Greetings From Pokhara, Nepal

Namaste Nautie Friends!

The past few days have been extreme. Epic to say the least.  

I'm enjoying a cocktail in Pokhara while sitting near Fewa Lake - today I got a full body facial - cleansed, scrubbed, valued, moisturized- and I can barely walk...limp and stroll - forget grace up and down stairs - because yesterday I completed the Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek. 

I saw the Himalayas.  

Epic.  

You all deserve photos, and stories and maybe there will be some of those later.  

For now, it's time to reflect on what Epic actually means.  

xoxo, 

Megan

Travel Within Travel

We're packing up camp and headed to another part of the island for an overnight. 

I feel ridiculously excited.  

My Mom and I have both cracked up about how excited I am. Here I am, far from home and sooooo excited for an overnight! 

We're headed for white sand beaches and I'm doing a happy dance! 

I'm a fair amount behind in the blog - I'm thinking about how best to catch up - I'll come up with a plan soon.  

Toodles! 

Pagerwesi - Ubud, Bali

Yesterday the holy holiday of Pagerwesi wrapped up nearly a weeklong celebration in Ubud.

Pagerwesi Morning.

This year Pagerwesi was extra special because it fell on the full moon and the total lunar eclipse. 

All week the temple at Campuhan (Pura Gunung Lebah) was a little hive of activity - processionals left and arrived daily through town and the surrounding villages. 

Families came from all over Bali to leave their offerings at the temple - it was busy.  On somedays the police would hustle us past the temple because we didn't have on a sarong - we have to walk past the temple to come into town from our house - we quickly got smart and timed our trips home so we weren't being overly disrespectful.

Pagerwesi falls every 210 days on the Balinese Holy Calendar.  It can be roughly translated as 'Iron Fence' and symbolizes a battle between good and evil.  Specifically, it's a day when the Balinese strengthen their minds and spiritual selves against evil forces.  

Offerings left at the top of the lane.  Coconut, banana and rice.  

Pagerwesi comes close on the tails of Saraswati which celebrates knowledge - so an extra emphasis is placed on protecting knowledge from evil.​

During the day our little street was silent which is so, so rare.  Normally, there are motorbikes zooming around from fairly early on.​

Basket of Canang Sari for the compound.  Lots of rice balls.

Around my little house a strong emphasis was placed on warding off bad or evil spirits.  Almost like a cleansing ritual.  Water was sprinkled in all corners of the yard - extra incense was burned and extra robust Canang Sari (if you follow me on instagram this is what I've been documenting) were left.

Mama leaving her canang sari.

Once it started to get dark out and we could spot the moon low on the horizon processions started coming up the hill.​

Can you spot the moon?  It's about half way in shadow.

The first group was smaller and just rang a bell at every house along the street but, once it was dark and the moon had completely darkened a large processional came through banging drums and really making some noise.   

Long exposure shot of the festivities down the road - the long red streak on the left had side is a moped tail light that passed me on the lane.  Night photo!

Our host explained to us that this celebration was a time when they prayed not just for themselves and Bali but for the whole world.  It's also a time when everyone is welcome at the Temple to leave offerings (I think this might be in reference to a cast system).

In the west the full moon following the Harvest Moon is called the Hunter Moon.   After the harvest the fields are stubbly and a Hunter can ride over them with ease quickly spotting animals who can no longer hide amongst the plants...or so the story goes. 

I hope you all were able to see the total lunar eclipse wherever you were in the world! 

As always please excuse the awkard photo editing and lack of real information.  I had a really hard time learning who was being prayed to and what the offerings meant.

Campuhan Ridge Trail Lovelies

Everyday I walk the Campuhan Ridge to get into Ubud. I'm slightly up the hill in a much quieter town than the bustling Ubud. I must say, this was a very wise choice. 

Yesterday as I was walking into town I saw a couple headed towards me. ​

I recognized immediately that they were getting their wedding photos taken and then were headed to their reception. They were very, very gracious and allowed me to take their photo. ​

It was such an unexpected sight and they were perfectly situated (I mean, obviously they knew the best place for photos). I felt so, so lucky to be able to snag their photo! 

I didn't want these pics to get lost in my Instagram shuffle and knew these Campuhan Beauties deserved a post of their own!

Congratulations you two!  All the best in your future together!

Ubud Rice Paddies

My daily routine has held fast.  I wake up really early, make a coffee, grab my camera and wander around taking photos of the rice paddies.

This morning I also put on my walking shoes and headed up the road a bit further then usual.  It ended up being a really good idea because well....I saw some rice paddies that I hadn't seen before! 

The rice was blooming.  With the morning sun hitting it just right it felt like autumn in the tropics.

I have a feeling by the time I leave Bali you'll be ready to see something other than rice on the blog but, I must say, it's a total feast for the eyes and is completely irrisitable to my camera! 

The Time Oregon Won My Heart.

Confession:  my Dad is from Oregon...and most of his family lives there....and I can kinda take it or leave it.  I like to go see them but, I never leave Oregon thinking, 'aw man...do I have to go so soon?!'.  My family has a big piece of land we call The Farm around the Corvallis area.  I've camped at The Farm - hung out at the river - walked through the fields - picked plums in the orchard - roasted marshmallows over the fire - watched the bats come out - but, if you ask me where my favorite hang out is on the West Coast I'll almost always pick British Columbia.  I'll even pick BC over Seattle.

Then something weird happened.  I was driving through Oregon on my way to Corvallis and I pulled over at a rest stop.  As I was getting ready to get out of my car I noticed a trucker wearing a cowboy hat and boots...walking his cat on a leash.  He let me pet her and then told me all about their life on the road.  As I left them to their walk I headed towards the bathroom and realized there was a free coffee stand.  Ummm...hello....coffee and free....love it!  I take care of business and am heading back to my car when I see a woman.....letting her ferret out to play.  Said woman let me touch her ferret.  

I got back in my car and thought, 'Damn Oregon!  You're pretty cool!'.

Why the camp fires, black berry picking, river floating never got me, couldn't tell ya.  Suddenly, every where I stopped / looked I saw things I thought were great.

I pulled into Grants Pass and headed to Rogue Roasters.  It was customer appreciation day.  Win!  I got three backs of coffee for a bargain - where I might add they micro roast their beans!  

I stopped in Portland and walked to Stumptown with a girlfriend.  There were roses everywhere!  Everyones garden was amazing.  Win!

I met up with another girlfriend and we chatted and had fresh eggs for breakfast - like fresh from her yard.  Win!

I hung out in Corvallis with my cousins and had Ahi Tacos and Lilikoi Kamikazes.  Clearly thats a....Win!

Oregon - you're pretty much kicking summers butt.  I'd like to thank you for instilling in me a new found appreciation for your loveliness.