Never say goodbye.

Traveling is a perfect way to realise which friendships and relationships are about to survive while being away from loved ones. When you let go of someone, it doesn't mean you don't love them anymore. It means, your paths went in different directions and both will be better off on their own paths. It means you gave each other everything you needed and wanted to give to each other. It means you both learned something and benefit from the relationship. The lesson unfolded and now it's time for new things to come into your life. And maybe, just maybe, your paths will cross again at some point.

I write about letting go in my 4th chapter of Essence of life on the road, when I had to learn to say goodbye to people I loved so deeply while working or living with them in a certain country.

We suddenly live in timelessness when we are together. 

And then we unstring ourselves from this timelessness 

and each of us continues their own path. 

We don't get attached to beautiful moments, 

we let go of those moments in all their glory, 

so we are able to receive new ones. 

We never say goodbye, 

NEVER, 

but we still carry each other in our hearts wherever we go.

My angel on Earth.

You must have heard of this quote: 

"Never say goodbye, because saying goodbye means going away, and going away means forgetting." P. Pan

Have a great day and love deeply.

Fears

Oh my, how time flies. This picture is exactly 8 years and 4 days old. My very first backpacking on Dec 11th 2006.

Neja, Saber & Mayita

Morocco will always hold a special place in my heart, because this was the trip when I decided I'll start to fight my fears and never bring myself down again. I strongly decided I will give myself everything I deserve and make all wishes come true. I didn't know how I'll achieve this, but at that point I knew, I will be gaining unforgettable experiances and relationships with different people. I promised myself I will open my eyes and heart to different cultures, point of views and exploring the unknown. This was the best decision in my life and would never change it. It was never easy, there was a lot of struggling and pain. Traveling is not all about the beaches, great weather and photos you share on facebook. It looks like that, but is NOT...

It's basically all about getting to know your deepest corners of your soul, fighting your biggest fears, letting go of past, learning how to love the present moment and finding out how strong you truly are.

On the picture is Neja, my first travel mate, that I feel so sorry for her, cos she had to travel with me, because at that time I was so full of fears and highly judgemental. And this handsome man is our lovely Saber, who took us on a wild journey, visiting his family all around the country. And present us the islam, which is still one of my favorites religions out there (and yea, let's not talk about the media version of it!!)

Surprise yourself with doing something new! 

Promise yourself to make your biggest wish come true!

 YOU deserve it.

It's the travelling that frees you!

Why is traveling so addictive? In my opinion it's not addictive because of all the beautiful places you see, the amazing food you try for the first time or because of lying on the beach doing nothing.

I'd say it is because traveling completely transforms you in a way you never even think it could. You're slowly letting go of prejudices of others, and as well of yourself. By observing other cultures and lifestyles you realise there are other ways to "do things" that are not necessarily the way your parents and teachers thought you. And it's OK. It's completely fine to adopt new ways of doing things. Adopt new ways of thinking and different perspectives in seeing the world around you. Traveling broaden your horizons in a way, that you truly start to believe you can achieve anything. That you're limitless and that borders are in your life just to remind you how strong you actually are to overcome them ALL! 

Beautiful people show you how to love everything around you...

and how to slowly start loving yourself as well. 

With all the good and all the bad. 

It's the travelling that frees you. 

But not necessarily the travelling around the world, 

but traveling to the core of your being. 

Get to know the WORLD and get to know YOURSELF.

And have a magnificent day and FREE yourself!

Mayita

Licorice root in Barca

I'm like a kid in the candystore at the local market, where I spend most of my time here in Barca! Exploring local herbs and making extra healthy tea out of fresh mint, fresh ginger, cardamom, local honey and the LICORICE. I've learned so much about licorice on nutrtion courses but never had a chance to use it yet!

Now I'm bringing plenty of its root back home. It is a root that is best to use in winter time for our kidney health, according to Traditional Chinese medicine. The most amazing effects has on adrenal glands, it brings them back to life and break down the stress hormone, cortisol. So it is perfect for people with lots of stress in their life. Best way to use it is in the tea together with mint, which will also nurture our lungs and problems such as bronhitis, asthma, etc.. Just boil the root in water together with some other herbs or grind it into the tea.

I'm sooo excited! My combinations I'm going to use for teas:

Licorice & he sho wu 

Licorice & ginseng or ashwaganda

Licorice & mint & cardamom

Yuuuum, have a great and healthy day yourselves as well!!

Sreča

Uff, kolikokrat sem raziskovala 

in sebe spraševala, kaj je bistvo. 

Po celem svetu sem iskala nekaj, česar bi se oprijela 

in kar bi imenovala sreča. 

Sreča je v majhnih stvareh, so mi dejali. 

Pa ni. 

Velikokrat je tudi v velikih ni. 

Če je ne znaš videti... 

...je NI. 

Sreča je v užitku vsakega slehernega momenta.

Škorpijon, ki se sonči in šopiri na gorskem soncu. 

Kavke na vrhu Robleka, ki mi na skrivaj jedo mojo proseno kašo. 

Sveža gorska voda in slastne mandarine za energijo in moč. 

Vsak edinstven moment na poti, 

ne pa samo cilj na koncu. 

