At the time I asked for volunteers to help organise events in their local communities. Many emails later, and after much hard work on the part of my trusty band of volunteers, this is the result. We have a variety of event formats in locations scattered across the US, so I hope you will find an event within striking distance of you.

I’d like to say a huge and heartfelt thank you to the amazing individuals who have put this whole thing together. Most of them I haven’t even met yet, and they have done this purely out of the kindness and generosity of their souls. I also owe an enormous debt of gratitude to my dear old Mum, who stepped in to help when I became overwhelmed by the task, and has been doing a wonderful job of coordinating with the event organisers.

I hope you will show your appreciation of their incredible support for me by coming along to our events and making this speaking tour a resounding success. We hope that it will generate enough funds for next year’s row, leaving me free to focus on my environmental mission. I look forward to seeing you there!

Quick list of cities and dates – for details see below:

Durham                       Sept. 7             Duke University.

Asheville, NC              Sept.8              Malaprops Bookstore

Greenville, SC             Sept.9              Westin Hotel

Asheville, NC              Sept.9              Laurey’s Restaurant

Atlanta, GA                 Sept.12            Brunch at Amuse

Dallas                          Sept.13/14       Details coming soon .

Washington DC        Sept.16-20      No speaking events planned

California Climate Ride   Sept.22-25  Still time to join Team Roz! http://climateride.org/

San Francisco Bay Area

Sept.28          REI Berkeley

Sept.30          Sacramento State University

Oct.1              Dolphin Club, San Francisco

     Oct.4                University of the Fraser Valley,Vancouver, Canada

                                           Oct.6              Collingwood School

                                          Oct.6                Vancouver Maritime Museum

San Diego, CA              Oct.7                Birch Aquarium

Minneapolis, MN       Oct.10              Sound Mind & Body Healing Center

New York                      Oct.11-18        No events currently scheduled.

If you would like to host an event for NY or DC, please get in touch!

Details:

Asheville NC – Wednesday Sept 8

Time: 7pm

Location: Malaprops Bookstore, 55 Haywood St, Asheville, NC 28801

Cost: Free

Details: Presentation and book signing

Contact: Laurey Masterton at Laurey@laureysyum.com

URL: http://www.malaprops.com/

Greenville SC – Thursday Sept 9

Time: 12:00 – 1:30pm

Location: Brunch at Westin Hotel, 120 South Main St, Greenville, SC 29601

Cost: $20.00, which includes lunch. Advance reservation and purchase advised.

Details: Book signing opportunity

Contact: Bill Burgess at bill@theburgesscompanysite.com

URL: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1255

Asheville NC – Thursday Sept 9

Time: 7pm

Location: Dinner at Laurey’s Restaurant, 67 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801

Cost: $60.00, $10.00 of which will go to Roz. People wishing to have beer or wine, add an additional $12.00 each. A 7% sales tax is applicable.

Details: Dinner will feature locally grown “Gourmet Comfort Foods”

Contact: For reservations, email Laurey@laureysyum.com.

URL: http://www.laureysyum.com/

Atlanta GA – Sunday Sept 12

Time: Brunch at 12.30

Location: Amuse! Restaurant, Bar & Lounge, 560 Dutch Valley Road, Atlanta, GA

Cost: Minimum $25 donation, payable through the Paypal button on Roz’s website, stating what the payment is for. The cost of a prix fixe meal (approx $15) is payable at the restaurant.

Contact: Cindy Abel at cabel@atlantismoon.com

Details: Advance RSVP  to Cindy required, please.

URL: http://http://www.amuseatlanta.com/

Dallas TX – Monday Sept 13

Westwood School. Details to be announced shortly.

San Francisco – Tuesday Sept 28: The Commonwealth Club

Time: 11.30am check-in, 12pm program

Location: The Commonwealth Club, 595 Market Street, San Francisco

Cost: $12 members, $20 non-members, $7 students

Details: Carbon Warriors Roz Savage and David Kroodsma in conversation

URL: http://tickets.commonwealthclub.org/auto_choose_ga.asp?area=1

San Francisco – Tuesday Sept 28: REI Berkeley

Time: 7pm – 8.30pm

Location: REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley – (510) 527-4140.

Cost: Free – to book a seat: 

http://rozsavage.com/2010/08/20/roz’s-speaking-tour-usa-2010/.

