Exploring The Dark Side Of Banos, Ecuador, Through Graffiti

by Jessica Festa on

Not only is Banos, Ecuador, home to pristine waterfalls, active volcanoes, adventure sports and delicious candy, it’s also got some impressive graffiti art. What’s interesting is that while the city itself gives off an optimistic and happy vibe through its natural beauty, cozy coffee shops and locals twisting and shaping pounds of sugar cane into colorful taffy, the graffiti takes on a dark and sometimes morbid edge.

The art has a very contrasting feel, not only to the city itself, but also to the usual political graffiti you see in many places, such as in the street art in Buenos Aires. Instead, these unworldly, cartoon-like depictions will have you perplexed, disturbed and amazed at the same time.

I took these shots while walking around the main part of the city and was really impressed with the creativity. For a better idea of street art in Banos, check out the gallery below.

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How To Have Good Luck Around The World

by Jessica Festa on

Do you carry a lucky penny or have a rabbit’s foot attached to your key chain? For some new ideas on how to keep your luck running high, here are good luck rituals from around the world.

Bury A Llama Fetus In Bolivia

Walking around the Witches’ Market in La Paz, Bolivia, you’ll see myriad mummified llama fetuses. These aren’t just for decoration, but are actually a good luck charm from ancient Andean culture. Before a new house is built, a llama fetus is buried under the foundation to help give the owners good luck.

Paint Your Door Red In China

In China, it is thought that painting your door red is not only welcoming, but will also bring good fortune and happiness. In Feng Shui, it is believed the door is the mouth of the house, and a bright red color can draw positive energy to the home. There are many other rituals for good luck in China, such as keeping a paqua, or small octagon mirror, above the bed or by the front door to keep bad energy away from your home and out of your dreams. Moreover, having a water source on the property is thought to bring wealth and happiness.

Throw Your Old Appliances Out The Window In Italy

Traditionally, throwing your old appliances, clothing and housewares out of the window on New Year’s Eve in Italy is thought to bring good luck for the future. According to Walks of Italy, the thought is that you are letting go of the past and ridding yourself of any negatives you may have experienced. While the custom isn’t practiced by everyone anymore due to safety reasons, there are those who are still keeping the tradition alive for the country.

Some other good luck practices in Italy include tossing coins on the floor or under your bed, exchanging sweets on New Year’s Eve and lighting a Christmas log on the last day of the year to ward off evil spirits. Additionally, at weddings the groom will often carry a piece of iron in his pocket during the ceremony to keep evil spirits away, while the bride may rip her veil a bit to bring the couple good luck.

Toss A Baby From A Temple In Southern India

Yes, you read that right. In southern India, it is an age-old tradition to toss a baby off a 30-foot temple balcony, to be caught on the ground by a giant blanket. The ritual is said to bring the newborn good luck. According to Ian Garland of the Daily Mail, the practice was banned by the Indian government in 2009 but returned in 2012 to the Nagrala Village, as many locals believe it is their religious duty to carry out the ceremony.

A less shocking ritual in India is people exchange sweets for good and prosperity when they visit a home during a festival.

Have A Young Boy Roll In Your Bed Before Your Wedding In Singapore

In Singapore, there are many good luck traditions that revolve around weddings. First there is an chuang, or the setting of the bed. Before the wedding, a prosperous man will come to help determine where to place the marrying couple’s bed. A young male relative will then come and roll on the bed, to bless the couple with fertility. Foods like green beans, red beans, oranges, dates and other fruits are then scattered around the bed for good luck.

There is also shang tou, or hair combing, that takes place on the eve of the wedding. The hair of the marrying couple must be combed four times, usually by a female relative. The first round of combing represents the continuity of marriage, while the second stands for a harmonious union into old age. The subsequent stoke is a blessing of fertility, and the final combing is a wish for prosperity in a long-lasting marriage.

