Insights while On the Road in Cuba (edited 8/26/2014)

Dear Friends

The following from a translation of the Tao (pronounced Dao) by Lao Tsu written centuries before the time of Jesus from World Religions by Huston Smith in the library of Ramon Gonzalez, Gibara, Cuba, 2/2014.

There is a being wonderful, perfect.  It existed before the heaven and earth.

How quiet it is!

How spiritual it is!

It stands alone but does not change.

It moves around and around but on that account does not suffer.

All of life comes from it.

It wraps everything with its love as a garment but claims no honor and does not demand to be Lord.

I do not know its name and so I call it Tao, The Way and I rejoice in its power.

Hay un ser maravilloso y perfecto.  Esistia antes del cielo y la tierra.

Que tranquillo esta!

Que espiritual esta!

Se queda solo y no cambia.

Se mueve por todos lados y por eso no sufre.

Toda la vida viene de este ser.

Envuelve todo dentro su amor como una prenda y aun reclama ningún honor o requiere que sea llamado El Señor.

No sabe su nombre y por eso lo llamo Tao, El Camino y  se regojito en su poder.

In the book of Exodus, Chapter 3, vs 13,   Moses asks God how he should respond when the children of Israel ask who has sent me to you.  And God said to Moses "I am who I am."  Thus you shall say..."I am has sent me to you." 

In the time of the Christ Jesus says:

"I AM                                        Jesus                           The Way"

Love

He did not say worship me but follow me - my example - The Way. 

The Way as demonstrated in his life and teachings and those of other spiritual masters through the ages is self denying, sacrificial Love for others.  It remains The Way to peace on earth and peace with the earth.   It is the only energy than can transform and drive out other energies of lower vibration. 

And from a more contemporary perspective quoted from Being Zen by Ezra  Bayda.

Epilogue

What Is Our Life About?

Our aspiration, our calling, our desire for a genuine life,
is to see the truth of who we really are --

that the nature of our Being is connectedness and love,

not the illusion of a separate self to which our suffering clings.

It is from this awareness that Life can flow through us;

the Unconditioned manifesting freely as our conditioned
body.

And what is the path (Way)

To learn to reside in whatever life presents

To learn to attend to all those things

that block the flow of a more open life:

and to see them as the very path to awakening--

all the constructs, the identities,

the holding  back, the protections,

all the fears, the self-judgments, the blame--

all that separates us from letting life be,

And what is the path (Way)?

To turn away from constantly seeking comfort

and from trying to avoid pain,

To open to the willingness to just be,

 in this very moment;

exactly as it is.

No longer so ready to be caught

in the relentlessly spinning mind. 

Practice is about awakening to the true Self: (our true nature or essence)

no one special to be,

nowhere to go,

just being.

We are so much more that just this body,

just this personal drama.

As we cling to our fear.

and our shame, and our suffering,

we forsake the gratitude of living from our natural being.

So where, in this very moment, do we cling to our views?

Softening around the mind's incessant judgment,

we can awaken the heart that seeks to be awakened. 

And when the veil of separation rises,

Life simply unfolds as it will.

No longer caught in the self-centered dream.

we can give ourselves to others,

like a white bird in the snow.

Time is fleeting,

Don't hold back.

Appreciate this precious life.

Peace Rider

On the Road in Cuba 7/31 - 8/15/2014, Highlights

Dear Friends of Peace Rider,

I didn't have time to finish a post from Cuba as it happened.  This was a different trip, more directly personal following up on friendships from my earlier February and March ride in eastern Cuba.  I didn't take a bicycle this time.

August 8, 2014

This is dengue fever country.  I no sooner sat down at the Hotel computer when I was advised to leave so fumigation could begin.  It's a 45 minute walk from the Hotel Comordoro to where I'm staying in Miramar (embassy row) part of Havana. 

Highlights

Flying with Molly N. on the same flight from Fairbanks to Portland.  She said she'd seen me earlier then caught me by total surprise in a long security line.  We had a lot to catch up on.  I hadn't seen her for over a year after moving to Portland with her two boys following a divorce.  It was a joyful beginning to a new adventure and opportunity.  I couldn't have asked for better. 

Long hair, dressed in white Jimmy be Free playing music for peace and peddling his CD's in the Portland airport.  He was good,  playing a modified seven string acoustic viola.  It was a soothing as well as a welcome ambiance to what one normally gets.  He said he had to try out for the airport gig and share the slot with others. 