Details: Presentation: Rowing the Atlantic and the Pacific: One Woman’s Extraordinary Solo Adventures

URL: http://www.rei.com/stores/12

Sacramento – Thursday Sept 30

Time: 6.00pm

Location: Sacramento State University (CSUS) Student Union building, Ballrooms 1,2 and 3.

Cost: Free

Details: “Adventure, Dreams & Ecology” Presentation

Contact: Outsidejay@gmail.com

URL: http://www.sacramento365.com/event/detail/440838165/Roz_Savage

This event available to the public on Facebook under “Roz Savage”.

San Francisco – Friday Oct 1: Luncheon Society

Details to be announced shortly

San Francisco – Friday Oct 1: Dolphin Club

Time: 6 -9 pm.

Location: Dolphin club, 502 Jefferson Street

Cost: Minimum donation $10 on the door.

Paying bar and refreshments.

Details: Presentation, Q & As.  Book signing.

URL: http://www.dolphinclub.org/

San Francisco – Saturday Oct 2: Private Fundraiser

Vancouver – Monday Oct 4

Time:  7pm

Location: Lecture theater B101, University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford BC. Canada

Cost: $15:00 in advance

Details: Presentation and book signing

Contact:  Roger Friesen, 604-504-7441 ext. 4297, or roger.friesen@ufv.ca

URL: http://www.ufv.ca/home.htm

Vancouver – Tuesday Oct 5

October 5 – 12:35 – 1:40 
Prince of Wales Secondary School 
No members of the public, please!

Vancouver – Wednesday Oct.6

Visit to Collingwood School.

Wednesday, October 6 – Intimate Evening with Roz
Vancouver Maritime Museum http://www.vancouvermaritimemuseum.com/ 6:30 – 9:00
Welcome Reception featuring generous appies provided by Finest at Sea seafood boutique  http://www.finestatsea.com and welcome glass of fine local wine.
Price – minimum $80 donation, payable in advance.  $50 of this will go directly to Roz’s Fundraising Efforts.
To reserve – email sbartlett@telus.net

 San Diego – Thursday Oct 7

Time: 6pm

Location: Birch Aquarium, Expedition Way, San Diego

Cost: being offered free to the public with the generous support of Birch Aquarium, the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, and the Helen Edison Lecture Series. Donations can be made to Roz through the Donate button on her website

Details:  Light refreshments; presentation and booksigning.

Contact: roz.sandiego@gmail.com

Minneapolis – Saturday Oct 9

An evening with Roz Savage, Eagan, Minnesota – details to be announced shortly

Contact:  Kevin Doheny at roz2010tour@soundmindbodystudio.com

URL: http://www.soundmindbodyhealing.com/

Minnesota – Sunday Oct. 10

Northfield, Minnesota – details to be announced shortly

Contact:  Kevin Doheny at roz2010tour@soundmindbodystudio.com

URL:  http://http://www.soundmindbodyhealing.com/

The ticket - and a few tips

When I think back over my few days there (arrived 3.30am Tuesday night, left around noon on Saturday – yes, BEFORE The Burn – duty called) my mental video camera comes up with a montage of contrasting images:

- a warm welcome at the gate, with oddly dressed figures inviting us out of the car for a big hug and the words “Welcome home” – followed by the traditional deflowering ritual for a Burning Man virgin by taking a dust bath

- finding new friends as people invited me into their camps as I pedalled past on my borrowed bicycle, followed by long meandering conversations, food and wine

- the kindness and generosity of my new Russian friends at “home” in Camp Surrealiti (photos to come later)

- mellow days hanging out on huge cushions in the pagoda-shaped library, reading books on low-impact homes built from natural materials (such as The Natural House)

A couple of art cars, photographed from the pagoda-shaped library

- a workshop in Camp Nomadia expounding on the art of being a “technomad” – a teleworker enabled by the power of the internet to work out of an RV, roaming the country at will (see the Technomadia website for more. Other cool websites they recommended include OneBag.com, Vagablogging, the No Baggage Challenge, and )

- clear blue skies and huge views across the flat playa to the brown mountains encircling the horizon, replaced on the last day by billowing sunlit clouds of desert dust that occasionally reduced visibility to 20 yards and introduced a dreamlike, post-apocalyptic aura to the encampment as bizarre figures and vehicles loomed out of the haze

- an intensely emotional experience in the Temple, a temporary structure where people leave signs, trinkets, photographs, symbols, or just write words on the wooden structure itself – all to be burned on the final Sunday in a cathartic exorcism of demons, ghosts, grievances and grudges

- spectacularly surreal nights of bright lights, art cars (mobile works of art cruising slowly across the playa), flamethrowers, illuminated sculptures, pulsing dancefloors, and human beings clad in outfits that ranged from the exotic to the ordinary to the stark naked.

