changing websites

Hi all,

many apologies for the slowdown in updates- i'm back in the states working full time and just haven't had the time to catch up, but more soon i promise.

This blog will be transitioning to the official Maya Pedal Volunteer blog, my personal blog will continue at this address:


http://bikeblender.blogspot.com


Please let anyone you know who reads this know that the site has changed.

Thanks for reading!

the unlikely zapatista

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After 14 hours of sleep, or what felt like it, we awoke to a new day with a new character: Eric. Before i launch, i just... man, the whole time i was there i was blown away by the revolving cast of Characters. Characters with a capital C. The weirdest and most fascinating people i've ever met. Outside of art school.

Anyway, Eric was a Zapatista disguised as a gringo. A Texas native, he had the drawl and everything that came with it, including a refined sense of rebellion. If you've never been to texas, the place is covered with sayings like "Don't mess with Texas" (a clever anti-litter slogan that seems to have shed any of its former good intentions to become the unofficial state motto). I don't know if Libertarianism has a home state, but if i had to guess one it would be texas. Eric represented texas in a peculiar way, he was definitely a rough and tumble don't-F-with-me kind of guy, but with a strange liberal bent. He was all about standing in solidarity with the oppressed, alternative energy & appropriate technology and, of course, fighting the Man. When America's second civil war comes Eric will be our Che Guevara.

Eric was just passing through on his way back to the states from CACITA which is a center for appropriate technology in Oaxaca Mexico (apparently no website for them, but here's some photos on an Italian blog). CACITA is a lot like Maya Pedal but broader in its scope- they do solar ovens, composting toilets, natural building, etc. Supposedly the place is run by a guy named Dracula. A little high strung from what i've heard. Kind of creepy sometimes too.

This dracula character likes to claim that he came up with the bike machine designs he totes up in mexico. We showed Carlos and he immediately got on the phone to give dracula a stern talking to. Turns out dracula was one of Carlos' students years ago. Funny how that works.

Eric wasn't with us for long, but he was wildly entertaining and could talk up a storm. His stories were consistently fascinating and hilarious, though some of the girls didn't always agree. In his two or three days we managed to get him out to Carlos' farm, whacking away machete in hand. He was really into it- it was the highlight of his trip he said. Which includes dracula-time.


So on a sleepy tuesday morning, in which clouds took the title in "clouds vs. sun," we piled into Carlos' truck as per usual and made our rumbling ascent.


When we got there, for wahtever reason, Carlos' truck just couldn't make it up the hill. Maybe too many people? Though that didn't seem likely. He backed it all the way down and came all the way up. Twice.


His family and i got out to see if lighter was better. I guess it must have been.


We got right to it and cleared out a pretty big chunk of land right quick. Sarah and Eric were both pretty fast. Carlos, of course, is a machine.


I know its terrible, but i'm going to go ahead and say out loud that i'm sorry i missed the "burn" portion of farming with Carlos. I really like setting things on fire, and though jungle would certainly not be my first choice, what fire enthusiast could turn up being in the middle of one that big?

Somewhere in the morning some unknown, or perhaps arbitrary, quota of hacking had been accomplished and Carlos decided it was time for a tour. I think this was mostly in honor of Eric who would be leaving shortly.

So we snaked our way up the dusty mountain until we got to top. Turns out, Carlos owns the whole mountain top.


Along the way he just grabs this tree and whacks a chunk out of it, drink he says, and pours a surprising amount of water into Sarah's mouth. I was next. It tasted very much like tree.

The prize of the hike were the two water pumps. One was on Carlos' land, operable only by hand. The other was just next door on his neighbor's property- a bici bomba that Carlos had built and installed.


Eric and Sarah were shining with glee. I'd guess that neither one of them has ever been so excited about water before in their lives. Which might be part of what prompted Eric to drink some of it, that and his i-can-take-anything way of doing things. Given my poor history with the local water i wasn't going to touch it, but how could i get showed up in front of Carlos? I couldn't.




We wandered off the mountain a different way then we came up. We went by a series of huts in a sad state of dilapidation, cobbled together from branches and leaves. I was fascinated by them and wanted to know their story. Turns out Carlos hires several workers to tend to his farm, they live there in the huts.