Meeting Amy a young lady waiting to board the same flight to Los Angeles from Portland.  I noticed the words "recognize you inner light" tattooed on her left arm as I recall.  That resonated with me and started a conversation about spiritual journeys.  She wasn't finding acceptance of her path among her peers.  Quite remarkable who comes into your life when you open yourself and just let life flow.

Meeting an older Mexican gentleman (I didn't get his name) in the bowels of the Mexico City airport.  He asked if I needed help.  I did.  After two all nighters on airplanes I arrived in a state of near total befuddlement.  He noticed.  Thank You and you.  We walked in the same direction for awhile.  He told me he was a translator working with indigenous people in Chiapas.  I said I'd also been there. He then told me he had been robbed.  A cab he got into (not sure where) stopped after a few blocks and picked up another man, a setup.  They stole his computer and ID he said.  They would have killed him if he'd resisted showing by gesture being knifed.  He was looking for a friend who worked at the airport who could help him.  

Acceptance as part of my new Cuban family. The singing and dance antics along with the "issues" of being five and eight years old for the children.  The singing and dancing seem to be in the blood of Cubans.  New experiences for all of us.  Living the reality of being among the poor in Havana and being hungry.  As Kikito the older son of Maribel said wages are low while costs in Havana are high. This is true throughout the country but more so here.  The joy simple conveniences we take for granted can bring for those who can't afford them.

It wasn't the trip I had envisioned but it turned out to be rich in new experiences and understandings.  I'll have more to say about that in a future posting.

P' lante, onward,

Peace Rider

On the Road from Havana, Cuba Aug. 7, 2014

Arrive safely in Havana a week ago very tired.  Met up with my friends here and staying with them, trying to decide what to do next.

We will head east in a few days.

Preempted by hotel fumigation.  More down the road.

Don

Prince William Sound Conclusion and Possibilities Ahead 7/8/2014

Dear Friends,

For those of you still checking in to this blog I caught the outgoing tide from Cordova east bound and spent the night in a place called Hole-in-the-Wall,  a snug wind protected anchorage connected to Simpson Bay by a narrow tidal channel.  The seas were also building late in the day and I was getting tossed around enough to want relief which I found in this place.  In a straight line I was only a few miles from Cordova.

The next day I made it to Bear Trap Bay near the east end of Port Gravina.  A lovely spot with lots of jellies floating just beneath the surface.  They had an ethereal presence that brought to mind micro cosmic nebulae in living pulsating form as they drifted with the tide straining the water for food with their long tentacles. 

I went for a hike on a nearby hillside and got soaked in the wet underbrush before climbing higher into more open alpine tundra.  Higher up I looked back and saw a black speck moving.  I soon recognized a black bear crossing near the route I had just traveled.  As I watched another emerged.  They were still lower and far off but moving in my direction.  At some point they must have gotten wind of my lingering scent trail because they bolted for a short ways which took them east away from me.  I was headed for the summit of the nearest peak but turned around when the terrain got considerably steeper and brushier where I ended up.

The next day I spent mostly motoring in either calm conditions early or a headwind later.  It got rough crossing Sheep Bay.  I found a place to wait for better conditions in Devil's Cove or some such.  I took a short hike around a small island enclave of very old Sitka spruce.  I love old trees and these were real veterans.  One had a plaque that said eagle nest tree.  It appeared the only residents this year were crows from the scolding I got. 

The seas was more settled with an approaching front when I returned  to Wave Dancer and set off again.  We rounded Knowles Head in nearly calm conditions heading for Port Fildago named for its early Spanish discoverer.  I managed a bit of sailing toward the end of this roughly five mile crossing into Landlocked Bay.  This is another superb piece of real estate.  A lovely waterfall cascades off the mountain at the far end.  I also didn't have the place to myself.  There were three other more luxurious craft tied up together.  I tucked in behind an island and didn't see them thereafter but did hear them leave the next morning.

There were a few dog salmon near the mouth of the stream feeding into the bay but they weren't interested in anything I threw at them before I left. The rain that began in the evening ended to my relief. 

The next afternoon I anchored out near the Aleut community of Tititlek and walked into town.  I stopped at the council office and Marcia Toteamoff let me use her phone to call a Fairbanks friend to arrange for a pickup in Valdez.  He would drive my small truck and trailer from there to meet me in a couple of days. 