The Temple

People had suggested that Burning Man might change my life. I rather hoped not, as I really enjoy my life as it is, thank you very much, but I did hope that it would offer some insights into how this temporary, self-regulating, money-free society functions, and whether there are any concepts that could be applied to the “real” world outside.

The jury is still out on that one. Burning Man appears to work well for a week, but could it be sustained year-round? No, or at least not in this location. All food and water has to be brought in (and taken out*). The experience is so intense that many people allow themselves a few days of post-Burn “decompression” to allow body, mind and liver to recover from the over-indulgence and sleep deprivation. Weeks and months are spent preparing costumes, exhibits, installations, shows and even basic logistical details.

So no, on that level Burning Man could not be sustained for 52 weeks of the year.

Me in Burning Man mode

But on another level, the spirit of giving rather than taking, the focus on creativity and connection – many of us could do with more of these things in our everyday lives, rather than saving it for a one-week, once-a-year splurge. I will certainly try to incorporate a little of the spirit of Burning Man into my daily routine.

* Burning Man is the world’s largest LNT (Leave No Trace) event. See the Earth Guardians website for more details.

There are many more photos of Burning Man available online. See for example this Google search result.

Wednesday, October 6 – Intimate Evening with Roz.

Vancouver Maritime Museum http://www.vancouvermaritimemuseum.com/ 6:30 – 9:00
Welcome Reception featuring generous appies provided by Finest at Sea seafood boutique  http://www.finestatsea.com and welcome glass of fine local wine.
Price – minimum $80 donation, payable in advance.  $50 of this will go directly to Roz’s Fundraising Efforts.
To reserve – email sbartlett@telus.net

October 5 – 12:35 – 1:40 
Prince of Wales Secondary School 
No members of the public, please!

Talking to the students in Bolinas

I rounded off my time in Bolinas with a talk at the school there. The students were a fantastic audience. When I asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up, we had an aspiring author, a marine biologist, and a boy who wanted to study otters. I went on to say that when I was little, I’d wanted to have a big adventure, and it took me a long time to figure out that a big bushy beard is NOT a prerequisite for being an adventurer.

Adventurer: beard not required

Over the weekend I was in Monterey for the Blue Ocean Film Festival – a wonderful opportunity to catch up with Mission Blue TEDsters such as Jean-Michel Cousteau and his daughter Celine, and Dr Sylvia Earle, as well as many other movers and shakers from the marine community. I thoroughly enjoyed the one film I managed to see between networking events – 180 Degrees South, featuring some classic lines from the say-it-as-he-sees-it founder of Patagonia Clothing, Yvon Chouinard. Also some gorgeous cinematography. Recommended.

With Jean Michel Cousteau, and a model "Sedna" made by Stan Miller

I was delighted that the prize for “Best in Festival” went to Michelle Hill and “Bag It“, a film about the perils of the plastic bag. Great to see that this issue is getting the exposure it needs. Myself, I was a proud recipient of a blue marble, for random acts of ocean kindness – for the significance of this, see the Blue Marbles website.

On Sunday I gave a brunch presentation in Portola Valley, an informal start to my speaking tour, and a great chance to catch up with friends old and new – and to do a short training ride with the other member of “Team Roz” in the California Climate Ride, Angela Hey. Thanks to Angela for hosting a wonderful event (and the super-healthy yummy salads!) at short notice, and to everyone who came – particularly all those who contributed to the Indian Ocean fund.

Yesterday I went for a hike on Bradford Island, an ecologically sensitive area an hour’s drive and a ferry ride east of San Francisco. Paul Valva organised the day – many thanks to him for the guided tour, and the explanation of the vulnerabilities of the area. The special guest of the day was Cynthia Ong, who I met for the first time when I was campaigning with her in

With Cynthia Ong of LEAP

Malaysia against the opening of a coal-powered electricity plant. It is one of the perks of my “job” that I get to meet some particularly inspiring and impressive people – and Cynthia of LEAP is high on that list, so it was great to see her again, and continue our discussion about saving the world. Hey, it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!