Wear Yellow Panties On New Year’s Eve In Colombia

While it may sound funny, Colombians like to ensure good luck for the entire year by taking some precautions on New Year’s Eve. They first ensure good fortune by wear yellow underpants. And to help bring even more luck, they consume 12 grapes at midnight on the special day. Additionally, Colombians don’t “pass the salt” to other people, as they believe this brings misfortune.

Burn A Chameleon If You’re Unmarried In Morocco

For unmarried women in Morocco, it is often believed that burning a chameleon in a glass will erase their bad luck, and increase their chances of getting married. Likewise, before a wedding ceremony the groom will often send his bride-to-be gifts, such as boxes of milk and Henna plants, to bring good luck for a happy and successful marriage. Also in regards to weddings, the woman getting married, who is traditionally expected to visit a hammam to be purified, will be soaked with water seven times by her close girlfriends, in order to bring good luck to her new life.

It’s not just brides and grooms who participate in good luck rituals. If you have a turtle in your garden or your home, and you keep it, you will also be brought good fortune.

Carry A 5-Yen Coin In Your Wallet In Japan

While 5 yen ($0.06) may not sound like a lot of money, this coin, pronounced “go-en” in Japanese, is close to the pronunciation for the words for destiny, karma or good luck. It is also the only coin with a hole in the center, making it easy to turn into a charm. In Japan, many people carry it in their wallet or purse, or wear it on a ribbon or chain for good luck.

Another way to procure good luck in Japan is through Daruma dolls. The papier-mâché figures are egg-shaped, and bare the likeness of Bodhidharma, the monk credited for founding Zen Buddhism. The dolls are sold with blank white eyes, and locals will add the first pupil when a goal is set and the second when a goal is achieved. Moreover, the dolls are considered a symbol of good luck by the Japanese.

Get A Tattoo In Tahiti

The word “tattoo” actually comes from the Tahitian word tatu, so it’s no wonder that this form of body art is so important to the culture. In fact, getting a tattoo is a ritual to bring luck and protection, as the tattoo represents your history, family background and often includes symbols that represent good fortune.

Another good luck ritual in Tahiti occurs during a wedding ceremony. This is when the priest will offer a blessing with a sacred auti flower and coconut milk. While doing this, the priest joins the bride and groom’s hands together and reads from a certificate of tapa cloth, usually made from a hibiscus tree.

Hold Lead And Boiling Water Over Your Head In Turkey

In Turkey, one way many people rid themselves of bad omens is through the ritual of lead pouring. To begin, the lead-pourer melts a tablespoon-sized piece of lead in a pan, while the person who is looking for good fortune sits with a cloth on their head for protection from the hot metal. From there, a small pan of boiling water is held over the person’s head, while the liquid lead is added. Most times, a prayer is chanted during the ritual. When the lead hits the water, it immediately turns solid, absorbing the person’s bad omens.

Another good luck tradition is to visit a special church that is open for just one day a year: April 23. Aya Yorgi, a Greek Orthodox church, receives hundreds of people on that day annually. These visitors tie multi-colored threads to trees at the bottom of the hill leading up to the church, in an attempt to bring good fortune.

Wear Baboon Skin On Your Head In Tanzania

According to Fair Travel Tanzania, who kindly interviewed the Hadzabe tribe in Tanzania, Africa, there is a ritual performed to help hunters who do not have luck catching animals. First, the elders advise them to wear baboon skin on their head and body, while putting beads on their shoulders. This is done at night, either under a baobab tree – the most sacred tree for Wahadzabe – or in the camp where they live. The whole community participates by singing and dancing and smearing the unlucky with herbal medicine to clear their misfortunes. Then, elders take the bows and arrows of the participants to bless them: “Haine (or God bless) these bows and arrows and make them shoot better,” is repeated over and over again. The unlucky also get to chew herbal medicinal plants, and should be good and ready for hunting the next morning.

