A fellow I know back home in Carrboro owns a kick ass coffee shop called Open Eye Cafe. If you live there, or if you’ve hit it up while passing through, you might refer to it as Carrboro’s “living room.” That’s a high compliment for a business that deals in mostly $2 transactions and a lot of internet poached by kids in Carolina blue sweatshirts. But it’s … Continue reading Tour de Espresso
Yesterday, on a bus en route to Teotihuacán, I wrote this in my journal: “Today’s the sort of travel day I love. Up early and out the door, got my bearings before the city woke up. Made the short walk to the Metro before 6am, took a jam-packed yet long, silent ride to the transfer station, then to Autobuses del Norte—the big bus station. I … Continue reading The Place Where Gods Are Born
The 1968 Summer Olympics were held in October, in Mexico City, Mexico. It was the first time the games took place in a Latin American country, and also the first to be held in a developing country. Mexico City beat out Detroit by twice as many votes in its bid to host. For many reasons, the 1968 games remain memorable and controversial. Here are some … Continue reading Smith & Carlos, 1968
It’s common for visitors to Mexico to get sick from any number of things: bad water, contaminated food, high altitude, or whatever. In fact, it’s so common that the condition is simply known as turista, which, duh, translates to tourist. I must have dodged a few bullets during my first week here because last night I ate at a stand I’d previously patronized. Dude who … Continue reading Turista
I don’t have a smartphone. Seems this simple fact is becoming more abnormal and inconvenient with the passage of time. I mean, really. My guides in the Sahara Desert had smartphones. I witnessed homeless people in Seville using smartphones. Shoot, even both of my parents have smartphones (no, this is not a joke). Technologically speaking, I’m not even a dinosaur, I’m like a freaking amoeba. … Continue reading Pass it Up
I’ve traveled many times to Mexico, but only to the Baja peninsula. I always sought off-beat destinations: the mud ruins of a Jesuit mission from the 1700s, an island lined with rotting shipwrecks, mysterious cave paintings hidden in high mountain ranges, and deserted beaches where I listened to songs of whales while staring at winter stars. That’s my Mexico. But as the plane makes its … Continue reading Dog in Mexico
Doing feeds at Farm Sanctuary got me in shape. No doubt. My housemate told me that once during a feeds shift she wore a pedometer and clocked her mileage at 12 miles. I typically did feeds five days/week, logging me more walking miles than I typically ran when training for an ultra. Needless to say, I slept well. On my last day there I lugged … Continue reading A Day of Feeds
For some time now I’ve been asking myself why. Why did I choose to work a ten week stint as an animal caregiver at Farm Sanctuary? Even some of my best friends have looked at me all confused as if my choice contradicted, well, something. Before I arrived, I had a quick answer that rolled off my tongue—I sought intentional separation from real life where … Continue reading The Edge is a Gift
Tom Griffen 