Tonight I leave for Burning Man. My justification to myself for taking 4 precious days away from writing my book and preparing for my speaking tour is that I think I can learn a lot at Burning Man. As well as looking forward to the outpouring of art and creativity, I’m fascinated to see how this temporary, money-less, self-regulating community functions.

My blue marble. Despite appearances, it does not have flowers growing out of it!

Oops, have to run. I have an appointment. Even (or especially) ocean rowers have to go to the dentist sometimes!

I will be taking my satphone to Burning Man so I can tweet. I will let you know how it goes!

PS Update for Event at San Diego October 7th – URL for the event: hors/

At the time I asked for volunteers to help organise events in their local communities. Many emails later, and after much hard work on the part of my trusty band of volunteers, this is the result. We have a variety of event formats in locations scattered across the US, so I hope you will find an event within striking distance of you.

I’d like to say a huge and heartfelt thank you to the amazing individuals who have put this whole thing together. Most of them I haven’t even met yet, and they have done this purely out of the kindness and generosity of their souls. I also owe an enormous debt of gratitude to my dear old Mum, who stepped in to help when I became overwhelmed by the task, and has been doing a wonderful job of coordinating with the event organisers.

I hope you will show your appreciation of their incredible support for me by coming along to our events and making this speaking tour a resounding success. We hope that it will generate enough funds for next year’s row, leaving me free to focus on my environmental mission. I look forward to seeing you there!

Quick list of cities and dates – for details see below:

Durham                       Sept. 7             Duke University.

Asheville, NC              Sept.8              Malaprops Bookstore

Greenville, SC             Sept.9              Westin Hotel

Asheville, NC              Sept.9              Laurey’s Restaurant

Atlanta, GA                 Sept.12            Brunch at Amuse

Dallas                          Sept.13/14       Details coming soon .

Washington DC        Sept.16-20      No speaking events planned

California Climate Ride   Sept.22-25  Still time to join Team Roz! http://climateride.org/

San Francisco Bay Area

Sept.28          REI Berkeley

Sept.30          Sacramento State University

Oct.1              Dolphin Club, San Francisco

Vancouver, Canada     Oct.4                University of the Fraser Valley

                                             Oct.6                Aquarium

San Diego, CA              Oct.7                Birch Aquarium

Minneapolis, MN       Oct.10              Sound Mind & Body Healing Center

New York                      Oct.11-18        No events currently scheduled.

If you would like to host an event for NY or DC, please get in touch!

Details:

Asheville NC – Wednesday Sept 8

Time: 7pm

Location: Malaprops Bookstore, 55 Haywood St, Asheville, NC 28801

Cost: Free

Details: Presentation and book signing

Contact: Laurey Masterton at Laurey@laureysyum.com

URL: http://www.malaprops.com/

Greenville SC – Thursday Sept 9

Time: 12:00 – 1:30pm

Location: Brunch at Westin Hotel, 120 South Main St, Greenville, SC 29601

Cost: $20.00, which includes lunch. Advance reservation and purchase advised.

Details: Book signing opportunity

Contact: Bill Burgess at bill@theburgesscompanysite.com

URL: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1255

Asheville NC – Thursday Sept 9

Time: 7pm

Location: Dinner at Laurey’s Restaurant, 67 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801

Cost: $60.00, $10.00 of which will go to Roz. People wishing to have beer or wine, add an additional $12.00 each. A 7% sales tax is applicable.

Details: Dinner will feature locally grown “Gourmet Comfort Foods”

Contact: For reservations, email Laurey@laureysyum.com.

URL: http://www.laureysyum.com/

Atlanta GA – Sunday Sept 12

Time: Brunch at 12.30

Location: Amuse! Restaurant, Bar & Lounge, 560 Dutch Valley Road, Atlanta, GA

Cost: Minimum $25 donation, payable through the Paypal button on Roz’s website, stating what the payment is for. The cost of a prix fixe meal (approx $15) is payable at the restaurant.

Contact: Cindy Abel at cabel@atlantismoon.com

Details: Advance RSVP  to Cindy required, please.

URL: http://http://www.amuseatlanta.com/

Dallas TX – Monday Sept 13

Westwood School. Details to be announced shortly.

