Carole's Travelogue

One doesn't travel around the world and live with different cultures without encountering adventures of some sort. This is my special page where I will share with you anecdotes I remember from my travels and stays in Africa, Haiti, India, Japan, French Guiana and, yes, New Mexico. As I discovered throughout my peregrinations, laughter and laughing at oneself are the best answers to many predicaments.


From poison root and saliva....
Living with the Wayana Indians in the Amazonian Forest of French Guiana took some getting used to, first because of their aloofness and second because of their peculiar diet. Manioc, a root also called cassava, supplies the Wayana with their favorite beverage, a drink known as kasili or cachiri drunk by the panful. Kasili is made from fermented manioc root and is drunk by nearly everyone, children as well as adults. In its natural state, manioc contains a poison, hydrocyanic acid, which must be removed. So the manioc is boiled in river water to remove the poison by evaporation. Then older women chew cassava cakes and spit them into the pot so as to aid the fermentation process with saliva.
I had read about this process in my research on the Wayanas and had wondered how I would fare when confronted with it. So I had brainwashed myself before hand, imagining my own grandmother spitting into the pot. And when it was offered to me, which was quite often, I found myself casually drinking it and not offending my hosts with a rejection. (National Geographic Jan 83)



...to Voodoo!
Every year, pilgrimages to Ougou Feray (alias St James) bring voodooists to Plaine-du-Nord in northern Haiti, where they get into a trance and hurl themselves into a mud pond to be blessed by the spirits they worship. However energizing the ceremonies by the mud pond may be to the pilgrims, after four days of watching and covering the scenes, I felt emotionally worn out, not to mention the sickly smell of mud mixed with blood from animal sacrifices, of fresh basil used for good fortune and of everyone's sweat, all permeating the air. So it was with relief that I saw the festival come to an end.
Then it happened! A big push when I least expected it, and before I knew it, there I was in mud to my waist, with my cameras, in the deepest, thickest part of the pond. A roar of laughter coming from all around the pond filled my ears and hysterical laughter burst out behind me. I turned to see a young woman in red, possessed by Ougou, who threw in Creole " Now you know how it feels to be in the mud!" As I was helped out of the viscous, sticky mud, someone confirmed "You have been blessed by St James for the whole year!" Well, I cannot say that I enjoyed the experience, but I appreciated it enough to keep on smiling. I guess my coverage would not have been complete without it, and the mischievious spirits knew it. Luckily my jacket flew up as I fell in the mud, protecting my cameras. (National Geographic March 85)



An impromptu dip in the river
At the beginning of my four-month stay with the Wayana Indians, I was mostly ignored by them. However gradually the Wayanas' reserve seemed to thaw and I recall one memorable morning when I was invited to go swimming in the rapids of the river. "Yepe, yepe, Mehke! - Comrade, comrade, come!" called a six-year old named Ayupan from midstream as I strolled along the bank. He suddenly arched his naked bronze body against a moss-covered rock in midstream, letting the current sweep over him and crown him with a halo of flying droplets.
What fun, I thought. Both the scene and the invitation were irresistible and I slipped into the water some distance upriver from Ayupan. But I mistook the current and suddenly found myself sucked away from the bank and launched downriver, bobbing like a cork. Help! As I hurtled past Ayupan, I caught the flash of a puckish smile, and then I collided with a large rock and was pinned to it by the current. Glancing ashore, I discovered that nearly the whole tribe was enjoying my impromptu performance. Finally a teenage boy came to my rescue and I made it back to the bank, amid the smiles and laughter of the gallery of spectators. There was nothing to do but join in the laughter. After a time we trooped back to the village together. That day, I had been accepted by the Wayanas. (National Geographic Jan 1983)



My favorite means of tranportation
My favorite means of transportation in the sub-saharan region of Burkina Faso (West Africa) was the camel. I had bought this camel from a Muslim who was selling it to pay for his pilgrimage to Mecca. My camel, Hasselraf, was the best camel a photographer could ever wish for. He would turn to the right, or to the left, just as many steps as needed for me to take a certain picture. On camelback I used to travel to the various Fulani campgrounds.
Each time I would arrive, I'd find people laughing. I could not figure out why. Finally one day, I asked the local guide who traveled with me "Why are people always laughing when they see me coming?" He smiled and replied "That's because in these societies, women don't ride camels, men do, and when they realize you're a woman, they find it very funny!"(National Geographic Apr 80)




Red or Green? That is the question in New Mexico
On a recent expedition in New Mexico with very congenial participants, we stopped for lunch at a New Mexican restaurant. When taking our order, the waitress asked Bob, our older participant: - "What would you like from our menu?"
- "The stuffed peppers."
- "Beef or chicken?"
- "Chicken."
-"Red or green?" asked the waitress.
-".......????" Bob was not only speechless, the dumfounded look on his face was such, we all burst out laughing!
Bob was then explained that "Red or Green?" is the most famous question in New Mexico, as to whether you wish the red or the green chili salsa that is automatically served with the dish. "I didn't know what she meant and suddenly visualized green chicken" Bob said to us afterwards "and that was not very appetizing!"
That funny incident went a long way to make us laugh as we teased Bob for the rest of the trip - red or green?






More to come....