On the road again

Up up the spindly road we went, trotting along in our gypsy caravan under an unexpected thunderstorm... 

Rain saturated the forest, and it made it seem dark, and verdant... 

Green, luxuriant nature... nature so green and lavish you may think you're heading towards some remote rainforest... 'the jewels of the earth'--as they've been called.  

The hoarse, cawing voices of crows are the chattering and screeches sounds of capuchin monkeys high atop the trees, and the sound of birds the voices of some misty cloud forests teeming with wildlife...  I can hear them... parrots, iguanas, monkeys and poison dart frogs... 

But in reality, it's just us camping again... this time, in a mysterious and legend riddled Park, where for the most part, the only wild animal you will find (and that's for sure) is the black bear.  

The park is indeed occupied by the black bear.  We're sharing their habitat.

  

And we're made aware of this fact by the rangers the minute we arrived.  We should have brought with us a whistle.  Three short blasts on a whistle are known as a call for help, in case any of these creatures of the forest decide to visit the campgrounds, but we didn't know this, and the only weapon to defend ourselves we posses is a hammer.  Good luck with that!

We had to set up camp under the rain...

Windows had to be left unopened to protect our quarters from getting wet... 

While dinner was prepared inside.

Damped hair; 

it goes so well with a soul warming drink

After our gypsy caravan was setup and the rain subsided... we went down to the lake...  the Fisherman and I

At the ranger's station the Fisherman got me a magical bracelet adorned with dangling water charms.... seahorses, starfishes, dolphins and seashells...

If you shake them they would do strange and wonderful things for you...



Like guiding you to this floating island

and pass the island, over to a witch's den

In the hollow of some mysterious tree...

I like how my magical bracelets jingle on my arm... shall I continue shaking it I may end up atop a tree in a bird's nest, or maybe I could be send across the lake beyond the horizon to some faraway enchanted land...  so I best be good and keep very still...

This time, my gypsy quarters are festooned in new fabrics and bright pillows.

There's always something new something bright something magical to make you dream...

Tonight we'll sleep under a dark, starless sky; shrouded in the sound of rain we'll drift away in dreams... the taunting sound of rain outside making me feel warm and dreamy.... and like the Ophelia of Shakespeare I'll drift away in the canoe of night down a dark and silent lake just before I drown in dreams...

I love camping.  I love our gypsy caravan!

See you soon, friends!

By the lake...

It is so hot, that the air that comes out of my mouth is a blaze from a dragon's throat... am I dreaming? at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but maybe... somehow.... did I turn into some scaled, reptilian creature with two legs and two wings? 

That's how hot it is... but a blessed, wonderful breeze is blowing, and it is making me happy, and it is making the trees happy too.  I can see arms-branches swaying to the songs sang by supple green leaves... bringing fresh wonders and thankfulness to light in the skies...

We decided to park our gypsy caravan up among the trees this time...

Oh we didn't have to climb up here oh no...  it is just that the space we chose to camp is located on a high plateau topping the crests of trees...

So our windows and balconies are within reaching distance from the canopies... 

Our gypsy caravan is situated in a somewhat narrow space, not too comfortable to move around when cooking, etc... but perfect for a night's repose up high among the trees and thus partially hidden away from the stares of nearby campers, which, if I may say so, are always way too close for our liking...

We have discovered that camping around here it really does compromise your privacy...  people are practically on top of you; the campgrounds being extremely close to each other... we have tried some beautiful National Parks and the activities are great, but the sites are so cramped....  unfortunately, we have yet to find a place that has secluded sites.

If you ask me, I prefer boondocking like we used to do up North, with maybe two or three families scattered somewhat near you, so you won't feel completely isolated in some remote, wilderness location, but never too close.  

Beautiful natural surroundings, quiet locations... privacy privacy privacy, and just few rules, with no need for reservations or check-out times.... free, remote, wilderness far from civilization, with only few neighbors....  those are my preferences...  but I'm determined to enjoy our moments here...

I selected some pretty greenery from our lush surroundings and made some lovely bouquets to adorn our gypsy camper with... 

It never cease to amaze me... the simple beauty brought by any type and size of greenery in a pretty vase. We tend to forget that leaves, just as much as flowers, can look quite stunning in an arrangement...

Then, I proceeded to hung up all the pretty gypsy veils 'round my gypsy quarters...

I'm thinking turquoise, emerald green, blush pink, faded red and tarnished golds... let’s indulge our wildest gypsy fantasies!

And make gypsy headpieces...

Veils, tiaras and hair wreaths in itty bitty flowers from the fields are perfect for special occasions such as playing and dreaming in your gypsy caravan...

And jewelry too.... lots of it!  

In tarnished gold, silver, adorned with colorful stones, the biggest, dangliest chandelier earrings and armfuls of jingling, jangling bangles...

Fields and gypsy caravans of course

Bright colors in the gypsy kitchen

Blogging in my girly gypsy quarters too! ;)

After I finished adorning our nest and playing around a bit, I headed down to the lake to see what my lover the fisherman was up to...

I found him fishing alone under that frank openness of sky and space, and in that moment...

my little heart became a butterfly
in such tenderness and true love...

Til my body is dust

'til my soul is no more

I will love you, love you

'Til the sun starts to cry

and the moon turns to rust

I will love you, love you

But I need to know - will you stay for all

time...forever and a day

Then I'll give my heart 'til the end of all

time...forever and a day

'Til the storms fill my eyes

and we touch the last time

I will love you, love you

I will love you, love you...

(Fisher - I will love you)

There's a magical tree planted in the lake where our gypsy caravan is... I see it dancing in green feathery tutus under enchanted breezes and my soul spins with it, in ballerina dreams... 

The roots of this tree drink from the balm of life of murky waters... it lives in waters, but its heart subsists in air.   That's how I see it.

Then I left the dock and went back to our camp to prepare dinner...

Pasta fagioli with vegetarian tofu sausage for dinner...

The Fisherman loves pasta!

...and of course, we do have to have our cup of hazelnut caramel latte 

sitting among the trees

sipping it slowly with contented hearts...

"a la puesta del sol"

Down in that jungle down there I hear some unidentified creature foraging for food among the dried leaves... I try to locate where the sound is coming from, and what's making it, but can't seem to figure it out... I then like to imagine that we're in some jungle somewhere and that the mysterious sounds I hear are the crash of small branches under the weight of some wild animal, and the clatter and swish of monkeys in their habitat, but they're really just squirrels...

Soon the sky would grow darker, it will get painted sapphire on cerulean one stroke at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night, but by then we will be cozying up in the comfortable nest of our gypsy caravan....

Reading books and magazines by the light of headlights
as we try to identify the sounds of wild animals outside as they coo, screech and chatter.

Well, I hope you enjoyed our little gypsy escapade... 

and I hope you didn't find this post a little too long or a little too boring... 

we certainly had a lot of fun!

See you all soon!

Cielo