While we were out there we also saw this little shed which got me missing the tent platform that i used to sleep in during the summers in upstate NY.

asleep on top of a volcanoe

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As we lingered on the top of the volcano we heard another rumbling, this time mistaking it for the volcano. But it was an actual plane this time. And it flew so close overhead that some of the taller hikers might have been able to reach up and touch it.
Good thing it was just a dinky four seater.

I didn't time well the lapse between button pushing and picture taking on the camera i was using. Just a before and after.


As the sunrise waned from spectacularity so too did our interest. Will suggested we move down to a lower part of the volcano to watch the vent erupt.


And, of course, along the way more beautiful sights.


We found a nice spot on the lower side of the volcano to overlook the vent. And despite the end of sunrise the shadows on the other side of the volcano were no less amazing then they were 30 minutes prior.


While we waited for the vent to blow I glanced around and spotted some distant neighbors who looked as if they might just float off into the clouds. It was unreal how high up we were, what felt most unreal about it was that we could see everything. There were no trees or buildings to obstruct our view. There weren't even any mountains or volcanoes to get in the way- we were the tallest thing for miles. Part of what was so amazing about it was that we could see the horizon in 360 degrees, and from our vantage point you could easily spin around and see the horizon curving. I've never seen the roundness of the earth more clearly.

Pretty exhausted we all promptly fell asleep while waiting for plumes of ash and smoke. Minutes passed and, again, Will called us all to attention.

After the satisfying of our need for geological glory we all passed out for real. Even Will.

Three hours later, sunburned and exhausted, but deeply satisfied and excited we began to collect ourselves and move (slowly) toward leaving.
When i awoke on the top of the summit there was a pair of lacy hot pink underwear just chillin next to me. It was definitely not there when i fell asleep. My comrades claim innocence.
I'm just sorry i didn't have the presence of mind to photo document it. I think disgust clouded my snap-happy instincts.


It was interesting to head back down during the day and see our path illuminated. We could see now just exaclty how far it was that we had to go, whereas in the night it was always unclear, even during the last hour.

Ther were all kinds of people on the path, several times groups of rowdy teenage boys would whir past us whooping and calling names at each other. Being caught in their clouds of dust (from the incredibly worn down and bone dry dirt path) was less than fun. We all ended up feeling like we should have brought dust masks along. Seriously. Seriously Dusty. SD.

Even though it took significantly less time to get down than up- it was easier going with gravity, and easier heading toward more oxygen- it felt just as long. Maybe because we were ready to be done. Ready to be in bed.







On the way down we saw this funny little hut made out of trash. Perhaps it was a message in response to the nearby trashcan debacle- there was one trashcan on the entire trail, without a single piece of trash inside, but surrounded by 25 square feet of trash.

Several truck bed rides later we arrived at Will's apartment, sweaty, tired, and dropping in our tracks. Sleep never sounded so good.

And so concludes the most epic weekend of my life.

*I would like to note that my scavenger hunt for batteries proved futile and, therefore, my camera useless. As a result, all of the awesome pictures from the climb are the gracious gift of Erin K. Parsons. Given with her specific permission to be used here on this blog, not available for reprint or distribution without the express consent of said party. Fees may be paid in choco-bananas. All rights reserved.

Hansel and Gretel

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Through the night we climbed a very dark, very ambigious path towards the top of a volcanoe that i was sure we would never reach (it looked sooooo far away). The walking didn´t feel like it should be that hard, but the lack of oxygen ensured that it was. We crept like turtles. One. Step. At. A. Time.

Erin and i continually were accused of "going to fast." We started the climb a little behind schedule and were determined not to miss the sunrise. Eventually we parted ways with the others, by the summit we were about 15-20 mins ahead.

All the way there were issues with the flashlights, at least in team speedy. Erin´s light kept going out and by about 3/4 of the way up it was driving her (and by association, me) bonkers. Granted it was like 4:30 in the morning.

