Burning Man v. Pisco sin Fronteras
I've really enjoyed my stay so far at Pisco sin Fronteras, and the first day at work felt really good. I'll post about that when I manage to get photos uploaded (small town + developing country = slow, dodgy connections), but let's just say that it totally makes sense why people stay here much longer than they intended to, and so many come back.
Long-time Burners are familiar with the sense of 'coming home' when they arrive at Black Rock. I had an uncannily similar feeling when I arrived here. It could've been that everyone was speaking English, but that was the case in Lima as well, and honestly, that felt pretty obnoxious. There's just a similar energy here... actually, there are a lot of similarities:
Burning Man Pisco sin Fronteras Black Rock City, Nevada, USA. Pisco, Ica, Perú. 50,000 people in the middle of the desert (but there are hot springs! Shhhh!). 116,000 people in the middle of the desert (but there's a beach!). Fun, creative, interesting, awesome people from all over the world. Fun, creative, interesting, awesome people from all over the world. Gift economy. Developing economy. The Playa is what you live on. The Playa is four blocks away, and it's best not to go there at night. If it wasn't in your body, don't put it in the potty-except for the provided dunny paper. If it wasn't in your body, don't put it in the potty-including the provided dunny paper (Peruvian plumbing). Bring earplugs-your neighbours probably won't want to sleep at the same time as you. Bring earplugs-taxis and tuk tuks indicate vacancy by beeping their horns, and there are a lot of them!. Alcohol used as an intoxicant only by frat boys and weekend warriors. Alcohol is the primary recreational intoxicant. Lysergic acid diethylamide. Echinopsis pachanoi. Everything's covered in playa dust. Everything's covered in concrete dust (from the rubble). Leave No Trace. Whole town covered in rubbish. Safety Third. Safety Third. Centre Camp is a hive of activity, and has most of the comfortable structures in town. Plaza de Armas is a hive of activity, and has most of the comfortable structures in town. Bustling at night; relatively quiet by day. Bustling at night; relatively quiet by day. Officially: no sex in public places (c. 2006
). Officially: no sex in dorms, bathrooms or common areas (which perhaps means it's okay in the office?). No dogs allowed. Only Gringo allowed. Solar showers. Electrified showers. (I'm so starting a project to fix the wiring in this place!. Air mattresses and futons. Straw mattresses. Solar. Biodiesel. Crappy wifi. Crappy wifi. Tents and shade structures. Earth bricks. Everything's held together by duct tape and rebar. Everything's held together by duct tape and rebar. Leave No Trace. Leave a legacy!
My advice for Burning Man has always been that you need to go at least once to experience it, because there's nothing else like it in the world. The same applies here.