the birds will come and gently land on the hand to take the food, and then gracefully fly away to find the next thermal. A perfect symbiotic relationship.



My main question was how does this do good? What's the idea around Vulture Conservation? According to Parahawking.com - Asia's vultures are in serious decline, in the last 15 years the numbers have dropped by a staggering 99.9% which equates to a loss of approx 40 million birds. This catastrophic decline is due to a veterinary drug called Diclofenac. This anti inflammatory drug is routinely administered to sick and dying livestock including cows and buffalo and has proven to be very effective in reducing pain and suffering. However, when the animal dies with Diclofenac still in it's system, the vultures that feed from the animal carcass will ingest remnants of the drug which is poisonous to them and kills them within 24 hours.

Vultures are important in our society, they play a vital role in our ecosystem by cleaning up all of the dead animals that would otherwise be left to rot. Millions of tons of animal carcasses are disposed of each year across Asia, which if not cleaned up, would pose a real risk to human health. Asia's vultures are declining faster than the Dodo and could be extinct in the next 5-10 years, unfortunately not enough people know about the problem. Vultures are considered to be quite unsavory creatures because of this, these prehistoric looking birds are difficult to empathize with. Their company wants to change that!

Their company wants to support vital Vulture conservation projects in Nepal, they donate 10 Euros from every Parahawking flight to Vulture conservations projects.

For more detailed information go to:
Vulture Rescue - www.vulturerescue.org
Himalayan Raptor Rescue

ParaHawking in Nepal


NOW - What wild and crazy adventures would you recommend??

Adventure Saturday!

Autumn and I decided to take a journey into Macon and go on a little Adventure of sorts..

Yes- She has on a sequined fedora.

Growing up in Macon, you sort of take for granted this amazing National Park in our back yard.

Ocmulgee National Monument is a memorial to the relationship of people and natural resources in this corner of North America. They preserve a continuous record of human life in the Southeast from the earliest times to the present, there is evidence here of 17,000 years of human habitation. The Mississippian culture arrived here around 900C.E. constructing mounds in their villages.

 
In the visitor's center - these beautiful replicas of events that took place - RIGHT HERE! In 1704, Col. James Moore, with a band of some fifty men from Charles Town, leads 1,000 warriors from the Creek towns on the Ocmulgee River to Florida. They devastate the Spanish Apalachee Mission system and drive the Spaniards back to St. Augustine. After many of the inhabitants of northern Florida are exterminated, some of the Creeks move into the area and incorporate the survivors into their own group. These people are subsequently known as the Seminole and Miccosuki.

 

From 900- 1150 AD, A new way of life, believed to have originated in the Mississippi River area appears on the Macon Plateau. These people, whose pottery is different from that made by the Woodland cultures in the area, construct a large ceremonial center with huge earthen temple / burial / domiciliary mounds and earthlodges, which serve as formal council chambers. Their economy is supported by agriculture, with corn, beans, squash and other crops planted in the rich river floodplain. Indigenous Woodland people in surrounding areas interact with these people, who possess early symbols and artifacts associated with the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (Southern Cult).

 

The Lamar Culture, named for the Lamar Mounds and Village Unit of Ocmulgee National Monument, becomes widespread in the Southeast;  chiefdoms marked by smaller, more numerous, often stockaded villages with a ceremonial center marked by one or two mounds; combination of the both Woodland and Mississippian elements

Autumn is enjoying a look into what a home would look like. She wanted me to identify and explain each tool in the house. She was most interested in how they cooked in the pit.

I was fascinate by what the Native Americans ate. Since they lived a very active lifestyle - what did they use to fuel their bodies?

Finally we exit the Visitor's Center and head down and up the hill to one of the most fascinating mounds at the park.

I asked Autumn to just sit and listen. It was completely peaceful here. She heard birds and squirrels..

She listened to the wind.

I think she got it.

Resting on the bench.. just listening...

We crossed the bridge and headed up the hill to the Earth Lodge

Autumn was a little nervous walking into the Earth Lodge..

You'll notice she is walking straight up, I had to bend down - and I am only 5 '1 1/2.

The sun shines very brightly into the lodge.

You'll notice an eagle in the earth.. and a fire pit.

We left the Earth Lodge and walked around it - and look across the great expanse. We wanted to head to the Great Temple mound.. but there is no walking straight there.. oh no... - we headed down a trail to the right.. that took us around a corner, deeper into the woods...

