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Chapter 11: Dreadlocks and Shaman (Huacachina)

Written by Juliet Bennett
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Oh man! This was sooooooooo fun!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnArtFFclg0[/youtube]

Aside from the insanely fun sliding down monstrous sand-hills, at this little Oasis in southern Peru we received messages from the universe including a recommended hostel in Cusco that had far more significance than we could ever imagine. Around a campfire a group of hippies shared their experiences drinking Ayahuasca, a spiritual plant, and told me how I too could find the shaman in jungle should I want to experience it to. I want. I want. I want.

Adventure,

Chapter 8: The Three Amigos (Cuenca)

Written by Juliet Bennett
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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr29d167PlQ[/youtube]

The local boys (that they met in Quito) show the girls the university town by day and by night: city lookouts, alcoholic shots in backseats of cars, coffee shops and museums that introduce Juliet to the indigenous “cosmovisions”. With Lola bridging the language barriers, Juliet learns about the local (mainly Catholic) religions and (mainly Capitalistic) attitudes, values and aspirations, which lead her to reflect on the idea of indoctrination, and the roots of dominant religious and capitalist worldviews.

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Chapter 7: Enchanted Islands (Galapagos)

Written by Juliet Bennett
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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N76Jnhv_7O4[/youtube]

30th November till 6th December last year we were at the Galapagos….

A month before “The Year of Darwin” – Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday and the 150-year anniversary of Origins of Species – I stepped onto the Enchanted Isles with more than age (26) in common with my hero.

Charles and I both defied our fathers expectations for us: for Charles this involved the rejection of a career in medicine and for me it was a career in the corporate business world.

Both Charles and I came from strong Christian backgrounds (Charles was a clergyman and I a was once a Sunday School teacher and unknowingly a fundamentalist Christian).

We both are (some-what) self-taught scientists (although mine more in the social-sciences than Charles).

And we were both inspired by the enchantment of Galapagos to question the significance of humanity’s connection with animals and nature, and wonder what this means for our lives.

Incredible encounters with iguanas, sea lions and cubs, ancient turtles, fish, crabs, birds, eagles, death, love, families, English teachers, Ecuadorian boys, planes, boats and tummy bugs – these are just some of my experiences of the Galapagos Islands.

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A novel in the making…

Written by Juliet Bennett
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On the 19th of November last year I left Australia on the most exciting adventure of my life thus far – a crazy fast tracked expedition around South America. A desire had been growing ever since I’d noticed the incredible energy of my Brazilian friends in Tokyo. Brazilians seem to sing and dance through life. Their language, the way they walk, the way they talk – so sexy, relaxed and cool.

I’d also begun writing a number of books, wanting to communicate particular ideas or my crazy experiences, but none of them had been quite right. Yet it was one year ago now that the stars aligned in my favor. I had travel buddies, my ticket, and a pen and paper – something inside me told me this was my book. A travel novel/ spiritual journey – Eat Pray Love meets Bill Bryson but with a little chick lit thrown in for the fun of it…

Synopsis/back cover:

With wild fantasies, insatiable curiosity and deep faith, Juliet sets off on a fast-tracked expedition around South America. Along the way she strips lust, love and life down to bare facts, honest truths and confronting realities. Join the adventure: follow Darwin’s footsteps in Galapagos, explore ancient Inca mysteries, and chase men across salt-lakes, deserts, volcanos and coastlines. Learn, laugh, cry, dance, and fall in-love. A tale of friendship, love, and connecting with a universe that conspires to make everything you dream come true. This travel memoir, biography and spiritual journey is revealing, challenging and peace-inspiring.

Three months flew yet felt like three years. The journey felt like the book was already written, we were just playing out our roles in its movie (which I believe will come one day too). But back in Sydney my studies stole my time and only now are the stars are realigning in my book’s favor. This month I’m going to write as much as I can. And then try to find a publisher… in the meantime I thought I might share a few snippets and film clips with you, posting them on their one year anniversaries.

Adventure,

Chapter 6: A Secret Garden (Quito)

Written by Juliet Bennett
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The girls visit the equator, change hostels, Juliet teaches a Pilates series that Rachel and Lola (and readers) can do every morning before they get out of bed. They visit a museum and journey through the history of South America, learn about indigenous cultures, learn about Amazon cocoa plants from a scientist, and party with Senor Soul (from the Lima-Guayaquil bus) and two English guys from their hostel. Juliet has her first confronting experience with poverty. Very hungover the next morning they make their way to the airport.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDM6AMO7gtE[/youtube]

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Chapter 5: Porque no (Guayaquil)

Written by Juliet Bennett
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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SWSTmcIUsQ[/youtube]

The girls arrive in Guayaquil hoping to meet a rich local that will sail them to Galapagos. Instead they end up at the DreamCapture hostel dealing with unexpected difficulties surrounding getting to Enchanted islands. They meet a spiritual sleeze who shares his understanding of the Mayans 2012 prophesies, takes the girls on a tour of the city and leaves them to a lighthouse lookouts, leopard-print corsets, and cocktails.

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Chapter 4: The Gringo Trail (Peruvian Coast)

Written by Juliet Bennett
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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlQ46sp1feQ[/youtube]

Travelling from Lima in Peru to Guayaquil in Ecuador on a 30-hour bus ride without so much of a 10-minute pit stop to remind our legs what the solid ground feels like. The “solid” ground wasn’t so solid for a few days after our eventual arrival. Senor Soul and Senor Romantico, our new Ecuadorian friends, kept us entertained.

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Chapter 3: Jesus is Calling (Lima)

Written by Juliet Bennett
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Noting that Jesus, in Spanish, is pronounced Hesoos… the name of a boy we met there…….

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m3XzTqiN4s[/youtube]

And yes – that is Kevin Rudd shaking hands with Mr George Walker Bush at an APEC conference in Lima while we were there. And yes – all the Aussies in the room did throw up in their mouths when they saw it… or at least roll their eyes and shake their heads…

A snippet:

‘Did you know the justification for the conquest of South America came down to the Pope?’ I asked the girls, hoping to share some of my newly gained knowledge. They shook their head. ‘Ok, get this: Jesus gave Peter responsibility over the souls of all men, who passed it on to the Pope and this legacy has passed from Pope to Pope ever since. And you see: since Jesus was God, and God created everything in the world, the Pope had a right to all the land and all the people of the world.’ I didn’t appear to be boring anyone so I continued. ‘King Ferdinand of Spain was mates with the Pope, and so a friendly exchange led to the Pope granted the right to the land of the Americas and the native peoples, to the Spanish empire.’ I was proud of my essay and happy to realise I actually had developed a good understanding of this topic. It was a satisfying to reflect on my development over the past few years. I’d gone from thinking Brazil was in Africa, to understanding the dynamics of the historical events and power plays involved in the division of colonialised areas of Portuguese-speaking Brazil, and the rest of the Spanish-speaking continent. Which, by the way, came from a treaty called the Line of Demarcation, negotiated after Portugal, outraged by at the Pope’s grant, threatened Spain with war.[1] At the time the Line of Demarcation was drawn 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands but now it has moved inland to create the shape we find Brazil today

[1] Gonzalez, and Gonzalez, ‘Christianity in Latin America: A History’, p. 28. Recorded in the Treaty of Tordessilas in 1494; and a later agreement the Treaty of Sargossa in 1529.

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