San Francisco – Tuesday Sept 28: The Commonwealth Club

Time: 11.30am check-in, 12pm program

Location: The Commonwealth Club, 595 Market Street, San Francisco

Cost: $12 members, $20 non-members, $7 students

Details: Carbon Warriors Roz Savage and David Kroodsma in conversation

URL: http://tickets.commonwealthclub.org/auto_choose_ga.asp?area=1

San Francisco – Tuesday Sept 28: REI Berkeley

Time: 7pm – 8.30pm

Location: REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley – (510) 527-4140.

Cost: Free – to book a seat: 

http://rozsavage.com/2010/08/20/roz’s-speaking-tour-usa-2010/.

Details: Presentation: Rowing the Atlantic and the Pacific: One Woman’s Extraordinary Solo Adventures

URL: http://www.rei.com/stores/12

Sacramento – Thursday Sept 30

Time: 6.00pm

Location: Sacramento State University (CSUS) Student Union building, Ballrooms 1,2 and 3.

Cost: Free

Details: “Adventure, Dreams & Ecology” Presentation

Contact: Outsidejay@gmail.com

URL: http://www.sacramento365.com/event/detail/440838165/Roz_Savage

This event available to the public on Facebook under “Roz Savage”.

San Francisco – Friday Oct 1: Luncheon Society

Details to be announced shortly

San Francisco – Friday Oct 1: Dolphin Club

Time: 6 -9 pm.

Location: Dolphin club, 502 Jefferson Street

Cost: Minimum donation $10 on the door.

Paying bar and refreshments.

Details: Presentation, Q & As.  Book signing.

URL: http://www.dolphinclub.org/

San Francisco – Saturday Oct 2: Private Fundraiser

Vancouver – Monday Oct 4

Time:  7pm

Location: Lecture theater B101, University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford BC. Canada

Cost: $15:00 in advance

Details: Presentation and book signing

Contact:  Roger Friesen, 604-504-7441 ext. 4297, or roger.friesen@ufv.ca

URL: http://www.ufv.ca/home.htm

Vancouver – Tuesday Oct 5

Vancouver – Wednesday Oct.6

Wednesday, October 6 – Intimate Evening with Roz
Vancouver Maritime Museum http://www.vancouvermaritimemuseum.com/ 6:30 – 9:00
Welcome Reception featuring generous appies provided by Finest at Sea seafood boutique  http://www.finestatsea.com and welcome glass of fine local wine.
Price – minimum $80 donation, payable in advance.  $50 of this will go directly to Roz’s Fundraising Efforts.
To reserve – email sbartlett@telus.net
  
 San Diego – Thursday Oct 7

Time: 6pm

Location: Birch Aquarium, Expedition Way, San Diego

Cost: being offered free to the public with the generous support of Birch Aquarium, the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, and the Helen Edison Lecture Series. Donations can be made to Roz through the Donate button on her website

Details:  Light refreshments; presentation and booksigning.

Contact: roz.sandiego@gmail.com

Minneapolis – Saturday Oct 9

An evening with Roz Savage, Eagan, Minnesota – details to be announced shortly

Contact:  Kevin Doheny at roz2010tour@soundmindbodystudio.com

URL: http://www.soundmindbodyhealing.com/

Minnesota – Sunday Oct. 10

Northfield, Minnesota – details to be announced shortly

Contact:  Kevin Doheny at roz2010tour@soundmindbodystudio.com

URL:  http://http://www.soundmindbodyhealing.com/

It was never a straightforward decision. I wrote a blog about it back in June. Reading the comments afterwards, I was surprised how much support there was for my taking the plane – mostly so I would be on dry land and able to be online, but also backed up by some rather convincing arguments based on the hard facts of CO2 emissions.

Nevertheless, I had felt it was important symbolically to show that there are viable alternatives to flying, if one has enough time to take the slow boat (or fast boat, compared with mine!) from China. So I booked my passage (with CruisePeople, if you’re interested in doing something similar).

Then, a couple of days ago, the local shipping agent told me that the ship’s ETA in Long Beach was Sept 6, i.e. too late for the first date of the tour, I realised I was actually quite relieved that I would be able to fly instead. I was anxious about any delays, especially given my poor record of ocean-related adventures ending on schedule.

The next morning when we spoke, he told me he had made a mistake, and in fact the ETA was Sept 2 or 3, as previously notified. But mentally I had already moved on and started planning an alternative writer’s retreat in Bolinas, CA, to work on my next book, and was very much looking forward to it. So this now presented me with a dilemma.