Marcia was an Army veteran and had recently moved back to the community with her son.  I learned from her that the people now living here and in Chenaga had originally come from Nuchek where I had stopped.  There is no longer a community there.  She was planning to go with her son to the two week spirit camp held there in mid-July.

I anchored up the for night or so I thought at an anchorage I had been to before on the east side of Busby Island.  It was sheltered from winds out of the southwest.   I forgot that even when calm here there were some slight swells into this anchorage from the more exposed east side.  About midnight I'd had enough rocking back and forth however gentle and pulled the anchor to look for a more protected spot.  Coming into this one I had seen another nearby possibility and headed into a cove with a bit of a dog leg to it..  The tide was in and I anchored in eel grass near the end.  I didn't mind if we ended up  aground with the tide out as it happened.  That's the beauty of a small boat that will go where big boats can't.  I left the rock-a-bye-no-sleep swells behind and slept good.

In the morning I heard crunching on the shore in the intertidal zone and peaked out from under the edge of the tent canopy.  From a distance I thought these creatures were sea otters but when they came closer and scampered into near  underbrush they turned out to be a family, I presume, of land otters.  It was way cool and special.  I haven't seen many land otters in all my time in Alaska. 

It was calm the next morning with wind building later.  I headed west toward Pt. Freemantle but changed my mind and headed on a more northerly course.  The plan was to overnight in Sawmill Bay and meet my friend Frank in Valdez late the next day.  There was enough wind to sail and not being in a hurry I did just that.  I motored around green buoy number nine marking the edge of the shipping channel to photo sea lions sleeping on its above water flat top base.  They didn't seem to mind my near presence. 

Some distance off from Sawmill Bay I could only see at first a tiny black speck breaking the water every so often.  As I sailed nearer it turned out to be a humpback whale breaching.  There were no other boats around and it was a gloriously sunny day.  I liked to think it was jumping for joy because it kept at it.  When I was much closer I could see its long white front fluke raised out of the water like a sail as it lolled around near the surface.  There may also have been a minke whale with it.  I didn't get too close for obvious reasons approaching silently but close enough to get a good look at a huge creature breaking water making waves. 

Sawmill Bay I ended up sharing with a couple of other boats but I anchored up again in the eel grass shallows, aground when the tide was out in the early AM when I got up.  It was also raining.  I put a line out for halibut at the entrance to the bay as I left but quit after an hour without a nibble. 

It was a cold ride into Valdez with boats of all sizes coming and going through the Narrows.  Closer to the harbor I was surprise to see a distant tail fluke of a whale  sounding. 

Frank showed up about 6:00 PM.  It was still raining lightly when we finally pulled out of town on the road home three hours later.  Frank said it was sunny north of Thompson Pass on the way in and we could find a place to park my camper pickup for the night.  There would also be fewer gnats bothering away from salt water.  We were home by mid-afternoon the next day

POSSIBILITIES AHEAD?

Superfically it may seem that these trips are just about having fun.  And there is that element to them.  But at another level I have needed time in the solitude of a wild place free from the usual distractions to listen and discover where I'm being led next.

While I can only generally describe what came to me in the course of this journey it may be enough.  My personal circumstances are changing and I will need another place to call home.  I will not abandon Fairbanks but I may well be spending less time here.  Fukuko will continue to need help to stay in our house here. 

In Cordova I met Dario who has been there more than a year with his wife Sabina and four children..  They came from Switzerland in a large aluminum sailboat with Top to Top written on the sides.  He has a web site at <toptotop.org>.  You can check it out for more details.  In brief he's a climatologist trying to raise awareness about climate change and visiting schools along the way. 

When we met he was ailing from what to me were symptons of giardia he contracted on a descent from Denali drinking river water on the hike out. 

We talked about the possibility of a tsunami debris clean up project on the outer coasts of Alaska involving the local community and children including those from Japan.  It would be Cordova based.  There would be an environmental education component to it,  There has been some local efforts at clean up but this is a potentially huge project with miles upon miles of litter strewn on the outer coasts of Alaska.  Details and uncertainties remain.   

As an initial step in this direction on my part I am looking for a live aboard bluewater capable sailboat for at least two adults and possibly one or two children.  A boat is a practical solution to the high cost of living in Cordova, one of the few harbors with slips available. 

With bigger plans than a bank account I would be willing to consider a project boat to buy if it was not a basket case and take years to get underway.  If you or someone you know just happens to have a sailboat of some size spending more time at the dock than sailing I'd like to talk further with you or them about what arrangements might be possible for its use on a project of this sort.  Peace Rider Don can be reached at <ridefortheplanet@gmail.com>.  And thanks!

