Experimental Travel

When Pat Kim came to visit me he also brought a book, a different kind of travel book from Lonely Planet titled "Experimental Travel". The website has this description and defintion:

"Experimental Travel is not about checking off the major sights or following your guidebook to the letter; it's a playful way of travelling, where the journey's methodology is clear but the destination is usually unknown. Experimental Travel renders all destinations equal - be it a burger shack or the Taj Mahal.

Experimental Travel has its roots in the varied practices and philosophies of modern alternative thinkers from the Surrealists to the Psychogeographers. Experiments such as travelling to a particular grid reference on a map, or simply wearing a horse's head around town, are all classic examples. Megabucks are not required, but an open mind, a sprinkling of guts, and an appetite for liberation will come in handy."

In Practise
We tried a few of these "games" such as exploring the colonial town of Granada by simply making a right turn and then a left and continuing this exercise. After abough 15 mins we were getting funny looks and stares which I suppose meant we were doing it right. We stopped when the sun started to set and the areas were getting shadier. Every now and then we would take a picture. When I get them from Pat, I'll post them.

Another exercise was writing a poem every six hours. Here are some examples of our genius talent.

Haiku

In a restaurant
I wish I had a calculator
Tricky cordobas

by Pat Kim

September 4, Yellow Bus to Masaya

Little girl with deceptive little yellow fruit
A chicken bus, with chickens and curtains cute

Friendly locals saying we're going to die
Local green on the road to make banana pie

Tropical colored house with visions of Cuba
Martina with cramps, not settling with comida de Granada

Humidity, sweaty , and thoughts of a destination
On a yellow school bus of Nicaraguan creation

by Pat Kim

3 Cool People

3 of us in Nicaragua
making our way almost to Managua

Pat, el chino, gets stared at a lot
by locals on the street who think "my god"
The chino is here and he's smiling at us
he looks like Jet Li and might finish us off

Martina, la macha, makes the boys look her way
with her blonde shiny hair they give her cards that say,
I see you, I know you, I love you, be my wife and stay

Monica, the Canadian girl, got her nails done today
with her new Reggaeton cd's, she's ready to dance the night away

All we need is a tequila shot, a hug from Freddy to make it a perfect day.

by Monica Martinez


I can't talk, I just sit and listen
to perfect harmony of nature
She got mad an us swimming in the lake
she brought the storm
our light also bothering her
she turned it off
I don't want to tease her
to be sick tomorrow again
So I don't talk, I just sit and listen.

by Martina Kadunc