Nov

The Awe-Inspiring Monterey Bay Aquarium

by Eva Boynton on November 28, 2016

Silhouettes of people visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium, showing the awe-inspiring experiences from two sides of the glass (image © Sam Anaya A.).

Travelers embark on a journey to another world.
© Sam Anaya A.

Worlds Connect Through a Sheet of Glass

The sea is as near as we come to another world.*

Imagine entering a forest of moons, alien ellipses all floating and pulsing with color in a dark blue environment. Their long arms extend, overlapping like tangled branches in a floating forest. Welcome to the world of jellies, one that seems light-years away from our own.

Sea nettle Jellies swimming at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, showing awe-inspiring experiences that connect travelers to different worlds (image © Sam Anaya A.).

Watch these jellies long enough, and you will be transported to another world.
© Sam Anaya A.

We often travel to discover a world different, distant, and new. We search for surprise, intrigue, and awe from foreign landscapes. But here at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, an awe-inspiring world is just on the opposite side of the glass.

Plunge Right In

In travel, jumping right in to a new place often reveals immediate and eye-opening surprises.

I start my travels in the Monterey Bay Aquarium that way. Walking past the entrance, underneath goliath sculptures of grey whales and orcas, I check my map. It says I can stay to the shoreline and work my way gradually to the deep canyon exhibit. But I decide to plunge right in, and head first to the giant tank that captures a piece of the open ocean.

Pacific sardines swimming in a ceiling tank at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, illustrating awe-inspiring worlds (image © Sam Anaya A.).

Silver lights swirl above, Pacific Sardines mimic a whirlpool.
© Sam Anaya A.

The environment in the aquarium changes and a deep blue quiets all travelers. Space opens up, and the tank’s wall of windows reveals another world. Though my feet are on terra firma, all senses tell me I’ve been submerged into the open ocean.

An open ocean exhibit with the silhouettes of visitors in front at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, showing what kind of awe-inspiring connections made to an underwater world (image © Sam Anaya A.).

Travelers pause to take in the destination.
© Sam Anaya A.

My legs and arms are dappled with light from above, just like the sea life I see in front of me. A Green Sea Turtle slowly glides to my left, and a school of Pacific Mackerel swims toward me as if they will cross the glass border and pass me by. Plunging right into the aquarium at these deep-water tanks struck me with awe and inspired me to keep traveling.

Explore the Depths

Traveling gives us an opportunity to explore the depths of life in another place. Looking past the glass barriers, I let the open ocean take me on a journey into a deep blue that resembles a world of zero gravity. I press my face against the glass to get a better look at a Cross Jelly.

A tiny jelly at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, showing the awe-inspiring moments from a world that resembles outer space (image © Sam Anaya A.).

In this world, aliens and UFOs are real.
© Sam Anaya A.

This little spaceship, lit by a bioluminescent band around its edge, floats through the stars. Its muscles contract and relax to pulse through the water, as if sending a Morse code to us humans on the other side of the glass.

A moon jelly at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, showing how awe-inspiring moments can be collected when visiting another world (image © Sam Anaya A.).

This moon rises and sets with a skirt of tentacles.
© Sam Anaya A.

I let go of my footing on Earth and let the ebb and flow of the ocean current carry me. To my right, Moon Jellies drift by like lunar dancers suspended in time. Suddenly they pulse their translucent bodies to change direction. I feel that same sense of awe that travelers feel when they immerse themselves in a new world.

Appreciate the Unknown

When we travel with an open perspective, a foreign environment can be beautiful, elegant and, extraordinary, allowing us to appreciate differences, make connections, and learn something new. My trip to the aquarium was just that.

A squid swimming in an exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, showing what kind of awe-inspiring moments that take place in a different kind of world (image © Sam Anaya A.).

Life underwater dances, glides, swirls, swims, and sways.
© Sam Anaya A.

When I met a Big Fin Reef Squid, it was hard to make a personal connection. These alien ballerinas, translucent dancers all, ripple their tutus and shoot air to propel them backwards.

While I try to make sense of these unbelievable creatures, a five-year-old boy approached the glass and said, “Aw, look at these little cuties!” This little traveler’s sense of wonder and curiosity surpassed barriers, seeing another species just as worthy as his own.

A pacific octopus changes colors in the Monterey Bay Aquarium, showing an awe-inspiring creature from another world (image © Sam Anaya A.).