Play Traditional Instruments For Friends And Family In Aruba

In Aruba, they try to ensure good luck for the new year through a ritual known as Dande. The tradition has been going since around 1880, right after the slaves were liberated. Groups made up of five or six people visit the homes of their families and friends, wishing these loved ones good luck and happiness for the upcoming year through music. Traditional Aruban instruments, like the tambu, wiri and raspa are played, along with the cuarta, guitar violin or the accordion to produce the upbeat rhythms of Dande. Lyrics for the songs usually incorporate well wishes for each person present. After the music is over, the head of the household will offer the performers a drink. What’s really interesting is the tradition is very local to the culture, as no other islands in the Caribbean participate in Dande.

Berkeley’s Edible Cities Guide Leads Urban Foragers To Free Good Eats

by Laurel Miller on

Anyone who’s ever snagged fruit off of their neighbor’s trees or bushes (oh, don’t look at me like that) will appreciate the new online Edible Cities guide from Berkeleyite Cristian Ionescu-Zanetti.

Berkeley is ground zero for the localized food movement, and “urban foraging” has been growing in popularity amongst local chefs as well as home cooks.

As a former resident and recent subletter, I can attest to just how many tasty treats grow in this region, which is composed of many microclimates. All manner of citrus – most notably Meyer lemons – heirloom varieties of plums, cherries, loquats, avocado, raspberries, blackberries, pomegranates, persimmons, rosemary, wild fennel, miner’s lettuce, wild watercress, mustard plants…they all flourish here, sometimes in backyards, but often in public spaces.

Hence, Edible Cities, which uses a Google Maps interface that denotes where specific species are free for the picking. In a recent interview in Berkeleyside, Inoescu-Zanetti, who is originally from Romania, stated that urban foraging’s “most important aspect is education: Kids need to learn where food comes from, and adults need a refresher, as well.” Here, here!

According to its mission statement, Edible Cities’ goal is to promote local food security by “mapping publicly available food sources” and “enable a more sustainable mode of food production that lessens our environmental impact.” In plain English, you can have free fruit and preserves year-round, instead of buying tasteless, imported crap sprayed with God knows what.

Oakland has a similar program, Forage Oakland, which began in 2008. Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle and Tampa also have fruit gleaning projects, which are variously used for residents and to provide fresh food for those in need.

[Photo credit: Flickr user OliBac]

Iraq Tries To Get Babylon Onto UNESCO World Heritage List (Again)

by Sean McLachlan on

Babylon in Iraq is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. A Mesopotamian capital that flourished for centuries, it was home to Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.) who introduced the world’s first known set of laws, and Nebuchadnezzar (604-562 B.C.) who built the famed Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Time has taken its toll, and so has the modern world. Saddam Hussein decided to rebuild Babylon with modern bricks inscribed with his name, right atop the original walls.

Then came the war to topple him. An American military base was established at Babylon that was soon taken over by Polish troops. A British Museum report on damage to Babylon states that large areas of the site were leveled in order to make a parking lot, roads and areas for tents and bunkers.

Trenches were also dug to give protection to the soldiers. Many of the countless sandbags around the base were filled with soil from the archaeological site. The Ishtar Gate, shown here in this Wikimedia Commons image, suffered significant damage.

Now saline water is leaching into the area, eroding the ancient brick, and three oil pipelines pass right through Babylon.

Despite this, Iraqi archaeologists are applying to get Babylon on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Because of the extensive damage to the site and Saddam’s “reconstruction,” UNESCO has turned down previous applications – twice.

Now Iraq is trying a new tactic. The proposal now includes the historical significance of the Saddam and Coalition eras. Babylon saw many periods of occupation, after all, and these are the two latest. It’s an interesting tactic and if it works, Babylon would attract more serious efforts from the Iraqi and other governments to preserve one of humanity’s great ancient cities.

Gadling Gear Review: Lowepro Event Messenger 250 and Flipside 500 AW

by Kraig Becker on

One of the greatest travel innovations of the past two decades is, without a doubt, the digital camera. Not only have they made photography more fun but more accessible as well, allowing us to capture travel memories like never before. Over the years, digital cameras have gotten smaller and lighter, increased their megapixels, added new features and greatly reduced their prices. As a result, it is difficult to find anyone who doesn’t own one these days.

