Embracing The Savage - Part 3
Truth or Consequences. How's that for a dramatic introduction? Well, it's simply the name of the town where I stopped next. It used to be known as Hot Springs until 1950 when the town decided to rename itself for a radio show contest. I enjoy some Thai food (yes, again) there before indulging myself for a few hours in the nearby hot springs.
It's close to sunset by the time I find my way to a hostel in Santa Fe. Hostels are a good way to travel if you're solo and a right of passage for backpackers & wanderers the world over. The neat thing about this particular one was that as a non-profit they receive left-over but perfectly good food from nearby restaurants. I have a good feeling about the place as I roll in. The staff are friendly and I immediately start bumping into people. The first is a Brazilian man of Japanese heritage who had also left his job recently and was on a road-trip. However, unlike me, he has a plan. A grand tour of South America with his wife. Travelling to see the world was one of the reasons he had left his job while travel is how I channel a curiosity to seek. A few of us hit the town to explore the local nightlife. It's a diverse group now including a Pakistani-American man and two French girls.
The Pakistani man runs a credit repair company he started, is well settled in LA and is looking for connection and meaning. This journey allows him to witness previously unimagined aspects of the human condition - something not even his meditation practice or myriad Tony Robbins books scratch the surface of. The French girls are more typical of the majority of travellers from the Global North, who take advantage of strong passports, purchasing power arbitrage, the ability to work for a few months in odd jobs in Europe etc. and then roam the world. Loose family ties and social-welfare systems in their home countries grant them access to a lifestyle that unfortunately is inextricably linked to their country's colonial past. Nice, well-meaning girls, but Truth or Consequences, right?
The next morning, I'm wearing a partially zipped-up hoodie with no t-shirt underneath and reading a book on a bench outside. Totally relaxed and at-ease with my nothingness. I'm bothered by Fred, the Brazilian, who rather contemptuously asks if I plan to just chill. He just doesn't get it. Like Diogenes to Alexander, I should be telling him to step out of my sun. Instead I acquiesce to his over-familiar overtures. The gang from the previous night are planning a visit to Meow Wolf. It turns out to be an interesting experience. Meow Wolf is a local artist collective that build immersive environments. This one is a family home that appears to have been the site of some kind of outer-dimensional event.
Another cool thing about the hostel is that the staff are all volunteers there. I learn that in exchange for a certain number of hours everyday and a six-month commitment, they offer free accommodation. It's less than a week since I hit the road and I've already found a place where I've been invited to stay for a while. But I'm on a quest. For what? For whom?
NOTE: For whom? That last part appears to be something missing from the world view of not just certain explorers and seekers, but of scientists, businessmen etc. who have been raised within a certain dominant paradigm.
My exploration continues with a scenic day-trip to the mountain town of Taos with the two girls. There are two routes to Taos from Santa Fe and we take the "High Road". The girls are friendly, polite and enjoy the drive. They've realised that I'm not the typical happy-go-lucky traveler they often encounter and give me space. However, they invite me to meet them in some other part of the world. Maybe a beach in Australia and I would be more receptive to their charms.
Taos is a little treasure. It is home to Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO world heritage site as it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the United States. It's a truly magical feeling being in the village with fresh mountain air and spring water. However, it is tinged with sadness that this is one of the last remaining vestiges of First People's life and it has been reduced to being a tourist attraction. Apt, I suppose, that photos of the village I have are ones taken by accident as I tried to capture a canine.
It's interesting to juxtapose this sacred spot with Meow Wolf's dimensional domicile. The American fascination with doomsday scenarios, aliens, alternate dimensions and other sci-fi phenomenon in it's sub-cultures and mainstream reveals a thirst for knowledge & wisdom that is held by the guardians of this land. Yet the people with all these questions look far into space or deep inside an atom for answers, when they might be available closer to home.
We make our way to another hot springs and this time I alternate between freezing cold river water and the thermal pools. There are some young hipsters from Santa Fe hanging out. Taos, on the surface, seems to have everything as people flock there for its vibrant arts scene and adventure sports like skiing. Again, a little bit of perspective in that it lacks the diversity of Santa Fe and could be considered a playground for a certain strata of society.
Truth OR Consequences may have been charming at a time when the boomers were being born, but Truth AND Consequences is the reality of today. Saying the truth has consequences.
The day ends with a return on the "low road" to Santa Fe and some craft sodas along the way.