Lep je dan, 

življenje pa še lepše.

Srečno POT!

Armenijski brandy

Danes nekaj o svetovno znanem armenijskem brandyju, katerega je zelo rad v svojih časih pil tudi W. Churchil. Stalin mu je namreč kot darilo, na leto razposlal okoli 100 steklenic te nebeške pijače, ki je narejena izključno iz belega grozdja. Brandy (konjak je imenovan izkjučno samo v regiji Cognac v Franciji) je hranjen v sodovih, kjer vsako leto skozi les »izpari« okoli 20 L. To imenujejo davek angelom in čeprav 85% vsega izvozijo v Rusijo, enega izmed največjih deležev vseeno dobijo angelčki. Zato ni čudno, da včasih kak naš angel varuh zataji, omamljen in blažen od armenijskega brandyja.

Today something about the world renowned Armenian brandy. W. Churchill was very impressed by its taste as well, since Stalin was sending him around 100 bottles every year as a gift. Brandy is made out of white grapes only. Brandy (they name it cognac only in the region Cognac in France) is saved in the wooden barrels, where every year evaporates around 20 L of brandy through the wood. This is called »a debt to the angels«. Even though 85% of brandy a year goes to Russia, still one of the biggest parts goes to the angels! So don't get angry if sometimes your guardian angel doesn't accomplish his work as it is a little bit tipsy and in »high spirits«

Pravijo, da je alkohol pijača hudiča. Ali veste zakaj trknemo s kozarcem ko nazdravimo? Včasih so verjeli, da zvok nazdravljanja s kozarcem odžene stran hudiča, ki ždi na robu. Ko pijemo brandy pa je protokol, da kozarec vedno držimo v levi roki, saj je tako bližje srcu.

They say an alchohol is a drink of a devil. Do you know why we clink the glasses? They believed the sound helped to drive off the evil spirits, that sit at the edge of a glass. When we drink brandy, by protocol we always take the glass in the left hand, as it is closer to our heart.

Brandy je najboljši ob zaključku večerje ob sladici, še posebej se mu dopade okus črne čokolade! Kombiniramo pa ga lahko tudi s sadjem in različnimi pecivi ter tortami. Zagotovo pa bo dobrodošel ob moji domači črni čokoladi, njaaam! Na zdravje! 

Brandy goes best with desserts, speacially dark chocolate. Also with fruits and cakes. Definitely will be a perfect fit to my homemade dark chocolate. Cheers!

Grobovi in razhajkani ostanki socializma

Pohajkovanje po armenskih motorističnih poteh se silno zapleta. Že res, da so pogledi na naravo izjemni, puščavski pridih na eni, jesenske barve listja na drugi strani, samo dodajo magičnosti pokrajine, a midva bi več. Od daleč opazujeva vasice in se podava na pot proti njim. Dobrih namenov, polna vprašanj ter upanja, da spoznava zanimive, drugačne ljudi in nabereva nove zgodbe v popotniško beležnico. Se naučiva kaj novega o življenju in spoznava Njih. Jah, če le srečava kakšno posebno armensko dušo, nama ta, sicer pripravljena na kak pogovor, takoj postavi pred dejstvo: "Ne govorita rusko?" In midva nazaj odvrneva v najini slovenski-hrvaški različici, da ne.

Vse kar opaziva so razhajkane socialistično razpadajoče mestne zgradbe, na drugi strani pa vasice, kjer so hiške silno ljubke, pred njimi pa gore sena, traktorji, živina in domači psi, ki sicer nakazujejo, da zagotovo kdo živi tam. A nikjer nikogar. Kot mesto duhov. "Kje so?", se sprašujeva. Po drugi strani pa se po celotni Armeniji razprostirajo zavidanja vredna pokopališča, do zadnje potankosti urejena, ob vsakem grobu opremljena celo s stoli in mizami. "Ni čudno, da so vasi prazne, če pa so vsi tukaj!! V živi in mrtvi obliki, namreč!" pripomni vedno šaljivi Zvone. In dozdeva se mi, da so Armenci še vedno zelo vezani na kruto preteklost, ki jo je zaznamoval genocid (l. 1915 je bilo pobitih od 1- 1,5mil ljudi), ki uradno nikoli ni bil priznan iz turške strani. Kot, da bi še vedno čakali na uradno priznanje in s tem dokončno tudi pridobili zadoščenje in mir v srcu.

Najina tura tako dobiva obliko in pomen v dolgih poteh in vožnjah v neznano, kjer sva se naučila, da ne pričakujeva ničesar več. Pozdraviva pastirje, počohava njihove pridne in delavne ovčarje, poslikava ovčke in krave, ter sva zopet nazaj na motorju. Na poti se ustaviva v domačih, malih lokalih, kjer se nekako zmeniva z mamami, kaj bi želela jesti. Prelepe ceste kar kličejo po čimveč prevoženih kilometrih in sprostitveni meditaciji, ko ob pogledih na kanjone, pobeljene tri tisočake in rdečo-rumenkast pogled v dolino ne zahtevava nič več kot to. In se prepuščava. "Veš Maja, večino popotnikov samo ždi po hostlih v Yerevanu, in se jim nič ne da, midva pa se vsaj trudiva. Raziskujeva. Greva med ljudi." mi še pripomni Zvone. . .

