trip lag

i woke up two mornings ago at 4am and started playing with my magnetic poetry set. my jetlagged body (not to mention my mind) were awake as if it was already day, despite my having gone to bed a mere 4 hours before that. funnily enough, adjusting my body clock from the time zones of London and Rio de Janeiro (8 hours to 12 hours away) has proven a hefty lot more difficult than when i did it the other way around flying into Rio some 2 1/2 months ago. Somehow, my poetic juices refused to flow and i lay back in bed, semin-conscious and in a dream-like mood, thinking back over all that i experienced on my trip, the many principles and values of life that i learned or became "suddenly enlightened on" amidst the stunning splendour of nature, and the new projects conceived out of inspirations gathered on the journey that surely has moved me along the path of life..

postcard-like images swept into my mind. the brilliant multi-coloured skies of Patagonia, bending as if they were conforming to the southern dome of our planet. Guanacos bouncing over the fences that ran for miles alongside flat, arid private farmlands that one could easily mistake for the steppes of Africa or Mongolia. Rheas scurrying out of the way as our four-wheeler kicked up fine sand and dust on the dirt roads that ran like ribbons for hundreds of painful suffocating miles at a time. Camping to the twinkling lights of a thousand glow-worms and the millions of stars in the clear dark skies, and the mysterious sounds of the nights. the mind-blowing sight of the Perito Moreno glacier as it pierced my heart and soul. the thunderous roars and white fumed mists of the 275 waterfalls that make up Iguazu falls. The uninhibited smiles and laughter of the happy children of Brazil. the well-toned, beautifully oiled bodies exhibited on the stunning crescent beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana. the adventure stories of other backpackers we met on our trip. Meeting UFO researchers like Mr Marranti. Seeing for the first time in my life pink flamingoes, rare Patagonian geese, pelicans, woodpeckers, hummingbirds and raspberries growing in the wild. The craggy peaks and slopes of the Andes. The grandeur of Mt Aconcagua perfectly reflected in the lake fronting it. The surprised sighting of Powerpuff girls and other popular cultural icons on sale in the shops of Ushuaia, the southermost city in the world.

I breathed the fresh morning air deeply and closed my eyes. And for a moment, if just for a moment, i almost imagined myself still on the journey. And far away from SARS...