This morning I consulted a couple of friends, summarising the pros and cons thusly:

Advantages of Bolinas:

- guaranteed to get to start of speaking tour in time, and avoid letting down my East Coast organisers who have put in so much hard work

- access to healthy and good food – no idea what it will be like on ship, but very unlikely to be organic!

- will have email and phone access for any last-minute inquiries from event organisers

- will have access to internet, to do any final research for information I want to include in my presentation

- will have peace and quiet and time to write

- I can get to my stash of stuff in my friend’s garage to pick up clothes and suitable luggage for the tour

- would get me to the start of tour in best possible shape

- met a director of Maersk the other day, and he has said he can arrange for me to travel on their ships in the future at a less time-critical juncture – quite possibly free of charge

- am frankly weary of travel and adventure for now, and would like to be “home” for a while, somewhere where the living is easy…

Advantages of ship:

- have already paid for it, and fare non-refundable. Extra costs would therefore be air fare and food for 16 days

- no distractions from email (or from social invitations) when supposed to be writing

- big adventure

- easier access to gym (although there are gyms in Pt Reyes and Stinson Beach, and of course some lovely walking around Bo, so lots of exercise options there too)

I asked my heart/gut/instincts for guidance, and they unanimously wanted to go to Bo, but I didn’t know if it was just fear of the unknown that was talking. So I tossed a coin. Bo won. And I didn’t feel a strong urge to do a best of 3. So Bo it is.

So having been so adamant that I was going to take the ship, this is a slightly embarrassing about-face. But circumstances – and appetites for adventure – change. I want a rest, and Bolinas is very therapeutic. And as my friend Jay says, “Those that matter don’t mind. And those that mind don’t matter.”

So that is my decision, and I will just have to live with it. But the sooner they invent teleporting, the better. It will save phenomenal quantities of CO2 and an awful lot of dithering.

With Doug Woodring and the committee of the RHKYC

Other Stuff:

Thank you to the kind friends who have been my sounding boards today. You’re great!

I’d like to say an extra-big thank you to Doug Woodring of Project Kaisei, who arranged for my accommodation here in Hong Kong and set up the two wonderful speaking engagements at the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. Doug is a fellow “Climate Hero” for the United Nations Environment Program, and will be speaking at the Hong Kong TEDx in September on the same bill as Dr Jane Goodall. Project Kaisei has an ambitious plan to clean up the North Pacific Garbage Patch, and I wish them all the greatest success in their mission.

Being presented with the RHKYC pennant (aka bikini bottom) by Geoff Booth

Check out this video from their Youth Ambassador, a famous HK singer called Get Everyone Moving (GEM). Doug is a busy, busy man – saving the oceans is a more than full-time job – but still found time to help make my visit in Hong Kong enjoyable and productive. Thanks, Doug!

Thanks also to Rupert and the committee of the Royal Geographical Society, and Koko and the committee of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, especially the AV tech guy without whom there would have been no V. Warmest best wishes to Eric, Geoff, Chris, Chris and Tim for being such excellent dinner companions, and to Mark and Kathy Greenberg – old Oxford rowing friends whom I hadn’t seen in over 20 years, who sprung a wonderful surprise on me by turning up at my presentation on Wednesday night. I’d like to think that none of us have changed at all!

With Kathy Davies Greenberg

Hong Kong - view from RHKYC

The Compass Room

I had already decided that for the last 2 days of the retreat I would turn off my laptop. As with most things, I was getting out of the experience what I was putting in – and for the first 5 days my focus had been distracted by a tsunami of emails around the upcoming US speaking tour (of which details will be coming soon).

But even before I had signed off my final email, my laptop decided to take matters into its own hands. The screen went blank, and nothing would coax it back to life. I could still hear the music playing on iTunes, which gave me hope that the innards were okay, but with no visual output the usefulness of the laptop was obviously rather minimal. So I turned it off, sent it to bed with no supper, and hoped that it would come to its senses over its two-day holiday.

With no distractions, the final two days went much better. I relaxed, focused, and was able to enjoy the yoga and meditation sessions without the constant buzz of plans whirring around my head like a particularly irritating mosquito.