Can you recognize the creature in the dark?
© Sam Anaya A.

I move on to the dark realm of the Giant Pacific Octopus. A master of disguise, this octopus transforms its color to match its surroundings.

I’m in awe. Right before my eyes, I see colors change from a silver grey to a dark maroon red. With the color change complete, the octopus lifts off the rocks and descends like a red parachute to the glass that separates our worlds. I put my hands to the hard surface, hoping to feel the suction cups that unfurl across the glass.

These two creatures move, look, and live so differently than me, but still I can find a connection and appreciate the ocean’s infinite variations.

Oh, I See the Travel Connections

Traveling is about making awe-inspiring connections with different worlds. The Monterey Bay Aquarium transports us as travelers to an underwater world while still breathing our own air. Though separated from that world by glass, travelers feel a part of it.

In front of the towering kelp forest, volunteer Christine clarifies for us another important connection: “Just remember, everything ends up at the beach.”

Just as new worlds affect us (and we are often never the same), the people and places we meet on our travels are equally affected by us. As travelers we must acknowledge that effect—the “glass” that separates our worlds is actually much thinner than we think.

Visitors in front of the kelp forest exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, showing an awe-inspiring interaction between worlds (image © Sam Anaya A.).

When worlds connect, neither is the same thereafter.
© Sam Anaya A.

*These apt words appear at the entrance of the Open Ocean exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, whom we thank for its constant efforts to connect our worlds. And thank you, Scott Stratton, for connecting me with the aquarium.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Eva Boynton 3 Comments

Art of Travel/Nature Discovery

Nov

The Pull of Pushkar

by Meredith Mullins on November 22, 2016

Camel cart at the Pushkar Camel Fair in Rajasthan, India, a place for travel adventures in the desert. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The Pushkar Camel Fair
© Meredith Mullins

Travel Adventures in Rajasthan

The naïve traveler might say that if you’ve seen one camel fair, you’ve seen them all.

Not true.

Those looking for real travel adventures know that there is no such thing as too many camel fairs, especially when it comes to one of the largest camel fairs in the world. The Pushkar ka Mela is different.

Livestock food sellers at the Pushkar Camel Fair in Rajasthan, India, a place for travel adventures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

A bounty of color
© Meredith Mullins

The annual Pushkar festival in Rajasthan, India, is the ultimate blend of camels, dust, color, cattle, horses, music, smoke and spice, camel bling, acrobats, more dust, snake charmers, dancers, temple bells, more camels, carnival rides, competitions, and endless market stalls.

The mela has the added layer, however, of also being a sacred pilgrimage site.

Camp at the Pushkar Camel Fair in Rajasthan, India, a place for travel adventures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The dusty camps of the camel traders
© Meredith Mullins

Entering an Ancient and Timeless Land

Tales of Pushkar are legendary. The name alone has the magic of another era—the land of the ancient Silk Road, when the wandering trade routes brought multiple civilizations together.

For me, making the journey to Pushkar for last week’s mela transported heart and mind quickly into another world—primitive and exotic.

More than 50,000 camels arrive in this small town each autumn for trade and show, timed with the October/November full moon.

Camel trader with camels at sunset in Pushkar, Rajasthan, India, a place for travel adventures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Pushkar camels strutting their stuff at sunset
© Meredith Mullins

More than 300,000 visitors—villagers, desert dwellers, westerners, pilgrims, and sadhus (Hindu ascetics)—come to Pushkar for the festival. They walk for days from remote corners of the desert, ride their animals, or squeeze themselves into overcrowded vehicles to reach their destination.

Truck full of travelers to Pushkar in Rajasthan, India, a place for travel adventures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The more the merrier . . . on to Pushkar.
© Meredith Mullins

The flow of people into town is almost as interesting as the festival itself. You can feel the excitement building as these disparate currents converge.

The Sacred Lake

The lake at the center of the city was said to have been formed in the 4^th century B.C. (or even earlier) in this barren region when a lotus flower petal fell from the hand of Lord Brahma, the god of creation.

Pushkar lake in Rajasthan, India, a place for travel adventures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The sacred Pushkar lake, surrounded by temples and pilgrims paying homage to this holy site.
© Meredith Mullins

This legendary event makes the lake not only a miracle in religious lore but also a sacred destination for devout Hindus. They come to pray at any of the 500 temples (including one of the few temples in India dedicated solely to Brahma). And they come to purify themselves in the sacred waters.