There was a strange phenomenon that occurres while climbing worth noting. The path was varied, it split in many directions, there were many false paths as well. Unlike in the states, there are no path markers- these trails are not blazed. There were, however, some unexpected path markers that proved to be invaluable. Almost all of the way up the mountain the path is littered with trash. Mostly soda bottles. And some horse poop too. These ironic trail markers, for hours, showed us the correctness of our course and gave us the confidence to keep trekking. Having never appreciated litter even once in my life, i was strangely grateful for the plastic white pebbles that delivered us from the wood.

When the slight glow of day began to emerge i handed Erin my working light and pressed on alone through the dawning day. I was especially determined not to miss the sunrise. And as a spectacular orange glow began to grow on the horizon i hastened my step.

It was maybe only 15 more minutes to the top and i got there just in time. The whole horizon was simmering with a firey glow, like a gas stove set low. Not having seen or heard any other hikers on the whole of the climb, i was convinced we would have the volcanoe top to ourselves. Didn´t factor in the people who climbed it yesterday.

At the top it was tent city. The uniform shape and color of the tents on the bare rock gave the look of mussels clustered on the sea floor.

There were people everywhere, maybe 150 or more. There were loudly announcing the day, starting fires frying tortillas. It was an odd scene.

I was desperately hungry and thirsty and this point, but all that i could find was bare bread and the water, of course, was far too cold. (to give context if i had worn heavy winter wear i would have been comfortable). So i waited for the others, with my dry bread, until Erin arrived.

We were very excited.

We took turns getting each other´s "epic" shots, because, of course, we were feeling quite epic.

(That´s a volcano errupting four hours away in Antigua in the background)

Will made the really good point that our innermost layer would be sweaty and, therefore, in the cold of the summit excellent for channeling cold. We all brought fresh shirts, which had to be changed fast.

Literally, just in time for the actual appearance of the sun the rest of the crew arrived. Equally exhausted but very ver pleased to be at the top. We wrapped ourselves in blankets and perched high on a rock. The view was absolutely spectacular. It was, without a doubt, the most incredible thing i have ever seen.

Behind us we heard a sound like an airplane. In fact, we were so sure it was an airplane none of us turned around to see what it was. Will, however, knew better. It was the erupting of a vent further down on the side of the volcanoe. It was the same vent that we saw erupt on our way to the hot springs.

When turned around i noticed something else, equally spectacular,behind us.

It was as if we were standing on top of the pyramids.

It was as if we were on top of the world.

listos para subir

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Later that night there was a terrific barbeque at the AIDG compound. I think just about every expatriate in Xela attended. Will made great burgers, Virgil baked home-made buns (which pleased Erin to no end) and Netta- an Israeli volunteer at AIDG- speared veggies and fruit onto kebobs. She asked me how the vegans would feel about eating human blood in their kebobs, actually she just asked me how they would feel about eating human blood in general. I didn`t get it until she showed me her sliced hand. And so the vegans ate some of Netta`s blood.

I had a great conversation with two Xela natives, interesting people who are somehow connected with AIDG indirectly (perhaps they rent to them?). We talked at some length about community dynamics, specifically the contrast between Guatemala and the states. To them, families should live together through several generations, its a more loving and connected way of being. Everyone can help each other, there is a great sharing of duties and resources, its a much more relationship-rich style of living. I spoke some to the perception in the states of a multi-generational home as being somewhat dysfunctional. Mostly in the sense that it is considered embarassing or shameful for children to live with their parents past a certain age. Our culture, i said, does not encourage togetherness (unless of course it is to facilitate some sort of financial transaction and "aid" the economy). No, we are all rugged individualists. Even if we only get dirty in virtual landscapes while blowing up aliens. It was a great conversation and a good testament to my improved spanish.

Being sold on hiking the volcanoe Santa Maria, we were further convinced to do so at 2 in the morning so that we could arrive just in time for sunrise. It sounded exhausting and exhilirating. Any doubts were quelled by two thoughts- when else are you going to get to do this, and the mantra that Palo left us with "you can be comfortable at home."



