Hey all! Well we are back and Marcelo, myself and the baby have all survived, and even thrived at Burning Man 2013!

Wow what a whirlwind of a time! I actually didn't take any pictures, was taking a break from digital media, hehe, but there are some great pics of the camp we camped with including the domes and solar shower we used here. Pretty cool stuff! We also were part of a 2 meal per day vegan meal plan which was some of the most delicious and nutritious food I have ever eaten! Highlights include, roasted roots, kale salad, home made veggie burgers with avocado, home made (it was all made from scratch) tamales, grape leaves, hummus, buckwheat pancakes, quinoa dishes with pesto sauce, and so much other good stuff!

So it wasn't too hard staying healthy and energized with 2 fresh meals per day. We drank lots of water and coconut milk too. Also got lots of exercise riding bikes every where all day and night. So yes during the day we were busy doing all kinds of workshops, they literally give you a book when you enter listing the time and locations of hundreds of workshops, events, offerings, and parties!

Some of my event high lights include
-naked yoga class- yes I did!
-paint/dance your feminine mandala
-90's sing along
-cosmic shamanic sound healing
-make your own pasties - and yes I wore them! and danced in them!
-The practice of deep erotic attraction - the open sexuality and sexual expression was so liberating there!
-Friday night grilled cheeses!
-head, neck, and face massage
-Roller Disco! - yes, someone actually built an outdoor roller rink complete with skates and all..
-bringing playa (event) lessons home

and soooo much other stuff! The spirit of the event is to offer things to others just for the sake of kindness and giving. Many camps bring tons of extra food, drinks, and create spaces for folks to have fun. It's kind of like a giant fun camp for adults with so many opportunities to try new things for the first time. Another camp close to gave away smores every night at sunset and had an open fire pit where you could cook your marshmallows. Another camp offered an oat meal bar each morning, there were camps that would wash your hair and feet, throw parties, have open bars, and pretty much anything the mind could think of!

At night, since it is in the vast open desert with no street lights, of course, it turns into the most beautiful sea of colored lights on people, bikes, art cars, art installations, stages, etc. There truly is no way to describe the experience, visuals, atmospehere in words. And that is exactly why I knew I needed to go and experience it for myself! And I'm so glad I did. It honestly feels like a huge success having pulled this off! Lots of time, money, energy, and endurance went into this. And we did it and it will be crossed off my bucket list!

Marcelo had a great time too. He often stayed out later than I did dancing and enjoying the sights riding around. Yes, most people ride their decorated bikes all day and night. It is SO fun! Some of my general highlights include:

- dancing my head off so freely as it is an atmosphere of little judgement
-seeing so many beautiful people expressing themselves in creative colors, outfits, etc....wow!
- sharing a dome (we had 4 tents in a big dome) with marcelo, and our friends sylvia and monique
-the amazing food and eating with community every night at our camp
-the open stars, sky, and space at night
-time moving in much more a relaxed way
-wearing glowy colored lights on my bike and person every night
-how sweetly marcelo treated me
-cold coconut water on hot days
-being on the receiving end of so much gifting and love
-screen/media free for an entire week!
-the closing sharing circle in our camp the last day
-taking a real shower after a week!
- and many, many more, the nice feelings and memories are with me now...i miss it there!

However, it was not all fun and games by any means! I was often pushed to my edge and really had to exercise some serious tolerance and patience. Some challenging moments include:

- waiting in line outside the city to get in for 5 hours in the van, often stopped for hours at a time w/o moving. Then waiting for 7.5 hours the same way to leave the city. There is a small, windy 2 lane high way leading to the location and 70,000 atendees with massive amounts of gear!
- We started the trip home at 6am, all packed in the van and got to our apartment exatcly 24 hours later, travelling the entire time. That's a lot of time to be in a van. But we bonded and Marcelo is an amazing marathon driver!
- Dust, dust, dust, it gets into everything and everyone...no matter how hard you try. You take a solar shower one minute and the next you are covered again!
- hot, hot, hot sun and having to bike in the sun mid-day to get from camp to camp. The city is 12 miles from one end to the other, so some events are just too far!
- constant close quarters can be trying!
-the sun starting to bake our tent at 8:30am, preventing any possibility of sleeping in

There are some amazing pics of Burning Man 2013 on this page. My friend Sylvia took some pics, when she sends them to me I will try to post.

We are so happy we did this! Seriously such a life changing event. And perfect timing before the baby is born (I'm convinced he will have some desert dust in his ears when he comes out!). And to be honest I felt great the whole time, besides being just tired from not sleeping enough on a few nights. Other than that, which wasn't a super big deal, I was full of energy and vigor. I loved all the food which made a huge difference too, because clean healthy eating = large life force! It was so great to get home and shower and enjoy our bed and the comforts of shelter and home and cats, whom Marcelo's sister Esme and Mom Carmen took such great care of. Thank you to them!

Well, I am relieved this is over! Today, I slept in, got some groceries, including lots of fresh produce and spent the afternoon cooking! cut up some sweet cantelope, made another batch of Gazpacho, and some beef stew. Trying to eat a very balanced diet and wide variety for the baby! I rarely if ever cook meat but felt like it today. Of course Marcelo loved it, hehe. Then I visited Marcelo's Mom and sister and they fed me tostadas and guac. Then friends came over and we unloaded the van. Got covered in dust again! And left half our stuff outside in the back until I can clean it off.

What a trip! Overall I am feeling great and will keep folks posted on the baby! Tomorrow is back to work. Once we get re-situated and unpacked, we start the process of house hunting! Woo hoo!