Once we circled the corner, we saw a big bridge, and we walked across it. I was telling her how afraid of heights I am.. and she giggled and skipped across.. lol. Below us was train tracks..

Once we exited the bridge.. we had to pass the "Trading Post" where people came to do business eons ago.. and cut across this great field.. then head down a big hill... and across..

Looking back at the bridge..

We covered it all..

Perhaps you cannot tell.. but the Great Temple Mound is VERY high. We are to the bottom of it now..

Walking across a bridge - heading toward the air of the Temple Mound.. you see the swamp area - connected to the Ocmulgee River. That river flooded in 1994, causing a natural disaster in Macon - hundreds of people were with out homes, and  my family did not have water for 3 weeks..

 I am heading up the stairs to the mound... looking back on the foot bridge I just crossed..

At the top of the mound.. looking back over how far we had walked..

 Relaxing at the top!

Autumn took a moment to sit on the top of the Great Temple Mound, and just relax and reflect. You can see parts of downtown Macon behind her.

Next we decided to head down the stairs and down the big hill to the swampy area to hike the trails.. she kept begging to see an alligator. LOL

Down the hill - looking back over where we were...

We decided to walk each trail - come back to this spot.. and walk the next one.. We did it.

Looking back - you can see the Great Temple Mound through the trees.

As we circled out of the woods - we found ourselves right back at the trading post.. *sigh*

After re tracking our steps, and crossing the big bridge, and heading down the curved path, and passing the Earth Lodge we made it back!

According to my calculations - we hiked approximately 4.3 miles. EXHAUSTED.

Taking a bite out of today

Happy Saturday!

I think I have started it off right - one can of double shot espresso from Starbucks and a hash brown patty...

Carbs & caffeine - my life's constant craving.

Today I plan to take my niece to the Ocmulgee National Monument in Macon. Back in the day, we simply called it the Indian Mounds - but that was before people learned to call people that used to live there - Native Americans.

The last time I truly explored this area was back in 2003 with my Colombian exchange student. I mean really explore. I have gone and toured the facility and witnessed a few festivals.. but this is more so a chance to go hiking - FOR REAL. PLUS - we just might meet a little guy like the one above in the picture. Oh yeah. In the words of Paulie D, "Best day of my life." LOL

Of course I plan to take my camera, and I assure you I will fill you guys in on the entire experience.

What amazing adventures do you plan to take today?



Adventures

Erma Bombeck once said, "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me."



THAT's what I am talking about. I want to be thoroughly used up when it is all said and done. To me, there is nothing more sad, more pathetic than someone who does not use their God-given talents to make this world a better place.
As I was searching for inspiration for a post this morning, I did what I always do: grabbed my morning cup of coffee, sat in my pjs and robe on the day bed in the sunroom, and just read through other blog posts by people I have 'discovered' throughout the world. The song by John Legend just kept rolling through my head...


'Everybody Knows' (you can listen to it here)





That is sincerely what I hear when I am reading... "Everybody knows.. yet nobody really knows.. just how to make it work, or how to ease the hurt."

I read about one couple's battle with a special needs child; another person's spiritual journey and how a pregnancy scare really brought things into perspective; another was debating the great question - what to do post college; another is on a healthy behavior change and discussing the challenges that lay there..

I could go on and on. As you are reading these posts, you realize we are all so similar. We have hopes. We have wants. We have 'dreams.' It's the path you take that makes all the difference. I know it is all cliche, but it is 'cliche' for a reason.. b/c it happens to everyone and it is true.

Which brings me back to my own plight. I have been whiny and big ol' scardey cat about this whole transition thing. It's my process. I am embracing the possibilities and just rolling with it. I think I am giving "the situation" just too much power over me. I have to remind myself, "It is the journey, not the destination." And yes.. that last part - it will forever remain unknown. How can I know what adventures lay ahead? There is no way to guarantee even a tomorrow. All I can do is savor these moments, believe in something bigger than me, and make smart choices. Sure, I will make some mistakes... and I may fall back down on my bottom. But I have got to try harder, and just go with the flow.

***

I went to my cardiologist yesterday. The yearly check up - all is well, the BP was actually great, got some great tips, and was sent on my way.

It's like a free pass to try, try again.