While the girls got some pre-hiking sleep, Will and i went off for a crazy and circuitous scavenger hunt through the city. It would have felt ridiculous if it hadn`t been so much fun. I don`t remember exactly how it went, but it was something like this:

we had to drop off materials at AIDG, grab a half eaten chicken and take it back to the compound.
pick up grocceries, take them back
get warm clothes from Will`s awesome friend Mazz
go half way back and then realize that i need to get batteries for my dead camera
not find any decent batteries and return home to make chicken sandwhiches for the trip

Mazz and her friends ahd the largest apartment i have ever seen in person, it was like a small dormitory with alot of shared space. Pretty good price from what i understand. The best part though was the awesome roof hang-out space. Their roof top get-togethers would be the envy of any 20 something, the view was immaculate and there were lots of tables and chairs.

After getting back to the apartment and getting all the food ready, Will and i were able to catch a couple hours of sleep before the hike.

Around 1:00 we all got up and began packing and dressing for the cold. Anneliese looked... spectacular.

A quick walk to the central park found us a taxi. There were also a surprising amount of young people making music in the main gazebo. It was really nice to see them out enjoying the night.

I didn`t catch our taxi driver`s name, but he was a nice enough guy and got us to where we were going. Though he did attempt to drive through pot holes and ravines that his car couldn`t have possibly handled, but it did. It was in getting out of the taxi that i somehow lost my international phone. Luckily no one made any calls on it.

And so at 2:30 in the morning we bagn our long slow ascent into the dark.

I`m a big fan of the hat that Mazz lent me.

las fuentes georginas

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After we had a good look around Will`s work place we grabbed a bus out towards Las Fuentes Georginas- well known hot springs in the area. A chicken bus ride left us off about 20 mins short of our destination, from there we had to hire a truck to take us the rest of the way. Of course there were many trucks waiting.

Having ridden in several truck beds before i must say, this was a significant step up, it was awesome actually. The truck bed is lined with metal walls to lean on and has several bars to grab as well. It felt a lot like surfing on a car and a little like flying.

The view was fantastic. We got to see a huge amount of agricultural land in production. The farms were doing quite well compared to most that i`ve seen around the country. Will said they`ve had a fairly developed irrigation systyem for quite some time, and sure enough eveywhere we looked there were sprinklers keeping everything wet during the dry season. Though the malfunctioning ones were often augmented by a human, literally, turning slowly in place holding the semi-broken mechanism. I... can`t even imagine.

About half way through the trip we saw a volcanoe erupt in the distance. I think it was a first for all of us, except Will, and very (very) exciting.

Will said "you know, we can climb that volcanoe there and watch the eruption from above." We were sold.

The hot springs were stunning. Far up green covered mountainsides large swaths of exposed rock guided sulfur-heated water into a series of large pools. The pools were built up some with rocks walls, but not distastefully. The whole thing was quite enchanting. And, as in most of these situations its easy to fantasize about having the whole place entirely to your self. No cheesy pick lines being drunkenly delivered, no squealing kids, no men in speedos that really shouldn`t be wearing speedos- the one thing gringos don`t want from their travels is to run into other gringos. This seems pretty ubiquitous.

Though, i was very happy to make friends with these adorable little kids. I love how little kids are pretty much the same no matter where you go- they`re curious, they want to play, everything is super exciting- its a good reminder that we are not as dissimilar as we sometimes believe.

After an hour or so of sitting in the springs, jumping out to take cold showers and jumping back in, we decided we were ready to move on. The springs were more enjoyable to look at then to be in, they were often pleasant hot tub temperature, but just as often not-so-pleasant hot tub x 2. One thing that was really interesting about the springs was that, without exerting any force at all, you would sweat a huge amount, but you`d never know it because you`re already wet. Coming out you feel relaxed but drained, and really really thirsty. It was an odd combination of feelings.

appropriate infrastructure development

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Saturday morning we woke up and had a proper look around Will´s place, made some eggs (which i was told had too much salt- a recurring complaint) and then headed out for AIDG´s workshop.



There was a group of chickens hanging out in the back yard. Though i don´t think this is where our eggs came from, they very well could have. From what i gathered the chickens subsist entirely on compost, which seems like a good system.



Erin was very excited about this brick oven, she has been pining to do some baking ever since she got here. In fact, she decided we would build one on the roof.



Will gave us a great tour of his office and the connected workshops. Everyone there is totally engaged in awesome low-tech projects, a lot of them seemed connected to water in one way or another.

