Almost there... Salsa! The Sauces of South America!

Really it's not so difficult. I write in the witching hours when fuss is at a minimum and well before the city comes to full din and babel. I find no burden in scribbling to the piercing spotlight of my lonely lamp, wrapped in darkness filled with Songs Without Words by Mendelssohn. Really any voiceless classical piece will do simply because I prefer to commune with my inner voices. It is from these that the writing comes.

I write on the road or at this desk where I share experiences from that endless rhythm of countryside, hotels and restaurants. At altitude, in low lying jungles or facing the sea the roads slip stream together connecting me with the world. I travel rough and fast for days on end and when weary I sleep in a dark room with nice linens and where hot water comes out of the showerhead. 

I've traveled by bus, taxi and sailboat from South America to Mexico. I´ve rattled through 9 of 10 time zones of Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway and voyaged the reverse route (west to east) through the straits of Magellan holding onto the rail, wine glass in the other hand.  With no reservation, I arrive and make arrangements to store my gear. Directly, I move to the market with notebook and camera… it is there I take the pulse of a place. It is said there is no wealth in this world without food production. And in the market you readily see the health of a regions fields and orchards. The strength of commerce in fruit, grain and meats is measured in urgency of clients hungry to buy. It is from there I end up in kitchens. A conversation over ingredients turns into an invitation. It's with the cooks of the world, I feel most at ease. Tasting, discussing local cuisine and a technique or simple trick which makes all the difference; this is what gives me joy. I chronicle life from the kitchens and it's this spark that compels me to write. All of this I find easy.

It is the editing, ISBN numbers, reading copy write law and formatting a book for publishing that makes me anxious. The minutia best left to the professionals is what kills creativity in the self-publishing writer. Instead of working on book two, I am doing what makes me crazy. So sincerely, I believe it’s now time to look for dinner and a good glass of red.

Now available - "Salsa!The Sauces of South America" & "HotList South America" an essential addendum to your travel guide of choice. Both just $3.99 at Amazon.com! Meanwhile, writing continues on "Down East ~ Boston to St. John's" & "SnowBlind in the Andes ~ Sacred Leaf to Cocaine Tourism."

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2014. All Rights Reserved. 
mickhuerta@gmail.com 
All Accordin' - Travel, Culture, Food & Drink! 

Slow Travel through the Hinterlands - Bolivia

The journey from the Cochabamba Valley at 2548 m (8360 ft) to La Paz, Bolivia at 4061.5 m (13325 ft) is a trek of a mere 240 Km (149 miles). Doesn´t sound like a great distance but when you consider the less than optimal single lane roads, rest stops and the climb to altitude, the passage requires approximately 8 hours to complete. But fortunately there´s a couple of Bollywood or Jackie Chan films to enjoy on the overheads and my favorite part being the long siesta en route to my destination. Oh, there´s the odd entertainment of babies crawling up the aisle as mothers snooze or the forever on-going unsolved conundrum of fellow passengers gathering their bundles to make good their escape into the expanse of the Altiplano, no pueblo or gathering of souls to be seen anywhere on the horizon. None, not one, nothing. They get out and move on...

The panoramic vistas are nothing less than stunning all along the way. My trip began with the scruffily overgrown Cochabamba and onto the village of Capinota where two rivers entice amazing amounts of verdant green from the countryside. There the climb begins to wend upward to the Altiplano where scrub vegetation grows sparse and gives way to barren rocks and tufts of scraggy grasses that feed alpacas and llamas. Eventually, you arrive at El Alto, a tenuous huddle of a million people (cum city) sprawling on the edge of La Paz situated in the canyons below. This is one of the few places in the world where the wealthy live at elevations lower than the poor. Why? At these heights the lower the altitude the more oxygen, higher temperatures and the better the gardens grow.

It makes for a long trip but it is more lesson in culture and topography and an opportunity to chat with people I´d never meet otherwise. I don't often travel by bus in Bolivia but when I do I enjoy the experience of slow travel and all it has to offer, including the luxury of not having to drive in an untamed land.

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2011. All Rights Reserved.
mickhuerta@gmail.com
Travel, Culture, Food & Wines