. . . in tako oddrviva naprej po fantastičnih asfaltnih poteh stepske Armenije. Kjer za nama že trobi policijska patrulja. Baje sva prehitra...ampak to je že druga zgodba.

Pobiranje krompirja v Zakavkazju

Čakalo naju je Črno morje, ko sva zapuščala Kavkaz 2 dni nazaj. Pogled na morje je bil absolutno osvobajajoč, pogled na obraz Zvoneta pa malo manj. Če sem se kaj naučila v teh nekaj dneh, je to, da Zvoneta nikakor NE vleči v turistične predele dežele! Nikakor! To je kot, da bi ribo dal na suho, ali še slabše, v puščavo. No čeprav bi Zvone v puščavi kar užival, načičkano moderni Batumi pa ga je odbil že prvo sekundo. Tja sva se namenila zgolj zaradi iranskega konzulata, vendar sva idejo o moji iranski vizi kaj hitro nato tudi opustila in po večeru nesoglasij med nama in po eni noči, ki sva jo tam vseeno žrtvovala, pobrala šila in kopita nazaj v gruzijske male vasice. Na teren, med blato, v planine, skupaj s kravami in prašički.

To je bilo zanj že malo bolj domače. Veselje pa je bilo trojno, ko sva sredi ničesar, med planinami srečala celo motoristično »mafijo« iz Estonije, kjer so fantje lahko malo pokremljali kako oh in sploh so gruzijske ceste kot nalašč narejene za motoriste. Pot po makedamskem terenu sva nadaljevala na 2000 metrov in se nato v gorski vasici na žvižge in vzklike domačinov ustavila pri eni od kmetij. Tam so naju najprej povabili na okopavanje krompirja, za nagrado pa nama je ata, poln navdušenja in dobrote želel cel motor naložiti s krompirjem! »Ne bo šlo, ata, ni prostora!« No na koncu sva se le zbarantala,, da jih vzameva 5 komadov, ostalo pa naj kar oni lepo shranijo za ozimnico. Medtem, ko sem jaz sklepala hude posle s krompirjem, pa je Zvone na poskusno vožnjo odpeljal hčerko kmeta, panični kriki matere ob tem dejanju, pa so se zagotovo slišali tja dol v dolino.

Po nekaj urni vožnji, slastnem domačem golažu, sva prispela v pravljično Vardzio, k domačinom na malo kmetijo, pot do tja pa je bila kar prava mala borba. Sem že omenila kako popadljivi so psi tukaj? Sploh tisti, ki čuvajo svoje predrage kravice. In ti zagotovo ne marajo motorjev! Zvone me je lepo opremil s kolom in kamni, tako da imava sedaj že pravo strategijo obrambe na teh poteh po vasicah. Zraven me je naučil še nekaj afriških krikov, katere uporabiva ko se psi zapodijo za nama in skušajo skočiti na motor. Malo za hec, malo za res. Po predolgem in predobrem dnevu pa preslastna večerja: postrv, čevapčiči, solata iz gob pa tista klasična "peasant salad" iz kumare in paradižnika. Slaste, enostaven in totalno osvežilen recept sem vam podala v postu Gruzijska kmečka solata.

Kavkaško razkošje

Rit ni prav nič utrujena od sedenja na konjičku, saj so oči ves čas zaposlene s pogledi, ki razkrivajo čare kavkaškega razkošja. Kravice, ki so najine zveste sopotnice so pravi balans kužkom, ki naju pošteno oblajajo, ko se preveč približava kakemu zasebnemu posestvu. No čeprav po pravici povedano pa je več takih, ki naju z migajočimi repki pozdravijo in najavijo svojim gostoljubnim gospodarjem. Ti nama z odprtimi srci in radovednimi pogledi postrežejo z lokalnimi dobrotami in se namesto konkretnemu pogovoru raje posvetimo nazdravljanju s čačo ali izjemnim vinom. Žulji namesto od sedenja na riti nastanejo od lovljenja ravnotežja ob pohajkovanju po ostrih skalah naproti vsemogočnemu ledeniku. Obrambni svanski stolpi pa se bohotijo v jesenskem soncu in v barvah listov gozda, ki naseljuje hribe mesteca Mestia.

Človek tule tako rajsko je, da bi si z veseljem zapisal kak nov recept v popotniško beležnico, če bi le znal besedo rusko. Mimika je glavni atribut v najinem kavkaškem vsakdanu, ki je vsakokrat pospremljen z obilico glasnega smejanja. Za zajtrk ajdova kaša, jajčka, popečena zelenjava in pecivo, za kosilo vse od kakijev, grozdja in hrušk, večerja pa kraljevska, polna gob, zelenjave, domačega kravjega sira s koruzno moko, za gospoda pa vrhunsko meso in krompir. Pa seveda orehov namaz in slastne omake iz oreščkov.

Jutri nazaj v dolino in naproti Črnemu morju, napoved pa dežna in snežna. Več: na Mayita Essence of life on the road