Onward,

Peace Rider 

Peace Rider in Prince William Sound

For those of you who may be checking in from time-to-time and not given up on my peregrinations and quest for the next scent in this multi-act drama called life, here is my general route of travel to this point which is the Cordova local library in eastern PWS.

I launched from Seward on a Sunday 1 June with the help of long time friend Fran Mauer who drove my truck back from the launch ramp.  My thought was to make it to Juneau but small boats have a way of taking a toll on older carcasses.  In short you get bounced around a lot.  It was raining that day but sailed nearly two thirds of the way to Resurrection Point.  Next day the weather broke and I had four more days of fair weather motoring and sailing.  I was also a bit "dizzy" for several days until I got my sea legs back.

The second day with only easy swells out on the Gulf I motored all the way across and threw the hook down in Auk Bay.  Dall porpoises joined me briefly cavorting under and in front of the boat.  From there the next day crossed into Earlington Passage, past Chenega didn't stop and made it to an Anchorage on Green Island - another long day of sailing and motoring.  Two nights on Green Island.  Anchored out and was able to hike and have a look around.  There is a Forest Service Cabin there but I preferred the fabric roof overhead in my 20 foot sailing dory.  Besides it was occupied the first night and I had not made advance reservations.

The weather was going down again when I crossed over to Montague the to have a look at Stockdale Harbor.  My hat blew off in the wind and landed in the water during the crossing..  I immediately tried to get the motor going rather than sail to it.  Lesson, learn how to sail and not rely on a motor.  Old habits die hard. Lost it in the waves.  Found a nice hidey hole place in Stockdale but still got blasted by williwas when the worst of the weather hit overnight.  Sea otters and I floated in to a secure anchorage on the incoming tide.  Nearby was Constantine Harbor and spent two night there amist the commercial salmon seining fleet just beginning their season.  Invited to a dinner of fresh copper river red salmon on Tom Lopez's boat out of Valdez.  Boy was that a treat.   This is a hatchery supported run of dog salmon with fry released into net pens.  George Vancouver first arrived here many moons ago.  A good place to careen ships with extensive tidal flats at low tide..

I motored out of there but was able to sail most of the way to Montague Point on the east end of the island.  In fair skies with wind blowing about 20 I decided to cross over to Bear Cape on the west end of Hitchenbrook..  Saw two minke whales up close and humpback whales blowing in the distance.  My little boat is very seaworthy  but you have to pay attention so I was bounched around and had to remain standing for most of the way across.  An oil tanker drove by escorted by two sea going tugs, this arrangement mandated by the '89 Exxon Valdez oil spill.  Arrived Constantine harbor beat and lowered the hook very close to Nuchek Spirit Camp.  Lots of sea otters at first but they cleared out after I showed up.

English Bay across from Camp was where Captain Cook first landed which ultimately launched the harvest of sea otters leading ultimately to their near extinction from over hunting.

Later Leonard Lange the Aleut caretaker came over and invited me to the camp which I did the following day.  Ended up staying there from 9 to 14 June.  He fired up the sauna or bano as he called it and we both got a bit clearner.  I also met Chewbacka a big loveable mixed breed, golden lab, shepard mix according to Leonard.  He'd follow me down to the dock and belonged to the place.   I needed that soothing much appreciated heat for tired bones and muscles.  After another storm passed I rounded Bear Cape north bound over long swells but light winds

Made it to Velper Cove and camped there on an outgoing tide.  Had to move early in the morning to avoid being stranded on mud flats.  Four Sitka blacktail deer showed up and crossed the cove and a bit later two more.  I was sitting unseen watching through a window in the tent shelter over my boat.

Next day poked into Canoe Passage Marine Park and then decided to try and make it to near Cordova ahead of a stronger storm front. 

Lots of memorable characters here in this fishing community of roughly 2500.  Some live on boats because its affordable.  There is only ferry and air connections out of here if  you don't have a boat. 

From here will retrace some of my route back through Orca Inlet then look for an anchorage in Port Gravina depending on when I get out of here tomorrow.

Thought this would be short instead of an epistle.  Wonderful place PWS,,a gem of a water world supporting a host of marine life. 

Take a few days to reach Valdez.  Like to see a bit more of the Sound before hauling out there and heading back to Fairbanks.

Onward,

Peace Rider