According to Hindu tradition, bathing in the holy lake during the full moon (called the Kartik Poornima) washes away all sins. And for the men who can’t make it, if their wife bathes, the purification extends to them as well.

Weaving Faith and Trade Together

For nearly two weeks, faith and trading come together in one lively festival. The fair begins with the livestock trading. The tents and evening fires of the traders reach into the edges of the desert.

At night, you hear the murmur of the camps and the low moans of the camels as the dust of the day settles and the cold air moves in from the Aravalli hills.

Camel with colorful decorations at the Pushkar Camel Fair in Rajasthan, India, a place for travel adventures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Camel haute couture
© Meredith Mullins

By day, the camels show off their haute camel couture. Woven and beaded saddles and jackets, necklaces that seem to go on forever (well-suited for those long camel necks), and the traditional red nose ball that makes them look even more comical than they already do.

Camel at watering hole at the Pushkar Camel Fair in Rajasthan, India, a place for travel adventures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The traditional red nose ball (kept dry at the ole watering hole)
© Meredith Mullins

These bizarre divas are reminiscent of Star Wars creatures, with a dash of dinosaur and giraffe. As you wander through the maze of humps, you quickly come to realize that these exotic characters are averse to doing anything that isn’t their own idea (or anything that isn’t related to chewing).

As the livestock fair gains momentum, the pilgrims begin to flow into town. Their earthtone clothes, with highlights of orange and yellow bring life to the dusty brown of the fair. And their steady, silent gazes penetrate deeply, linking soul to soul.

Hindu pilgrims at the Pushkar Lake in Rajasthan, India, during the travel adventures of the Pushkar Camel Fair. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Hindu pilgrims walking to the sacred Pushkar Lake for morning prayer and bathing
© Meredith Mullins

The pilgrims gather around the lake every morning to bathe and pray, as the carnival noise rises in the distance. Their joy at being at this sacred site rivals the fairground fun, in a different way.

Camel Races, Turban Tying, and Mustaches (Oh My!)

Amidst the sacred atmosphere, the fairgrounds offer a variety of events—camel races, cricket matches, and the turban tying and mustache competitions.

Four entrants in the Pushkar Camel Fair mustache competition in Rajasthan, India, a place for travel adventures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Hopeful mustache competition contenders
© Meredith Mullins

It’s hard not to be drawn in by the mustache competition. The staches look elegant and dignified and then the unfurling begins. Guinness World Records, here we come.

Indian man with long mustache at the Pushkar Camel Fair in Rajasthan, India, a place for travel adventures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

A mustache victory
© Meredith Mullins

“Oh, I See” Moments: Too Many To Count

The sensory stimulation of the Pushkar mela is overwhelming . . . not to mention the pressure of trying to decide which camel to take home.

More importantly, the spiritual feeling from the pilgrims seems to bring the world a bit closer together.

Three Hindu pilgrims at Pushkar Lake in Rajasthan, India, a place for travel adventures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Pilgrim blessings
© Meredith Mullins

The daytime desert heat and dust is brutal. After a few days, it was time to move on to the more travel adventures.

I was disappointed to miss the pilgrims’ mass bathing, which takes place at the end of the festival during the full moon. I can only imagine the visual and spiritual impact of thousands of pilgrims swimming in the lake, lit only by moonlight.

I was, however, filled with the beauty of the desert—the sounds and smells of an ancient time and the joy of a festival where faith and community prevail.

And I know I will return . . . because I did not yet select my camel.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Meredith Mullins 12 Comments

Adventure Travel/India

Nov

Inherited Wanderlust

by Eva Boynton on November 8, 2016

Three kids walking through a valley in Switzerland, illustrating how wanderlust is passed down in traveling families (image © Peter Boynton).

A family legacy can begin anywhere. My brother and I inherited our travel inspiration hiking through Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland.
© Peter Boynton

Traveling Families—At Home in the World

We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us. —Anonymous

Do adventures need to end when a family begins? “Absolutely not!” say families who choose to spend months or even years connecting and learning as they travel the world.

What does it take to get the show on the road?

Share the wanderlust. Make travel a priority by putting value on the experience; if it’s important to you, then it’s important to show your kids.

Meet two traveling families, who share the kind of “Oh, I See” moments that can happen only on the road. They may inspire you to create your own family legacy of wanderlust.

