Sayonara, Sayulita

It was a shock to leave 85 degree moist air on Mexico's Pacific Coast to come home to "Smokeland" where it's 53 degrees, dry, with thick apocalyptic smoke from the fires in Northern and Southern California.

Looking over photos of the trip, puts me back in the mind-set of gratitude for all I got to experience in twelve short days.

Henrique, my favorite shaman from Brazil, with whom I've studied since 2004, is very brave to set foot out of the country of his birth for the first time in his life. Accompanied only by translator Juliana, and Janaína, a helper person from the huge community there in Belo Horizonte, he comes to Sayulita to teach us, guide us and heal in us what he can. We are fifteen participants from British Columbia, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, and Washington. Another translator, Ana, joined us for eight of the twelve days.

We are hosted by a couple who have been going to Brazil to work with Henrique since 2010. Their compound is called Corazon (Heart), and is

comprised of innumerable luxurious white-washed casitas on a hillside overlooking the Pacific. The dusty and muddy roads into town are the only residual evidence that Hurricane Willa lashed her tail at Sayulita in October. Luckily, the timing of this very special gathering was perfect.

Palapa is a new word in my Spanish vocabulary. There are at least two on Corazon's property. One is the main outdoor room where we nineteen folk meet, work, sing, and learn each day. Seventy feet long by thirty feet deep, the main palapa has roofing made of palm fronds secured only by weaving them in and out of cross beams made of a particular wood that must be harvested on the new moon, which is low-tide for sap. When fronds or trees are full of sap, they attract the termites which can devour the palapa in a matter of months because they're sweet and tasty to the hungry buggers. 

My two roommates and I stayed in a casita called Tres Amigos. Here we are under the circular palapa between kitchen and pool. 

 Janaína and I speak Portuguese very slowly. She is Henrique's helper, singer, and arranger of ceremonial objects. My refresher, on-the-ground-crash-course in Brazilian Portuguese this trip allowed me to translate many conversations for students into English, and into Spanish for the wait-staff at Corazon and English into pigeon Portuguese and Spanish.  

On our first night as sun drops into the Pacific, students gather to bask in the glow and look at mandalas chalked onto a roof-top floor. Some of us then go to see the remnants in town of celebrations of Día de los Muertos. There is a large Huichol population in Sayulita and one street off the plaza is decorated ornately in their particularly colorful traditional designs. 

On another street, Ana,  Henrique and Janaína stop to admire store-front decorations. Doing my best to understand and join in conversations.  Portuguese is pure poetry.

 Yet another roof-top. Where students Melissa and Tom rented an Air B 'n' B further uphill from Corazon, showing off  magnificent sunset views over the bay where Sayulita nestles on Pacific shores. We sing along with Andrea Bocelli on the iPad.

Off the top of my head selfie with Juliana, Henrique, & Janaína.

 With Juliana.

Jaguar watches over all.

Hearts appear everywhere!

Dining al fresco.

Good food too!

Hard to say Sayonara to Sayulita, but it's good to be home... in Oakland/Smokeland even with its cold, dry, and smokey air. There's no place like home.