And something really odd happened. Up until this point I’d been quite disappointed that I had enjoyed no appreciable weight loss. But when I released all that tension, largely thanks to a wonderful session with a spiritual therapist, a few pounds appeared to melt away overnight. Of course, it could just be that the results of a reduced calorie intake and daily colonics finally kicked in – weight loss is never linear – but there did seem to be something more to it than that.

So, ultimately, it all came good. I achieved what I had hoped to achieve in Koh Samui – I rediscovered a sense of inner peace to draw on when the going gets tough, I rebooted my eating habits from unhealthy to healthy, and dropped the 7 pounds I’d gained eating all that yummy fried food in Malaysia and the Philippines. I left feeling cleansed physically, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually.

(Note: Although I felt rather embarrassed to admit to taking colonics, a couple of friends have come out and admitted that they, too, find them tremendously beneficial. There is apparently no scientific or medical justification for the practice. Just the fact that many people find it makes them feel a lot better, brighter and lighter.)

For the record, I was at Dharma Healing International in Koh Samui, Thailand. The 7-day retreat cost the equivalent of $600, and included around 30 hours of classes on nutrition and yoga, and two massages. I stayed at Soonthorn Bungalows, which cost $18 per night. More luxurious accommodation is available at the nearby Siam Resort for around $100 a night. I would highly recommend Kwan Jai International for a professionally administered colonic. Chalong is a master of his art!

The “fast” was not total starvation. We took various cleansing concoctions, and also two coconut waters a day, and a hot broth in the evenings. I did feel hungry, but there again, I always do!

Speaking at the Hong Kong Royal Geographical Society on Monday

Other Stuff:

There is a theory that life never burdens us with more than we can handle. So just as my ability to handle stress goes up, life has upped the ante. The container ship that I am due to take from Hong Kong to Long Beach, California, is running at least a day late. Which is good, in that it gives me more time to sort out the really rather onerous paperwork (Chinese visa today, yellow fever vaccination tomorrow), but also cuts into the very limited “wiggle room” I have between arriving in Long Beach and needing to be on the East Coast for the start of my speaking tour. Tense times in Hong Kong.

My laptop has enjoyed at least a temporary revival. It still refused to work after its 2-day hiatus, but on arrival in Hong Kong spontaneously decided to work again. But for how long, who knows? A San Francisco friend, Ian Jefferson, has very kindly offered to lend me a spare laptop just in case this one goes belly-up in mid-Pacific, so I won’t end up having to write my book in longhand.

The Brocade, shortly to be renamed to her pre-Pacific name of Sedna Solo, has now arrived safely in Fremantle in readiness for next year’s Indian Ocean row. This is good news. The not so good news is that there was an unexpected bill for $4,000 for the freight on the final leg of the trip. We are negotiating….

Much to keep me busy in Hong Kong. Gave a presentation to 150 people at the Hong Kong Royal Geographical Society on Monday night (pictured), and tonight I speak to the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club.

Urgent message from Roz to me this Sunday morning via satellite. Her computer has broken.

Roz is a great lover of technology, but when it fails – especially like this – she is very frustrated. It could not have come at a worse time, in the midst of planning her USA speaking tour, and shortly before boarding the container ship to travel from Hong Kong to Long Beach, California.

Obviously Roz has no idea when she will be able to be back on line again. As far as the USA tour is concerned, please do send any queries or messages to me – they do reach me via this website.

Roz had already asked me to prepare a blog with details of upcoming events during her tour, and I will be dealing with that in a few days’ time – just waiting for some final details.

Please keep watching – there may be an event near to where you are that you might like to attend. Roz will be starting in California, flying east to North Carolina, then Atlanta, Dallas, Washington DC. Then comes the Climate Ride in California, followed by San Francisco area, Vancouver, San Diego, Minneapolis and New York.

Greetings from Rita, her mother, trying to be a go-between once again!

Highlight of the day - coconut water

Just a quick late night blog (9.30pm IS late around here) to let you know that I am still alive. This afternoon, the much-hyped liver flush did not produce the spectacular results that I had feared – or maybe quietly wished for. Lord knows, my liver could seriously do with some flushing.

Nor have I yet passed out from hunger. In fact, two coconut waters and a bowl of broth per day are proving surprisingly satisfying. I suspect that much of my grottiness the other morning may have been due to the incipient cold that I arrived here with, a sure-fire sign that I was run down and tired before I got here. The cold and I are still doing battle for supremacy, but I am sure that the mandatory doses of Vitamin C and the hot broths must be helping.