The first thing we got to see was a testing bench set up to monitor the optimal usage of a micro-hydro design that one guy, Sam, had invented. (Micro-hydro is for small scale, personal use, electrical generation) His design is pretty ingenius, it basically channels water through PVC pipes to a bucket with a generator inside. I don´t know exactly how it works, but somehow through physics alone the water is forced to a higher velocity than it would reach normally and then streamed through the bucket. Sam admits the design has some obvious inefficiencies, from a purely scientific standpoint, but its not designed to be the most efficient generator possible. More than efficiency it is going for effectiveness- its designed to be built by anyone, out of materials readily available and easy to use- two points which are at the heart of appropriate technology.


The bench Will is pointing to simulates the conditions under which the bucket would operate. The bench is designed to allow detailed monitoring of electrical output and tight control over water speeds and (i think) pressure. They are currently running tests to find the optimal operating scenario for the generator. I don´t know much about hydro, but this design is unlike anything i´ve ever heard of- it could be revolutionary for personal electricity generation. Sam said its really big with survivalists.

Inside there was another bench designed to do "dry runs" of the generator inside the bucket. I can't remember exactly how it functions, but i think there are a variety of voltages and amperages that the generator can be tested on. Also, i gather its easier to test it dry if you're wanting to tweak the machine's innards.

Next we got an explanation of a device that had counfounded us all the night before. It turns out this thing is a water pump built by some MIT students some time ago. You literally stand on the two planks and step up and down to pump water. The AIDG folks were impressed with how quickly the students had built it, a matter of hours if i remember correctly. Though they didn't entirely trust it, they said it was a little wobbly to work and none of us were allowed a go. Supposedly it pumps out enormous amounts of water, and very quickly. Maybe even too quickly.

Next we got to see the "safe stove." Its called a safe stove because it contains and channels smoke very well. One of the leading causes of death amongst children in developing nations is smoke inhalation from indoor cooking set ups. The safe stove dramatically reduces the amount of smoke that is emmittted indoors. This type of stove is also sometimes referred to as a rocket stove because of the way that it intakes air- when it really gets going it makes a whirring noise like a quiet rocket. There is a small opening in the front of the stove to put in twigs and other small wood pieces, the wood sits on top of a small shelf which allows air to flow strongly up from underneath it. The air and flames are then channeled up through the highly insulated stove, heat the top elements and then exit out of a pipe in the back. For whatever reason, constricting the air flow to a small channel increases the efficiency of burning substantially. And the heavy insulation retains a great amount of that heat to use for cooking instead of dissipating out into the atmosphere. I'm a big fan of rocket stoves, and this one was particularly impressive.

Will's co-worker Vergel did an awesome job of explaining the stove to us. I was blown away when he said that the flames can get so hot that the shelf glows red. They worry about it melting sometimes- talk about efficiency!

Our final stop on the tour was outside to the bio-digester. I think i had startled its creator, James, earlier that morning with a barrage of questions. I was really eager to learn all about it and he was as gracious as one could be at 8:00 in the morning while making eggs.

Basically the bio-digester is an anaerobic (lacking oxygen) processor of organic materials. It utilizes certain microbial life forms to break down plant material into methane. (If there were oxygen present it wouldn't make methane, or at least not at the smae levels). The device is made up of two tanks, the first is the digestor, which is essentially a cement lined hole in the ground with a big 55 gallon drum floating on top and an underground pipe connecting it to the second tank. The second tank, form what i gather, is really just there to be the place where the excess spills over, gets collected and then used as fertilizer. In the first tank the big blue drum is pushed all the way down, as the methane is created it rises to the surface and lifts the tank- a good visual indicator of how much you've got. A tube comes off of the top of the tank and, eventually, will be connected to a special gas stove that can burn uncompressed methane. For every week's worth of compost James guesses they'll be able to cook two to three meals. I was impressed but James said this was nothing to more complex systems that are better sighted (to optimize sun exposure) there are versions in Haiti, he said, that can cook two meals a day.

The gas is kept from escaping by pinching the the tube, as well as putting in a small amount of water to act as a gas trap.

Dory looking excited, as per ususal.