As amateur photographers have gotten more sophisticated, the digital SLR (Single-Lens Reflex) cameras have grown into the best selling segment of the market. These cameras are popular because they not only offer great image quality and fast performance, but they also have the ability to change lenses to capture just the right photo. The problem is that SLR’s tend to be considerably bigger and heavier than point-and-shoot cameras and when you throw in a few extra lenses, it can be a real challenge to lug all of that gear around. Fortunately for us, Lowepro makes a number of fantastic bags for travelers that make it much easier to carry our photography gear and keep it well organized. Here is a look at two of those bags, each designed for different uses.

Lowepro Event Messenger 250
The Lowepro Event Messenger 250 is the largest of the Event Messenger series packs and features everything that an aspiring or experienced photographer could ask for in a compact camera bag. This shoulder-sling style pack has room for a large pro-style DSLR body and up to four extra lenses, depending on size. A zip pocket on the front provides storage for accessories such as extra memory cards, USB cables, batteries and so on. The bag even has a well-padded slot for a laptop or iPad, which was a bit surprising as it doesn’t initially appear large enough to carry that much gear.I was impressed with how slim and compact the EM 250 is while still providing plenty of padding to protect the precious cargo inside. The interior of the bag is easily customizable to fit your needs and it can carry plenty of gear with ease as well. I managed to fit my Nikon D90, three Nikkor lenses, a Macbook Air, cellphone and a variety of other accessories. A well-designed shoulder strap rounded out the package, making it a breeze to carry all of that gear for a full day in the field.

Using the EM 250 was a revelation for me. Typically in the past I kept all of my gear in a standard backpack, which did little to keep my gear well organized. When I needed to access another lens or spare battery, I was often forced to rifle through the pack to find exactly what I needed. But Lowepro’s pack not only kept everything well organized but also close at hand, which made it much easier to change out a lens and capture the perfect shot.

Pro photographers will appreciate the Event Messenger 250 as a slimmed down bag for carrying just their bare essentials, while well-equipped amateurs will find that the pack more than meets their needs. At a price of just $79.99, it is a fantastic investment for protecting your expensive camera gear while traveling, and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Lowepro Flipside 500 AW
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum from the Event Messenger is Lowepro’s Flipside Backpack. Designed for professional photographers, this pack provides far more storage than the typical amateur would ever need, wrapping it all up in a pack that is comfortable to wear on extended trips to just about anywhere on the planet.

The spacious interior of the Flipside has room for three DSLR bodies, 2-4 extra lenses (Up to 500mm!), a large flash, collapsible tripod, extra memory cards, an iPad and plenty of accessories. Much like the Event Messenger, the interior is fully customizable and very well padded, and the seemingly endless number of pockets will keep all your gear very well organized.

For a backpack dedicated to photographers, I was surprised to find a number of features that would be more common on packs designed for climbers and hikers. For instance, the shoulder straps and back padding were extremely comfortable, allowing the wearer to easily carry a large, heavy load over challenging terrain. Other nice touches include a built-in rain cover that provides extra protection from inclement weather, a tripod mount and leashes for trekking poles and more. It is even hydration ready, providing a dedicated pocket for carrying a 1-liter water reservoir. In short, this pack has everything an active photographer could hope for and then some.

The Flipside 500 AW was built from the ground up for the professional level adventure photographer. It was designed for someone who needs to be able to move quickly and easily with all of their gear, while still having their hands free to shoot photos. As such, it is overkill for the average traveler who is only carrying a DSLR body and a lens or two on a group trip. But if you’re an active, adventure traveler with lots of camera equipment, this is a no-brainer purchase. Simply put, every action photog should own one of these bags.

Lowepro lists the MSRP on the Flipside 500 AW as $249.99 and considering the market that it targets, that seems like a steal. This is a pack that will carry thousands of dollars worth of equipment with ease and protect it from all kinds of dangers. Aside from it being a bit bulky, it is an amazing piece of gear that is difficult to find fault in. If you fit the target market, and don’t already own one, add the Flipside to your gear closet now.