Meanwhile, Mr Tenerife is proving to be excellent entertainment value, which helps keep team morale high. Top Three Mr T moments so far:

- the startling sight of him turning up for yoga yesterday morning wearing a tiny pair of speedos (sorry – no photos available)

The liver flush - mostly olive oil, onion and garlic. Yummy.

- later the same day, announcing “I love food. I love it better than sex.” Which was a lot of information on Day 2 of an acquaintance

- tonight at our nutrition workshop, “If I go ‘ome and ask for biodynamic food, zey will sink I am crazy!” (okay, sounds more French than Spanish, but you get the picture).

Anyway, time for bed now. All this fasting can really take it out of you (so to speak).

Meet... the colon. I will certainly know mine better by the end of the week.

At 10.30 our little group of fasters assembled on the porch of Hillary’s bungalow, and sat on cushions around a low table. We went around the circle to introduce ourselves – and names have been changed to protect identities. There is the Belfast Boy, a cheery young Irishman who is on his third visit here. Then there is Big Guy, a prosperous-looking Chicagoan with a well-trimmed white beard and a slightly intellectual air. Pauline from New Zealand, who is embarking on her first fast to try and wean herself off blood pressure medication. And Mr Tenerife, an attractive Spaniard with designer stubble and very white teeth, also on his first fast.

We were told to open our text books, and the course began. The introductory lecture encompassed the basics of the digestive system, a description of the assaults that our systems suffer every day, and an explanation of how fasting seeks to remedy the damage. We sipped on ginger tea while Hillary talked.

But I had to put my tea aside when she handed around a book of full colour photographs of poo. Yes, poo. In all kinds of disgusting shapes and colours – the results of colonic irrigation, as the body releases all kinds of crap (so to speak) from the digestive system. My hangover-type nausea intensified just a little. Okay, so we all do it, but some bodily functions are best left in the bathroom.

Hillary went on to warn us not to use chemical-based body lotions, insect repellants or sunscreen during our fast, as the body absorbs chemicals much more readily in this state. She extolled the virtues of pee as an alternative form of sun protection, Mr Tenerife looked puzzled, not able to believe that he was correctly understanding her English. “What, pee? As in…” and he waved his hand eloquently towards his lap. “Yes, pee, ” confirmed Hillary. “Piss, urine, you know.” He blanched beneath his suntan.

“And now,” she said, “I will demonstrate how to administer a colonic.” I thought Mr Tenerife was going to faint.

Fortunately the demonstration did not require the removal of any garments. I won’t go into details, but suffice to say that dignity was maintained – unlike the actual practice of the procedure after we retired to our respective bathrooms. Again, no details required.

So is all this indignity going to be worth it? Sadly, I fear I am in serious need of detoxing. This afternoon my iridology diagnosis – which makes intuitive sense to me, as surely the eyes reveal the health of the whole body more than any other organ – showed that I am stressed, and stress is a toxin. All those stress-related hormones surging around the place cause damage throughout the body. Hillary’s verdict was given authority by the opinion of my San Francisco hairdresser, who earlier this year caused me serious alarm by commenting that I had evidently suffered some significant hair loss several months earlier – another symptom of stress.

Of course, all these worrying diagnoses are, well, really quite stressful. So now that I can no longer plead ignorance, I suppose the only way out is to address the root causes of the stress. But what are those causes? Pressure of upcoming speaking tour? Logistical hassles? Worrying that the planet is going to hell while governments fail to act? Who knows?

I am hoping that time will tell, and that I might leave here at the end of the week understanding myself – and my body – a little more, so that I can take better care of both.

Other Stuff:

Loved the handwritten note at the end - what a nice man!

On a totally different subject – and in attempt to raise the tone of this blog – a little bit of excitement today. A letter from the new British PM, David Cameron, congratulating me on the completion of my Pacific crossing. I was a little mystified by the reference to the Breakthrough Breast Cancer charity – although undoubtedly a worthy cause, it is not one of mine – but it was nice to get some recognition from my home country.

And back to that other subject again… if you enjoy reading about other people’s misadventures in colonic irrigation, you may like this article, written by my long-time correspondent Ian Belcher (there is a joke in his last name somewhere, I am sure). VERY entertaining, but I don’t recommend that you read it while eating.

It is now 9.20pm and I am going to bed, in the hope that lying down will make my stomach feel less like rumbling.