The Bicycling Family

Chris, Julie, Leo, and Charlotte Conk began their family travels in the summer of 2011, cycling 1100 km (683.5 miles) around Lake St. Jean in Quebec. Leo was 6 (pedaling) and Charlotte 4 (pulled in a chariot).

But they did not stop there. In 2015, they jumped at their chance to travel for a year. They sold their home in Quebec, bought bicycles, and pedaled 7,400 km (4,598 miles) to Guatemala. Leo, now 11, rode his bike, and Charlotte, 8, who started in a tandem bicycle, changed to her own bike along the way.

Four family members on bicycles, showing how traveling families share their wanderlust. (image © Conk family)

“Can you believe a family of four sold their home, bought bicycles, put everything on their bikes and pedaled to Guatemala?” asks Chris Conk.

Julie and Chris were both travelers before they met in Chiapas, Mexico. They recognize the personal importance of travel and the growth that comes from it. Chris explains, “We took this trip because we wanted to give our kids some perspective.”

A traveling family cycles on a dirt road surrounded by tropical plants, showing parents who share their wanderlust with their kids. (image © Eva Boynton)

Julie adds, “It’s important to keep doing what makes you, you, as a mother. It’s important for me to share my deepest values with my kids and stay true to myself.”

Travel gave the Conk family a chance to imagine together . . . daily. For their children, it was education by astonishment, world schooling, living education. It was also the freedom to daydream.

A young girl, part of a traveling family, draws at a picnic table, as she experiences her family's legacy of wanderlust. (image © Conk Family)

The Conks built their relationships with each other and the world. They teamed up to choose routes, find campgrounds and lodgings, try new foods, watch out for each other, and play together.

A young girl and boy playing in the water underneath a palapa in Guatemala, members of a traveling family that shares its wanderlust. (image © Sam Anaya A.).

On the road, they participated in random dance parties, drew their surroundings, wrote about their experiences, created cross-cultural connections, collected bottle caps in Cuba, and spoke three different languages across 8 countries. Most important, this traveling family came away with more dreams and fewer fears.

My Traveling Family

In 1938, our family legacy began with my grandfather, who traveled 3,000 miles around Europe by bicycle.

When my parents met, they explored Europe together, wandering through the Swiss Alps, French backroads, and Greek caves. My mother traveled overland from Europe to India (through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan) in 1977. My father started a tour company that took Americans (and his family) overseas to hike and cycle throughout Europe.

Little did they know, their travels were forming a family value that my brother and I would inherit.

Kids playing on a playground in Switzerland, showing how traveling families pass down inherited wanderlust (image © Peter Boynton).

My first memories of travel are of hiking and sliding in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, looking up at the surrounding snow-capped mountains. I remember cycling on roads with fields of lavender on each side in Provence, France. I complained about cycle travel then, though ironically it has turned into a life pursuit and my favorite mode of transportation and travel.

My brother and I grew up among the kindness of strangers. My mother explains being wonderfully surprised at how strangers “were so welcoming and interested when we traveled with little kids.”

A man carrying his son in France, showing the inherited wanderlust passed down in traveling families (image © Normi Burke).

On one occasion, my parents were traveling with my brother as a baby. They entered a store to spend the last of their travel money. Without hesitation, the owners of the store, an Italian couple, began kissing my brother’s pudgy arms and legs. They refused money from my parents and sent them away with free snacks and souvenirs.

My brother and I inherited wanderlust at an early age from seeing the beauty of the world and being surrounded by different cultures and languages. It is a family legacy that I have continued today and that my brother intends to share with his children.

Oh, I See the Family Values

Traveling families—like the Conks and my own—see travel as a critical family value. As my mother explains, “It changed me to travel. I became much more open-minded and aware of other people. Why wouldn’t I want that for my children?”

Through our family travels, I developed a comfort with change, the kind that comes from sleeping in a different bed every night. And I hold close the legacies of my parents—the wanderlust, the open-mindedness, and that comfortable feeling of being at home in the world.

Leo and Charlotte will likely know these legacies, too. And that’s a priceless inheritance.

Two silhouettes of people jumping in the Alps of Switzerland, showing how traveling families take advantage of their inherited wanderlust (image © Eva Boynton)

Follow the adventures of Bicycling Family.

Want the secret to how families make travel happen? Check out 14 Nomadic Families. See more about the Conk’s trip in this video.